hd

Let's get something straight: I hate the Yankees. I hate hate them, in fact. I don't like their uniforms, I don't like their owner's facial hair policy, and I really don't like Yankee Stadium, new or old. But I'll give 'em this: They have the sweetest TV in the bigs, and possibly in the world.

Just don't call it a JumboTron.

We all swooned when Canon brought 1080p video recording to the Eos 5D Mark II cameras and showed off the gorgeous footage. But unless you're a pro photographer who can get a tax write-off for it, how likely are you to shell out $2700 for the Mark II? Now, Canon brings HD goodness to the entry level with the $800 Rebel T1i. (Fortunately, Canon's products are more user-friendly than their names are.)

Last week Netflix quietly introduced HD to its streaming Internet service. Netflix didn't make a big stir about flipping the HD switch, though, and it's easy to understand why. (As company spokesman Steve Swasey said, "For now, the HD offering is more of a stake in the ground.")

the Blu-ray format stores and plays movies in high definition—easy for new flicks shot digitally in HD, but what about classics like Metropolis (due out on Blu-ray next year) that were shot on film? The trick is to make a small digital file without losing too much information in the process, which could yield a poor-quality image. Here’s how it works.

Sony today announced what it claims to be the smallest high-definition camcorder, the 10-ounce HDR-TG1 Handycam. Into this small package (1.3x4.8x2.5 inches), Sony sueezes most of the features that go into bigger models: including 1920x1080i resolution, a 10X optical zoom lens and face-recognition. It’s packed in a titanium shell with a scratch resistant coating that Sony calls “quite fashionable.”

Want some real home theater bragging rights? Instead of buying a projector capable of casting a 14-foot image at 1080p (progressive) resolution-the highest high-definition there is-build one yourself. After all, the front projector´s innards are simple: an LCD lit by a superbright lamp, and a few lenses to magnify and sharpen the image. Retail models start at around $800 and use proprietary $400 lamps that burn out every few years. But cheaper lamps work equally well, and none of the other parts are very expensive. Why not put one together yourself?

DLP (Digital Light Processing), a low-cost leader in big-screen HDTV technology, uses a chip with thousands of micromirrors to display pictures. But there´s a limit to how small the mirrors can become and still produce a good image. Texas Instruments, which makes the DLP chips, maxed out with its 1,280-by-720 array, short of the highest-quality HD resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels.

HDTV sets are stunning—until you pop in a movie and are reminded that DVDs are not recorded in high definition. At 480 lines of resolution, they don’t even begin to take advantage of a 720- or 1,080-line display. That will change later this year when Toshiba introduces the first high-def disc player for the U.S. market. Toshiba’s breakthrough box, an HD DVD player that at press time was still unnamed, will cost about $1,000 (toshiba.com).