With the arrival of Digital Television (DTV) and High-Definition Television (HDTV), consumers and broadcasters face a multitude of configuration issues related to broadcasting, receiving, and viewing DTV and HDTV content.

HDTV is a subset of 6 of the 18 DTV formats currently being used by various broadcasters and media players (such as DVD players). DTV and HDTV broadcasts are offered in a variety of vertical resolutions, aspect ratios, and scan modes.

Yet, not all HD televisions support all DTV broadcast formats, and DTV receivers/decoders are forced to perform the appropriate conversions that allow the viewer to watch these broadcasts.

HDTV vs. HD-Ready (A Buyer's Guide)

True HD, or Integrated HD, televisions come out of the box with an HD tuner built right in. Just plug in a High-Definition broadcast source like digital cable, and you're set. The only drawback here is the price, as integrated HDTV sets run into the thousands of dollars.

HD-ready sets, on the other hand, are more affordable, and can display both standard and High-Definition programming. An external HD tuner is required in addition to your digital signal receiver. Motorola's DCT5100 HD Digital Cable Receiver integrates both into one convenient unit.

Pixel for pixel, here's what you can expect from today's HDTV technology:

While shopping, you may notice some TVs described as Enhanced Definition. Just as the name implies, these TVs can provide a better picture by supporting the 480p, widescreen, progressive scan resolution mode. This can result in sharper video especially when used with progressive scan DVD players. However, this is not High-Definition as the lines of resolution are the same as Standard Definition (480). Look for a TV that is clearly marked High-Definition and supports either the 720p and/or 1080i resolution modes.

Watch This

The number of channels and networks broadcasting in High-Definition format is growing by leaps and bounds. HBO, Showtime, Discovery Channel and ESPN all offer HD programming and major networks like ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS all broadcast a portion or all of their programming in High-Definition.

Since the beginning of television, Motorola Broadband (formerly General Instruments) has been at the forefront of cable television technologies: In 1957, we built the technology for the first pay-per-view event; in 1972, Motorola Broadband developed the first remote-controlled set-top box, and in 1992, helped launch the digital revolution by proposing to the government a concept that no one else had considered - transitioning from analog to digital technology to drive High-Definition TV (HDTV).

Along the way, Motorola Broadband has continued pioneering solutions that drive the delivery of digital television. With a complete set of products for broadcasters, cable network operators, and consumers, the company has developed a fully integrated platform with reliable, compatible offerings at every point in the chain.

• First coaxial cable television system in the Eastern US (1950)
• First to work on pay-per-view baseball games (early 1950s)
• First five Channel distribution amplifier (Golden Cascader) (1956)
• First to be involved with a pay-TV experiment (The Pajama Game, Bartelsville Oklahoma, 1957)
• First 12 channel (216MHz amplifier) (1959)
• First 20-channel electro-mechanical cable converter (1967)
• First remotely controlled converter (1972)
• First 300 MHz amplifier - Starline (1973)
• First 400 MHz amplifier (1979)
• First totally integrated addressable system (1981)
• First to develop a store-and-forward ordering mechanism for two-way
  cable plants (1983)
• First 550 MHz amplifier and converter (1983)
• First to introduce a programming service that used impulse store and
  forward technology - Cable Video Store (1985)
• First to introduce Integrated Receiver/Descramblers (1987)
• First to introduce AM fiber Optics laser, dramatically improving the
  performance of cable television
• First 750 MHz amplifier (1989)
• First to submit an all-digital HDTV system to the FCC
• First Operational all-digital HDTV system (Digicipher HDTV, 1991)
• First to demonstrate digital compression (Digicable) over cable
  (1991)
• First all-digital HDTV transmissions using Digicipher HDTV hardware
  over-the-air cable and satellite (1992)
• First to integrate computer technologies into addressable cable TV
  terminals (1993)
• First to develop a hybrid fiber coax broadband network (1993)
• First volume commercial digital cable deployment (1996, as General· Instrument Corporation)
• First one-millionth interactive digital set-top shipment (1998)
• First volume commercial deployment of Internet access via cable
  (1998)
• First volume commercial deployment of video-on-demand (1999)
• First 10 millionth interactive digital set-top shipment (2000)
• First one-millionth DOCSIS cable-modem shipment (2000)
• First home-networking DOCSIS-enabled cable modem (2000)
• Industry's first wireless cable modem gateway (2002)
• First 25 millionth interactive digital set-top shipment (2003)

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