The rapid development of digital technology and digital convergence has led to some remarkable advances in the quality of audio and video broadcast and in the consumer devices that bring sound and vision into the home.

Chief among these advances is digital television, from which High-Definition Television (HDTV) was first researched more than 40 years ago.

More recently, the flat-panel display, using either LCD or plasma technology, has become commonplace, and flat-panel TV sets and PC monitors are now being mass-manufactured by the majority of major consumer electronics companies. While HDTV-capable, widescreen, flat-panel TV sets, employing multi-channel sound, are widely available and becoming more affordable, the number of broadcasters creating and transmitting HD content is still rather limited.

This paper discusses the deployment of HDTV in key selected countries outside Europe and the relatively slower take-up within Europe. What constitutes HDTV and its astonishing picture quality are explained in non-technical terms. Finally, it is highlighted how Philips strongly supports the case for HDTV in Europe, describing the customer benefits, the availability of ?HD-ready? products, emerging new and advanced video codecs and the company?s capabilities and credentials in digital TV, set-top box and semiconductor technologies.

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