Watching HD on your PC

I was asked recently if the so-called HD a friend has been watching on his laptop was true HD? Here's a little about what I found out. The upshot is that computers aren?t ready for proper new format HD video yet (but companies like Sony are working on it, and microsoft are ironing out some glitches in their new operating system Windows Vista). You can still use your computer to test the improved clarity of HDTV without spending a small fortune on a HD Ready TV though.











Computer Specs for HD TV
Watching HDTV content is system intensive so you?ll need to make sure your machine is up to it. I have been digging around and I've found that the recommended minimum spec is:
For a mac: iMac G4 (although G3 users can use the latest Quicktime)
For Windows: Windows 2000/XP PC with a 2.0GHz CPU, 256MB RAM and a 64MB video card.

Screen Display
You will need a screen display that is capable of 1024 x 768 resolution. This delivers a better than standard definition picture although its not really true HD.

To get the best out of HD
Ideally you?ll need something a bit better to enjoy the full benefits of HD downloads: a resolution of 1600 x 1200 (now one of the most common) will let you watch at maximum resolution 720p videos, but you?ll need a widescreen plamsa/LCD display to go up to 1080p properly.

For more information than you will ever need (if you can understand it) visit the Wikipedia HD page: HERE

- Paul Williams