CUTTING EDGE 7 
There will come a time, in the
blockbusters, television and home movies in anything other than high definition.
But today, we are only just waking up to the glorious world of high definition entertainment. In fact, ask the average shopper what they know about high definition and, if you’re lucky, you might get half an answer about better television pictures. You’re just as likely, though, to get a blank stare.
The
in entertainment. It is a concept that is spreading across Sony’s latest generation of consumer products: from its wide range of BRAVIA TVs, Handycam video cameras and VAIO notebook computers to its
Getting started
The place to start is the television. The first thing you should know is all of Sony’s BRAVIA range of TVs are high definition. So you can’t go wrong. Your television will display pictures that are sharper, clearer and far more vibrant. The naked eye will tell you that much. The quality of the picture will knock your socks off. Pictures on your old TV set will flicker from some kind of TV Dark Ages, “where faces of people in the background were once blurry, they’re now more sharply defined and recognisable,” says Colley. “If you’re watching fast motion, you’ll make out people’s features more easily. It’ll also be easier to follow small objects, like a ball. It all comes down to more detail in the picture.”
A high definition television (HDTV) can offer up to five times the picture resolution compared to DVD or the standard definition TV we are used to watching. But – and it’s an important “but” – not all HDTVs are the same. And it’s something worth being mindful of when buying one.
There are two basic kinds of HDTV picture. There’s the HDTV picture with 720 lines running across the screen known as HD, and another known as Full HD that has 1080 lines. Without getting bogged down by technical explanation, the HDTV picture with 1080 lines obviously offers best quality. Sony’s BRAVIA
KS70R200
TVs and its 3LCD E Series all have native resolutions that are equal to or exceed 720 lines while its X Series and R Series have native resolutions of 1080 lines, which Sony calls
The other important thing you should know is that HDTV has become more affordable, with prices for a 42" BRAVIA TV starting as low as $1999. So all this talk about high definition isn’t necessarily for consumers with deep pockets. The new range of BRAVIA TVs range from the 26" Bravia S Series through to the 70" Full HD SXRD (pictured above) for $7999.
The full picture on HDTV
The television, however, is only the starting point of the HD world. The other side of the HD experience is high definition content. You can only appreciate the spellbinding quality of HD if what you’re watching is in an HD format to begin with.
WHAT’S HD-READY?
A TV identified as ‘HD Ready’ should meet the folowing minimum requirements:
–A resolution of 720 lines or more
–HDMI and/or HD Component inputs
It is always worth checking if a TV labelled ‘HD Ready’ actually meets these requirements as many fl at panel TV’s don’t.
The good news is that all Sony BRAVIA TV’s meet or exceed these
requirements so high definition will always look just as it was intended on a BRAVIA.
Sony Pulse 17
