why hd... laymans answer?

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positivenote

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hi folkes, need to get a tv for the dinnibg room, thinking of about a 32' plasma, but have heard that lcd hd ready is a better option. in laymans terms why should i go the hd route???
any ideas on prices would be great also, thanks a mill
 
32" seems to be where lcd and plasma overlap, with plasma being cheaper for larger sizes. I think alot of the differences between the 2 are now gone, lcd can have a narrower viewing angle than plasma (but generally not a problem now), similarly older plasmas were vunerable to screen burn, but less of a problem now. I find lcd screens "sharper" and plasma "warmer", if that helps :) Best to go with the picture you like best your self.

From a size point of view 32" may be too small to notice any difference, I've heard it said it's only at 42" you start to notice the extra detail. Again go with what your eyes tell you.

A normal tv picture is about 500 lines, HD is 768, 1080 or higher. (& either i - interlaced or p - progressive, progressive being better).

The problem with HD is sources, what will you watch. Sky HD is coming out now, not sure what will be available or the cost. The xbox 360 is HD compatible. Some newer DVD players will 'upscale' a picture to HD, but current DVDs are not HD. Competing formats are only now emerging and it's not clear how may films will be available (& at what cost).
 
Cheers,

if im on NTL Digital and i use my TV for viewing dvd's also, Is it true that i would have to replace a NON-HD television in a few years? I was presuming that in a few years you will require a HD Ready TV to view somethings broadcast that wouldnt be accessible if you had just a normal LCD or Plasma?
Thanks
 
tiger said:
32" seems to be where lcd and plasma overlap, with plasma being cheaper for larger sizes. I think alot of the differences between the 2 are now gone, lcd can have a narrower viewing angle than plasma (but generally not a problem now), similarly older plasmas were vunerable to screen burn, but less of a problem now. I find lcd screens "sharper" and plasma "warmer", if that helps :) Best to go with the picture you like best your self.

From a size point of view 32" may be too small to notice any difference, I've heard it said it's only at 42" you start to notice the extra detail. Again go with what your eyes tell you.

A normal tv picture is about 500 lines, HD is 768, 1080 or higher. (& either i - interlaced or p - progressive, progressive being better).

The problem with HD is sources, what will you watch. Sky HD is coming out now, not sure what will be available or the cost. The xbox 360 is HD compatible. Some newer DVD players will 'upscale' a picture to HD, but current DVDs are not HD. Competing formats are only now emerging and it's not clear how may films will be available (& at what cost).
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Just to add to Tiger's message, it is generally accepted that on 30" or above, you will notice a difference when you view High Definition versus Standard Definition. However, you probably won't notice the further difference between the various HD resolutions - 768 scan lines (768p where p = progressive scan) or 1080 interlaced lines (1080i), or even 1080 "full lines" (1080p, which is still quite rare and most TVs don't fully support it yet or anyway) unless you get a 40" display or sit close to the display or both.

However, there is no doubt that High Definition broadcasting is the way of the future, and in my humble opinion, there is no point in buying a SD TV now which is already obsolete, as your TV or your DVD player will do a reasonable job of "filling in" the lines to make your 480 line DVD fill your HD 768 or 1080 line resolution.

[broken link removed] is coming out in May.

HD-DVD players are already on sale in the US and a competing standard pushed by Sony called Blu-Ray is coming out later this year. (Check out this thread.)

NTL are supposed to be launching HD Cable TV in the UK [broken link removed]. Don't know about Ireland, though.

If you're into gaming, the Xbox 360 does 1080i so you can play games in HD. Sony's Playstation 3 - due in November - will have a Blu-Ray drive so will play [one of the competing standards for] next-gen high-def DVD discs.

2007 is definitely going to be the year HD becomes mainstream!
 
so in laymans terms you reckon i should buy a HD ready lcd tv as one that is not HD Ready will be obsolete in 2 or 3 years?
 
positivenote said:
so in laymans terms you reckon i should buy a HD ready lcd tv as one that is not HD Ready will be obsolete in 2 or 3 years?
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Absolutely, yes.

Your SD TV will look good for "normal" analogue broadcasts.

Your HD TV will look ok for "normal" analogue broadcasts, will look better for DVD and will look much better for upcoming sources such as Sky's HD, and the next generation of High Definition TV.
 
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