HDTV...Whats best?

S

StArGaZeR

Weaksauce
Joined
Aug 13, 2005
Messages
119
I'm ready to purchase a HDTV and I've already narrowed down alot of the different choices. I'm choosing plasma over LCD for 2 simple reasons, viewing angle and contrast ratio. The thing that I'm having a hard time figuring out is the display format. For instance, here is the TV I'm currently looking at... http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/samsung-fp-t5884/4505-6482_7-32514525.html?tag=sub ....you can see that this TV is listed as a 1080P (Full HD) but when you look at the supported video input formats it says...
Input Video Formats
480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i

So my question is, how can it display a 1080P HD picture if it can't accept input any better than 1080i ?? am I missing something here?
 
Like many plasma displays (and a number of LCDs, but less so, particularly recently) it takes that signal, and processes it to come to "1080p".

It most certainly does not do 1:1 pixel mapping, and is therefore not ... er ... acceptable for pc usage.
 
Good choice going with plasma....anyone who tries to steer you away most likely has never owned one and still believes 10 year old myths that have long ago been debunked. Since you indicated this will be a "tv" and didn't mention pc hookup or gaming...plasma is the clear choice. I recommend the new Panasonic 42" 1080p (can't recall the model #) as the best for cost/quality and the Pioneer Kuro for the best you can get without getting ridiculous as far as the price.
 
The most important thing I can tell you is to research all this on www.avsforum.com

I did when I bought my 46" 1080p LCD. Best decision I ever made. If I hadn't looked on there, I would've bought a TV with many known problems. Just take into consideration the fact that a lot of people on there are serious home theater buffs.
So complaints they might have about some aspect a certain TV's picture quality, you might not even be able to see.

Don't trust CNET completely. I used to use it for everything. Then I started finding specialized forums for the things I wanted to research/buy. They almost always have much more knowledgeable people then CNET. For instance, I found hardforum when I was researching which computer to buy. If I had trusted CNET I probably would've bought a Gateway or something. Instead I came here and got input from people who really know what they are talking about. I ended up getting a Velocity Micro desktop and couldn't be happier. Best PC I've ever had.

It's the same thing with AVS Forum. The people on there, that's their hobby (perhaps obsession for some ;) ), and they are very knowledgeable. And no I don't work for them.

Good luck, I know from experience what a daunting task buying an HDTV is.
 
For HDTV, I'd suggest start by looking at the next gen releases:

Plasma -- Pioneer Kuro panels

LCD -- Samsung selectively LED lit panels

Both are brand new and apparently represent substantial advances in black level/contrast performance...

(And I agree, AVS Forum is a great source of info...)


BTW: Much of TV content is film, natively progressive, and can be reassembled to progressive from an interlaced transmission. 1080I native video (e.g., sports) can be approximated to 1080P via conversion routines of various levels of complexity (and expense...)
 
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