HDTV: Quick Facts

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The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	high-definition television

Photos

Diagram showing a cross section of a flat-panel plasma display, with a zoomed-in view illustrating how each pixel is made of red, green, and blue subpixels. The close-up labels parts including addressable electrodes, phosphors, and glass layers, demonstrating how plasma discharges create visible light for high-definition color television.

Side-by-side comparison of standard-definition TV (SDTV) and high-definition TV (HDTV) aspect ratios using an image of an airplane. The SDTV screen is 4 units wide by 3 units tall, while the HDTV screen is 16 units wide by 9 units tall. Both screens show dashed rectangles indicating the safe action area (90 percent) and safe title area (80 percent) within the frame.

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Topics

television closed-circuit television colour television cable television V-chip

Key People

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Sir Isaac Shoenberg

British inventor