HD Q&A

By Brett Fountain, Stellar Media Chief Video Editor

What in the world is HD and why should I care as a consumer?

High definition is quite important today for a consumer. In February 2009, standard definition will no longer be broadcast to televisions. This means that to watch TV after this will be impossible without a converter box for your old standard definition TV - or a new high definition TV. Unless you are planning never to watch anything but DVDs again (which are slated to be discontinued in 2010), you will have to buy a gizmo in the next year to continue watching TV.

When do I need to buy a new TV? Can I put it off and use my old one in the meantime?

You sure can! If high definition TVs are a little out of your price range still, you can purchase a converter box for your old television. These will convert the high definition signals back to standard definition so your TV can display them on your television. Converter boxes are not being sold yet since there is no immediate need for them, but they are expected to be on sale by next Christmas for about $50.

Are prices for HD TVs going to go down?

Prices for HD TVs are constantly going down. The technology to create these is so new that the companies that make TVs are constantly coming up with better technology to create them more efficiently. This factor, along with competition to get your business, keeps driving the price down. Wait as long as you can!

Can I play my old DVDs on my HD TV?

You can, but the resolution will not be very good. DVDs were designed for standard definition TVs and therefore the resolution is considered optimal for them, not HD TVs, which often have twice the resolution of standard definition or more. For those of us with hundreds of DVDs, companies were kind enough to build a HDMI DVD player. They get mixed results, but essentially these DVD players upscale your old DVDs to play at a higher resolution on your HD TV. (One model we hear good things about is the Sony HDMI DVP-NS75H). Switching all your VHS to DVDs wasn’t a total waste, but after 2010, companies are slated to stop all DVD production and switch exclusively to high definition DVDs.

Another option is you can start buying high definition DVDs. These are specially formatted DVDs to play at high definition resolution.

I see HD-DVDs advertised and something called Blue Ray as well. What’s the difference?

Back when dinosaurs ruled the Earth there were VHS and Beta. To make a long story short, history is repeating itself except for one difference - this time Beta (that is, the better technology) is winning.

Several years ago Toshiba created the HD-DVD and Sony created the Blue Ray DVD. Both are high definition DVDs with no difference in movie quality. But you can’t play an HD-DVD and a Blue Ray disc in the same DVD player. You have to choose one or the other. Right now four out of the big six movie studios only print their movies on Blue Ray and 93% of consumers with high definition DVD players only buy Blue Ray. Safe bet: Buy Blue Ray.

Note: Just recently a new type of High Definition DVD player has hit the market that will play both Toshiba HD-DVDs AND Sony Blue Ray DVDs. If you’re looking to get into the High Def DVD market this is probably the best bet to guarantee you won’t have any problems watching any High Def movie that has been released. If you happen to already have a Blue Ray only player or an HD only player, all hope is not lost. In foreign countries movies that are sold in one format or the other in America are sometimes available in both formats. This depends on the country and what their television format standards are. To find these just take a look around http://www.amazon.co.uk/

In need of equipment? Visit the folks at Stereo Innovations in Waynesville, N.C. They are incredibly knowledgeable and have a great inventory of HD solutions.