Ever since the invention of the television set, new technological innovations have changed the way we use it, starting with the advent of color TV. In the beginning a new black and white TV cost about what an average household earned in a month, so comparatively speaking it would be the same as if a small black and white TV cost about three or four thousand dollars today. As these technological innovations have made their appearance, so too has the overall cost of using a TV come down.

High Definition Television - a new type of television that combines a High Definition Television tuner and an HD-capable display. Almost all of HDTV available in the market use the 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. A High Definition Television tuner can receive analog and digital broadcasts over the air. High Definition Television compatible TV features only the high resolution display and can only receive digital broadcasts if connected with a separate HDTV tuner. HDTV ready TVs can have the 16:9 widescreen ratio or the square like 4:3 aspect ratio.