High Definition video is nothing particularly new, but for consumers who've been stuck with old, large, heavy and bland CRT television sets for ages it is truly a breath of fresh air.

However, HDTV is a bit of an umbrella term that can be applied to a variety of different products and services, and some companies are slapping the HD label on things that have very little to do with HD in order to jump on the powerful marketing band wagon that has been generated.

So let's examine the key features of HD TV, both the televisions themselves and the programming that is currently available.

HD TV Sets

HD TV sets are usually flat panel monitors and the most common varieties either use Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD) or Plasma in order to produce an image on the screen. LCD screens are usually used in the smaller TV's, between 15" and 40", and plasma screens are usually in the 40" plus range, but to the common man there's little difference between the technologies.

You can get an HD TV set for under £300, but the bigger brands and sizes will set you back slightly more, but ultimately you'll be rewarded with richer, deeper colours, higher contrast ratio to get the blacks really thick and a better range of brightness, as well as longer life out of your screen, so don't necessarily go for the cheapest, no-name HD TV.

The reason that HD is called high definition is because it offers far more detail than old TVs are capable of displaying, and there are three main HD resolutions employed by various HD video and gaming content.

These are 720p, 1080i and 1080p in ascending order of detail. Not all HD TV sets will be capable of displaying in all of these resolutions, and 1080p is considered to be 'full HD', but this is usually only available on the larger more expensive high definition television sets. However, if you're used to watching standard definition content then any one of the above resolutions will seem like a massive leap forward.

Because HD TVs are less bulky and require less power than old CRT TVs they are also more energy efficient, and you should look for the ones that come with a built in Freeview tuner so that you're prepared for the digital switchover and not relying on a separate set top box.

HD TV Broadcasts

Currently the only way to watch TV channels in HD is either to have a subscription based satellite TV package that includes HD channels or a set top box and a satellite dish compatible with the new free to air service Freesat HD. There are a selection of channels which are available in HD, including many of the main terrestrial channels, and film channels as well.

To plug your HD viewing box to your High Definition TV you'll usually need either an HDMI (High Definiton Multimedia Interface) cable, or a component video cable.

The former is an all in one HD solution whilst the latter requires more wires and is less common except for on older HD video sources. You can also watch HD video from Blu Ray discs if you have a compatible player and an HD TV, and most of the modern consoles available will display games in HD which is essential if you want to see the latest games in all their gory glory.