With 5.1 separate channels of surround sound engulfing the room, it brings a total theater experience straight into your home.

HDTV is 100 percent digital, so there's never any chance of image distortion or disruption. And with thousands of hours of high-definition programming available each week and more on the way, there is no end in sight to the possibilities of totally immersive viewing encounters for you and your family.

Are there different types of HDTV sets?
There are. Depending on your individual needs and specific circumstances, including room layout, budget, and priorities, there are several options to choose from. Flat-panel LCD's and plasmas offer the best space-saving solution; however, they tend to be more expensive than other alternatives. Rear-projection systems offer relatively large images at more affordable prices, but they may not fit into certain rooms due to their size. Front projectors offer the biggest HDTV images, but conditions such as room brightness can limit their full potential in certain spaces. Direct-view HDTV sets offer the time-tested reliability of television picture tube technology, but their larger size can make placement in certain rooms tricky. At the end of the day, room size, lighting conditions, and budget will help you to make your choice.

Do I need special equipment to show HD on my TV?
An HD-enabled unit is really the only piece of equipment you'll need. Standard television sets do not have the ability to generate the image quality of HD. In addition to the display, you'll also need a programming source, such as an over-the-air receiver and antenna, cable television HDTV set-top box, or direct broadcast satellite HD antenna and receiver. Those are the main components for receiving HD on your TV. Adding a home theater sound system will allow you to experience the rich audio experience to complement your dynamic picture quality.

What's the difference between Wide-screen, Full, and Zoom?
It's all about how the image is displayed. Ordinary TVs are usually square, while HDTV sets are rectangular in shape. Because of the difference in their aspect ratios (4:3 for ordinary TV and 16:9 for HDTV), various options are available to accommodate an ordinary TV image that is displayed on an HDTV.
One approach, called "window view," keeps the original square format of the typical TV aspect ratio, while placing vertical black bars on either side to fill the wide-screen HDTV. A second approach has the HDTV zoom in on the original TV picture, which fills the screen, but at the same time cuts off portions of the image that fall outside of the zoom range. The third approach stretches the image horizontally to fill the wide-screen HDTV, often resulting in a somewhat unnatural "stretch effect." And finally, a "theatrical," or "panoramic," view can be set to combine the proper aspects of the zoom, resulting in a full view and noticeably reducing any degrees of image distortion at the same time.

What's the difference between 720p and 1080i?
In the United States, there are two transmission standards for HDTV: 720p and 1080i. In a 720p display there are 720 individual horizontal lines, each with 1,280 pixels. Likewise, in a 1080i display there are 1,080 horizontal scan lines in a picture, with 1,920 individual pixels.
The letters "p" and "i" refer to how the lines are presented on-screen. The letter "p" stands for progressive scan, meaning the display writes the lines to screen one after another (line No. 1, line No. 2, line No. 3...line No. 720). The letter "i" stands for interlaced scan, meaning the odd-numbered lines are written first (1, 3, 5... 1,079), and then the even lines (2, 4, 6... 1,080). The process happens so quickly that before the light emanating from the odd-number lines has completely faded, the even-numbered lines have been scanned, and vice versa.

What are the benefits of having HD sound?
2.1 Surround System
Using exclusive advanced processing techniques and sound phasing, S-Force PRO creates the full surround landscape with two speakers and a subwoofer. The purple orbs illustrate where listeners of the S-Force PRO-based Sony DAV-X1 2.1 surround sound system would perceive speakers to be.
Digital 5.1 Surround Sound Setup
Five speakers and a subwoofer create the digital 5.1 surround sound landscape. They are positioned front left, right and center, rear left and right. The ".1" in 5.1 systems signifies the subwoofer used to create bass that's felt as well as heard. The foundation of the HD sound experience is digital 5.1 surround sound, an encoding, decoding and playback system that produces an aural experience for HDTV viewers that places them squarely in the on-screen action. Together with a 5.1 receiver, HD speakers immerse HDTV viewers in a fully encompassing audio landscape that was created specifically for HD programming.