More Ways Than Ever To Watch TV

By: Nicole Evans

There are a lot of exciting things happening with TV right now. New developments in the ways we watch TV can be

very beneficial, but they also take some effort to figure out. Fortunately if you categorize the different kinds

of TV technology into a few categories that are easily understood, they can be a lot easier to use.

The three types of TV that you're likely to come across from a TV service provider are standard definition

television, high definition television, and video on demand. Standard definition television is the type of TV that

we're all used to because it has been around since the beginning of broadcast TV, although it's in the process of

conversion from analog transmission to digital transmission. Standard definition TV, which is also sometimes

called SDTV for short, is primarily defined by the fact that it has a screen resolution of 480i which represents

the number of lines of resolution that make up the picture and how they're scanned onto the screen. A larger

number indicates a more detailed picture and 480 is the minimum number of lines of resolution of the various

television formats. SDTV often has a boxy 4:3 aspect ratio, but it can also appear in the wider 16:9 aspect ratio

and can come with a variety of different sound formats.

High definition television, HDTV, or simply HD, is a more recent and much more advanced TV format. HDTV can come

in a variety of resolutions- 720p, 1080i, or 1080p- but it only comes in the 16:9 aspect ratio and it's minimum

native sound format is Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. All of these properties combine to make HDTV a good way

to get the big movie theater experience when you're at home. The differences between HDTV and SDTV require HDTV

programming to be transmitted over its own channels. HDTV channels can deliver SDTV programming, but SDTV channels

don't have enough bandwidth to deliver the more data intensive format of HDTV programming.

Video on demand is a little more complicated because it can be composed of either HDTV or SDTV programming. The

defining characteristic of video on demand is that you can watch it whenever you want. Video on demand services

provide you with a list of available programs. These can include movies, TV shows, short format videos like music

videos, and even sporting events. When you find the video that you want to watch on the video on demand list, you

can start watching it immediately. Video on demand comes in the form of pay per view schemes- which are really

more like movie rentals than the pay per view technology of the past- as well as by subscription. Some pay per

view packages are included in the programming package that you've subscribed to and others can be added on with an

extra subscription.

All of these different modes of delivering TV programming are sure to have their own roles in the future. HDTV is

exciting because of its ability to deliver a home theater experience, video on demand puts viewers in control of

their own TV scheduling, and SDTV is so pervasive that it won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Hopefully you now have a better idea of what's available for your to watch on TV.

Nicole Evans writes articles for consumers who want to find the Best Directv Offers currently available. She has written for many major publications about the latest Directtv Specials and Direct TV Promotions and how buyers can find the best discounts.

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