There are several reasons why the high definition broadcast (ATSC) is better than the normal standard definition (NTSC). To begin with, HDTV utilizes the highest quality standards for video and audio. ATSC (Advanced Television Standards Committee) is a digital video format which provides a picture with a much higher screen resolution, resulting in a picture that is up to 10 times sharper than the normal NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) broadcast.

In addition, due to the use of a different aspect ratio, there is about 30% more of the high definition picture to see. The normal standard definition picture uses a 4×3 aspect ratio, meaning the picture on your television is 4 parts wide to 3 parts tall, or in other words 1.33:1. High definition uses a 16×9 aspect ratio, 16 parts wide to 9 parts tall, or 1.78:1, also known as widescreen.