HDTV...grrr slightly confused

[otispunkmeyer]

basically with Sky's HD service coming next year, my mum n dad are looking round at HDTV's

currently we have a 36in sony wega flat screen tv (CRT style)

so something of similar size or greater will be needed. looking round comet today and they have loads of tvs with HD ready stickers

some have DVi, some have HDMI, some have both, some have HDCP....then theres resoutions

there was a 42inch panasonic that said 1024x1024 (i thought eh?) and a lovely phillips 32inch that had about 1300x700 res....beautiful but too small.

1080p is the max HD res right? 1920x1080 ? whats 720p?

we want this to last awhile, just like our wega has....so £3000 or more willl probably be the budget again. am i right in thinkin that we should get a TV with DVI and HDMI or is HDMI going to be the defacto interface?

 

[MustISO]

DVI and HDMI are different connections but they're both digital transports. HDMI has the ability to transmit digital audio as well. HDCP is a must due to Hollywood. Standards change all the time. HDMI is already up to v1.3, something new could be out in a year.

1080P is the max for HDTV right now although nothing is being broadcast in 1080P, so 1080i is really the highest. 1280 x 720 (720P) is another HD resolution.

Check out http://www.avsforum.com

 

[SuperFubario]

Just make sure you research the model of TV you want to buy. Although i love my 50" samsung it does have its issues. Dont settle for a TV because its a good deal.

Also if you are expecting to hook up a PC to it know that some HDTVs wont display at its native rez without a driver hack. Mine does up to 1080I but when i hook up a computer to it its defaults to 1024x768 (thank god for video card hacks)

 

[xtknight]

DVI (Digital Visual Interface)/HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) are the two common digital connections for HD use. HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a layer of protection that can be applied on to either DVI or HDMI. You'll want HDCP, indefinitely. More and more content will be using it. It's the RIAA/DMCA's new wet dream.

 

[kylebisme]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
so something of similar size or greater will be needed. looking round comet today and they have loads of tvs with HD ready stickers

some have DVi, some have HDMI, some have both, some have HDCP....then theres resoutions

I live on the other side of the pond so I can't say for sure but that just soulds like shady retailers there. The European standards require HDMI though DVI or HDMI so any thing with the "HD Ready" sticker coming from a respectable shop should have no trouble working with Sky's upcoming HD service. Also, the 1024x1024 Panasonic you mention sounds off as, at least in the states, Panasonic hasn't sold 1024x1024 displays in quite a while and I checked their UK website and they didn't list any in their current models there either. Granted those old plasmas do still create a damn fine picture, but there is newer and better technology that has replaced them in current product lines. So when it comes down to it I think you might have been shopping in the wrong places and you might be best looking around manufactures websites first and then looking for a deal on the same TV at other retailers.

As for what TV to look for, good HD tubes have pretty much the best picture of anything in their size, but they only go up to 34" in widescreen or 36" with a 4:3 tube which tends to cost a fair bit less, and they are both come out to about the same width; so a Sony just like what you have but with HD support is a good option to consider. If you want something bigger I recommend plasmas for overall picture quality, though many people prefer the higher resolutions provided by LCD and DLP displays. There are always rear projection CRTs for a nice big picture too, but share the same viewing angle issues like any rear projection displays and they are heavy beasts as well. What TV you should buy really comes down to what you are after, what you want to spend, and a whole lot of personal preference. I stumbled across guide the other day that explains the basics, I can't say I read the whole thing but from what I saw it looks like a good place to gain some understanding of the different kinds of HDTVs out there. You can check it out here.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: xtknight
DVI (Digital Visual Interface)/HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) are the two common digital connections for HD use. HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a layer of protection that can be applied on to either DVI or HDMI. You'll want HDCP, indefinitely. More and more content will be using it. It's the RIAA/DMCA's new wet dream.

yeah i was abit confused about this, since i dont follow waht RIAA do. i know what DVI and HDMI stand for

i just didnt know which would be needed or which was best.....i thought HDMI had copy protection on it already? and that DVI+HDCP was the equivalent (without audio of course)

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: TheSnowman

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
so something of similar size or greater will be needed. looking round comet today and they have loads of tvs with HD ready stickers

some have DVi, some have HDMI, some have both, some have HDCP....then theres resoutions

I live on the other side of the pond so I can't say for sure but that just soulds like shady retailers there. The European standards require HDMI though DVI or HDMI so any thing with the "HD Ready" sticker coming from a respectable shop should have no trouble working with Sky's upcoming HD service. Also, the 1024x1024 Panasonic you mention sounds off as, at least in the states, Panasonic hasn't sold 1024x1024 displays in quite a while and I checked their UK website and they didn't list any in their current models there either. Granted those old plasmas do still create a damn fine picture, but there is newer and better technology that has replaced them in current product lines. So when it comes down to it I think you might have been shopping in the wrong places and you might be best looking around manufactures websites first and then looking for a deal on the same TV at other retailers.

As for what TV to look for, good HD tubes have pretty much the best picture of anything in their size, but they only go up to 34" in widescreen or 36" with a 4:3 tube which tends to cost a fair bit less, and they are both come out to about the same width; so a Sony just like what you have but with HD support is a good option to consider. If you want something bigger I recommend plasmas for overall picture quality, though many people prefer the higher resolutions provided by LCD and DLP displays. There are always rear projection CRTs for a nice big picture too, but share the same viewing angle issues like any rear projection displays and they are heavy beasts as well. What TV you should buy really comes down to what you are after, what you want to spend, and a whole lot of personal preference. I stumbled across guide the other day that explains the basics, I can't say I read the whole thing but from what I saw it looks like a good place to gain some understanding of the different kinds of HDTVs out there. You can check it out here.

cheers man, yeah i know comet is a pretty crappy place tbh, but that was the only shop worth while visiting while i was at Teesside retail park

we got the Wega from a shop called MSV....basically home enterntainment specialists, they even know BOSE = not very good so dont carry it.

this sony we have now is supreme.....the picture is very crisp. but of course my dads already drooling over HD football! (soccer)

we stayed with some friends in cape cod and they had a massive Mitsubishi rear projection TV capable of 1080p ... it was beautiful from a distance, but yeah close up you cant really take it all in.

my dads got a penchant for sony products....he could be their face for advertising lol he'd pay the extra for a sony, because he knows it'll be worth it.

cheers for the link....ill get reading

 

[kylebisme]

Man I'm sorry, I just read though that link and realized while it has a lot of good information in the beginning of the article I saw on it the other day, the explanations of the pluses and minuses of each display types are rather outdated and incomplete. They mention viewing angle issues on some of the rear projection types but not others, and they talk about burn in with plasmas like the situation was years ago instead of the small worry it is with current panels. I can't find a date on the article but it seems rather outdated, though again it should at least give you a basic idea of what to look for when you are shopping.

Also, HDMI doesn't necessary have HDCP built in, but it is simply a different plug design with sound added to the same video signal as normal DVI. So it doesn't really mater whether you get DVI or HDMI, but HDCP with one or another is a must if you want to be able to use Sky's HD cable service.

 

[ZimZum]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer

Originally posted by: xtknight
DVI (Digital Visual Interface)/HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) are the two common digital connections for HD use. HDCP (High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection) is a layer of protection that can be applied on to either DVI or HDMI. You'll want HDCP, indefinitely. More and more content will be using it. It's the RIAA/DMCA's new wet dream.

yeah i was abit confused about this, since i dont follow waht RIAA do. i know what DVI and HDMI stand for

i just didnt know which would be needed or which was best.....i thought HDMI had copy protection on it already? and that DVI+HDCP was the equivalent (without audio of course)

HDCP is a part of the HDMI spec. All HDMI are HDCP enabled. HDMI in addition to having audio capabilities also has more than twice the bandwidth of DVI.

 

[kylebisme]

HDCP is not licensed by HDMI Licensing, LLC, but by Digital Content Protection, LLC (a subsidiary of Intel).

Hence you can have HDMI without HDCP.

HDMI.org website.

And yeah HDMI can provide more bandwidth, but it isn't used for anything aside from the addition of audio on current TVs, eh?

 

[otispunkmeyer]

well judging by skys HD service they are to show

720p and 1080i

so a tv capable of at least 1080i would be needed, and heh might even be getting a 5.1 surround system since all premiership matches will be broadcast in 5.1 !

so definately need HDCP, and might as well get a HDMI connection as a prefered connection method