is my tv digital? hd? analogue?

[DVD_NDN]

alright. hi

so I guess this is a pretty airhead question... I was born blonde.

I was reading a post here about the upcoming cutoff of analogue broadcast... or something to that effect.. no more rabbit ears was the point.

and it talked about digital tv being what the main medium was going to be. and it got me thingking - 'ok, I'm not in the US (canadian, eh), but I wonder what my tv actually is'.

all I can say offhand is that its 27" flat screen. says alot huh?
I found the specs on it.. but.. well, I'm looking to find out from all of you knowledgable people exactly what my tv is.. is it digital? analogue? hd ready? (I sincerely doubt its HD as its not a letterbox tv, though it has the option to compress the screen to 16:9... btw... whats with that??)

heres the specs: (from the 'sharp' website)

CU27F630
Enjoy the sleek, smart style of Sharp's new 27" flat picture tube color television with the new X-Flat cabinet design and double baffle side firing speakers. SRS surround sound delivers superior audio, and V-compression allows you to view DVD widescreen movies with full vertical resolution in their native aspect ratio. Advanced features include a 3-line comb filter, contrast enhancer, and VMS. Add the convenience of a universal plus glow remote and complete set of jacks including component and S-video inputs. All of these extraordinary features are packaged in our innovative, new X-Flat cabinet design that adds to the aesthetics of your home and the true experience of home entertainment!


3-Line Comb Filter
Separates the color signal from black and white to reduce noise and artifacts resulting in higher quality picture


SRS Surround Sound
Allows for 3 dimensional sound without using external speakers.


10.0 W Audio Out
Leads to a more powerful sound


Velocity Modulation Scanning (VMS)
Increases the refresh rate on the image on the display tube, resulting in brighter and more accurate picture quality


Universal Plus Glow Remote
Controls TV, DVD, VCR and most cable boxes. Glow buttons make it easy to operate in dimly lit rooms.


Rear Component Video Input
Allows you to enjoy the highest quality video with your TV and other video sources.


Variable Audio Output
Lets you turn off TV speakers and enjoy the sound from your stereo speakers. Volume is still controlled with your TV's remote.


Screen Size
27" Diagonally Measured


Picture Tube
Flat


Sound
MTS Stereo with Second Audio Program


Rear Inputs
Component, S-Video


Cabinet Color
Light Silver


General Features
Energy Save

V-Chip

Closed Caption

Black Level Expand

Blue Screen

Color Temperature

EZ Setup

Sleep/View Timer

Tone Control


Weight (kg.)
41


Dimensions (w x h x d)mm
761 x 598 x 515


ENERGY STAR®*
*As an ENERGY STAR® partner, Sharp has determined that this product meets the ENERGY STAR® guidelines for energy efficiency. ENERGY STAR® is a U.S. registered mark


UPC
74000357419

................ picked it up about 2 years ago or so at futureshop, paid about 500 I think... to be honest I cant remember.. I just saw candy in my price range and got it... anyway, can somebody tell me what it is (spare me the 'junk comment) - and I am STILL confused by the whole aspect ratio option on it.. I mean.. why? if I am watching a show that is broadcast in hd or letterboxed.. it just compresses it further.

thank you VERY much...

[reboot]

It's analog, standard 4:3 aspect.
If you have a widescreen dvd (16:9) you have the option of playing it widescreen (letterboxed top and bottom) or fullscreen (with the edges cut off).
Analog broadcast is not being cut off, but in many areas "Over-the-air" broadcast (the rabbit ears antenna type) will be, as cable runs the show (owns everything). Thanks to Shaw and Rodgers for this, only communities with NO cable in place will have OTA broadcasts, and only until the cable can be put in place.
Certain networks will always have an OTA presence, such as CBC, but networks such as ITV (the whole "global" bunch) are under no obligation to do OTA broadcasting, and are switching off the transmitters.

[Richard_G]

Your TV is a standard analogue 4:3 aspect ratio TV. Not digital, not HD just plain ordinary. The 4:3 means the ratio between the picture width and height, so if the picture width was 4 feet, the height would be 3 feet.

16:9 is refered to as widescreen, so the TV screen is wider but not so tall so movies made for the cinema look more like how they were intended. On a standard TV, widescreen videos will either show up as full screen but the edges are cut off or letterbox view where you get black bands at the top and bottom. This is so you still see the full picture.

HD is High Definition. This is something that is getting popular in the US (and Canada too I believe) because the quality of standard TV is so poor. The quality of a standard, not high definition, DVD is better than a TV is capable of displaying. The development of high definition TV sets is to improve the picture quality and those developing the system are going a few steps further and getting even better quality still.

Digital and HD are not the same thing, but tend to get confused. Virtually all countries are moving away from analogue to digital broadcast methods. To receive a digital broadcast you will need either a separate digital receiver that plugs into your existing TV or a TV with a built in digital tuner. The fact that digital can easily cope with HD (and widescreen) content, means that digital broadcasts often carry HD content. If your TV is HD, you'll see the difference, if it isn't, it will look just the same as everything else.

In the UK, we have had digital broadcasts running alongside the original analogue for about 4-5 years. Virtually all programmes are broadcast in widescreen, digital receivers are around £40 (about 85USD) and TVs with integrated digital tuners are only slightly more expensive than those without. Widescreen TVs are much more common, I don't know of any digital TV that isn't widescreen, and the only 4:3 TVs still available in any quantity are the little portable sets.

But to answer your question, yours is none of the above....

[DVD_NDN]

thank you very much guys.
youve answered my questions quite well.

once the price drops, or I get a raise (From either of the two jobs) I'll be looking to upgrade..... though to what.. I'm not sure yet..

point I should keep in mind? I've got expressvu satellite on the way... should be alright on what I got now.. but once I get me one of them newfangled plasma tvs or something else with all the gadgetry and doohickies, well .. I'll be .... using better words than 'doohickies' and 'newfangled gadgetry'.

thank again

[reboot]

It'll work just fine on what you have now.
If you upgrade to a true HD TV, then you'll get a better picture