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Currently (July 2011), you can buy two categories of high-definition
TVs - 720p (up to 1366x768 pixels native screen resolution) and 1080p
also known as Full HD LCD and plasma TVs. Almost all 1080p/Full HD TVs
have a native screen resolution of 1920x1080 pixels, regardless of whether
the screen size is 32" or 55". The cheapest TVs have a 720p
screen resolution. Almost all 1080p TVs have a 16:9 aspect ratio - the
ratio of the width and the height of the screen. If a TV screen or PC
monitor is set to use a resolution other than its native resolution,
the picture quality will be poorer (deteriorates). All flat-panel LCD
and plasma TV screens always display everything at their native resolution,
which is all they can display. On a 720p TV, all incoming video is displayed
at 720p, and on a 1080p TV, all incoming video is displayed at 1080p.
Click here! to go to the information on this page on 120Hz LCD TVs.
The p after the 720 and 1080 stands for progressive-scan, which defines particular TV sets as being capable of refreshing the whole screen at once instead of in interlaced mode, which refreshes the odd-numbered and even-numbered lines of the screen alternatively. TVs that are specified as 1080i, or even the older 480i, can only use the inferior interlaced mode of operation. You won't find many 720p and interlaced-mode 1080i screens nowadays; they were common during the early days of high-definition screens.
1080p screen resolution - 1,920x1,080 pixels - is currently (July 2011) the high end of HDTV resolution, because most 1080p HDTVs display all of the pixels of the highest-resolution HD broadcasts. They have more than twice the screen resolutions of 720p models, which are usually 1,366x768, 1,280x720, or 1,024x768 pixels. HDTVs that use any of those three native screen resolutions are usually tagged with a 720p specification.
A HD TV with a screen resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels can display a full HD 1080p image. To view Full HD's 1080p detail optimally, a 37" model at least is recommended.
For more information of screen resolutions, visit the Monitors section of this website.
Note that even though flat-panel monitors and TVs (using LCD and plasma technology) with LED backlights are being marketed as LED monitors or TVs, they use LCD technology. LED screens merely use a different lighting technology. LCD monitors and TVs that use CCFL backlights are still very good and are usually cheaper than models with LED backlights. However, it must be said that monitors and TVs using LED illumination tend to produce a more vibrant-looking picture. There are two main types of LED illumination - the cheaper edge-lit LED, which has the LEDs around the edge of the screen, and back-lit LED, which has the LEDs arranged around the whole screen.
Plasma screens use a technology that illuminates each pixel of the screen individually, which enables very high contrast ratios, which is the ratio between the display of black and white, because pure black can be displayed beside pure white, which is not the case with the two types of generalised LCD illumination.
Plasma 1080p TVs currently (July 2011) still cost significantly more than LCD TVs. The prices are constantly changing and you can often find big price differences between dealers, so I am not going to give examples of the price differences between actual models of LCD and plasma models. If you want to find out what the price differences are, you can make use of a suitable search term in the Google search box provided at the top of this page (enable the Web Search option on the first search page). Search queries such as 1080p lcd, full hd lcd, 1080p plasma, full hd plasma, etc., should bring up the links to the major price-comparison sites and information and vendor sites. If you have a particular screen size in mind, such as 42", include it in the search term.
1080i used to be the high-end of HDTVs . It has the same 1,920x1,080 screen resolution as 1080p, but produces the images in an interlaced format. Remember that the i in 1080i stands for interlaced.
In a tube-based 1080i CRT TV, the odd-numbered lines of the screen resolution appear on the screen first, followed by the even-numbered lines. Non-interlaced formats, such as 480p, 720p, and 1080p produce all of the lines of resolution in a single pass, which produces a clearer, more stable image, especially with motion-intensive graphical content.
Unfortunately, all of the 61 HD channels in the UK broadcast at 1080i resolutions and it is not likely that they will move to 1080p (Full HD) soon, because of the bandwidth issues that 1080p creates. Video is compressed at the output source and decompressed at the input source, so the video stream has to take up as little download bandwidth as possible in order not to slow down the download speeds for the users in a particular area. But using 1080i resolutions isn't much of a problem because it is very difficult for the human eye to distinguish between an 1080i and an 1080p broadcast.
List of HD channels in the UK [January 2011] -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hd_channels_in_the_uk
The SD in the term upscaled SD used in the article linked to above stands for standard definition - the standard resolution used by standard digital TV (SDTV) broadcasts. To upscale with regard to video means converting video from a low resolution to a higher resolution. An SDTV broadcast can be upscaled to occupy a screen with a high-definition resolution of 1920x1080 pixels.
Even high-definition games on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 are usually viewed in 720p native screen resolution, although they can be upscaled to 1080i or 1080p in the user settings of those games consoles.
Currently, the only way to get 1080p output, apart from connecting your PC to a HDTV, is to make use of a high-definition Blu-ray or HD DVD player. All Blu-ray players (and some high-end HD DVD models) support 1080p, moreover, the majority of Blu-ray and HD DVD discs are encoded at 1080p.
Note that Toshiba has abandoned its HD DVD standard, having lost the HD war to Sony's Blu-ray standard. Blu-ray movies are all in Full HD.
When a broadcast is interlaced (1080i, or even the older 480i), all fixed-pixel (non-CRT) LCD and plasma TVs convert it to progressive-scan (e.g., 720p) for display.
The process of converting resolution is usually called scaling, but it is also called upconverting or downconverting.
Video scaler - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/video_scaler
When a 1080i broadcast is picked up by a 1080p TV, it is converted to 1080p with no resolution conversion. The 1080i broadcast is de-interlaced for display in 1080p. Some HDTVs do a better job of this de-interlacing process than others, but, usually, the degredation produced by improper de-interlacing is difficult for most viewers to detect.
Nevertheless, how well a TV does or does not handle scaling and de-interlacing are significant factors in how desirable it is regarded as being. However, both of those factors are difficult to capture as a specification, so it is advisable to read professional reviews of TVs in order to find out how well they handle them before you make a purchase.
When a 1080i signal is picked up by a 720p TV, it is scaled to 720p. Most recent HDTVs have this capability.
When a 1080p signal is picked up by a 720p TV, if it can accept a 1080p signal, it will be scaled (downconverted) to 720p. However, note that many older 720p HDTVs, and even some older 1080p models, do not accept 1080p signals at all, in which case the screen will be blank. Fortunately, most recent HDTVs accept 1080p signals.
Several years ago, many 1080p TVs were not as sharp as their manufacturers claimed. In other words, many older 1080p models could not display all of the two million-plus pixels of the 1080p resolution; they could not display every line of a 1080i or 1080p broadcast. Fortunately, that situation has now changed. Most 1080p TVs are now capable of resolving 1080i and 1080p video fully.
Most professional reviewers agree that with TVs 50 inches (50") and smaller, the added resolution provided by 1080p has a very minor affect on the quality of the picture. When 720p TVs are placed beside 1080p TVs and they are displaying the same content, whether it is 1080i or 1080p content, even from the highest-quality Blu-ray and HD DVD players, it is usually very difficult to detect any differences in the way that grass, hair, fabrics, or country scenes appear. The more so from further than eight feet away from 50-inch or smaller TV. Note well that high-end sets are not an exception in this regard. 1080p resolution, which determines picture sharpness, is the same, and must not be mixed up with black levels and colour accuracy, which are separate issues.
The additional sharpness provided by 1080p TVs is only noticeable when watching 1080i or 1080p sources on screens that are larger than 50 inches, or with projectors that display a wall-sized picture. That said, you can sit closer to a 1080p TV without noticing the minute structure of its pixels.
Therefore, if you want a very large 55-inch or larger screen, or you like to sit really close to the screen, and you have a 1080i or 1080p HD source to feed the set, the extra resolution of 1080p may make it worth the still considerable difference in price. It might also be worthwhile buying 1080p if you want to use the TV as a computer monitor, because it provides extra sharpness. Otherwise, a 720p TV will do just fine. The HD display will be excellent.
In any case, no matter which make of 720p or 1080p LCD TV you intend to buy, you should first view it in action in a showroom displaying both high-definition and standard definition Blu-ray material or TV broadcasts, and compare its output to that of other makes/models. As with the screens, keyboards, and the touch pads of laptop PCs and PC monitors, you have to have hands-on experience of a HDTV in order to be sure that it meets your requirements for every kind of viewing.
Every TV aerial can be used to provide a digital or analog (UK: analogue) reception. If a particular aerial installation business aerial manufacturer says that a special digitalor HD model is required, this is just a marketing ploy. All TV broadcasts are transmitted in the UHF (ultra high frequency) or VHF (very high frequency) range of frequencies and any TV aerial can pick up broadcasts, analog or digital, over both ranges.
The 1080p screen resolution provides the highest screen resolution currently available. It allows up to a million more pixels than 720p-resolution televisions, providing a truly amazing picture quality - detail, colour and sound.
The fastest most efficient data transfer (sound and graphics) is provided by an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) connection via a single HDMI cable, which allows uncompressed streams of digital data to be transmitted, providing the highest level of sound and image quality.
HDMI - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hdmi
Just connect an HDMI cable from your DVD player to your TV to enjoy pure digital picture and sound quality. HDMI is currently the only connection that can provide an 1080p screen resolution from a video source, such as a DVD player, to a television (which must support 1080p). Of course, the device you are connecting to your TV (DVD player, desktop PC, etc.) must also support HDMI (have an HDMI port). If you buy a DVD player that supports HDMI, make sure that it comes with an HDMI cable. Otherwise you will have to buy one.
If the TV has multiple HDMI connectivity (several HDMI ports on the TV), you can connect several digital devices simultaneously without having to switch cables manually. Many LCD and plasma TVs provide up to 4 or more HDMI ports.
Just as you can buy SATA drive cables that have the connector at a right angle to the cable for easier connections in restricted spaces, you can buy a rotating HDMI cable that can rotate to almost any angle. You can buy them from lindy.co.uk in 1m, 2m, 3m and 5m lengths - part codes: 41515, 41516, 41517 and 41518 respectively.
If an HDMI port on a TV is labelled ARC, this stands for Audio Return Channel. It's a function of HDMI that allows a TV to transmit audio data to an AV receiver or surround sound system. Before ARC became available, a separate audio cable had to be connected to a TV or set-top box in order to output audio from Freeview or iPlayer to a speaker system. With ARC support, an ordinary HDMI cable can be used, so there is no need to get a new HDMI cable if you buy a TV or Blu-ray player that provides HDMI with ARC. ARC support is only required if you connect the TV to an external speaker system; it doesn't come into consideration if the TV's built-in speakers are used.
Switching from a SCART lead to an HDMI lead connecting a DVD player and an LCD LED TV just brings up a "No Signal" message on the screenProblemI purchased an HDMI lead to improve the picture created by a Sumvision 1080P Phoenix DVD Player and a Cello SEG32100DVB 32-inch LED TV with Full HD and built-in Freeview. I disconnected the SCART connection and reconnected using the HDMI cable, which, as might have been expected, didn't work. Having read the user manuals of both devices carefully, I set the TV to the HDMI source (I tried all three HDMI ports), all I received was a "No Signal" message on the screen. I thought that the cause had to be a faulty lead. A brand new lead produced the same result, so I tried connecting another TV to the DVD player with the HDMI cable with the same result. The TV support at amazon.co.uk said that the DVD player must be incompatible with the TV. They are both new, so I can only think that the either or both the TV or the DVD player are faulty. AnswerWhen you are using an HDMI instead of a SCART lead you can no longer switch to an AV1 or AV2 input to your TV. With the HDMI lead connected to HDMI 1 when you press AV on your remote control you should see a menu appear on screen with all of the inputs so just keep pressing AV until HDMI can be selected and your DVD should be connected. Apparently, only Panasonic TVs do the switch automatically. My Sony TV had the same problem connecting to a Sky HD box. |
Question: If I purchase a 1080p HDTV equipped with a Freeview tuner today, will I be able to receive HD programmes when they are eventually transmitted?
Answer: The national rollout of the four proposed Freeview HD channels will take place between late 2010 and 2012. Visit freeview.co.uk for the latest information. To be able to receive them requires having a special Freeview HD set-top box or HDTV with a built in tuner that can decode MPEG-4 transmissions. The current transmissions use MPEG-2 technology. Several HDTVs claim to have this capability. Some current Freeview HDTVs can be upgraded or retrofitted, but if your HDTV does not have that capability, you'll have to buy a new set-top box or a new HDTV with a built-in tuner that can deliver MPG-4 decoding. -
An alternative service is Freesat, the digital service from the BBC and ITV, which requires a satellite dish. The receiver (set-top box) must have an Ethernet network port that allows software upgrades to be installed, thereby solving the problem of having to get new hardware every time Freeview technology changes.
How to get up and running with Freesat -
http://www.freesat.co.uk/how-to/get-freesat/
Note that if you have plenty of money to spend on a LCD TV screen that shows movies in the same aspect ratio (ratio of the width to the height of the screen) as they are shown in cinemas, ultra-widescreen TVs are available that have a 21:9 aspect ratio. Watching movies on such a screen shows no black bands at the top and bottom of the screen, but the experience of watching TV programs can vary depending on the original aspect ratio in which the programmes were recorded - 16:9 or 4:3. The 16:9 programmes can be stretched by software built into the TV to cover most of the screen, but there are black bands on each side of programmes recorded for a squarish 4:3 aspect ratio.
Philips’ 21:9 aspect ratio TV on video -
http://techcrunch.com/2009/01/29/philips-219-aspect-ratio-tv-on-video/
720p - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/720p
1080p - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080p
Official "1080p Vs. 720p" Thread Discussion -
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=768167
HD TV buying guide -
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/tvs/274148/hd-tv-buying-guide
Home entertainment reviews - TVs - Home Cinema - PVRs - media Streamers - Blu-ray players -
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/home-entertainment
Telly vision: future display technologies -
http://www.reghardware.com/2007/10/11/feature_future_display_tech/
Toshiba REGZA 42-Inch 1080p LCD HD TV -
A YouTube video review. This page provides access to popular video reviews of other LCD and plasma TVs. -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5TY4P8EqXA&feature=related
Turn your TV wireless -
http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/general/153804/turn-your-tv-wireless
HDTV For Gamers -
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Gamers-Guide-HDTV,review-2384.html
How to calibrate your HD TV [or PC monitor] -
The reader comments are worth reading.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/advice/7725390/...
The next section of this page deals with 120Hz LCD TVs and the new anti-judder feature that some of them provide.
Flat-panel LCD TVs now come with a 120Hz refresh rate, which refreshes images at twice the speed of standard 60Hz models.
The refresh rate is seldom mentioned in magazine and online TV reviews, but should be provided for a particular model on its manufacturer's website. Some manufacturers, such as Toshiba, use 50Hz and 100Hz processing. I have also seen Samsung's site use a specification called 100Hz Motion Plus and 200Hz Motion Plus. Whatever the Hz specification, the higher the number the better, because the higher a refresh rate is the more often the screen's picture is refreshed.
Visit the Monitors section of this website for more information on refresh rates.
The slower refresh rates and response times of LCD TVs and PC monitors makes them susceptible to motion blur when displaying quick-motion movie/video output.
Because this weakness does not apply to plasma or rear-projection HDTVs, the LCD manufacturers are marketing 120Hz TVs as hard as they can.
However, according to reports and reviews on the web, most of the time, a 120Hz refresh rate doesn't appear to reduce motion blur significantly.
However, when a fast-moving ticker crosses the bottom of the screen, the letters and numbers seem to appear slightly sharper, but how worthwhile is that given the fact that there is now no significant motion-blur problem with new 60Hz LCD TVs?
Note well that there is often motion blur within the content that is being viewed that appears as such on whichever platform is being used to view it.
Now, LCD manufacturers are grouping 120Hz LCD with a video-processing feature that is supposed to eliminate judder in movies, which is usually most noticeable in slow camera pannning, or scenes shot with a handheld camera.
The manufacturers have different names for the feature: Sony calls the feature Motion Flow, Samsung, Movie Plus, Sharp, TrueD, and Toshiba, Film Stabilization. Some function better than others.
Motion blur and judder are two different problems, but they are being combined by the LCD manufacturers because they both affect the clarity and stability of the image. An anti-judder feature can have a major impact on the quality of the picture.
The Sony KDL-46XBR LCD TV's Motion Flow feature is highly regarded.
It has two settings: standard and high. In the standard setting, the difference in the stability of the picture becomes apparent immediately - it appears noticeably more stable. However, the picture sometimes looks unnatural, particularly when the anti-judder suddenly kicks in during a fast pan to stabilise objects moving across the screen. In the high setting, the picture becomes rock solid. However, the high setting tends to introduce noticeable imperfections in the picture that look like a little glitches, which appear for a fraction of second.
Eliminating judder in movies is not to everyone's taste, because it is part and parcel of what makes film look like film, which when removed, makes it look more like video.
The reduction of judder, not motion blur, is worth having, so if a model has anti-judder and it works well, and and it also provides good picture quality created by decent black levels, colour saturation, colour accuracy, and resolution, then you might consider paying more for it. In any case, if you want such features, you should visit a showroom where you'll be able to see a demonstration. Have a look at a standard 60Hz set and then compare it to a 120Hz set with anti-judder.
Graphics and monitor problems dealt with on this websiteClick the following link to go to the section of this website that deals with graphics and monitor problems: Video/graphics card problems: How fix common computer video and graphics problems |
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