• I-link is-8000
• I-link is-9000
• Sonicview 8000 HD
• Sonicview 360 Elite
• Sonicview 360 Premier
• Sonicview iHub
• Conaxsat Nano 2

For the past couple years, the general public has been in an uproar of confusion about the switch to digital television and the influx of information about HD TV. What’s the difference between standard and high definition television and what’s the big deal anyway?

The main aspect that differentiates high-definition televisions from their standard definition counterparts is their ability to decode a much higher resolution for video. Video on a television is made up of a series of lines on the screen. Each of these lines carries a different part of the image. Standard definition TVs supports approximately 600 lines of resolution. High-definition TVs support up to 1080 lines of resolution, making images nearly twice as detailed as on standard TVs. In general the picture and sound quality of high definition televisions is much higher.

But the TV itself isn’t the only important part of watching television in high definition. High-definition TVs depend on the quality of the signal being broadcast. Until recently, all television broadcasts were sent in analog form. This meant that there was a limited amount of space in the signal, and that small amount of space had to be split between the audio and video information. Everything is now broadcast digitally, which means not only is there more space for data in the signal, but true high-definition images and digital surround sound will be broadcast over the airwaves. One of the most important pieces of equipment in a high-definition TV is the tuner. An HD tuner receives the signal being broadcast over the airwaves or from a cable box and decodes it into a format that the television can understand. The signal must pass through this small piece of equipment before your TV will work. Without an HD tuner, you could still hook up a DVD or Blu-Ray player to your high-definition TV, but watching regular or cable television would not be possible.

If you have a FTA receiver attached to your TV, these will work a little differently. When purchasing your free to air receiver, you will have the choice between standard and high definition FTA. Many FTA receivers are upgrading from standard definition (SD), as HD is starting to become more popular and affordable. They can have HDMI and component video outputs to provide high-quality video to the TV, and Dolby Digital outputs for surround sound audio. They feature on-screen guides and menus for easy navigation and some have recording capabilities, as well as parental controls. Many come with a USB connection to link to a computer for viewing programs or to upgrade software.

Whether standard or high definition, you will connect the FTA receiver to a satellite dish, then configure the settings of the dish to pick up the signals from one of the many satellites in orbit (there are around 63 over North America). These satellites have a number of transponders, which the receiver scans to detect the channels on each transponder, known as a blind scan. The channels are then sorted and identified in a manner similar to a cable or satellite provider’s channel lineup, only at no cost to you.