<p>Like many of his pals, Sumit chose to watch the FIFA World Cup matches at home rather than spend his evenings at the watering holes in the City. <br /><br />The difference between Sumit and his friends is that, he loves harping about how he could see the finesse of the green grass on the pitch, the sharply-defined features of Messi and the veins on the hand of Casillas when he saved a goal in the finals. <br /><br />“That’s high definition TV (HDTV) broadcast for you. It gives you the kick of a lifetime,” says Sumit, who recently purchased a LCD TV to watch the FIFA World Cup.<br /><br />“It gives you the clarity of a 35mm screen,” says Shihab, an IT professional working, seconding Sumit’s opinion.<br /><br />Sumit and Shihab sound like a happy bunch of neo-converts to the biggest technology change that is sweeping television screens across the City. <br /><br />HDTV offers viewers a cinema-like experience at home with images that are five times sharper than a regular broadcast, CD quality sound and a widescreen viewing experience.<br /><br />There has been a steep fall in price of HDTV’s in the last six months to make it more affordable. A 32-inch LCD TV costing Rs 50,000 is now sold at a slashed rate of Rs 36,000. While a 55-inch LCD TV costs Rs 1.5 lakh now. <br /><br />“There has been a 70-80 per cent jump in the sale of HDTVs in just six months,” says Naveen, who handles the television department in Girias. <br /><br />The pleasure of viewing high clarity images can be heightened by opting for blu-ray DVD players that are compatible with HDTVs. But, the high clarity comes at quite a high price. A blu-ray DVD player is available at Rs 9,999 and the price can go up to Rs 35,000.<br /><br />“A blu-ray disc is priced between Rs 999 to Rs 1,999. There are limited options available and most of them are international titles,” explains Chetan Rajashekar, store manager, Planet M. <br /><br />Now, even DTH providers like TataSky, Sundirect, Airtel are going the HD way. They are offering HD channels which have better picture quality. A HD set-top box will cost you Rs 2,999, while a DTH service without HD will cost Rs 1,600.<br /><br />Prices side, time you ditch the jarring black bars on screen and get set for a high definition thrill on your television.<br /></p>
<p>Like many of his pals, Sumit chose to watch the FIFA World Cup matches at home rather than spend his evenings at the watering holes in the City. <br /><br />The difference between Sumit and his friends is that, he loves harping about how he could see the finesse of the green grass on the pitch, the sharply-defined features of Messi and the veins on the hand of Casillas when he saved a goal in the finals. <br /><br />“That’s high definition TV (HDTV) broadcast for you. It gives you the kick of a lifetime,” says Sumit, who recently purchased a LCD TV to watch the FIFA World Cup.<br /><br />“It gives you the clarity of a 35mm screen,” says Shihab, an IT professional working, seconding Sumit’s opinion.<br /><br />Sumit and Shihab sound like a happy bunch of neo-converts to the biggest technology change that is sweeping television screens across the City. <br /><br />HDTV offers viewers a cinema-like experience at home with images that are five times sharper than a regular broadcast, CD quality sound and a widescreen viewing experience.<br /><br />There has been a steep fall in price of HDTV’s in the last six months to make it more affordable. A 32-inch LCD TV costing Rs 50,000 is now sold at a slashed rate of Rs 36,000. While a 55-inch LCD TV costs Rs 1.5 lakh now. <br /><br />“There has been a 70-80 per cent jump in the sale of HDTVs in just six months,” says Naveen, who handles the television department in Girias. <br /><br />The pleasure of viewing high clarity images can be heightened by opting for blu-ray DVD players that are compatible with HDTVs. But, the high clarity comes at quite a high price. A blu-ray DVD player is available at Rs 9,999 and the price can go up to Rs 35,000.<br /><br />“A blu-ray disc is priced between Rs 999 to Rs 1,999. There are limited options available and most of them are international titles,” explains Chetan Rajashekar, store manager, Planet M. <br /><br />Now, even DTH providers like TataSky, Sundirect, Airtel are going the HD way. They are offering HD channels which have better picture quality. A HD set-top box will cost you Rs 2,999, while a DTH service without HD will cost Rs 1,600.<br /><br />Prices side, time you ditch the jarring black bars on screen and get set for a high definition thrill on your television.<br /></p>
