HD ready
HD ready concerns the abilities of television receivers to display high-definition pictures. The term has had official use in Europe since January 2005 when, EICTA (European Information, Communications and Consumer Electronics Technology Industry Associations) announced the requirements for the label.
EICTA introduced the label as a quality sign for the differentiation of display equipment, capable of processing and displaying high-definition signals. It is awarded on the basis of minimum functionality requirements that are detailed in the "EICTA conditions for HD Labeling of Display Devices".
Clarification for retail customers was required because many TV sources and displays were being promoted as capable of high definition when they were not. In early 2005, there were 74 different devices being sold as HD that were not actually HD ready, according to Alexander Oudendijk, senior VP of marketing for Astra - the operator of the only satellites carrying HDTV channels in Europe at that time.[1]
The EICTA HD ready specifications and the concept of the in-store label are based on agreements made between over 60 broadcasters and manufacturers of the European HDTV Forum at its second session in June 2004, held at the Betzdorf, Luxembourg headquarters of founding member SES Astra.[2]
In the USA, "HD Ready" refers to any display that is capable of accepting and displaying a high-definition signal at either 720p, 1080i or 1080p using a component video or digital input, and does not have a built-in HD-capable tuner.
[edit] HD ready 1080p
In order to be awarded the label "HD ready 1080p" (not equivalent to Full HD, as Full HD devices may not fulfill all HD Ready 1080p requirements), or the older "HD Ready" logo, a display device has to cover the following requirements:
| Requirements | HD ready | HD ready 1080p |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum native resolution | 720 vertical lines in widescreen ratio |
1920×1080 |
| Analogue YPbPr HD input | Yes | Yes |
| Digital HDMI or DVI HD input | Yes | Yes |
| The HDMI or DVI input supports copy protection (HDCP) | Yes | Yes |
| 720p HD (1280×720 progressive @50 & 60 Hz) | Yes | Yes |
| 1080i HD (1920×1080 interlaced @50 & 60 Hz) | Yes | Yes |
| 1080p HD (1920×1080 progressive @24, 50 & 60 Hz) | No | Yes |
| Accepted video formats are reproduced without distortion | No | Yes |
| Display 1080p and 1080i video without overscan (1:1 pixel mapping) | No | Yes |
| Display native video modes at the same, or higher, refresh rate | No | Yes |
Older products that bear the label "HD ready" may not display the full picture resolution possible from an HD source. Most HD ready sets do not have enough pixels to give true pixel-for-pixel representation without interpolation of the higher HD resolution (1920x1080) – or (in rare cases) even the lower HD resolution (1280x720) horizontally (CRT based sets, or the plasma-based sets with 1024x768 resolution). This limitation has been removed for the "HD Ready 1080p" logo.
The term HD compatible is also being used in Europe to indicate that a display device has HDMI capability, but with lower than HD ready resolution.
The following technical references apply to the above descriptions:
DVI: DDWG, “Digital Visual Interface”, rev 1.0, April 2, 1999 as further qualified in EIA861B, “A DTV Profile for Uncompressed High Speed Digital Interfaces” May 2002, furthermore allowing both DVI-D and DVI-I connectors, requiring compliance to both 50 and 60 Hz profiles, and requiring support for both 720p and 1080i video formats.
HDMI: HDMI Licensing, LLC, “High-Definition Multimedia Interface”, rev.1.1, May 20, 2004
HDCP: Intel, “High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection System”, rev 1.1, June 9, 2003.
(NB: on DVI HDCP rev 1.0 will apply)
YPbPr: EIA770.3-A, March 2000, with the notice that the connectors required may be available only through an adaptor.
[edit] References
- ^ Twist, Jo. "Confusion over high-definition TV" BBC News Retrieved on November 26, 2008
- ^ SES ASTRA (June 4, 2004). "HDTV specifications and timetable agreed by SES ASTRA and industry partners from all over Europe". Press release. http://www.ses-astra.com/business/en/news-events/press-archive/2004/21-06-04/index.php.
