To get the best out of HDTV in your home, you'll need both a receiver that's compatible with HD signals and a high-definition screen that can reproduce the extra color and detail. But which devices and channels are available, and which ones are best for you?

Many people pay huge amounts of money for HDTV, without giving serious thought to how they plan to use it. This how-to article aims to help put together the pieces of the puzzle, in order to avoid expensive mistakes, and to make sure you enjoy HD at its best. First, we take a look at which HDTV signals are actually available.

You shouldn't consider what equipment you'll need until you know what type of HDTV signals are available in your area. In the United Kingdom, the number of HDTV channels is growing. Freeview (DVB-T) offers none at present, but Freeview HD is expected to launch in some regions in December 2009.

Cable currently offers just one HD channel (BBC HD), but there are plans to launch a further six in late 2009. Satellite service Sky+ HD, on the other hand, already offers 33 channels that broadcast partially in HD, again with plans to introduce further channels in the near future. The non-subscription satellite service Freesat, introduced in 2008 by the BBC and ITV, only offers two HD channels: BBC HD and ITV HD.

The United Kingdom's main cable operator, Virgin Media, currently broadcasts just a single high-definition channel, BBC HD, but has announced plans to add six more HD channels later this year. A small selection of on-demand HD content is also available.

Avoid confusing "digital cable" with HDTV via cable - HD cable channels are indeed digital, but not all digital channels also deliver HD signals. The "digital cable" to which most people commonly refer gives the viewer access to more channels than with analog cable, and at slightly better quality - though still below the level of HDTV. If you want to access HDTV via cable, you may need to upgrade your set-top box to a version that's compatible with the higher-quality signals.

This HD-cable set-top box from Virgin Media provides U.K. customers with access to BBC HD and a range of on-demand HD content.

• an HD-compatible TV,
• a subscription to a cable operator offering HD channels (in other words, to Virgin Media),
• an HD-compatible set-top box (supplied by Virgin Media to its customers for a monthly subscription fee).

If you have a clear view of the southern sky, and live in a house where you're permitted to fit a satellite dish, it's worth considering satellite reception. You can either opt for Sky Digital's subscription service, or simply benefit from the large number of standard-definition channels available without a subscription.

Satellite offers better quality, even with standard-definition content, since it provides channels with significantly more bandwidth than is possible via DVB-T or cable. The increased quality is particularly obvious on a modern, flat-panel TV, where every extra drop of detail results in a visibly better picture.

Essential for HD enjoyment via satellite: a satellite dish.

• an HD-compatible, flat-panel TV,
• an HD-compatible satellite receiver (already integrated into some new TVs),
• a satellite dish,
• HD channels, and possibly also a subscription.

The United Kingdom's selection of HD channels is fairly impressive, as long as the customer is prepared to pay for a subscription to Sky Digital. Those opting only to view free-to-air channels currently only have access to BBC HD and ITV HD, although this number may increase, with offerings such as Channel 4's "4HD" (currently only available through Sky) planning to launch on other platforms in the future. The U.K.'s free-to-air channels and Sky Digital's encrypted channels are both broadcast on the Astra (28.2°E) and Eurobird 1 (28.5°E) satellites.

Freesat is a new system that provides an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) for existing, free-to-air, digital satellite (DVB-S) channels, as well as some interactive content. Only Freesat-branded set-top boxes and TVs can access this additional content, but the channels remain available - without an EPG - on non-branded boxes and IDTVs.

Indeed, since Freesat only provides access to free-to-air channels, it does not use a conditional access module (CAM). Existing satellite receivers will therefore continue to receive channels, despite the introduction of Freesat, but will not gain the additional benefits of Freesat's interactive content.

The difference, therefore, between Freesat (DVB-S) and the widespread DVB-T system, Freeview, is that Freesat services (that is, the EPG and interactive content) are only accessible on Freesat-branded devices, while all such Freeview services are available on all DVB-T devices. Freesat specifies various technical conditions that a receiver must satisfy before it receives certification and, with it, access to the Freesat EPG.

Unlike Freesat, Sky Digital's systems rely on access cards. Using these cards in unofficial CAMs - that is, in non-Sky-branded devices - is reported to work in many cases, but the card might need to be plugged into an official Sky box periodically. As with Virgin Media, using Sky cards in this way is actually forbidden by the operator.

To confuse matters even further, Sky has introduced a system called "Freesat from Sky" (or FSFS), which also offers an EPG, interactive services, and access to free-to-air TV channels, as well as access to some encrypted "free-to-view" (or FTV) channels. FTV channels require no subscription, but are often encrypted to prevent access abroad, for example. One crucial difference is that FSFS will only provide access to HD channels if you buy the more expensive Sky+ HD box.

The advantages of Freesat from Sky over Freesat are minimal, especially since an increasing number of channels are now free-to-air - as opposed to free-to-view - and therefore no longer require the FSFS access card. Tellingly, Sky has recently stopped marketing its FSFS system online.

TV pictures in HD quality are addictive - it's no wonder that viewers long for more and more high-definition content, beyond that which the sources described above have to offer. The best choice of source device is the Blu-ray player; this delivers excellent HD pictures in the highest resolution (1080p), and at the original movie frame rate of 24p. Blu-ray uses a very high data rate, together with the most modern forms of compression, such as VC-1.

Brand new and one of the best Blu-ray players on the market: Pioneer's BDP-LX52.

There are a few key factors that you should consider when buying a new TV: screen size, resolution, and screen type (plasma or LCD).

This factor depends primarily on how far you plan to sit from the screen and, of course, on which resolution you prefer - or which resolution is available. As an approximate rule of thumb, the ideal viewing distance is between 1.5 and 2.5 times the screen diagonal.

If you want to watch a lot of high-resolution material, such as Blu-rays or HD channels, then you should opt for the lower end of the scale (1.5 x screen diagonal) in order to benefit from the extra detail. If, on the other hand, you plan to enjoy mainly standard-definition pictures (DVDs, analog TV), then you should aim for 2.5 x, so that you don't see the picture's flaws as strongly.

Both technologies have their advantages and disadvantages. Plasma TVs have the benefit, for example, that they produce enormously deep blacks and fluid motion. On the other hand, they consume more power than LCD TVs, and their screens reflect more ambient illumination - be it from outdoors or from nearby lamps.

LCDs are hopeless when compared to high-end plasmas in terms of accurate motion depiction and performance in completely dark rooms. But they score well with glare-free displays that are more effective than plasmas in bright rooms. If you'd like to read more about the plus and minus points of plasma and LCD TVs, please read the following articles: Plasma Technology Explained and LCD: The Dominator.

Full HD plasma with an HD-capable multi-tuner: Panasonic's TX-P 42 G 15.

This also depends on your viewing distance and the size of the screen. You'll only notice the greater detail of 1080p on larger screens (46 inches and above) and from a suitably short viewing distance. Many people are surprised to hear how few 1080p sources there actually are. If, for example, you watch HD channels via cable or satellite, these offer you 720p or 1080i, but not 1080p. Only Blu-ray players or games consoles such as the PlayStation 3 deliver 1080p.

This raises the question of whether you absolutely need a Full HD TV. Only you can answer this question, since only you know your viewing distance and choice of video sources. Those who want to be sure of never missing even the smallest detail, and who primarily watch Blu-rays, will always reach for a Full HD TV - there's no question about that. But bear in mind that not all Blu-ray Discs deliver an absolutely top picture - there can be considerable differences in quality. You can find out more about the quality of individual Blu-rays in our Blu-ray movie reviews - we review not only the movie itself, but also the sound and picture quality.