High-definition television

High-definition television is a television system that displays images at substantially higher resolutions than standard-definition television. It is commonly delivered through digital video formats such as 720p and 1080i.

Image resolution: Image resolution is the amount of spatial detail represented in an image, often measured by pixel dimensions. HD formats specify more picture detail than standard-definition formats.
Digital television: Digital television represents and transmits television signals as encoded digital data. HD is commonly carried within digital television systems.
NHK: NHK is Japan’s public broadcasting organization, founded in 1926. Its engineers led early research into high-definition television.
Digital television transition: The digital television transition is the replacement of analog television broadcasting with digital broadcasting. Digital broadcasts enabled broadcasters to transmit HD channels more efficiently.
Progressive scan: Progressive scan displays each video frame as a complete image, drawing its lines in sequence. The “p” in 720p and 1080p identifies this scanning method.
Video compression: Video compression reduces the data needed to store or transmit moving images. Compression makes high-resolution television practical within limited transmission capacity.
MUSE: MUSE is an analog high-definition television system developed by NHK for satellite transmission. It was a major early attempt to broadcast HD before digital television.
Blu-ray: Blu-ray is an optical disc format designed to store high-definition video and other digital content. It brought full-length HD films into home video libraries.
Interlaced video: Interlaced video divides each frame into two fields containing alternating lines, displayed in succession. The “i” in 1080i denotes interlaced scanning, an HD format.
H.264/MPEG-4 AVC: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC is a video-coding standard that compresses video for storage and transmission. It has been widely used to encode HD broadcast and recorded video.

Linked from 8 pages