Test Tubes - digital TV; automobile video

Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, July, 2000 by Ian Baldwin

INTERLACING. The way analog TV works: The picture tube first draws all the even-numbered lines, then all the odd-numbered lines.

PROGRESSIVE SCAN. The way a computer monitor works: All lines are drawn sequentially from top to bottom.

HDTV. Digital sets capable of displaying a very high number of horizontal lines: 1,080 for interlaced or 720 for progressive (hence "high definition").

SDTV. Digital standard-definition sets: 480 progressive lines of resolution.

ASPECT RATIO. The shape of the screen. Regular TVs are a squarish 4 by 3; HDTV was designed for cinemalike 16 by 9 screens (though 4-by-3 HDTVs are generally cheaper).

REAR PROJECTION. A system to project images from within a TV set. Used for screens 40 inches and bigger.

DIRECT VIEW. The standard system for TVs smaller than 40 inches. Digital televisions can be either direct view or rear projection.

PLASMA. The screen used for flat, hang-on-the-wall TV sets. Most plasma sets are standard-definition digital, but Pioneer sells a 50-inch high-definition model for $20,000.