For so many years television viewing renmained essentailly unchanged. The TV sets may have gotten bigger but the resolution was the same and the signal itself could only carry so much audio and video information. In fact, mnay argue that the only major change in television since it's inception was the advent of color TV as opposed to just black and white. But all of that is changing significantly and rapidly in the next few years.



With the introduction of the HDTV standard, everything you watch on your TV set will vastly improve and get more impressive. HDTV stands for high definition television and you may think that it only has to do with the video portion of TV viewing. But HDTV is a standard format that has been mandated by the FCC to be put in widespread practice by programming providers by the end of 2006. That format not only significantly upgrades the video, but also the audio portion of TV viewing as well. Let's take a look at how it will affect the way you watch TV.

If you like to watch movies on DVD, you can already begin to see vast improvements over the old analog VHS tapes that have been in use for some time. Many movies are coming in HDTV now, and also include Dolby 5.1 surround sound that is part of the HDTV experience as well as watch it in widescreen format which allows you to see the entire original recorded image, just like at the movie theater. This is the fuel for the recent boom in homwe theater systems that let you enjoy movie entertainment at home that can begin to rival that of movie theaters. If you haven't enjoyed a home theater experince yet, arrange a demo as soon as possible and you will understand what the excitement is all about.

Video game playing is going to go to a new level now too with HDTV, as the XBox 360 and Playstation 3 will integrate HDTV technology into their video and audio systems too. Gamers will be able to enjoy even more realism and special effects than ever before thanks to the improved video and audio from HDTV.

And of course, TV broadcasts themselves will reach a whole new level as programming is sent more and more in HDTV format. Even without an HDTV signal though, HDTVs improve the viewing experince anyway due to the increased resolution of the screen, making even normal television signals appear sharper and smoother. But when you add the magic of true high definition TV signals displayed ona HDTV television set, the effect is really stunning.

The future looks bright then for TV viewing and now is the time to get ready for the impact that HDTV will have on the way we view all home entertainment.