Hd Tv

[DEANOROW]

Hi everybody, just thought i would see if anyone could help me out with a bit of a dilema im having.

Im looking at buying a new lcd tv and was all set on a sharp lc32p50e

http://www.digitaldirectuk.com/products_mo...product_id=8150

but i have have just noticed that it is not true HD just HD compatible.

And the question is for those in the know, will there be much diffrence between this set and a true HD tv?

The tv will mainly be used for watching sky, dvds, and ps2.

[Steve ( West Mids )]

When I read about it it said TV will be DVD quality with HD. There are more lines / dots whatever they are on HD hence the better image.

Worth looking at this re. confusion :(

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4361543.stm

Seems like it's going to pay more to get it on SKY next year :(

[Kent]

Hi everybody, just thought i would see if anyone could help me out with a bit of a dilema im having.

Im looking at buying a new lcd tv and was all set on a sharp lc32p50e

http://www.digitaldirectuk.com/products_mo...product_id=8150

but i have have just noticed that it is not true HD just HD compatible.

And the question is for those in the know, will there be much diffrence between this set and a true HD tv?

The tv will mainly be used for watching sky, dvds, and ps2.

←

There is no such thing as a "true" High Definition TV, either LCD or Plasma. HD compatibility means that the set has the necessary HDMI or DVI connection which will carry the HD signal when it starts being broadcast. Each set will have its own native resolution which will in turn need to be converted to as near as possible the resolution of pure HD signals. The new Sharp is probably not aimed at the HD enthusiast but at the price it sure offers value for money. Have a look at:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=104

[Brettster]

HD will be nice when its out

if you want to see how it will look

download some of the HD movie trailers from apple.com (if your pc is upto it of course) and see the amount of detail, but unless you are going to get sky's HD service or like me are going to be using it for games consoles, dont rush into it as theres no advantage for normal TV programs at the moment.

[DEANOROW]

Thanks for the replies. I think i will keep looking for now, Its only for the bedroom so dont really want to spend loads. Or I could just forget about it and blow the money on the lex.

Deano.

[Rob's Lexx]

don't know if its any help mate, but my folks (in the states) have got a HD on their brand new samsung fancy tv thingy

when i was over there at easter i was having a look at the difference in picture quality between no HD and HD channels. to be honest with you i would highly reccomend it because the imagfe is just so much sharper and the colour quality is second to none.

hope thats helped

[Mark D]

There is no such thing as a "true" High Definition TV, either LCD or Plasma. HD compatibility means that the set has the necessary HDMI or DVI connection which will carry the HD signal when it starts being broadcast. Each set will have its own native resolution which will in turn need to be converted to as near as possible the resolution of pure HD signals.

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There is such a thing as true HD TVs - there are 2 sitting in my place of work. They are CRTs though which were designed for HDTV in Japan, Korea etc.

Plasma and LCD have went towards computer screen resolutions, because it was the only real HD source available in the past - that's all changing now though, LG have released the first true high definition Plasma TV with a native resolution of 1920 x 1080p. Probably won't be cheap as it's 71".

[Kent]

There is no such thing as a "true" High Definition TV, either LCD or Plasma. HD compatibility means that the set has the necessary HDMI or DVI connection which will carry the HD signal when it starts being broadcast. Each set will have its own native resolution which will in turn need to be converted to as near as possible the resolution of pure HD signals.

←

There is such a thing as true HD TVs - there are 2 sitting in my place of work. They are CRTs though which were designed for HDTV in Japan, Korea etc.

Plasma and LCD have went towards computer screen resolutions, because it was the only real HD source available in the past - that's all changing now though, LG have released the first true high definition Plasma TV with a native resolution of 1920 x 1080p. Probably won't be cheap as it's 71".

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Yes, but if you look, I said, "either LCD or Plasma". As far as I know there are no plans to introduce CRT HD TVs for general sale in this country. Mind you CRT is superior to any other technology at the moment and you never know, somebody might introduce a PAL model for europe. They are very big and heavy though especially at the sort of screen sizes (32"+) which are popular here.

[aido]

Saw some HDTV kit in the USA the last time I was there and it's awesome!

At home I'm running the projector and have some 720p and 1080i material which looks impressive, but to be honest, if you're only going to use the thing short term for Sky, DVD's and PS2 you shouldn't really need to worry about true HDTV as you'll have nothing feeding it the correct signal, you'll probably only be getting a 480p signal at best out of those devices, you'd need a new Sky box to make use of their new technology and you'd need a special cable for the PS2 to make the most of that!

One thing to bear in mind is that some Plasma's are only going to last you four - five years - personally I wouldn't spend a fortune now for some stuff that I'll never be using - the next door neighbour spent 3 grand on his kit (Panasonic Viera) and it looks very nice, but he's only using the in built TV Freeview tuner and the shop hooked up the DVD player via RGB - seems a waste to me!

[Mr Morse]

One thing to bear in mind is that some Plasma's are only going to last you four - five years

←

Bollox mate!

Plasmas only suffer from screen burn when an image is displayled for a long, long time - like a logo in the TRHC

Most plasma screens these days move the image around by a few pixels to take account for this

[Mark D]

Yes, but if you look, I said, "either LCD or Plasma". 

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And I said "LG have released the first true high definition Plasma TV with a native resolution of 1920 x 1080p" :winky:

[Kent]

Saw some HDTV kit in the USA the last time I was there and it's awesome!

At home I'm running the projector and have some 720p and 1080i material which looks impressive, but to be honest, if you're only going to use the thing short term for Sky, DVD's and PS2 you shouldn't really need to worry about true HDTV as you'll have nothing feeding it the correct signal, you'll probably only be getting a 480p signal at best out of those devices, you'd need a new Sky box to make use of their new technology and you'd need a special cable for the PS2 to make the most of that!

One thing to bear in mind is that some Plasma's are only going to last you four - five years - personally I wouldn't spend a fortune now for some stuff that I'll never be using - the next door neighbour spent 3 grand on his kit (Panasonic Viera) and it looks very nice, but he's only using the in built TV Freeview tuner and the shop hooked up the DVD player via RGB - seems a waste to me!

←

Quite right Aido. Mind you the BBC and ITV are currently shooting a lot of their stuff with new HD camera equipment and they will not be far behind SKY. Still think it will be 18 months or so before it's worth buying anything.

[aido]

No not screen burn fella, was reading that the gases go wrong so the expected lifespan isn't more than five years!!!

[Mark D]

Bollox mate!

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Or alternatively you could have said "I disagree with you on that point"

[aido]

OK, just been updating my knowledge and seems the quote above is out of date :o

They're quoting 30,000+ hours usage for nowadays Plasma panels before they reach half brightness, that's a long time!!

[Mark D]

No not screen burn fella, was reading that the gases go wrong so the expected lifespan isn't more than five years!!!

←

I disagree with you on that point :P

Plama manufacturers are now claiming 60,000 hours of use, which if you take 5 hours of viewing a day that is about 30 years life expectancy - should be good for 10 at any rate.

EDIT - oops too late

[Kent]

Yes, but if you look, I said, "either LCD or Plasma". 

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And I said "LG have released the first true high definition Plasma TV with a native resolution of 1920 x 1080p" :winky:

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And you are correct sir Mind you at 28,000 Dollars and weighing 250lbs it ain't exactly mainstream. No sign of it in this country yet though.

[The Editor]

Thought I'd add my 2p to this thread....

Firstly, Plasma's DO last a long time - Longer than CRT's ..FACT. CRT's will go 'soft' after so many hours and apart from increasing the voltage on the cathodes and giving it a bit of a blast there is nothing you can do. The sharpness of the image will suffer and it will be like looking through a fog in severe cases. When a Plasma goes 'soft' it will simply decrease in contrast over time. The focus and sharpness will not be affected in the slightest. Many manufacturers actually build in a 'lifetime timer' into their panels which keep a tab on the number of hours usage and proportionally increase the contrast over the years to give you a constant level of brightness/contrast over the life of the panel. As a rule of thumb you will get around 20,000 hours from a plasma panel before you start to see a big difference in contrast ratio. That doesn't mean it will pack up or be unwatchable...it will just get dimmer !!.. Now at say 5 or six hours a day, every day, 365 days a year, that gives your circa 14 years before you might say "That pictures not as good as it used to be" Try running a CRT for that long and see how soft the picture is after 14 years !!

Secondly, there is currently NO INTENTION WHATSOVER from the British Government to transmit HD in this country !! They are only just now trying to get their act together with digital transmissions. The good old Labour idiots believe this is the way to go and what fantastic new technology it is !! :tsktsk: . If they had any sense at all (which we know they haven't) they would have taken this opportunity to switch us over to HD transmissions. Also don't get too excited about Mr Murdoch's offerings of so called 'HD'. If he follows true to form you will find that he will put out a plethora of channels containing rubbish rather than transmit just a few in true HD quality. What this means is he will pinch bandwith to enable more channels to be transmitted at the expense of bitrates and so the quality of the transmission will suffer !!

Thirdly, in this country, there is currently no medium for the general public to play HD even if their display device is 'HD ready. DVD is NOT HD and never will be (I know that's a simplistic view but what I mean is.. in it's current guise). Blu Ray (when and if it arrives over here) will give you that capability but are people willing to scrap their current film collection and go out and buy the lot again on a different format for the increase in picture quality? The general public won't bother!! There will always be a few A/V enthusiasts (myself included :winky: ) who will wan't the most up to date gear with THX certified amps and and a dedicated room to watch films in. But that won't account for the majority of A/V equipment sold in this country and so the manufacturers (and the Studios) will have to be very careful where and how they pitch HD over here.

Right... Rant over... :winky: ... will have to go and have a lay down now and pop in a third generation copy of an old VHS tape and wonder at the quality !!! :P

The Ed

[Kent]

Thought I'd add my 2p to this thread....

Secondly, there is currently NO INTENTION WHATSOVER from the British Government to transmit HD in this country !! They are only just now trying to get their act together with digital transmissions. The good old Labour idiots believe this is the way to go and what fantastic new technology it is !! :tsktsk: . If they had any sense at all (which we know they haven't) they would have taken this opportunity to switch us over to HD transmissions. Also don't get too excited about Mr Murdoch's offerings of so called 'HD'.  If he follows true to form you will find that he will put out a plethora of channels containing rubbish rather than transmit just a few in true HD quality. What this means is he will pinch bandwith to enable more channels to be transmitted at the expense of bitrates and so the quality of the transmission will suffer !!

The Ed

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There is one thing which is unarguable and that is that it will be a dogs dinner when it does arrive. Nice to hear your opinion of Our Leaders troops which I share and there is no doubt that if it were entirely up to them then Murdoch would be in charge of the BBC as well as the rest of the Government. The answer of course is to stop the public funding of the BBC and abolish the licence fee. The BBC has been turned largely into the Blair mouthpiece for political purposes and they (New Labour) have used the charter renewal as a cosh to beat them over the head with. However the image quality of almost any form of HD is so dramatically good that I think technology will have its way in the end.

[The Editor]

Hahaha.. not going to get into a political debate as if I start talking about our countries great leaders :yack: I will get all wound up and my blood pressure will go through the roof !!

In answer to your comment.. yes True HD is jaw dropping in quality. I liken it to the first time someone sees a DVD fed into decent display device after watching years of VHS !!

I agree, technology will win through in the end (even with the hinderance of Labour :tsktsk: ) but how quickly the British will embrace HD remains to be seen. The trouble is you still have companies fighting over formats for the mainstream introduction of HD (Mmmmm Beta v VHS :duh: ), HD DVD - vs- Blu Ray etc. Sony has adopted Blu Ray and want's the world to follow suit. It has a large arsenal of films at it's disposal that it can release on Blu Ray. Unfortunately the only ones that suffer are the consumer who will not want to invest their hard earned pounds on equipment that's so called 'ready for the next generation' only to find a repeat of the Betamax/VHS fiasco and be lumbered with HD gear with nothing to play on it !!

I'm lucky, as you can probably guess from my id, I edit things !! :winky: which means I get to play with all the best goodies and use some equipment that hasn't even been invented yet !! :P . That being said, I'm still not investing my own monwy (yet) in a full blown HD set -up for the home cinema until I know which way the world is going to jump and I suggest people waivering on spending money do the same. Certainly by the end of the year or into first quarter 2006 things should be a bit clearer (no pun intended !!!)

Cheers

The Ed

[aido]

I think Blu Ray will end up winning as it has superior content protection to HD-DVD and the PS3 will be shipped with a Blu Ray drive as standard - the XBox 2 was supposedly going to ship with HD-DVD drive but they are shipping with standard DVD drives with a view to moving at a later date, seems a bit of a silly move as developers will have to develop to DVD content to ensure compatibility with all of the consoles out there!

Looking forward to seeing how this war pans out :D

[The Editor]

Hi Aido,

There are ways round ALL protection. I haven't found a DVD yet from any region that can't be copied (for experimental purposes only of course ).

As you say though, seeing how the 'war' pans out will be interesting...

The Ed

[aido]

This is way beyond CSS mate as used on DVd's now, you're talking a system which connects to a central network to check if the disk or player key has been revoked, if so the player won't play!

It's a much tougher system than anything we've ever seen yet, the hacks will be well in excess of anything seen on the PS2 or XBox and they did some fancy work to get those cracked wide open!

If it resolves names via DNS then it will be easier to spoof at home (if that would be even possible) than if they were using IP addresses - whatever they do is going to be an absolute bitch though :o

[The Editor]

Mmmm... Don't plug the player into the network !!.. Problem Solved

I've not heard of this and wouldn't this discriminate against people that don't have phone lines (If there are people like that ). Also, what happens if a machine can't resolve an IP address cos the studios servers are down? That would be like saying "I've invited some friends round to watch a film (Which I've already bought and paid for) but we can't watch it cos Universal's servers are down !! :duh:" I wouldn't mind betting that this level of security will fall at the first hurdle and a greater encryption will be built into the multi layering of the discs. The studios will not want to lose out on sales becuase people refuse to plug their machines into... SKYNET

It's all far too much for a Tuesday afternoon

The Ed

[aido]

I know it's a joke mate but they're serious, your comments were also the first thing I thought of when I read it on another forum!

There is some stuff here:

http://www.dvdfile.com/news/viewpoints/edi...2005/09_18.html

The HD verison of T2 required that a license be obtained off the internet before it could be played - wouldn't surprise me at all if they do enforce this, the studios don't worry about ease of use, they're only bothered how much money they can make!

Like you say, it wouldn't surprise me to see this implemented and then common sense will see the light of day around the second or third generation of players!

Samsung are already on about making a player that will do both formats as they're getting fed up waiting to find out what format won the war this time around!

I'm sure the porn industry will decide which route to take soon, they're at the forefront of technology nowadays :o