Now that we have high definition (HD) television in Hong Kong (well, one channel plus ATV’s pathetic two hours per night), retailers want to sell us HD televisions.
You will find that you have a choice between so-called ‘HD ready’ and ‘Full HD’ screens. Both are high definition, but so-called ‘Full HD’ is a higher specification:
| 720i – 1280×720 interlaced | 720p – 1280×720 progressive scan (HD Ready) |
| 1080i – 1920×1080 interlaced (HD Ready) | 1080p – 1920×1080 progressive scan (Full HD) |
The catch is that there are no broadcasts of so-called ‘Full HD’ television in Hong Kong or anywhere else. The best you can get are 720p (Now TV) or 1080i (TVB & ATV). So the only way you will get 1080p is if you buy a Blu-Ray player and discs. And we know how popular they are…
Perhaps even more importantly, very few people can tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p, and only on sets larger than 42″. And how much sense does a really large TV make in the average Hong Kong apartment?
And if you have a really large set with all those pixels and you watch standard definition television (which is still how most programmes are made), or watch a VCD, it looks pretty horrible.
So save a few dollars and buy an ‘HD Ready’ set.
Ordinary Gweilo 
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