All HD is DTV but not all DTV is HD

   Perhaps one of the most misunderstood aspects of Digital TV is that not all DTV is HD.  The terms DTV and HDTV seem to have become synonymous. They are not.

   A trip you your local big box store will demonstrate this.  There are several TV models now offered that have 4  x 3 aspect ratio screens and resolutions of 480 lines.  They have digital tuners and can receive the over-the-air and cable digital broadcasts.  They are indeed Digital Televisions, but they can not display High Definition Television. 

   Recently an “expert”  on a local TV channel opined that “in 2009, all US television broadcasts will be in HD and all TV sets must have an HD Tuner.”  This is not correct.  The FCC has no regulations whatsoever about broadcasting in HD. In the future it may be that all TV is in HD but for now there are various “flavors” of DTV.