High-definition television (HDTV) means broadcast of television signals with a higher resolution than traditional formats (NTSC, SECAM, PAL) allow. Except for an early analog format in Japan, HDTV is broadcast digitally, and therefore its introduction sometimes coincides with the introduction of digital television (DTV).

Historically, the term high-definition television was also used to refer to television standards developed in the 1930s to replace the early experimental systems.