So I'm finally buying an HDTV today...

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  • Dustin07
    New Member
    • Jan 2006
    • 13
    • 3.5.x

    #16
    I believe Circuit City DOES have a price match policy, but it has to be exact same brand and model.

    I did notice what Kier posted earlier about bad viewing angles with the DLP.
    it's true, we tend to actually use just about the whole 160degrees on the plasma. (sectional couch)

    Comment

    • MGM
      Senior Member
      • Aug 2002
      • 3653
      • 3.6.x

      #17
      The viewing angle with the DLP is one of the biggest reasons I didn't get it... currently our tv is in a corner with couches on nearly every wall... the viewing angle must be decent for everyone in a full room to be able to see whats on the tv at a decent quality.

      MGM out

      Comment

      • Kier
        Former Lead Developer, vBulletin
        • Sep 2000
        • 8179

        #18
        SO glad you didn't go with the DLP. I was in town just yesterday and happened to walk past the TV section in a big department store and by pure coincidence there was a couple standing in front of a DLP asking the shop assistant if there was something wrong with it, as the picture all but vanished when one stood a little off-axis, especially in the vertical direction.

        I'm sure you'll be happy with your LCD. My dislike for them stems from my previous career where we spent hours trying to achieve a film-like look to our footage, and we always found that the very clinical, unforgiving and flat display from LCDs undid all our hard work, whereas plasma gave a very flattering, film-like output.

        Comment

        • MGM
          Senior Member
          • Aug 2002
          • 3653
          • 3.6.x

          #19
          lol, yes, the LCD has been great so far. I don't have any HD Channels yet, but I recently ordered an entirely new digital package from my cable company. It includes about 15-20 HD channels plus hundreds more of "regular cable." Too bad I wont be getting it until the 28th

          I hooked up my Xbox 360 to it last night (and will be doing so again tonight, to show off to all my friends ) and Call of Duty 2 and Perfect Dark Zero looked amazing. I'll be trying Dead or Alive 4 on 1080i tonight. I did notice some slow down in PDZ when I set it to 1080i.

          Quick question though... I used both 720p and 1080i... but I couldn't notice a differnece between the two... what exactly am I looking for that changes between the two?

          MGM out

          Comment

          • Kier
            Former Lead Developer, vBulletin
            • Sep 2000
            • 8179

            #20
            With 720p there should be absolutely no visible flicker, as it presents footage in the same way as a plasma or LCD screen is designed to display it. The 'p' stands for 'progressive', and what it means is that each time the screen loads up a new frame you see the entire image displayed at the same time, in the same way as you would with a movie at the cinema - a new frame is displayed in its entirety. Therefore, you get an entire 1280 x 720 image displayed once every 1/30 of a second (or 1/25 if you are in Europe)

            1080i on the other hand is an 'interlaced' format (hence the 'i'). What this means is that although each frame contains 1920 x 1080 pixels, you actually only get to see half that data at the same time. Two fields are interlaced into a single frame, one occupies rows 1, 3, 5, 7 etc. while the other field occupies rows 2, 4, 6, 8 etc. The screen will display each field for 1/60 of a second (or 1/50 in Europe), then display the next field, then load the next frame and show the first field etc.

            In practical terms, this means that with 1080i you get a smoother perception of motion, sometimes at the expense of a slight flicker (though nowhere near as bad as was the case with the old standard definition format, which was always interlaced) and reduced vertical resolution.

            For this reason, things shot on film (especially movies) translate much better into a progressive format, while things shot on video work better on an interlaced system. A fast-moving football game would gain nothing from a progressive system, as the viewer wants to see smooth motion without stuttering. On the other hand, a movie will look better on a progressive system where the emphasis is on a stable, high quality image.

            To see a perfect example of the limitations of a progressive system, take a look at the opening scenes of the first Lord of the Rings movie. There are some fast panning shots overlooking the battlefield and the 24fps progressive format of film really can't cope, so you end up with a sort of stuttery, blurry mess. However, with a few exceptions, movies look far better on a progressive display than an interlaced display.

            Comment

            • MGM
              Senior Member
              • Aug 2002
              • 3653
              • 3.6.x

              #21
              Thanks a lot Kier, very informative and descriptive. Once again you've been a great help with this and I'm glad I posted here to get some opinions.

              Thanks to everybody else again! I'll try to get a picture up as soon as I get my pc fixed.

              MGM out

              Comment

              • ystasino
                New Member
                • Jan 2006
                • 1

                #22
                720p vs 1080i

                I m curious about the 1280 x 760 progressive vs the 1920 x 1080 interlaced debate. And that is because I want to be able to experience both cinema like movies and good sports performance in that order of priority. I don't care at all about gaming.

                What makes people so sure that the HDTVs will be limited at 1280x760. I also live in the US and I obviously have no need or $$ for a signal noone broadcasts.

                How difficult is it to watch sports on the 720p format, it must be better than current CRTs for that ?

                What do you think/know about SED technology and do you know when the first models will be announced ? Other than size and power consumption does anyone know of any advatages/disadvantages of SED in terms of image quality ? Will they be CRT-like without the size and the power consumption? WHat prices should we expect and when ?

                Sorry for spamming you with questions

                Comment

                • Kier
                  Former Lead Developer, vBulletin
                  • Sep 2000
                  • 8179

                  #23
                  Most screens can output both, though the majority do not reach the full width of 1920 pixels for 1080i, most tend to downsample the data to 1280 pixels or thereabouts.

                  Sports is watchable in 720p format, but with the exception of the resolution improvement, it's not better than current CRT technology because the relatively slow frame rate with no interlaced fields does not suit fast action. 1080i is far better equipped for that, though as I said, most HD screens can output both.

                  Regarding SED, I've yet to see one. People have said to me for what seems like years now that SED is the next big thing and that it's just around the corner... however, some of the same people are DLP fans and others think that LCD makes a great screen for watching movies, so I'll reserve my decision for when I get a chance to see an SED screen running and properly set up. Right now I don't even know a vague date for when any manufacturer is bringing one to market, so right now I consider it vapourware.

                  Comment

                  • MGM
                    Senior Member
                    • Aug 2002
                    • 3653
                    • 3.6.x

                    #24
                    I thought SED's were showcased at CES a month or so back?

                    MGM out

                    Comment

                    • Kier
                      Former Lead Developer, vBulletin
                      • Sep 2000
                      • 8179

                      #25
                      I wasn't at CES... Like I said, I have never seen one running and I'm not aware of any timescales for manufacturers to bring production models to market.

                      Comment

                      • hdtvoice
                        Member
                        • Jun 2003
                        • 60

                        #26
                        You can always check out my Vbulletin running HDTV forum - hdtvoice.com



                        (end shameless plug) =0

                        Comment

                        • MGM
                          Senior Member
                          • Aug 2002
                          • 3653
                          • 3.6.x

                          #27
                          I've already made my choice so no help for me now

                          But as an update... I've got the chance to play my Xbox 360 on it... wow, it looks amazing in 720p! Perfect Dark Zero specifically. If only PDZ supported 1080i... although I heard 1080i would have visible tears...

                          MGM out

                          Comment

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