Hdtv

[gib]

Hi,

Needing some help on purchasing a 'HD Ready' TV, cause there has been a lot of bad press about it recently.

Whats the difference between HDReady and HD Compatible?

From my reading, it would appear that there is absolutely no difference whatsoever.

Am I correct in saying that HDReady/Compatible are capable of receiving the HD signal and displaying it? But you really need a HD Tuner before that occurs? Therefore, you'll need Sky tv before a HDTV works?

How comes BBC is shwoing the World Cup in HD then - will I need Sky to receive the BBC signal? And it wont work via a digital tuner?

Thanks

[Parthiban]

Hi,

Needing some help on purchasing a 'HD Ready' TV, cause there has been a lot of bad press about it recently.

Whats the difference between HDReady and HD Compatible?

From my reading, it would appear that there is absolutely no difference whatsoever.

Am I correct in saying that HDReady/Compatible are capable of receiving the HD signal and displaying it? But you really need a HD Tuner before that occurs? Therefore, you'll need Sky tv before a HDTV works?

How comes BBC is shwoing the World Cup in HD then - will I need Sky to receive the BBC signal? And it wont work via a digital tuner?

Thanks

"HD ready" is a particular standard that was set by some organisation (EICTA i think) and basically means that the TV can display a picture that has 720 horizontal lines, and also has an HDMI or DVI (HDCP) input.

HD compatible is a TV that can display an HD picture but doesn't have the necessary characteristics as above to get the "HD ready" status. An example is plasmas from a few years ago didn't have an HDMI or DVI input, but can still display HD material through the component input.

I would seriously recommend buying an "HD ready" TV now as HD is just around the corner with a minimum resolution of 1366 x 768

Yes if the BBC do get it hooked up and broadcast the World Cup in HD, then you will need either Sky HD or Telewest HD, you will not get HD over your normal digital box.

Hope that goes some way towards helping you understand, which TVs are you looking at?

[Pip]

HD ready mate. You will find that it will have the connections also for HD components ie.xbox 360.

Plasma tv's are a waste of time. Stick with either cathode 100hz HD or a HD LCD.

Point of interest, tests were made comparing tvs: cathode ray tube (ordinary tv's) + LCD + Plasma. Industry specialists were used as well as people in the field and members of the public.

Varying price differences. The best picture was and still is CRT. Also the the cheapest.

[Jiberjaber]

if you head over to http://www.avforums.com/ you will find a wealth of information on there from experts and users of all forms of AV equipment....

If you are looking at a particular model, do a search on their forums usualy throws up comments on the performance of that model.... very useful :)

http://www.avforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=239 should get you straight in to the Sky HD part of the forum....

Pip.... I would disagree with you comments, plasmas are not a waste of time (unless the review you speak of was based on something circa 2-3 years ago?). It really depends on how much people want to pay for things and how well they fit in to their living space...

Another good site to keep an eye on is

http://www.ukhdtv.net/news/

Also, BBC have announced that they have applied for the use of unused frequencies to transmit HDTV on DVB-t (though only around London).... no news on if it will get the go-ahead yet though! :)

..top ten myths regarding HDTV put to bed here: http://pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,122629,pg,2,00.asp

Have fun :)

[Parthiban]

Yep I agree AVforums is where you'l find everything you need to know, I found it extremely helpful when I bought an LCD a short while ago - its almost as helpful as this site

Is that true about the BBC broadcasting HD over Freeview? There's been no talk of HD freeview boxes though, or do they already exist in other parts of the world?

I know that at the moment only Sky has HD broadcast channels, but if the BBC get it sorted will Telewest be broadcasting their HD channel as well?

[Jiberjaber]

TW are already boradcasting HD material, it's only stuff they have stored, that started a few weeks ago.

I haven't seen any DVB-T boxes with a HDMI interface, but it shouldn't be a problem if you use a PC based tuner.

[Adie]

Thanks for those links Jase. :D I'm looking at getting a HDTV ready tv myself most probably LCD. Not sure which one / make yet though. That AV forum seems pretty good.

[gib]

Therefore,

HD Ready can receive and display HD signals AND has HDMI inputs for Xbox or DVD?

A HD Compatible can receive and display, but does not have a HDMI input?

Its all so confusing

In the paper, an industry expert said, that he defied anyone to tell the difference between HD and normal telly unless the screen was around 65".

I am looking at a 37" Toshiba, still confused..........

Thanks all

[Pip]

Jiberjaber: This review was done jan 2006. I was in Rochdale on Thursday to pick up my vaio desktop and the dude there had a £8000 plasma screen, a £5000 LCD and a £3000 CRT. No sh!te, common stuff either, Bang and olfsen, Denon etc.

It was pretty clear to me. The guy and his mate were laughing at the state and he had everything to lose but wasnt bothered.

Interconnects alone were worth a fair wack. All i can say is you obviously need to look a bit more. They ran a special AV test off a disc which brings out extreme definition shades, saturation, high speed pictures, colours and hazing.

LCD was Pixalated in places.

120hz HD CRT everytime hands down.

Pllasma at the moment is quite temperamental too. I think the technology is still in its infancy and both have to develop, although my bet would be on LCD.

P.S Plasma screen also give off small amount of radiation. I didnt know that.

[Parthiban]

TW are already boradcasting HD material, it's only stuff they have stored, that started a few weeks ago.

I haven't seen any DVB-T boxes with a HDMI interface, but it shouldn't be a problem if you use a PC based tuner.

Yep know telewest have started their HD but as you say no HD broadcast yet. No one seems to know whether they'll be able to broadcast Sky's HD channels, but just wondered whether if the BBC does go HD, will telewest be broadcasting that or will it just be sky that gets it

Hmm interesting about using a pc based tuner, although I'm guessing my media centre pc won't be able to handle it anyway

Therefore,

HD Ready can receive and display HD signals AND has HDMI inputs for Xbox or DVD?

A HD Compatible can receive and display, but does not have a HDMI input?

Its all so confusing

In the paper, an industry expert said, that he defied anyone to tell the difference between HD and normal telly unless the screen was around 65".

I am looking at a 37" Toshiba, still confused..........

Thanks all

HD compatible either means what you've said there, or that it has HDMI but doesn't have the required 720 horizontal lines screen resolution. It basically needs both to be HD ready

I recommend seeing an HD demo if you haven't already, because you can see the difference of HD on any size screen, and it is unbelievable :winky:

For that size screen, also take a look at the Samsung 40" LE40M61 as imho it is the best LCD out at the moment from a pure picture quality perspective

@Pip: I know those test discs will show all sorts of different things, but at the end of the day no one sits at home watching test discs. Those things are testing the screens capabilities at the limit, which rarely happens at home. It also doesn't really matter how much the screen costs, because they're not necessarily always the best. You mentioned Bang & Olufsen, they're just expensive because its B&O rather than being the best (although I do like their stuff quite a lot) - their plasma panels are just Panasonic panels.....

Were the screens being tested all even the same size?

The best plasma currently available without question is the 50" Pioneer (about £4k), and you will not find any other TV that produces a picture that good at that size (also ignoring the fact that its so slim and can hang on the wall)

I know Plasma and LCDs days are numbered but that's not due to CRT - I say roll on SED :D

[Jiberjaber]

Jiberjaber: This review was done jan 2006. I was in Rochdale on Thursday to pick up my vaio desktop and the dude there had a £8000 plasma screen, a £5000 LCD and a £3000 CRT. No sh!te, common stuff either, Bang and olfsen, Denon etc.

It was pretty clear to me. The guy and his mate were laughing at the state and he had everything to lose but wasnt bothered.

Interconnects alone were worth a fair wack. All i can say is you obviously need to look a bit more. They ran a special AV test off a disc which brings out extreme definition shades, saturation, high speed pictures, colours and hazing.

LCD was Pixalated in places.

120hz HD CRT everytime hands down.

Pllasma at the moment is quite temperamental too. I think the technology is still in its infancy and both have to develop, although my bet would be on LCD.

P.S Plasma screen also give off small amount of radiation. I didnt know that.

So they ran a special AV test disc ? of a DVD player no doubt? so it was compressed video? no wonder you were seeing artifacts... expensive interconnects (rip-off)... dont get me started on them How far from the display were you stood when watching? Were all the TV's the same size? Were the TV's marked as HD Ready or HD compatable (there is a big difference, one is just a case of pluging in a lead between the source and the TV, the other is a little more complicated)

Each technology has it's pros / cons.... if you have enough room then maybe a CRT is for you, but dont forget all the calibration (which goes for most technologies tbh). Dont forget that a CRT is esentialy a scanning device, so is very different in operation to that of a plasma and LCD.

All devices give off small amounts of radiation... dont forget, a CRT is just an x-ray machine in essence ;)

We run digi-beta cam stuff at work, it's all uncompressed digital stuff... far better than some AV DVD that might be used in the usual overpriced AV shop... Last demo I went to for a video wall application had a proper HD streaming server providing uncompressed video for comparison purposes... so I think I have been in a bit of a better position to evaluate ;)

btw, plasma is by no means in it's infancy, it is on at least it's third generation. The only thing that makes it appear so is the commencement of older generations falling in price so they start to fall in to the price radar of the general public.

Anyway, why would you want to spend 3K on a CRT when you can get a plasma as good for the same price which takes up far less room ? The only HD CRT I have heard about are Loewe (HD compatable) and Samsung (HD Ready).

List of HD ready TV's (from here)

Plasma Televisions

37"

Panasonic TH-37PV500

Thomson 37PB220S4U - ALiS Panel

42" / 43"

Hitachi 42PD6600 - ALiS Panel

Hitachi 42PD7200 - ALiS Panel

Hitachi 42PD7500 - ALiS Panel

NEC 42XM3

NEC 42XR3

Panasonic TH-42PV500

Panasonic TH-42PHD8 (with additional boards)

Philips 42PF5620/10

Philips 42PF9966/12* - ALiS Panel

Sony KDE-P42XS1 [uNCONFIRMED as HD Ready] - ALiS Panel

Pioneer PDP-434HDE

Pioneer PDP-435FDE -

Pioneer PDP-435XDE -

Pioneer PDP-436FDE -

Pioneer PDP-436XDE -

Samsung PS42S5HDX

Samsung PS42P4A - ALiS Panel

Thomson 42PB220S4U - ALiS Panel

50"

NEC 50XM4/XR4

Panasonic TH-50PHD8EK/ES/BK/BS (with additional boards)

Pioneer PDP-504HDE

Pioneer PDP-505XDE

Pioneer PDP-506FDE

Pioneer PDP-506XDE

Philips 50PF7320

Philips 50PF9966**

61" & 65"

NEC 61XM3/XR3

Pioneer PDP-615EX

Panasonic TH-65PHD8EK/BK (with additional boards)

* Compliance based on use of "VGA to YPbPr-Cinch cable" which is reported support component.

** Assumed to comply based on using the "VGA to YPbPr-Cinch cable" which has shown to support component on the 42" model.

LCD Televisions

23"

Thomson 23LB230B4U

26" / 27"

JVC LT-26DS6

LG 26LX2R

Panasonic TX26LXD500

Panasonic TX26LXD52

Philips 26PF5520D

Sagem HD L27

Samsung LE26R41BDX

Sony KDL-S26A12U

Thomson 27LB220B4U

Thomson 27LCDB03BU

Thomson 27LCDB03BBKU

Toshiba 27WL56

Toshiba 27WLT58

32"

Hitachi 32LD7200

JVC LT-32DS6

LG 32LX2R

Panasonic TX32LXD500

Panasonic TX32KXD52

Philips 32PF5520D

Philips 32PF7520D

Philips 32PF9830

Sagem HDL32T

Samsung LE32R41BDX

Samsung LE32R51B

Sharp LC32GD1E

Sharp LC32GA6E (UK Model?)

Sharp LC32GD7E

Sony KDL-S32A12U

Sony KDL-V32A12U

Toshiba 32WL48

Toshiba 32WL56

Toshiba 32WLT58

37"

JVC LT-37DS6

JVC LT-37DM6

LG RZ37LZ31

Philips 37PF5520D

Philips 37PF9830/1

Sharp LC37GD1E

Sharp LC37GD7E

Toshiba 37WL56

Toshiba 37WLT58

40" / 42"

Philips 42PF9830/10

Philips 42PF9986/12

Samsung LE40R51BX

Sony KDL-S40A12U

Sony KDL-V40A12U

Sony KDL-W40A12U

Toshiba 42WLT58

45 "

Sharp LC45GD1E

LCD Rear Projection TVs

42"

Sony KDF-E42A12U

50"

Sony KDF-E50A12U

DLP Rear Projection TVs

44" / 45" / 46"

Sagem HDD45

Samsung SP46L6HXX

Thomson 44DLY617

Thomson 44DLY645

Toshiba 46WM48P

50" / 52"

Optoma RD50

Samsung SP50L7HX

Thomson 50DSZ645

Thomson 50DLY645

Thomson 50DLW645

Toshiba 52WM48P

56"

Sagem HDD56

65"

Optoma RD65

[Pip]

and thats that lol!! :D

I am in no way defending CRT i have LCD btw. Some interesting reading though guys.

[monster]

"Sony KDE-P42XS1 [uNCONFIRMED as HD Ready] - ALiS Panel"

I'll be able to confirm that some time this week!!! :D :D :D