Make Way For UHDTV

It's quite possible that many of us are still into those old analog TVs. Maybe you've been fortunate enough to step up to HDTV, after all, they are very affordable now. That's of no matter. At the beginning of this year, TV manufacturers began introducing the next big thing, UHDTV or Ultra High Definition Television.

What's the difference you ask? It's all about the TV set's resolution. The old analog TVs offered 525 lines of resolution. A beam of electrons from the back of the picture tube would scan the screen going over every other line from top to bottom before returning to the top to scan the remaining lines. This is what's know as an interlace scan. For many years, this was the best that you could get.

HDTV or High Definition Television offers 1080 lines of resolution. These lines use digital pixels and every line is scanned from top to bottom, one right after the other. This is know as progressive scan and delivers a much clearer and sharper picture.

UHDTV ups the ante by adding the potential for delivering up 4320 lines of progressive scan resolution. That's more than the 70 millimeter film that's currently used for IMAX movies. Most UHDTVs hitting the market now have a scan resolution of 2160 lines scanned progressively. The overall screen sizes being offered right now are 55 and 65 inches, while maintaining the 16:9 aspect ratio found in HDTVs.

Samsung is offering 55 inch UHDTV sets for $3497.99 and 65 inch sets for $4997.99. Sony is offering 55 inch UHDTV sets for $3499.99 while it's 65 inch sets sell for 4999.99. All of these prices represent a decrease which may not make you want to run right out and buy one, but it does however mark the beginning of a battle for consumer dollars as more TV manufacturers roll out their own versions of UHDTV, and of course, as the sets become smaller.

With Halloween just around the corner, you may not be thinking about Christmas. And while a UHDTV may not qualify as the perfect stocking stuffer, for those who have the resources and a desire for the latest high tech gadget, a UHDTV may just be the gift you need to fill out your wish list.