Picture perfect
Henry Northmore assesses the pros and cons of the High Definition television phenomenon.
I)TV is finally a reality. but
a reality that still catises
confttsion. The World (‘up was supposed to he the watershed. the tsunami that revolutionised how we watched TV. And for some it was. Sky rolled otlt its (slightly delayed) Ill) system. while Telewest recently cast its III) output nationwide. When you see High Definition in action. it is mind-hlowingly crisp and detailed. the clarity amazing. More than real.
it's a gorgeous hyper-reality of
retina—searing colourng and vivid definition. You can pick out every face in the crowd at a footie match. every splinter of an explosion during an action film. eyery leaf in the jungle on nature shows. You‘ll undouhtedly start out with preconceived ideas that it ‘might be
IT REALLY IS THE NEXT STEP IN THE EVOLUTION OF HOME VIEWING. CINEMA OWNERS MUST BE SHAKING IN THEIR SHOES
a hit nicer~ and come out reeling at the sheer visual pleasure of HI)TV. It really is the next step in the evolution of home viewing. (‘inema owners must he shaking in their shoes.
There's a widely held assumption that once you‘ve bought the set. you‘re ready to go. Whoa there big man! You need a receiver that can actually decode the extra information (the aforementioned Sky and Telewest systems. or other decoders for I5reeview Hl)). Otherwise. it's great for videogames with the Xhox 360 pumping out Hl) gaming (and the PS3 will follow suit). However. once that's in place. the lack of III) content may surprise some. There are only a handful of channels from Sky. and even these don't solely transmit HD programming (in fact the Sky HI) movie channels are the only 100‘? HD channels). This will no doubt change rapidly as the takeup rate increases. Sky is putting a huge amount of money
and effort into making HI) one of
its priorities. The BBC has jumped on board while Channel 4 is getting ready to launch its own content (nearly all American shows are now filmed in HI) so it's a
relatively simple process to start broadcasting them). Right now. though. you could find yourself shelling out a wodge of money for not much content. And of course Hl)-l)Vl) and Blu-Ray players (or films to play on them) are still not readily available.
Yes. the picture is fabulous. hut currently there is one big draw hack to HI)TV: time delay. There‘s a load more info heing broadcast to your television. which takes that wee hit longer to decipher. A few seconds delay may not matter while watching .S'pnlt'rmun 2. hut the footie roars from the local pub can tell you if a penalty hit the target or not before your telly has had a chance to catch tip.
Having dealt with some of the downfalls to the current set-up. let‘s cut to the chase and drool over some hiin end HI)TVs. Prices are already starting to drop as features increase. If you‘re after some of the cheaper models. Argos does a 26in Bush model at just £499.99 while Richer Sounds offers the 23in Samsung l.li23T5l for the same price.
Nli("s new l’lasmaSync range (42in and (Hill at £2075 and £7625 respectively) all feature split-screen and picture-in—picture technology. allowing you to view two channels simultaneously. Boasting the ‘market‘s highest colour contrast ratios‘ (running at 4()()(): l) these should offer some of the best pictures available as well as a lot) degree viewing angle. ('all N'li('. ()845 234 4040 for more info
Toshiba's Rega WLT66 l.(‘l) range. comes in 32in and 47m with an Integrated Digital Tuner for access to over 30 lireeview channels as well as two HDMI (hasically III)‘s version of SCART) for added versatility. Will) a RRI’ of £l.2()()—£-i()()() approx. you can
i A; 53. .5:
PLAY
Toshiba Rega WLT66
- Sony Bravia V
LG Gold PY1O
6—21 . . 221", THE LIST 99