The Consumer Electronics Association trade group recently estimated that 25 million homes in the United States will have a high-definition TV set by the end of 2007. Many fans of (HD) high-definition television are finding it hard to go back to watching TV the old way, that is, via (SD) standard definition TV.

According to a January 6 article by Paul Davidson in USA Today, it's been estimated that HDTV sets are now in 16 million U.S. homes. That's about 15% of the TV-viewing public, an increase of 7% since last year. About 28% of HDTV viewers say the picture is better on an HD set. There's no denying that HDTV offers pristine, vivid images and unbelievable audio.

To backtrack a bit, HDTV is a type of digital television. Digital television (DTV) itself is the transmission of digital television signals, including the reception and display of those signals, to a digital TV set. Digital signals can be broadcast over the air or transmitted by cable or satellite system to your home. A decoder in your home then receives the signal and uses it, in digital form, in your digital TV set.

Digital cable tevevision comes in 3 versions: standard, enhanced, and high definition. Standard has a resolution of 480i, enhanced has a resolution of 480p, and HDTV has 720p and 1080i. HDTV offers the best resolution possible to viewers in the digital television category. Without a doubt, High Definition will give you the best picture available.

HDTV combines high-resolution digital television (DTV) with Dolby Digital surround sound. Thus, it offers the highest DTV resolution, resulting in picture-perfect imagery and incredible sound. HDTV requires a certain type of transmission equipment, as well as equipment for reception by viewers.

The higher resolution picture is HDTV's strongest marketing point. Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to sign up for cable or satellite TV to get HDTV. Many networks in the USA, including ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX, are already transmitting high definition signals. To decode the signal, though, you'll want an HDTV with a built-in tuner, and an HDTV antenna. If you want to pick up the HD signal of non-broadcast stations like HBO and ESPN, you will need to subscribe to some kind of cable or satellite HD service.

As for the aspect ratio of high definition television, the signal is broadcast in a 16:9 aspect ratio. The 16:9 ratio is what you see with widescreen or letterbox viewing?like a screen in a movie theater. High definition televisions are available with both standard (4:3) or widescreen ratios. It depends on the viewer's taste. The majority of programming available today can be adjusted to fit the preferred aspect ratio of viewers.