The History of HDTV

The original idea for HDTV came from wide-screen movies. Soon after wide-screen was introduced, movie producers discovered that individuals seated in the first few rows enjoyed a level of participation in the action not possible with conventional movies. Evidently, having the screen occupy a great field of view (especially peripherally) significantly increases the sense of "being there".

It has taken a number of years, but the transition from analog to digital television (DTV) transition is picking up steam at a rapid pace. Television manufacturers are leading the charge. After all, they stand to benefit financially more than anyone. Industry projections say that roughly 79 million digital televisions will be sold in the next 6 years.