LCD Question

Depends on viewing distance but I can easily tell 720p from 1080i/p sources on a 40" Full 1080 display.

I don't agree - whilst the differences may be small, and not an issue for many, it isn't true to say 720p looks "no worse" than 1080i (or 1080p) on a 40" display. It does.

BluRay and HD-DVD - which are 1080p on disc - are clearly and visibly better in 1080p than in 720p on a 40" Full 1080 display,



Total bobbins.

Very little US HD stuff we get to see in HD is shot 720p.

Even shows made for 720p US networks (ABC, Fox and ESPN) are usually shot/edited in 1080/24p (Arrested Development was a notable exception being shot on Varicams in 720/24p), as are shows made for the US 1080i networks (NBC, CBS, PBS and pretty much every other HD operation)

The exceptions to this rule are entertainment and sports shows - which are either shot 1080/60i or 720/60p - not 24p.

You will see this become clear when HD-DVD and BluRay releases appear - Heroes is 1080p on HD-DVD for example...

If we ever get Dancing with the Stars in HD - that is shot 720/60p - as it is an ABC show and they are a 720p network.

However the ABC show Desperate Housewives, which we will hopefully get on C4HD in 1080i will have been shot/edited 1080/24p...

(Many US shows are still shot on 35mm film at 24fps and telecined to HD at 1080/24p)


That is a very confusing statement.

All HD Ready displays "support" 1080i and 720p sources. Very few HD Ready displays have a native 1280x720 resolution - those that do are mainly projection based (DLP panels come in 1280x720 formats)

If a display is not 1920x1080 native it is likely to be in one of the following resolutions :

1024x720 (small plasma - 37" )
1024x768 (mid plasma - 42" )
1024x1024 (ALiS plasma - interlaced based on 1024x512)
1024x1080 (ALiS plasma - interlaced based on 1024x540)
1280x720 (mainly DLP projector and some LCD projector?)
1366x768 (LCD and some plasma)
1920x1080 (LCD and some plasma, and some DILA/SxRD LCOS projectors)

As you can see there are a range of displays - from



The price of good Full 1080 displays is dropping though - and if you want to watch decent HD movies sourced in 24p without the annoying 3:2 pulldown judder then you need a 24p "True Cinema" or similar display - and often this is limited to Full 1080 panels (though Sony have a 32" 1366x768 model as well)

If you are going to watch Sky HD, BluRay or HD-DVD on a large panel, then it is worth considering.

If you are going for a 32" or possibly even a 37" (unless you sit very close) then you may not benefit from Full 1080 - though Hitachi now do a Full 1080 37" LCD...



Yep - but equally if you are going for an HD set because you want the best quality TV, then Full 1080 is undoubtedly better quality (all other things being equal) for the best quality HD sources.

One of the tipping points for going for a Full 1080 panel LCD over a 1024x768 plasma was the difference when watching BluRay and HD-DVD 1080p sources on the two displays.

Yeah I did rather mess up that post -- serves me right for reciting from memory something I haven't even looked at in a couple of years

I do rather take issue with the 720p vs 1080i being noticeably different though. Yes, on a very high end screen you may notice the difference, but on a typical consumer-grade TV there are other factors which matter far more than resolution. To get a TV that can differentiate well you need to spend rather more than £600.

I apologise for the confusion over US TV -- I knew that some broadcasters were 720p, but didn't realise that others were 1080i.

Point being though that 1080i is still nothing to 1080p, and buying a 1080p TV (with at least 1920x1080 resolution) simply to watch Sky Sports is something of a waste of money IMO.

At the end of the day though it's up to the buyer to decide. My advice would still be to buy the best 720p-capable screen (with a resolution around or slightly more than 720 pixels high) than go for the latest technology and skimp on quality, unless you can afford to spend £1500. The ongoing reliability questions regarding panel-based TVs are still a major concern IMO.

Working for an electrical retailer as I do, I actually have to sell these screens on a day-to-day basis.

Firstly, do not get a flatscreen TV unless you need to save space, want to wall mount, or intend to go HD - despite all the hype, conventional CRT is still far and away the best display technology available for standard definition. LCDs and plasmas, no matter how reputable the manufacturer, all display horrendous levels of distortion as they struggle (badly) to scale a standard-def image onto a screen capable of higher resolution. No current flatscreen technology can scale as well as CRT can. The only one I've seen even come close is Pioneer, and they only make high end 42/50/60" plasma sets, which are as big in price as they are size.

If you are looking much above 37", you'll find plasma will usually be better, as a plasma screen is faster and doesn't suffer from motion blur as badly as an LCD, also the black levels are much better (by definition an LCD can never display a true black as the backlight as permanently on).

If you are looking at a <= 32" set, it will be LCD by definition as plasmas aren't economically viable any more at this size. It's well worth paying the extra pennies to get a set with 100Hz scanning which helps to reduce the jerkiness of LCDs. The best players to go for in this market are the Panasonic LXD70 series, Sony 'D' series or Samsung 'M' series.

And on the 1080p issue - it's worth bearing in mind that Panasonic and Pioneer sets are capable of scaling a 1080p input down if one is applied to a non-1080p model. So if you aren't going to stretch out to Full HD, at least one of these sets will still be able to show *something* when/if 1080p becomes commonplace.

But if you're happy with standard def TV and have a serviceable CRT which you can live with the size/space/power requirements of, then I'd leave it just where it is; flat panels will do nothing to improve your viewing experience.

that is absolutely true, i'm really not impressed with my Samsung HD 26 inches, especially during movement, its all ghosty and not fluid, its even likje that on HD, it completely ruins the HD effect!

Well I went down to my local dealer and had a look around, but didn't talk to anyone as it was extremely busy - about a 20 minute wait. While looking around I liked the look of a Samsung LE-M87BD, I thought the picture was brilliant upclose and from far away. Its a 40 inch and is 1080p HD Ready with 3 HDMI. Also, its £999.99 and is the newest model.

Some of you have asked whether i'll be going HD and the answer is yes. I'm going to get SKY HD mainly for the Sport, Movies and Entertainment Programmes and I'm thinking about getting a PS3.

I'm going back to the dealer tomorrow, to see if they can put anything that isn't HD on the screen to see what it looks like.

One thing I would want to see first is what a SD picture looks like on a HD TV.

I have a 37" Samsung and the SD picture is far worse than than my old 32" CRT TV.

When I bought it last Christmas I was taken back by the HD video they had and just got it but as 90% of my viewing is on SD video (thanks Virgin!) I would really want to be satisfied with the SD picture quality before buying another HDTV.

One thing that makes up for it is using the Xbox as a Media Center, downloading films & TV shows in HD and playing them via the Xbox has been incredible for a 2 gig download!

I'm steering well clear of Samsung televisions in the future. I bought a 19 inch widescreen one in March. Just three months later, it completely packed in. I switched it on one morning and it just wouldn't come on. I took it back and after waiting for the full 28 days while it was at Samsung, it came back repaired but wonky - somehow the base had been broken. They also screwed up on delivery of the repaired television - they'd put it under someone else's name and it was only through my investigation that it was eventually returned to me. As you can imagine, it went straight back and I got a Sony instead. I haven't had any trouble from it yet....touch wood!

Big is not always beautiful. TVs with a size anything over 37" are really designed to be used with HD broadcasts and if your entire viewing consists of SD material, as it does for most of us, the bigger the screen the more amplified the flaws in the picture become.

But that, really, has always been the case with ANY TV whether LCD or big box - the 14" portables I always find give the clearest picture through having a smaller screen whereas the bigger the screen gets, the more the flaws show up.

> As you can imagine, it went straight back and I got a Sony instead. I haven't had any trouble from it yet....touch wood!

... which shares most of its components with the Samsung.

However, remember that some companies only take the top 10-20% of their production line and sell the rejects off to other companies to be re-badged and resold.

DON'T TOUCH A SAMSUNG, even with somebody else's bargepole.

If you do, you'll seriously regret it.

Well, regardless of that, the Sony is infinitely better than the Samsung. It has a better picture, better menus and is much more solidly constructed. I've had this one since early summer and, as I said, haven't had one complaint with it yet.