paulr

Correct me if i'm wrong but..........Hd is high definition pictures that you see on display at comet but for terestrial (BBC1,ITV or freeview) viewers it isnt coming out for 2/3 years. Then you'll need a NEW "box" to receive it. If you want to watch HD dvd's you'll need a HD ready tv PLUS HD dvd's AND a new HD dvd player.

Is that correct?

Fuzz

September they roll out the first of the true HD Blue ray DVD players.
The Planet earth series was shot in true HD for bbc but nothing supports it yet, I doubt it will be a two or three year wait until you can get it though, more like the end of the year before certain programs start to filter through.

At the moment all things do is upscale the image.

Andy

Fuzz

correct about all the new kit requirements though.
Count me out for a few years though as I've just spent 5k upgrading it all now lol.

Andy

logiclee

You will need a new box for HD-TV yes, either sat, cable or terrestrial.
BBC and ITV may go HD on Sat or Cable soon, it's a bit unknown.
As for freeview digital HD, most areas will require the analogue turning off first to release enough bandwith so that's any time between 2008 and 2011.
Even if channels broadcast in HD most of the current content hasn't been shot in HD so will be upscaled.

As for DVD.
You can get current DVD players that will upscale a current DVD to HD, they are good but not true HD.
There are two new true HD formats coming out soon. HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, you will need a new player and the new HD discs although the players will play your DVD collection.

Cheers
Lee

paulg1979

iTrader: (1)

I'd wait for the new PS3 to come out in November. Its going to be a tool. Its blueray so will play HD.

AudiLover

Heres a tip for everybody. Dont buy blue ray DVD players. They will be very expensive. Get the Sony PS3 which will be about £400 pounds, be more powerful than any PC instore 2day and can entertain the kiddies.

corradoboy

LCD TV's are true HD, but most PDP's (plasma) aren't. The 1st PDP to have true 1080 resolution is THIS ONE, the rest are 768 res. I still prefer PDP over LCD as I find LCD has an artificial look and plasma appears more natural. The new SED displays from Toshiba will be available within a couple of years and they will blow both out of the water.

logiclee

We will have to wait and see how Sony position the PS3. Even though it can output HD resolutions and multi channel surround it may not be upto the expectations of mid to high end home cinema owners.
The current games consoles just about match the video and sound performance of a budget DVD player. I suspect the PS3 will match the performance of budget Blu-Ray players. The dedicated chipsets and shielded electronics of higher end gear will give far better performance I suspect.

But it's all down to personal choice, some people are fine with a £20 Asda DVD player and some will pay £3000 for a Denon A1XV.

Cheers
Lee

GC8

Most LCDs only support 720I/P due to their native resolution of 768 lines. The only LCD thats supports a native 1080 resolution is made by Philips (there may be a few more now though). My 40" Sony (which cost someone else more than a 1993 WRX!) has a native resolution of only 768 lines...


Simon

logiclee

Gets a lot more complicated though.

LCD and Plasma display a progressive picture so unless the picture is going to be processed from an interlaced source (In effect making one picture from two) you are better sticking with a progressive feed. Most panels display a better picture at 720P than 1080i.
In the UK, for the forseeable future, the HD progressive resolution will be 1280X720.
Any screen that does not have a native resolution of 1280X720 will have to re-scale the picture to fit the screen. The picture quality will depend on how good a job the tv's electronics are at re-scaling.

Cheers
Lee

AudiLover

Well as I understand sony are positioning the ps3 as a multimedia super computer. They seem to be putting out all the stops on it. Lets hope it is top totty.

logiclee

Yep it will be a processing mega machine but I doubt Sony will fit it with high end shielded video and audio circuits as this would add £100's onto the purchase price and take sales away from Sony's own high end blu-ray players.

Like you say, we'll have to wait and see.

Cheers
Lee

chrisowe

The BBC will be broadcasting the World Cup and Wimbledon on SKY HD for those that have it. If you've only got freeview they are planning a limited trial for people who live within the North/South circular roads.
Details here http://www.bbc.co.uk/digital/tv/hdtv.shtml .

paulr

How does that translate into myself who is thinking of buying this small LCD
http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/455_303992.html

Toshiba resolution 1280 x 768 ,not 720.

logiclee

It's down to each individual TV I'm afraid, down to how good the scaling electronics are in the set.
As long as you like the picture you will be fine, remember all current HD panels have to scale up a 576line interlaced PAL picture anyway to watch normal TV.
It's only theory anyway. Two TV's one with a resolution of 1280X720 and the other 1280x768. With a 720P feed the 1280X720 panel should give a more accurate picture as the icture doesn't have to be re-scaled.
In practice the 1280X720P panel may be crap and the 1280X768 panel with scaler might be 1st class so it's all down to reviewing and testing yourself.
Just pointing out in the earlier post that there is far more to a good picture than stats and figures

Cheers
Lee

paulr

Okay cheers. Maybe women have the best idea when they choose a tv that looks good and has a good picture. Thats all that matters in the end.

logiclee

Yep, best advice post on the thread.

Just be aware that in-store lighting is different from the light you will have at home. What seems dull in-store can be perfect at home, some sets may seem poor and digitized in-store due to the quality of the feed and having the contrast set to 100%. On the other side some sets may seem vibrant and bright in-store but may look over saturated at home. Always best to get a proper demo with a good feed and in natural lighting.

Cheers
Lee

Diesel

So true! Saw my 50" Sony LCD Proj in Makro yesterday - worst looking picture on any set they had there! Had a tweak in the menu and it started looking amongst the best of the bunch. REALLY hard to tell ins store unfortunately - which hardly helps you here