In the last few years televisions have got wider and thinner, but have they got better ? The new trend is Hi Def TV, presenting brilliant image quality, but at a cost.

Have a look on the net, or in the electrical stores and you will see a huge choice of HDTV units available. Slogans like plasma, rear projection and LCD are everywhere, and that is before you have chosen from an array of screen shapes, sizes and brands. It's enough to make you stick with your old TV !

Here is simple guide to the world of Hi Def TV, to enable you to choose for yourself if it's time to upgrade.

What is Hi Def TV, ?

Basically, it's all about tiny dots !

Ever noticed that tiny text on your computer screen looks really clear, but on the TV it's fuzzy ?

Your T.V and screen picture is made up of dots of colour. Explaining it simply, the dots on the T.V are larger than those on the screen, so the image on the screen appears crisper and can retain more quality.

The smaller the dots, the more detailed the pictures will appear. That is why Hi Def TV pictures look fantastic.

Why are Hi Def TV dear ?

If we compare a regular 'old style' CRT T.V with a full Hi Def TV, presuming they have screens of the same size then we can note two things...

The colour dots that make up the screen have to be 9 times smaller on the Hi Def TV. This makes them hugely expensive to build.

Also, you are paying for the price of the development of these products.

Just like the Sony PS3 they cost a lot of money to develop, but not like the Sony PS3 the T.V companies won't get some of that investment back each time you buy a different video game.

This means you have to pay more for each TV until these costs are achieved, then the cost will come down quickly. We have already observed this with the lower resolution Hi Def TV.