Does DVD support HDTV (DTV/ATV)?
Currently, HTDV is not directly supported by DVD-Video. HDTV standards were not finalized when DVD was developed. Since most HDTV systems are based on MPEG-2, it could be easy to “upgrade” the DVD format. The upper-end DVD players will convert video from existing discs to the standard-resolution progressive scan DTV formats. HDTV sets appeared in 1998 at very high prices. It will take a few more years before even a small percentage of households have HDTVs. Those who postpone purchasing a DVD player because of HDTV are in for a long wait. At some point there will be an “HDVD” format, probably around 2003 at the earliest. HDVD players will play current DVD discs, and will make them look even better on HDTV displays. Ironically, DVD-ROM computers will support HDTV before DVD-Video players, since 2x drives coupled with appropriate playback and display hardware can already meet the requirements of HDTV.
HTDV is not directly supported by DVD-Video. HDTV standards were not finalized when DVD was developed. In order to be compatible with existing televisions, DVD’s MPEG-2 video resolutions and frame rates are closely tied to NTSC and PAL video formats. DVD does use the 16:9 aspect ratio of HDTV. Since most HDTV systems are based on MPEG-2, it could be easy to “upgrade” the DVD format. The limited data rate of DVD may make it difficult to support high-quality HDTV, but this can be solved by increasing the spin rate (a double-speed DVD-ROM drive exceeds the 19 Mbps US DTV data rate) or by using higher-capacity blue or purple lasers (already demonstrated by Toshiba and others). Either case will require new players and additional standards. It’s expected that future DVD players will convert video from existing discs to the standard-resolution progressive scan DTV formats (704x480x24P and 704x480x30P). The resolution and frame rates of DTV in the US will probably correspond to the ATSC recomm
