Televisions Buying Guide

Sky HD

Sky's investment in high-definition broadcasting is the single biggest since the satellite company first launched. Very few details have been announced, but they've shaken up the TV industry. Sky requires your TV to have an HDCP-compliant input so you can't copy any of its broadcasts -- systems in the US are freely open to recording.

On the broadcasting side, the company has plenty of content that it can import from around the world. Major series in the US such as 24, Joey and The Sopranos have been filming in hi-def for a while, and there's a wealth of nature shows and films that it could import as well. But the real driving force is likely to be sport, for which Sky holds many exclusive rights. Once the mass market sees how crystal clear Premiership football can be, expect them to upgrade quicker than you can say 'Golden Balls'.

Check out our guide to high definition for more information.

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HD DVD

Toshiba's HD DVD format looks to have the early lead over Blu-ray. Manufacturing of the discs is based on exactly the same technology as standard DVDs, plus the discs can have HD on one side and standard DVD on the other. This means you can carry on using the same disc when you upgrade to an HD DVD player.

HD DVD's big win was securing major studios such as Universal, Paramount and Warner Bros to release movies in the format. This means that the big movies such as Batman Begins, King Kong and War of the Worlds are pretty much guaranteed for the format. Movie fans are salivating at the prospect.

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Blu-ray

In a VHS versus Betamax for the modern age, Blu-ray is going head to head with HD DVD. The two camps have tried to sort out their differences but a truce looks unlikely. Sony's format is technically more advanced, with 50GB capacity compared to HD DVD's 30GB, plus it's recordable. In terms of costs, HD DVD is likely to be cheaper overall, because Blu-ray will require completely new manufacturing techniques, whereas HD DVD requires only adapted DVD plant. However Blu-ray has one key factor that could win the war overnight -- Sony's PlayStation 3 (see below).

On the software side, things look less rosy. The only major studio to jump into bed with Sony is 20th Century Fox, but the company has access to a massive catalogue of movies including X-Men, and TV series including 24. Disney has also pledged support, as well as Sony's own movie studio Columbia, which has access to franchises such as Spider-Man, as well as the recently acquired MGM (James Bond).

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PlayStation 3

PlayStation 3 is powerful, so powerful that games will be made in high definition as standard. The console itself has two HDMI outputs, to send an HD signal to two TVs at once. For us, it's even more of a reason to upgrade to a flat-screen TV.

Although games have been progressing in terms of detail and effects over the past two generations, they have been running at the same basic resolution. Once games make the leap into high definition, the claims of photorealism will become all the more believable, and the hope is that games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will be even more immersive.

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Xbox 360

If you want to experience high definition as soon as possible, then Microsoft's next games console looks like it will be first out of the blocks. While the graphical power of Xbox 360 and PS3 will be a war of words over the next year, we know that Xbox 360 will offer high-definition games as standard, and titles such as Project Gotham Racing 3 look very realistic in early screenshots. Of course, early games will only offer a fraction of what's actually possible from the console, but as Xbox 360 is much easier to program for, launch games are likely to look more impressive on Microsoft's console than on PS3.

Another recent development is that Microsoft has got behind the HD DVD format. While the launch Xbox 360 won't support HD DVD (Microsoft is making enough of a loss on the console already), it's entirely possible that later revisions will support HD DVD movie playback.

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BBC HD

The BBC has only just got through the launch of Freeview, and the next major project for the corporation is the analogue service switch-off. While an expensive high-definition rollout is therefore a long way off, the BBC still faces a predicament. HDTV countries such as America and Japan will not pay as much for programmes that aren't in HD. As Auntie exports many of her shows overseas, she needs to start moving over to HD technology fairly soon. The BBC has made a commitment to film all content in HD by 2010, by which time other services such as Sky should have made an impact in the market.

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Telewest/NTL HD

In the cable field, NTL has made it very clear that it wants to get into HDTV, and it has already tested services in built-up areas such as Glasgow. The increased bandwidth needed by high-definition video will be provided by ADSL2+ technology, which is the next generation of broadband. For a relatively modest investment of £50m, NTL can give its 3 million subscribers (and 5 million further homes that its cables pass) 24Mbps lines, which might not mean anything to TV viewers, but it will have computer users salivating at the prospect.

This massive bandwidth would offer a huge amount of content to homes. Tech consultant Rethink Research has hypothesised that it would be possible to have a single HDTV channel taking up 10Mbps, two standard TV signals at around 5 to 7Mbps, with any one of these lines being used for Video on Demand, and still have room for an 8Mbps high-speed Internet line.

BT is working towards a speed of 18Mbps for the next generation of broadband, which would also be fast enough for streamed high-definition video. Once this infrastructure is in place, anyone from around the world will be able to provide content (as long as they have the considerable infrastructure to support it) and the whole market could be opened up even further. Who knows, you may even get high-definition video reviews from CNET.co.uk within a few years.

For a more comprehensive guide to high definition, have a look at our special feature.

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