The FlatHDTV Blog

Just this week, Toshiba has announced that it will no longer support the HD-DVD format of high definition DVD technology, which it had been developing. This means that the only option for high definition DVD watching is the Blu-Ray format, and consumers will no longer have to choose between two very similar but incompatible formats. It’s good news for the movie industry, too, since they can now focus on only one format to produce their high definition movies in, and will not have to risk choosing an unpopular format.

HD-DVD and Blu-Ray were equally matched at first, so there was no clearly better technology. Consumers had a hard time choosing which format to invest in, and so did the studios. Each format depended almost completely of the support of the major studios, so when big ones like Warner Brothers chose to support Blu-Ray exclusively, it was only a matter of time before HD-DVD went down. Another big factor was the popularity of the Sony Playstation, which doubles as a Blu-Ray player.

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There’s a lot of confusion going around about the new TV standards that the FCC is going to impose on those of us in America next year. In February 2009, people with analog-only TV sets will have to take action to be able to keep receiving broadcast signals. If your TV is less than 10 years old, it probably has the capacity to receive a digital signal, so you’re in luck, but with an older one it’s questionable.

The best way to tell the difference is to check your TV’s manual, or just work the buttons and the remote to see if there’s a way to switch to digital input. If not, you’ll need to get an analog-to-digital converter at your local electronics store.

“DTV” is short for digital television (which is what you will need), and doesn’t mean the same thing as “HDTV”, or high definition television. Nearly all HDTVs are in fact DTVs, but all DTVs are not HDTVs.

For more information on the new TV standards, check out: The New TV Standards.