What is HD Ready TV, and is it still worth it?

Buying a TV is not as straightforward as it once used to be. Apart from deciding on size, brand and price, there are a lot of other crucial decisions as well. One such factor that needs to be considered is display resolution. We are sure you must have come across the term ‘HD Ready’ when shopping for a TV. So what is it? And is it still relevant today?

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What is HD Ready TV?

Most of you must already know that HD stands for High Definition. It basically has to do with the resolution of your TV screen. HD Ready, on the other hand, is a slightly different and a little confusing term. It came into circulation back in 2005. Our TVs used to be standard definition at that time – 640×480 pixels. HD televisions came in with1920×1080 pixels resolution. This is where the confusion arises. Even though HD Ready has HD in it, the resolution is not that.

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HD Ready offers only 1280×720 pixels resolution. You might be thinking then how come they show HD content? Well, they do it by internal processing. They down-scale the image to 720p and then this is what you see as the result on the screen. The resultant image for sure is better than the SD (Standard Definition) television, but it is not so much of an incremental upgrade. This goes without saying that it is certainly nowhere near a true HD image either.

Is it worth it?

Well, the answer isn’t so straightforward. It’s true that the market is currently flooded with true HD TVs in all sizes and price brackets. With the push towards 4K and ultra-HD, manufacturers are cramming as many pixels into a display as possible. Even content has largely moved towards high definition. But if you’re in the market for a secondary screen, a small TV for one of your bedrooms, or are simply shopping in a tight budget, then a HD Ready TV does make a lot of sense.