High Definition Television (HDTV) is subject to much debate in the industry. The economic opportunity has prompted a high level of competitive activity. The cable community must appraise the business and technical impact of HDTV amid a blizzard of conflicting information. The brief summary of several systems and discussion of the various techniques presented is intended as some small aid to this effort. Two of the many technical issues raised by HDTV, noise and reflections, are assessed with particular attention to the effects of time compression.