HDTV - High Definition Television

HDTV - High Definition Television was nothing more than a bit of a pipe dream when this site started in 2005.  Now, you would find it hard to buy a television that is not at least high definition ready.  You should expect to buy at least a 1080i set (Sky HD transmits in 1080i).  If you want to watch bluray movies you should look to buy a 1080p set.

For the technically minded 1080 sets display 1080 lines of pixels to display the picture (each line has 1920 pixels).  Older, HD ready sets display 768 lines each containing 1369 pixels.   Effectively 1080 sets have about twice as many pixels (and hence can show twice the detail) as older HD Ready sets.

Going slightly further, the 'i' in 1080i stands for interlaced and the 'p' in 1080p stands for progressive.  Interlaced sets build their picture in 2 passes first displaying all the odd numbered lines and then going back and interlacing the even numbered lines.  Progressive sets show all lines progressively in a single pass.  Progressive pictures are slightly more stable and less prone to flicker.  Unless you are using bluray you are extremely unlikely to notice the difference.

For a better explanation (with pictures) check out Comet's HD Television guide 1080HD Ready Buyers Guide - High Definition Just Got Higher | Comet advice