:-(
A former member
You'll need to find a true specialist. These chains are not worthy of being used for an analysis of the quality of a toaster, never mind an HDTV.
I've seen Sony's demonstration of HD in Tokyo on a 60" plasma, and believe me when I say that that really was impressive. And to be fair, seeing Sky HD for the first time yesterday through a Technisat LCD panel (£1500 for a 32", and Technisat are quite a well regarded German manufacturer) I have to say that artefacts don't seem to be a major issue from what I saw, the picture is certainly substantially better than a 28" WS Sony CRT I compared it with.
I've seen Sony's demonstration of HD in Tokyo on a 60" plasma, and believe me when I say that that really was impressive. And to be fair, seeing Sky HD for the first time yesterday through a Technisat LCD panel (£1500 for a 32", and Technisat are quite a well regarded German manufacturer) I have to say that artefacts don't seem to be a major issue from what I saw, the picture is certainly substantially better than a 28" WS Sony CRT I compared it with.
JH
I suggest that if you think you've seen a proper HD demo and you weren't that impressed (or worse, think it was no better than SD!) then you simply haven't seen a proper HD demo. Compression and artifacts are going to be an inherent problem with HD transmission, but view a properly encoded HD source on a large HD display and the results are simply stunning.
Be aware that the number of full resolution HD displays that can natively resolve 1920x1080 pixels is very limited indeed. Most 'HD Ready' displays can only resolve 720 lines and downconvert 1080 sources. Having said that, not many broadcasters are expected to transmit in 1080 just yet, although I expect someone else can fill us in on that.
And I agree with earlier comments on the 80s Trinitron picture - if it dosn't display digital artifacts, that's probably because it can't ! No one except the marketing guys ever said that digital transmissions were better quality than off-air PAL in good reception. It just isn't. But don't blame the display!
Be aware that the number of full resolution HD displays that can natively resolve 1920x1080 pixels is very limited indeed. Most 'HD Ready' displays can only resolve 720 lines and downconvert 1080 sources. Having said that, not many broadcasters are expected to transmit in 1080 just yet, although I expect someone else can fill us in on that.
And I agree with earlier comments on the 80s Trinitron picture - if it dosn't display digital artifacts, that's probably because it can't ! No one except the marketing guys ever said that digital transmissions were better quality than off-air PAL in good reception. It just isn't. But don't blame the display!