Comments for High Definition 1080p TV: Why You Should Be Concerned at http://www.hometheaterhifi.com , comment 1 to 16 out of 16 comments http://www.hometheaterhifi.com Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:43:55 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-4572 Finally all the questions I've been asking about HD, True HD, 1080p, and picture artifacts have been answered. A weighty read. I read slow and thought a lot. If I had read this first it would have saved me hunreds of hours of research. Thank You -Jim- - Jim Sat, 28 May 2011 13:45:40 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-2500 The LCD flat panel HDTVs with LED backlighting are a huge improvement over the standard fluorescent backlighting. Localized dimming of the LEDs, according to what is in the scene, results in very deep blacks. So, you should focus on checking those out. As to refresh rates, there are several with 240 Hz. They have a native 120 Hz refresh rate, but flash the images twice on the screen, which reduces the visibility of flicker. The 120 Hz is used to interpolate one frame in between two actual frames, which produces a smoother image when the camera is panning or objects are moving across the screen. Our review of the new VIZIO 55" LCD LED HDTV will be published next week. It is a terrific product. Costco is selling them for $1,895. - JEJ Fri, 18 Dec 2009 02:06:41 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-2498 Thanks for an excellent article. I am using a BT Vision box with a Fujitsu lcd 1080p display and it is superb both on SD and HD. I also have a Panasonic 1080p plasma TV and the colour resolution appears very natural. Could we have your comments on the choice of displays for good colour rendition and the possible merits of high refresh rates. Thank you - Brian Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:31:18 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-2341 It would take me several readings before I fully register all the knowledge, but I got a lot of clarification on a number of parts; very useful because I am venturing into HD production and this piece helped piece a lot of elements together. I will read it again and research more. I think the whole writing was perfectly crafted and articulated; the pictures certainly helped. Thank you. - David A. Castro Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:33:24 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-1779 We were not being duped. It isn't bait and switch. Your case is just that you are not fully aware of what HD is, where it came from or where it was headed. I am not making disparaging remarks about you by the way, it is just that some research into the technology is required before making these decisions to purchase. The electronics stores sales people are typically pathetic in being able to sell intelligently. That is they can't get past buzz-words and hype, and don't care to either be properly educated on the technologies, or don't care to tell you and I about them (typically I find it is the former and therefore they can't do the latter). What the general public is not recognizing is that the HD formats had been debated and discussed for years before the current set (and I do mean set) of standards were finalized. Consumers were never forced to buy first or second or even third generation HD anything. It was a choice to be made. HD has also been defined with multiple resolutions and it is only as the technology has progressed that we have been able to buy equipment reasonably priced that matches the standards. I saw HD video in 1992 (yes 1992) of the Albertville Olympics on a 17" widescreen CRT in a demo trailer in Edinburgh Scotland while on vacation. That set was worth $15,000 US dollars at the time. Hardly affordable, and not available then anyway since the standards had not been agreed on yet. The point is not that the electronics industry is trying to dupe anybody, but rather that as consumers (I am not part of the industry in any way), we need to be aware and informed about our purchases and in this case there has been over a decade of "warning" about what was to come. To say we are getting the wool pulled over our eyes is just silly. I bought a DLP rear projector a couple of years ago knowing that LCD would improve and that I was not getting a 1080 resolution set even though it was clear they would be coming. LCD displays that were any good at that time that were any size (over 40") were hideously expensive. Now that the sets are much more reasonably priced I just purchased a 46" 1080p LCD with one of the most drop dead gorgeous pictures I have seen. And I paid 33% less today than I did on the previous set from a couple of yeas ago. Did I buy the new set because I wanted the newer technology? No, we had a need for another unit, otherwise I would have waited for a bigger screen. My previous TV was a 60" SD non-component CRT rear-projector set that cost me over $4K 12 years ago, right when the whole high-res, component, widescreen stuff started. I didn;t want to wait, and I couldn't justify the extra money then either. I knew that some time in the future I would get there. In the meantime a properly adjusted and calibrated set of that vintage was quite stunning in its own right (and considering its age, still is). No it isn't HD but resolution aside, colour and contrast are what its about, and it delivered exceptionally well. However having just paid less than a quarter of the funds on my first set (albeit for a currently smaller picture horizontally) for my new set. I see things just the opposite. The industry is delivering more value as fast as they can at the lowest prices possible. We as consumers have to decide when we want to put the cash down. We can always wait for the "next big thing", but I will be happy to be enjoying my current set in the meantime. I have seen too many crappy HD sets that I would say that even today you still have to shop carefully. - Rick Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:11:02 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-1673 Isn't the Consumer Electronics/Cable Industry really practicing false advertising? When HD first hit the shelves it was advertised as HD period. The reality emerged that the industry is rolling out technology in layered fashion. Each new "improvement" creates need for upgrade of everything but those upgrades result in new requirement for component that you previously bought. Brilliantly effective in selling more gear but entirely unethical. Isn't it just a continuous bait-and-switch scheme. Why are the consumer groups so silent on this issue? - Duped! Tue, 17 Mar 2009 22:21:43 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-1453 Nice article, however, it's 2009 and nearly two years have run their course. What about an article dealing with the new LCD displays versus plasma versus whatever new technology might even blow those away? Nice job. Look forward to reading more. Thanks. - Patrick Rice Mon, 26 Jan 2009 09:53:11 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-1365 It is sad that many of today's technological choices are made by salesmen, which explains why we are still seeing interlaced 1080i video promoted as HD on consumer video cameras and TV sets. Interlacing was a great idea to increase resolution in the days of analogue CRT screens, but is a handicap for digital TFT displays. 1080i is a salesman's choice over eg 720p, a better standard for todays bandwidths. OK, so you can still fudge 1080p24 from 1080i60, but what is the point of starting with 1080i in the first place ? 24 fps might produce an old fashioned "cinema look" but you need higher uncompressed frame rates for fast action. Why the emphasis on spatial resolution at the expense of temporal resolution ? Yes, the price of 1080p TV's is now acceptable, but the required data rate can only be achieved from commercial blu-ray disks - not from the internet (ADSL), video cameras or broadcast HDTV. Young people are encouraged to spend their money chasing literally useless technology, while older people who can afford it wouldn't be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p anyway. - Hibou Thu, 01 Jan 2009 23:29:19 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-1294 Good article, but R U KIDDING ME? - wow Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:34:58 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-1045 I recently purchased a Cannon HV20 1080i video camera. In the next year we will most likely make our first 1080p telivision purchase. My core question is still, if I were to go buy the new Cannon HV30 which is a full HD 1080p video camera, would I see a clearer image versus images that I will see from my current 1080i camera. The excellent artical above answered many questions, but left me thinking that either has the potential to deliver that "BEST" picture. Thanks for a little more clarity for us neophytes to all of this. - Doug Sun, 14 Sep 2008 14:39:25 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-1006 I may have totally missed it but the article seemed to lack a motivating conclusion that wraps up the evidence and points to correct action on part of the buyer. Should we look for a TV with the right Codecs installed? Or is this about Refresh rates? Ok, so if 1080p60 broadcasts will be the standard, will current TV's (even if labeled such) be able to display the full info onscreen? There was a lot of facts but no tying them together...at least not well enough for this novice to understand. Maybe this was purposeful and the main goal was to get people to buy the last of the 720's letting them think it's all just a numbers game, therefore 1080p isn't a step up at all. I know if you try to use one as your computer monitor, you'll notice the difference right away. - RockJohny Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:03:34 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-968 I'd like to know how a Pioneer PDP4080HD (720P)can have a clearer picture than a Panasonic TH50PZ85 (1080P)and a Samsung PN50A650 (1080P)? - Tom Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:29:45 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-946 Will there be an addition to this article to cover the new 120Hz displays? - jamie Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:00:33 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-928 this article is very nice thank you - ramesh Fri, 01 Aug 2008 03:57:22 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-813 I really learned a lot about HDTV in general from this piece. The animations really help and the article basically debunks everything being thrown at you when you walk into an electronics store. However, I need a little more explanation in regards to material being shot at 1080i60, material being shot at 1080p24 and the need for "correct video processing on our end." In part 1 the example shows material SHOT in 1080i60 and I understand why this material needs to be properly de-interlaced using motion-adaptive processing in order to look its best on a 1080p display. Part 3 confuses me though because the article mentions how most 1080 material accessible today was shot (or transferred-from-film) in 1080p24. Doesn't this logically mean that motion adaptive de-interlacing isn't necessary in this case? The whole frame was captured from the start. Since a broadcast's signal is coming from a progressive source, the interlaced fields just need to be combined and the duplicates thrown out and bam, you're back to the original 1080p24. Then, the 2-3 cadence is applied to fulfill the 60hz refresh rate of the display. Where is the need here for motion-adaptive de-interlacing if the scene is SHOT in 1080p24? The author mentions that some sports and live shows fall into a realm other than 1080p24 - Can you please elaborate? Are this the realm that needs motion-adaptive de-interlacing? I re-explained the gist of the article just to make sure I got it right. Please correct me if I got this wrong. - Greg D Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:45:13 +0100 http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/technical-articles/155-high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html#comment-54 I really enjoyed your article. But, what specfic steps can I do to improve my picture. I currently have the 1080p panasonic TH50PZ77 TV with a High Definion satellite, a pansonic blue rays disc player and upconverting DVD player. What is the best way for me to get the best possible picture from my satellite, blue ray disc player, and upconverting HDMI dvd player? - Neil Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:53:51 +0100