What makes a screen "HDTV"?

I wasnt sure where to ask this but..

Ive always wondered what does a screen need to have the HDTV capability?
Because ive seen many different screens who have this capability, and their image quality differs A LOT. Some are extremely sharp, yet they have the same sticker as the ones who almost look like regular LCDs.

What am i supposed to look for when comparing screens? Ive heard contrast ratio is important as well, but ive noticed most tvs over 8000:1 ratio look pretty much the same (so hot... wish i had enough to buy one, its all going to my m1330 )

Anyway, thanks to whoever clears it up for me in advance.

 

HDTV capability, or High Definition Tele Vision capability, refers to a display that has a higher resolution than a standard display and is also capable of displaying the full resolution of high definition content such as HDTV, HD-DVD or Blu-ray content. The resolution varies between 720P (1280x720P) and 1080P (1920x1080P) with the latter being the best and higest resolution standard at the moment.

A 1080P screen is normally found on 17" notebooks such as the Dell Inspiron 9400.

For a more detailed look at what HDTV is please see here.

 

All a screen needs to be HD (or HDTV) compatible is to have more than:

720 lines of vertical screen resolution in a widescreen format (ie. more than 1280 x 720) for good old "720p" HD video signals

or 1080 lines of vertical screen resolution in a widescreen format (ie. more than 1920 x 1080) for "1080p" 'true HD' video signals.

Of course to enjoy HDTV, you'd probably be wanting an HDTV tuner installed in your PC (provided the TV companies in your area actually broadcast in HD)

With computer screens the difference between a 720p compatible set and a 1080p set is much more noticeable, as you sit much closer..

With TV's the difference between a 720p set and a 1080p set viewed at nine feet only becomes noticable at sizes over 40" I believe.

I also see someone has beaten me to the reply, with a much more concise definition (a higher definition perhaps?) Well, I spent 5 minutes writing this so I'm going to post it god-dammit!

 

also the "p" in 720p or 1080p stands for Progressive. You may also see 1080i where the "i" stands for INTERLACED. The difference is pretty simple. When refreshing the screen INTERLACED fills in the odd numbered linesfrom top to bottom and then comes back to fill in the even numbered lines. In PROGRESSIVE, it fills in ALL lines from top to bottom resulting in a much better image. So look for the "p" when shopping for an HDTV.

 

Well i really appreciate all of your answers, thanks for taking the time to write it!

I guess there are other reasons besides the resolution that makes screens (at least notebook screens) look much better from brand to brand.. damn the diversity AHH!

I really hope i can brag with my LED m1330 cause ive been blabbing about getting a laptop for so long there will be hell to pay if i dont get everybody impressed! haha

 

here's a rough guide: anything over a million pixels

 

Keep in mind that television wide screen is not the same as computer wide screen, with TV being 16:9 ratio and pc at 16:10. The differences of hi-def on small screens, like a computer, are hardly noticeable if your using it to watch tv, you will really only notice a difference if you have a large, 50+in tv. 1080p on a computer is overkill.

 

Exactly, lordofericstan. It's not exactly comparing apples to apples here.

 

I would tend to disagree with this statement as I use a Dell 24" monitor with a resolution of 1920x1200 and HD content looks miles better than standard definition TV, which I also watch on this monitor using my TV tuner, or any other lower resolution video. The difference between HDTV and HD-DVD content is even noticeable on this display and I have thoroughly enjoyed using this monitor as an all-purpose display for all my uses be it website design, Photoshop, TV viewing and watching movies.

In saying this, viewing HD content on a 24" monitor would restrict you from sitting further away compared to a 50" screen that would allow a much greater viewing distance.

 

I disagree with that statement