I think that this person makes some very good points. I think HDTV is worth it in every way. Since 1080p displays are now available alot of the issues in this 1999 artical on HDTV should be rectified. People should definitely be able to see a big diference between SDTV and HDTV now. I also feel that this artical uses a couple or metaphors that could be used to discribe the BD/HD-DVD vs DVD and VHS conflict. Read this artical first: http://www.current.org/dtv/dtv910j.html What do you think, Ced
Have you seen a football game in HD yet, or a NASCAR race? I you have you would spend your money at all cost to get a HDTV.
Who is asking this question in 2005? Duh, we all know it's worth it. In 1999 it was a luxury and there wasn't a lot of programming for it, but now you can get a set for $500 and most of prime-time network shows are available in HD and the picture blows the living $h1t out of regular TV. No-brainer.
Dumb question here but what is the best setting as far as 1080p, 720p and 1080i 720p? I always see all the settings and I usually guess 1080p is the best.
Valor7 That's a scary sig. !?! bcardell, be careful w/ the swear words........Mods could get pissed off. Just letting you know ,since it said newbie. Yeah 1080P would be the best. I haven't seen yet how much those sets are going for now.
The point was to get people to think about what is really going on. Noone originaly demanded digital tv. Its one of those things that seem to be a step in the evolution of home intertanment that cannot be stopped. I for one welcome it with open arms. I love the flexability of an all digital system. I just wish thier wasn't some much ignorance. Most people think it has to do with cable or satellight but it doesn't. The change to digital channges the fundamentals of home and public (Movie Theaters) entertainment. Those changes include higher resolution, fidelity, and usability. Ced
In hdtv the number means how many vertical lines a video has, and the letter means if the signal is progressive scan or interlaced. In interlaced signal all even numbered lines are transmitted in one batch, followed by odd numbered lines. In progressive scan all lines are transmitted in one batch. So 1080i has only 540 vertical lines per frame. So the "ranking" of resolutions should be like this: 1. 1080p (1080 lines per frame, physical resolution 1920x1080) 2. 720p (720 lines per frame, physical resolution 1280x720) 3. 1080i (<- basically the resolution is higher, but progressive scan gives much better image quality in fast motion, such as games, sports etc.) 4. 480p 5. 480i As a sidenote: interlacing is being used to reduce transmission bandwith. Bit offtopic, but hdtv causes a lot of confusion. Nobody seems to know what these resolutions mean, they just think that bigger number is better. In a way that is the case, but not the whole truth. And answering the topic: hell yeah.
Nice break-down! <off-topic> Does anyone know what the resolutions are for Digital Cinema? 1) 4K (2160 lines per frame, physical resoultion 4096x2160) 2) 2K (1080 lines per frame, physical resolution 2048x1080) There is no need for i or p because the compression method is [bold]JPEG 2000[/bold] not MPEG The new standard for Digital Theaters: http://dcimovies.com/press/ </off-topic> You didn't think the movie industry would be beaten by your high tech living room setup did ya? j/k Ced
Hi Guys, It's been a while,but I'm back with some questions and a couple of comments.Firstly,I'm one of the shmoe joe public types thats older, and stumbling around the new technologies. 1) I find it hard to believe that you guys think that the general public (of which I am one) is all prepared to jump on the blue ray band wagon when as of this moment it is not backward compatible with current dvd's.Look at recent history,for most of the population,they only gave up their vhs tapes 5 or 6 years ago.During that time many have upgraded their tv sets to digital, and bought themselves dvd players,dvd roms.and dvd burners.Do you really think that they can afford to get an HDTV and a blue ray dvd player( that isn't backward compatible)?Plus,to buy an HDTV that has 1080P native resolution ( in Canada)it's going to cost at least $6000.If I want a beautiful picture from my tv,then I agree that HDtv is the way to go.But for me an HD-dvd player allows me more options and will at least play my current dvd's. Like most average shmoes I cannot afford to throw out my entire system just to have blue ray technology and I don't think many people can. 2) I have recently been researching HDTV'S and it's nearly impossible to find a company website that states a tv's NATIVE resolution.They are happy to tell you their display resolution but nothing about native resolution. QUESTION: is their ANY way to find out an HDTV's native resolution other than by talking with tech guys at a tv company or sales people at my local tv store.I want concrete proof of what any given tv's native res.is.Perhaps it will say in the tv's manual or somewhere inside the tv? Could any one help me with this question? 3) Sony has a nice 40 inch LCD HD widescreen tv (model #klvs40A10) on its Sony Canada website.The display resolution is 1366x768 and the native resolution is 720P.However it only has an analogue tuner , an analogue video system and it does not have the Wega engine.It is my understanding that if I buy a satellite system that has a digital tuner in it with a 1080i output then that fact that the tv only has an analogue tuner doesn't matter because I will connect the sat. box to the tv via a DVI connection.Is this correct? Also If I get( in 2006) an HD dvd player and use an HDMI connection between the two then the fact that the tv has an analogue tuner and an analogue video system wil be of no consequence.Is this also true? ANY help in answering my questions will be GREATLY APPRECIATED Thank You DVDDIVA
The players will be backwards compatible. Some will support all optical disc mediums and formats. Why would you have to throw away your entire system? The next gen players are will play on the older analog sets too. The picture quality will be limited to 480i but it will be a cleaner 480i picture than was ever possible before. This is all thankz to the all digital 1080p telecine proccess and the use of 1080p cameras durning production of some movies today. Not entirerly true. Best Buy and other retailers publishes the native resolutions of their tv sets. Most traditional (NTSC) sets are 720x480 capable but can deliver up to 720x540 pixels. The new HDTVs comply with the XGA and WXGA standards. But that doesn't mean much to the consumer because the content they watch will be from a DVD (480i/p), Satellight (480i-1080i), Cable (480i-1080i), or OTA (ATSC standard). All which conform to the DTV broadcast standards. With the next gen players the resolution will increase to 1080p (or 1920x1080). Check-out this page for more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_resolution The klvs40a10 does have the Vega light engine. The analog tuner only matters if your trying to pull things off the air. The tuner has nothing to do with the ability to recieve HDTV. When you have cable or satalight they provide a box. That box is the tuner/receiver. Thats why you don't have to connect it to your set's receiver. If your talking about the Sony it doesn't have an analog video system. LCD as a technology is digital. Because of that fact they look like crap when fed an analog signal. I will itirate, the analog tuner has nothing to do with your televisions inputs or ability to recieve HDTV. Ced
Thank you diabolos for your reply. How do you know that Blue ray will be backward compatible when it becomes available here? I just checked the Sony website and they show that the klvs-40a10 does not have the wega engine.Also by going to various websites like best buy or future shop you cannot be sure of what they state when it comes to the specifications of a given tv.For example, on a tv that I eventually did buy (Sony 42"LCD KDF-E42A10), on the Sony website they had incorrectedly listed the number of component outlets on the set that I bought.Now if Sony can't list the right specs.for their own tv's,I highly doubt any other website will do much better. Thanks again diabolos for your reply dvddiva
Samsung has already stated that they are working on a unversal DVD/HD-DVD/Blu-Ray player. The PS3 its self supports Blu-Ray, DVD-Rom, DVD-R/RW/+R/RW, CD, PS1/2, and SACD! ----- I stand corrected. It doesn't have the Vega light engine even though it has the vega gate on screen features, weired. The XBR version has the Vega light engine. As far as accuracy, a typo is a typo. Like I said before, all of the tvs conform to a certain resolution standard. 1366x768 sets have a max of 720p and 1920x1080 sets have a max of 1080i. In some cases 1080p. Do you understand what "Fixed pixel display" means? ----- Good choice on the tv though. What made you go with the rear projection instead of the flat panel? Ced
I wonder why people are so scared next gen DVD players won't be backwards compatible. It's always been seen that they support any older media that is still widely used. That's why DVD players can play CDs.
Thank You Biabolos, No I don't know what "fixed pixel display" means.What is it? I chose the 42"rear projection over the 40" flat panel because at the store they were right beside each other and when I had the staff insert a dvd ( The Fifth Element)into a dvd player and compared the two screen qualities I didn't see that big a difference to warrant the large gap in price. 40" flat panel = $ 2999.99 v.s 42" rear projection = $ 1969.00 Taxes not included.( 15 %) Both of these are on sale prices.Yes the 40 in.had a very,very slighty better picture but not worth $1000.more. I also liked the idea that in the next few years I can replace the bulb in the 42" and have the same brightness like new. Now that I have the tv in my living room I am so-o-o-o glad that I went with the bigger screen.2" does make a difference. A typo on websites regarding a large purchase does make a big difference .It seems that many websites were making not only the same typo but some other major mistakes as well. Like for instance s-video,yes or no.Hdmi or dvi hookups yes or no. upconversion yes or no.To me these inaccuracies ARE important to find before you waste your time going to a store to check out a tv. What I meant by saying throw out all your present equipment was that if you want to go with the new technology,you have to get an HDtv,and HD dvd player,and Hd satellite receiver.That's pretty darned expensive when just a few years earlier you laid out cash for a digital tv ,a dvd player and a digital satellite receiver.And when HD movies come out and you want to burn them your going to have to get new dvd roms and burners etc. Of course after you do all that then your going to find out that all of your new HD "stuff" is outdated because they are going to come out HVD's.( holographic video discs) It just never seems to end.It's like they think that the general public has the deepest pockets and can keep digging into them. Thank You again diabolos for all your help.
Well thats how it works. Its just that now its happening faster. The cool thing is media formats are only bit buckets. You can put HD movies on CDs if you want to but it would take a lot of CDs to get an entire movie. Ced
