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The magazine

Confused about HD?

Read our no-nonsense guide to HD logos and what they mean

Finding your way through the High Definition maze needn’t be hard work. We’ve put together a guide of all the different terms and what they mean, so choosing the right HD TV for you is simple.

HD explained

What is it?

High Definition makes it possible for you to enjoy home entertainment with stunning picture quality and sound.

When you watch Blu-ray Disc™ movies, it’s just like being at the cinema. Plugging in your PLAYSTATION®3 is the same, with characters and scenes springing to life on screen.

It’s all down to the much higher resolution in High Definition TV sets, producing an incredibly clear and detailed picture.

That’s all very well, but how does it work and what do all the different logos actually mean?

The more pixels, the better the resolution and the finer the detail

What resolution?

Standard Definition TVs have 720 x 576 pixels, or 576 lines of 720 pixels.

High Definition TV screens have a lot more, starting with twice as many at 1280 x 720, and then up fivefold to 1920 x 1080 pixels, the more advanced you get.

So the more pixels, the better the resolution and the finer the detail you see in the images.

But what else makes HD give you such amazing picture quality? It’s the difference between a progressive and interlaced signal. Simply, the way the image is written and displayed on the screen.

The interlaced format: the screen is filled in two stages

How does it work?

With an interlaced format, the screen is filled in two stages, with odd lines first and then even lines.

While the movement is so fast the human eye can’t easily see it, you may have experienced a 'flicker' quality.

A progressive signal is more advanced, it writes screen content all at once meaning that you see all the detail on the screen in one go.

The most common HD formats are 720p, 1080i and 1080p. This tells you how detailed the resolution is, and also what screen writing format it uses (‘i’ stands for interlaced and ‘p’ for progressive). 1080p being the most advanced form of High Definition.

So you know how HD works, what about deciphering all the logos and technical language?

What the logos mean

HD Ready has a minimum resolution of 720 lines for displaying High Definition content.

It can accept HD video formats in 720p and 1080i, but may not display the full resolution from more advanced 1080p sources.

Images may distort slightly, so it’s not perfect but you still get amazing picture quality with Blu-ray Discs™, upscaled DVDs and PLAYSTATION®3 games.

In order to use this logo, the TV set needs to be widescreen and must feature an analogue component as well as an HDMI connection.

HD Ready 1080p is the future. Its screen resolution meets the minimum requirements of HD Ready with the addition of 1920 x 1080 pixels.

It displays 1080i and 1080p content without distortion, which means you can choose a larger screen than your current TV (even if your room isn’t that big).

The finer detail means you can sit closer to a larger TV screen without seeing the individual pixels, so you can fully enjoy the next generation of home entertainment.

On top of this, the HD Ready 1080p logo guarantees that content can be reproduced at 24Hz (24 frames per second), as well as 50Hz and 60Hz (e.g. DVD).

HDTV includes a digital tuner with your TV set, on top of all requirements for HD Ready. This means you can both receive and display HD content without adding a tuner box. HDTV 1080p is the same as HDTV, but it can handle full HD resolution at 1920 x 1080 as well as 24p content (i.e. Blu-ray Disc™ movies).
Sony Gold HD1080 is our way of helping you set up a High Definition world at home. All products with this logo meet the requirements of 1080p. This means you can connect a TV to a Handycam®, Cyber-shot, Blu-ray Disc™ player or PS3™ for the complete HD set up. So keep your eyes open for this logo and create your own High Definition experience.