Wife's given permission to get HDTV - want to pick your brains
- Thread starter Abooie
- Start date
1280 is the usual figure quoted because most devices use square pixels and to obtain a widescreen ratio thats the number of sqare pixels you need. However the true definition is 720 hoizontal lines in a widescreen format. By using rectangular pixels plamsa screen achieve this.
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Sagalout said:
Think i have just been swung towards plasma then
I know if im not running in native res on my LCD monitor it looks rather pony.
AFAIK 720p content (1280x720) will have to be downscaled to 1024x576 to fit on a 1024x768 display, correct?
Now while that may be a fine TV for all I know, and I'm sure it is, what it *isn't* is a true HDTV, because it does not have a native 720p or higher resolution and cannot display 720p content without rescaling it.
Now while that may be a fine TV for all I know, and I'm sure it is, what it *isn't* is a true HDTV, because it does not have a native 720p or higher resolution and cannot display 720p content without rescaling it.
It's just maths isn't it. Either it will need to be downscaled, or it will fill the screen but not be displayed at the correct aspect ratio, it will appear stretched (or squashed). I don't see how it can both fill the screen and appear as it should do.
ok, depending on what the inocming feed is this is what happens:
X360 via VGA, set to 1024 x 768 widescreen in dash. You will see that 1024 x 768 shouldnt be widescreen, but it can be if each pixel is rectangular not square. The 360 understands this and scales the image to fit this resoltution internally, which is then pixel for pixel displayed on the plasma. The image is not squashed and does not have any borders - its a perfect 16:9 widescreen, exacty as it would look on any other widescreen device.
X360 or other HD source outputting 720P @ 1280 x 720. The plasma screen takes the signal and creates 8 lines of pixels and rescales the extra 256 columns across the whole 1024 columns 1280/1024 = 1.25 so for every 5 columns of pixel data you get 4 columns of information. The end result is, again, a perfect 16:9 ratio, no black borders etc.
So, if you want to argue that its not as hi-res as LCD then fair enough. It is however still HD, and in practise is indistinguishable from 1280 x 720 unless you sit 1 meter from the screen.
X360 via VGA, set to 1024 x 768 widescreen in dash. You will see that 1024 x 768 shouldnt be widescreen, but it can be if each pixel is rectangular not square. The 360 understands this and scales the image to fit this resoltution internally, which is then pixel for pixel displayed on the plasma. The image is not squashed and does not have any borders - its a perfect 16:9 widescreen, exacty as it would look on any other widescreen device.
X360 or other HD source outputting 720P @ 1280 x 720. The plasma screen takes the signal and creates 8 lines of pixels and rescales the extra 256 columns across the whole 1024 columns 1280/1024 = 1.25 so for every 5 columns of pixel data you get 4 columns of information. The end result is, again, a perfect 16:9 ratio, no black borders etc.
So, if you want to argue that its not as hi-res as LCD then fair enough. It is however still HD, and in practise is indistinguishable from 1280 x 720 unless you sit 1 meter from the screen.
Sagalout said:
In your opinion, but not that of everyone... plenty of people, myself included argue that anything less than a true native resolution of 1280x720 minimum, is not true HD. I've seen this said loads of times, just google it if you don't agree with me, and you'll find what I'm saying widely repeated. A true HD plasma screen would be, for example 1366x768 although that's usually for larger screens like 50".
If it wasnt HD they wouldnt be allowed to use the 'HD ready' logos, which have to be applied for on a 'per model' license basis to EICTA. So it really doesnt matter what a load of internet geeks think 
If it was up to me I wouldnt even let LCD's be branded as TV's because the picture is so shockingly bad on anything other than a digital source, but its not up to me. The main thing is to get past the numbers, becuase that really doesnt have much bearing on picture quality anyway. a decent SD plasma can look better than a cheap HD one, and a lot better than cheap LCD HD TV. Its about much more than a pixel count.
If it was up to me I wouldnt even let LCD's be branded as TV's because the picture is so shockingly bad on anything other than a digital source, but its not up to me. The main thing is to get past the numbers, becuase that really doesnt have much bearing on picture quality anyway. a decent SD plasma can look better than a cheap HD one, and a lot better than cheap LCD HD TV. Its about much more than a pixel count.
For some reason I imagined you doing a Tim 'the toolman' Taylor from Home Improvement after saying that.dirtydog said:Fair enough, I guess I can agree with thatHis telly has to be better than my Philips 21" 4:3 CRT anyway
Power!!
Soldato
skysnapper said:
I can't remember enough from the AV Forums thread to explain why the smaller and larger panels are the correct resolution, sorry :\ Its something to do with panel sizes, original intended resolutions, etc.
As for scaling - you won't really notice the scaling tbh. You can't tell the difference between native 720p and native 1080p if you're more than ~1.5x far from the screen than its width. Interestingly thats roughly the same distance for no longer seeing the screen-door effect on an LCD projector.
Either way, I really wouldn't worry about it. I've put my Xbox 360 on a 32" Panasonic and it was brilliant. It was very sharp & crisp which really surprised me since that sort of scaling on a monitor looks awful. Got the same image quality with 720p as 1080i. TVs scale as a matter of course anyway, since there are loads of different formats (PAL, NTSC, SECAM, 720, 1080, VHS).
Sutters said:I've got one of these:
http://www.t3.co.uk/reviews/entertainment/hd_ready_tv/panasonic_th-42pv500_hd_ready_plasma_tv
and an oppo upscaling dvd player, oh and a 360. Both look amazing on this tv, infact i'm yet to see a better looking HDTV anywhere.
Got mine for less than £2000.
£2000
You can have two of the new toshiba 32WLT66 LCD's for that with about enough change for an xbox360.
Am myself is looking at getting the toshiba 32WTL66 or 37WLT66 with maybe the optional SW1000 subwoofer.(I not seen any pictures or specs of this sub yet)
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That is not correct. The BBC are commencing a one year trial (which is expected to continue at the endGuruJockStrap said:
) in May. This will include the World Cup, Wimbledon and the re-transmission of Planet Earth amongst other stuff.It will be available through Sky, Cable and HD freeview. Obviously you will need a Telewest TVDrive, the Sky equivalent or a HD freeview box to receive it.
chaparral said:£2000
You can have two of the new toshiba 32WLT66 LCD's for that with about enough change for an xbox360.
Am myself is looking at getting the toshiba 32WTL66 or 37WLT66 with maybe the optional SW1000 subwoofer.(I not seen any pictures or specs of this sub yet)
Yeah, but this is going back quite a while now, plus we're talking 42" here. Just googled the 37" one and thats around £1500. Tbh the stand for mine costs around 400 notes, bit of a ripoff I know, but they chucked that in for free luckily.
It's big it's black and it has Viera written on it..
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Well....
Done it, must be mad but...
I ordered myself one of these shiny new Toshiba 32WLT66 earlier today along with the official stand.
There's some pictures of it in action here > http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=318277&page=12
Going to look at some 5.1 solutions now; don't want to spend a fortune so suggestions welcome.
It's coming Wednesday so I'll post some pics with Oblivion, Burnout etc. in full swing later this week.
Quite excited but still not sure whether I made the right descision... Lol, too late now!
Done it, must be mad but...
I ordered myself one of these shiny new Toshiba 32WLT66 earlier today along with the official stand.
There's some pictures of it in action here > http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=318277&page=12
Going to look at some 5.1 solutions now; don't want to spend a fortune so suggestions welcome.
It's coming Wednesday so I'll post some pics with Oblivion, Burnout etc. in full swing later this week.
Quite excited but still not sure whether I made the right descision... Lol, too late now!
chaparral said:£2000
You can have two of the new toshiba 32WLT66 LCD's for that with about enough change for an xbox360.
Am myself is looking at getting the toshiba 32WTL66 or 37WLT66 with maybe the optional SW1000 subwoofer.(I not seen any pictures or specs of this sub yet)
Ours was £2,500 (or £4,200 if you went to the shop). Thats a cheap price. However, the image quality of my screen is SO much better than any other LCD I have ever seen (and that includes the new Panasonic Viera).