William asked

14th March 2010

I've recently purchased an LG HD Ready TV (but it only has a standard digital tuner inside, I have now realised) anyway, it can therefore display 1080p, but from the program info, it appears Freeview TV is being shown at only 586 resolution, so is there any advantage of having a 1080p tv? In fact is even a TV that can only display 720 resolution pointless if the broadcast is only 586 resolution?

High-definition transmissions only began at the start of the year in January, and only for a few areas where digital switchover has already happened. Consequently as present there is relatively little demand for the higher initial cost of building in a high-definition tuner into televisions., but this will change in the next year or so.

In your case as Freeview HD becomes available in your area it's simply a matter of purchasing an HD capable Freeview decoder box, but you didn't mention where you live, and the chances are HD transmissions have not begun in you're television region yet anyway.

You have a pretty future proof television as it's able to support 1080p so it will work well with current games consoles such as the PS3 and XBox 360, and also more usefully Blu-Ray players which is the successor to DVD for films.

In terms of television you may well find your television does a good job of up-scaling the standard definition Freeview signal on to your higher resolution TV. If digital switchover hasn't happened yet you could look in to getting Freesat which has a limited amount of high-definition content or another paid for high-definition service, but you are probably best to sit tight and wait for the broadcast technology to catch up with to what your television is capable of.

Andy asked

29th March 2010

Can you please explain the difference between HD Ready and full HD TV?

I have a Virgin Media box - would it make any difference which type of TV I connected it to?

The HD ready mark or logo indicates that the television meets a certain set of minimum standards for inputs and display resoultion. An HD Ready display must have at least 720 lines of vertical picture resolution, and have an HDCP (copy protected) DVI or HDMI digial video input along with an analogue component video input.

Full HD is not really a standard in the same way, it is more a marketing term used by manufacturers to indicate that their product is capable of displaying 1080 lines of veridical resolution. This tells you that the display is able to display both 720 and 1080 line pictures but doesn't tell you anything else about the devices inputs or the picture frame rates it is able to display.

Your V+ box is able to output both 720p and 1080i so in theory for programmes like sport that are broadcast in 1080i you should get a truer mapping of the video signal to your screen with a 'full HD' display, however in practice you may not be able to tell the difference between that and a good 720 line HD ready display that has good internal video processing.

As ever I suggest you try and see the difference between models and HD video resolutions in person before you buy as there's no point spending money on something you won''t notice.

Bob asked

19th March 2010

Do I need a high-definition recorder to record high definition TV?

You are correct, you do indeed need a recording device that is able to record and play back in high-definition in order to record or otherwise time-shift HD programming.

Eric asked

19th March 2010

I have a Toshiba Hard Disk / DVD player with built in Freeview. Will I still be able to use this with an HDTV? - Old hat I know, but is it possible to still use VCRs with HDTV?

You existing equipment will 'work' to a limited extent so long as you are able to physically connect it to an HDTV, but you'll need to be careful as some newer models are starting to omit analogue inputs which your player probably uses.

I say the working will be limited as you will be able to playback standard definition content on an HDTV and it will look anywhere between good and bad depending on the quality of the electronics in the television that map a standard definition picture on to the higher resolution HDTV screen. What you probably won't be able to do it use your current player to record and play back high-definition pictures as the chances are you would already know if it was HD-capable, and it's unlikely the manufacturer went to the expense of future proofing their device by supporting HD, over offering it to you at the best price.

Paul asked

16th March 2010

I have a 37" new Panasonic Vierra HD-Ready TV and a Panasonic DVD recorder/player. According to the instruction manual I can get HD pictures by using an HDMI cable from the HDMI socket at the back of the TV to the HDMI socket at the back of the DVD player.

Is this correct or do I need a box and if correct when can I receive hd pictures?

I imagine that the presence of an d HDMI output on your DVD recorder indicates that it's capable of outputting a high-definition picture in one form or another. I may either be a totally HD device that records and plays back in high-definition, or more likely it is able to upscale standard-definition pictures such as those found on DVDs to a higher resolution so the picture looks better on a large HD display.

So assuming you are getting an HD picture out of the device all you need, as you say, is an HDMI cable to connect to your television then swap over to the appropriate HDMI input on your TV to watch.

If you're asking more widely about how to get more HD content that what comes out of your DVD player, you will need some kind of additional high-definition reception device along with a free or paid for HD service. This could be Freeview if you live in the right area, Freesat or a paid cable or satellite service; there's some information around all these sources on the website. You need a chain of high-definition devices and connection(s) from your reception device, such as a set top box, to your HD capable television, then you will be able to watch in high-definition.

Stuart asked

11th March 2010

I have just bought an HD Samsung TV. Currently I have a standard Sky+ box, I want to know how I can recieve Sky in HD without having to upgrade to Sky+ HD?

Currently i am recieving standard pictures from my Sky+ box and it is very frustrating as I have this amazing new TV yet am recieving standard pictures! Please help!

I'm sorry to say there isn't really a quick or cheap way for you to get you Sky programming in high-definition.

The most obvious solution, as you mention, is to order Sky's HD service which will cost you and extra £10 or so per month, and depending on the offer you get you may also need to contribute to the cost of the new decoder box. You need a new high-definition capable digibox as your existing one is only standard definition and not able to decode and output HD material.

Your other options are probably equally unpalatable, you could wait for Freeview HD transmissions to begin your area if they haven't already, or you could look in to getting to Freesat box and connecting it to your existing dish for a limited amount of HD content.

Another solution could be to invest in some kind of up-scaling device to improve the picture quality of your existing standard definition channels when viewed on you HDTV.

Which solutions you do or don't go for probably depend on what content you want to watch and also the amount each source is able to offer you in high-definition, far from all content on each service will be broadcast in HD.

Don asked

10th March 2010

Can you tell me if HDCP (High-bandwidth Content Protection) is used or ever will be used on HDTV Freesat or Freeview? I understand that channels can opt to set a 'content protection' bit to force HDTV tuners to check that the TV monitor connected through the HDMI or DVI cable is HDCP compliant. If it is not compliant it can disable the video output or output just a low resolution picture?

You can buy HDTV tuners that connect to laptops through USB. However HDCP is not used on USB. So if in the future Freesat or Freeview were to activate HDCP, my USB tuner may suddenly stop working with HDTV channels.

I would like to know because I am about to buy a new laptop and need to ensure it is future proof and therefore need to know if a USB input will be adequate or if I need to find one with an HDMI input.

Thanks for you question and apologies for taking a few days to get back to you. I'm sorry to say my future-gazing abilities are probably no better that yours, but I can certainly describe the current situation and I hope offer you some guidance going forwards.

As you say HDCP is an option for broadcasters on their high-definition transmissions. It's not currently widely used on Freesat and I imagine the same is true for the new Freeview HD transmissions. There is always the possibility the percentage of copy-protected programming on both platforms will increase with time so I would plan for such a scenario at least.

I would be surprised if you can find a laptop with an HDMI input, as most will only have outputs. That said you need to remember that HDCP only operates over HDMI so if you are able to use an alternative connection method such as analogue composite you should be able to enjoy HD programming in reasonable quality without any DRM.

Steven asked

3rd March 2010

Could you please tell me if a would need to buy a Freeview HD box to receive Freeview HD? I live in the Granada TV region and I have a full HD TV which is an LG 42" LG5000. Many

In short the answer is yes; you will need to purchase a new decoder box in order to be able to receive high-definition Freeview transmissions.

Although you have a television capable of displaying a high-definition picture, the Freeview decoder in your television will not yet be HD capable as the transmission standards for Freeview were only defined a relatively short time ago towards the end of 2009. In time I'm sure high-defintion capable tuners will be built in to some flat-panel televisions but as present there probably isn't suffient demand in terms of programming and availability, and the cost compared to a standard definition tuner is also likely to put manufacturers off in the sort term.