Are you ready for the HD?

It is now looking more and more that the time to move to HD (high definition) is upon us. In fact, I know (and envy) quite a few people that recently acquired new HD Ready television sets.  The next step after getting an HD set is to pump some HD content on it - otherwise its like owning a colour TV and only watching black & white content on it. It is a common misconception that hooking up an HD TV will automatically improve everything to high definition. This is simply not true and in fact, some SD (standard definition) content will actually look worse on an HD set due to the image being resized to fit the higher resolution.

So here is my list of where to obtain HD content:

SKY HD: With Sky HD, you can get movies, sports, nature shows and even Eastenders in HD (mostly in 1080i). You however need to fork out for the Sky HD box plus HD subscription on top of your normal Sky subscription (in the US, some companies such as Time Warner Cable offer free upgrades to HD including a free HD cable box...)

High Definition DVD: Now that it looks like Blu-Ray has won the next-gen DVD format wars, it is fairly safe to jump on the high def DVD wagon and never look back. Blu-Ray DVD offers movies in glorious 1080p resolution and also includes loss-less surround sound. It really is the best way to enjoy movies at home! My only issue with this format is that its specification is not complete (currently at 1.2). This means that the player you buy today (with the exception of the PS3) will not be capable of taking advantage of the v2 BD profile (extras that include internet content aka BD-Live) when it comes in October 2008 (?).

Online: There are many sources of HD content online. From movie trailers, free video podcasts to full blown movies. You can use devices such as the Xbox 360, Sony PS3, AppleTV or even your laptop to download and watch HD content on your HD TV. The amount you pay will depend on the service you use and also bare in mind that online HD content is usually of less quality than physical media due to higher compression. It will still look better than ordinary DVDs.

Upscaled DVD Playback: If you are not ready to jump to the next gen DVD format, then why not invest in an upscaling DVD player. Whilst not true HD, this kind of DVD player can improve normal DVD pictures by using a special chipset to upscale the image to look good on HD sets. I recently picked up an upscaling Phillips DVD player for £39!

You: Yes that's right, YOU! Next time you are getting a camcorder, get one that records in HD and enjoy the playback on your TV. Also, most digital still cameras already take pictures in HD resolution so hook it up to your tele and enjoy.

Have I missed any other ways of getting HD content? Be sure to let me know in the comments