Looking into buying an HD Tv. Am totally clueless,

Community Forums/General Help/Looking into buying an HD Tv. Am totally clueless,

WERDNA(Posted 2011) [#1]
Hey folks!

My old Tv is dying, and I'm looking into buying a new one. Seems the only real
option these days is HD.

Now...

I am clueless as to how HD works.

Question #1
I have heard great controversy on this, but is HD bad or good? Does it look unnaturally
weird, or enhance the tv watching experience?

Question #2
If I don't like HD, is there anyway to 'shut it off'?

Question #3
I understand that the HD factor will only really work, with HD compatible channels.
So on normal channels it will look just like it does on my old tv?

Also what about video cassettes and DVD's? Will those automatically be in HD,
or only if they were HD compatible?

Thanks folks,

The Clueless Werdna


Yasha(Posted 2011) [#2]
HD = higher resolution. That's the only important aspect of it. All it means is a more detailed picture, same as resolution on PC. Think back to every time you got a new PC monitor. There are always some luddites who think you can and therefore should use a PC at 800x600 (shock! horror! that's not even widescreen!), but nobody listens to them either.

DVDs are digital and will be in the resolution they were made at, so some oddness may occur when the image gets scaled to the bigger display resolution. Cassettes... I think are analogue? But they won't necessarily have been recording with a fine enough level of detail and thus may be slightly blurry or distorted. Consider that an equivalent situation in gaming might be to play something like Quake on a modern computer: it looks a little odd simply because you can see how low-res the textures are in a way that wouldn't have been possible in 1996.

I don't think there's any suitable description for the kind of stupidity that could ever drive anyone to recommend SD over HD to you just because your original media was recorded in a lower quality.

The label has probably been harmful; it implies something new and scary where there isn't anything. It's just the up-to-date (not new, standard by now) version of the technology.


Floyd(Posted 2011) [#3]
HD looks fantastic. You will wonder how you lived without it.

Broadcast channels, which I don't have, are in whatever definition they are.

On my cable service there are seperate channels for standard and high definition. The HD channels nearly always end in D or HD. For example I have CNN and CNNHD, CBS and CBS-D.

Can you shut it off? You don't want to, but the TV will have several inputs. I use two of them. One comes directly from the cable box. So it is in whatever definition the channel is. The other if from my old DVR/VCR, which also takes input from the cable box. This reduces to standard definition. So in effect I can choose which definition to use by selecting inputs. Incidentally it upscales DVDs to 1080 HD. This isn't true HD, but it looks remarkably good.

The biggest aggravation is probably the aspect ratio, 4:3 for SD and 16:9 for HD. The TV lets you select various modes; Zoom, Full, whatever to get the best effect. Zooming SD will generally fill the screen left-to-right and lose some image at the top and bottom. But sometimes SD movies will already be scaled to the proper ratio, typically 640 x 360. This will appear as a box in the middle of the screen unless Zoomed so it fills the screen. Again, this will be upscaled and looks better than expected but worse than HD.

Finally, don't get conned into buying hideously expensive HDMI cables. Perhaps you need them for THX/Dolby sound, but I wouldn't know. I bought four cables for $12 from buy.com and they work nicely for HD and ordinary stereo, which is all I have.


xlsior(Posted 2011) [#4]
Hd does look better - essentially you get get about six times the number of pixels In 1080 mode as you do in analog.

Hd will look significantly better, SD will look the same as old analog.

If you don't like it (extremely unlikely) you can normally configure your dvr/cable box/whatever to limit to 480i output, or hook up your incoming signal by rca instead oh hdmi and it will automatically be.limited.

You really won't want to, though.

anyway, any Hd tv will automatically scale the appropriate resulting - you vhs tapes.will look the same, bluray will look better, dvd will look the.same or better if you happen to have an upscaling dvd player.

you do need to connect things by hdmi to use Hd though, if you use svideo or rca cables you still get a crappy low res signal.


Matty(Posted 2011) [#5]
There are other factors to think about when buying a new TV (I work for a company that produces and sells these things) -

LCD / Plasma / LED - they behave differently, for example fast moving objects often have ghostlike images trailing behind them on LCD (due to low refresh rate), the colour black is better shown on some TVs than others due to the backlight used on the screen).

If you are interested I can speak to one of the technical guys here and find out other info (I just do the application programming, but we operate a service centre and warehouse for our brand and have plenty of people here who know a lot more about TVs than I do).

Cheaper TVs are usually exactly that..cheaper TVs - and may have different return rates, but usually the quality is not quite as good - or the sound from the TV is not as good as a more expensive one...some cheaper models emit a buzzing sound from the speakers which can be noticeable..also the sharpness of the picture - despite having more pixels - can differ as well as the colour balance and levels.

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-=Darkheart=-(Posted 2011) [#6]
Have a look at this site:

http://www.hdtvorg.co.uk/guides/guides_main.aspx

It deals with most of your querys.

Basically it comess down to a choice of either LCD/LED or Plasma and that will partly be informed by the size of TV you want to buy and how far you sit away from it.

Much of the content people watch on HD TVs is still Standard Definition (SD) because there are not that many HD channels yet (compared to SD ones).

Darkheart


BigH(Posted 2011) [#7]
If you're going from a crt to a lcd etc one thing you'll probably need is a new sound system for it. CRT tubes are big and therefore the tv box was big and therefore the speakers had room to work properly. HD tvs are thin and therefore the speakers are forced to work in a box which prevents any sort of (decent) bass response.


Ross C(Posted 2011) [#8]
Alot of HD tv's i see these days, might only be a uk thing though, have the built in usb ports, which you can use in TV's inbuilt freeview tuner to record programs directly onto the USB stick. Magic!

Can't fault HDTV either. I usually have had good luck with value vs quality with LG tv's. I must repeat Floyds point about HDMI cables. Get one off ebay or some place. There's no real need to get a £80 cable, unless your a total AV freak. The picture looks fantastic with the cheaper cables.


Floyd(Posted 2011) [#9]
Another thing to consider is that plasma TVs use considerably more electricity. This is easy to check by feeling the top of an LCD and a plasma TV. The plasma will be HOT.

Most stores display their HDTVs on two levels, one above the other. I've noticed they generally put the plasmas on the upper level. That can't be an accident. It makes it much harder to notice how hot the plasmas are.

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Ross C(Posted 2011) [#10]
It can be real hard going to a shop and looking at TV's. They tend to place the crap model next to the slightly less crap one. And repeat that till your at the top of the range TV's. Makes it hard to select one. So go in with a price in mind when you shop :) And ditto to the plasma tv's being higher up.


GfK(Posted 2011) [#11]
I bought a 40" panasonic viera plasma tv a few months ago and its awesome.


dynaman(Posted 2011) [#12]
If you have not had an HD TV the major change you will need to adjust to is aspect ratio. Many old devices automatically fill up the whole screen - even though an old screen is 4 by 3 and HD is 16 by 9. This means that older style pictures will be stretched (making everyone look big boned...)

It is possible to adjust the aspect ratio on almost ALL HD sets (every set I've ever seen). Sometimes it is not obvious what aspect ratio is needed though (DVDs are the worst for this, was that Full screen, wide screen, etc...)

The only other "problem" with HD is that if the talking head (news programs) does not have the right makeup - then you often see banding on the face (due to how the light reflects). Older TV's used to mask the effect due to pixels bleeding into each other.


Wiebo(Posted 2011) [#13]
Another thing to consider is that plasma TVs use considerably more electricity. This is easy to check by feeling the top of an LCD and a plasma TV. The plasma will be HOT.

This may have been the case a few years back, but tests now show that most new plasma's use generally about the same amount of power as a backlit lcd TV does. Plasma TV power use is dynamic (lots of white pixels is more power used), whilst LCD tv's are static (always the same power used)
In the end, they move towards each other in power use.

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Winni(Posted 2011) [#14]
People are still buying TVs...? I gave up on TV more than ten years ago and don't miss it.

Anyway.

"Full HD" resolution: 1920x1080 aka 1080p
"HD ready" resolution: 1366 x 768 aka 768p/720p

1280x720 is also 720p; can be nicely scaled to the typical 27" resolution 2560x1440.

Some also sell 1024x768 as 768p/720p

I don't know about TVs, but DVDs look awful on HD computer displays - their resolution of 720x480 is way too small too still look good. You really want to "upgrade" to BluRay (rips) when you use an HD screen.


GfK(Posted 2011) [#15]
Another thing to consider is that plasma TVs use considerably more electricity.
My TV is plugged into the wall outlet via an energy saver. The Pnasonic Viera reduces the amount of power it uses depending on the brightness of the image on the screen. In movies with a lot of dark scenes it does not even draw enough power so that the energy saver realises its still actually on, and will cut the power after 20 seconds. Bit annoying but it emphasises the point that modern devices are super-efficient.

[edit] The one downside to my plasma TV is that the screen does get slightly warm when its on - no bad thing in itself, but flies like to sit on it for some reason.

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-=Darkheart=-(Posted 2011) [#16]
One additional point, if you are buying a HD TV now, it is a good idea to make sure it supports 1080P (native) and at least 120Hz or even 240hz so that is it supports 3D which could get more significant over the next 5-10 years.

On cables:

HDMI is a digital signal so it either works or it doesn't, there's no point in buying expensive cables, they will make no difference to quality.

HMDI cables are VERY easy to damage, moving them around, stress etc. can damage them. Get them in the position they will be in and leave them alone. I have mine in trunking and this has worked well.

If you are buying cables now you want cables that support the 1.3 HDMI spec at least, if possible 1.4 spec but it's not very important. As stated above a HDMI cable is HDMI cable there is no advantage in paying extra and 1.3 and 1.4 cables can be bought very cheaply at most places.

Darkheart

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dynaman(Posted 2011) [#17]
> and at least 120Hz or even 240hz so that is it supports 3D which could get more significant over the next 5-10 years.

Unless it says it is 3d the refresh rate does not matter. If you want one that can do 3d then get one that says it can do 3d.

> HDMI is a digital signal so it either works or it doesn't, there's no point in buying expensive cables

Ditto, NEVER buy cables at the store - you can get ones just as good for a tenth the price from Amazon (or just about any online retailer). Not kidding about the tenth the price bit either, local store has cables selling for $30+, I got the same length cable from Amazon for $3.


xlsior(Posted 2011) [#18]
Something else to consider about LCD/LED/Plasma:

- Plasma looks good, but uses more power / produces mode heat. It also -degrades- over time.
In the store the plasma may look a little better than the LCD, but after a few years the same LCD will still be going strong while the plasma won't look as good anymore. Over time plasma TV colors may appear less vibrant and it may be a little blurrier than when it's brand new.

The difference between LCD and LED is in the backlight: LCD has a single rectangular light panel behind the screen that illuminates everything more or less equally. LED uses LEDs to illuminate small portions of the screen at a time. That means that on an LED screens you get higher contrasts, and 'black is blacker' than on an LCD screen. Side-by-side LED will look better, but LED is more expensive and the difference may not be worth the extra cost to you. LED panels also tends to be thinner than LCD.

Ditto on the cables: a digital signal works at 100% or it doesn't at all. $3 Bargain bin cables will look exactly the same as $200 monster cables. Also keep in mind that stores tend to aggressively push their 'superior' cables, often with sales people flat-out lying about the difference they'd make -- after all, the store often makes more profit on selling you a single $40 cable than they do on selling you the entire TV itself in the first place: high-tech items like computers and TV's have razor-thin profit margins these days. You will NOT get 'better colors' or 'crisper image' or whatever with a 'higher quality' cable.

As far as HD vs. SD is concerned: I had a 1080p TV for the longest time with a standard SD incoming signal. The biggest difference I noticed after switching to HD programming, is that the cartoons looked *much* crisper. life-action programming looks better too, but it was the most noticable with HD cartoons.


WERDNA(Posted 2011) [#19]
Wow, thanks for all the info everyone.

Basically I could care less about 3D or any special features, I just want a basic tv :)

I don't like the sound of plasma using more power and heating up (especially since where I
live the weather can get over 100 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer),
so I think I'll go for LCD.

And major thanks on the heads up about the cables! I'll poke around on amazon.com.

Thanks everyone, and I'll post a picture when my tv arrives, lol. Just to let you know which
model I settled for ;)


Mr. Write Errors Man(Posted 2011) [#20]
HD can look slightly disturbing for a couple of weeks, especially if you are watching films / shows with low production values and you are making the jump straight from CRT/SD system. It can make you very aware that you are watching a recording of something that happened in a studio.

But the effect will wear off in time. And high quality HD films of course look absolutely stunning.

If you are watching a lot of movies, you might consider getting a Blu-ray player (like a DVD but in HD).

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WERDNA(Posted 2011) [#21]
If you are watching a lot of movies, you might consider getting a Blu-ray player (like a DVD but in HD).

I don't watch much tv :)

Lately all I've been watching in the way of movies, are the laughable scifi original movies
with very low budget monsters. Always good for a few laughs.


dynaman(Posted 2011) [#22]
> Lately all I've been watching in the way of movies, are the laughable scifi original movies


You are a sick, sick, sick, sick, sick, sick, man. SS Doom Trooper is one of the best too.


WERDNA(Posted 2011) [#23]
lol


Hotcakes(Posted 2011) [#24]
I'm late, but oh well.

I am clueless as to how HD works.

You really are, aren't you?

HD basically just defines a minimum resolution the TV displays at. You know how larger resolutions in computer games provide a crisper picture? Same applies here. Most people consider '720p' (1280 x 720) the minimum HD resolution, where 1080p (1920 x 1080) is supported by probably the widest range of TVs. There are also larger resolutions, but I doubt you'll be able to tell much of a difference between 720p and 1080p.

is HD bad or good?

It's good. It's not a gimmick like 3D. A higher resolution can't be anything other than good.

If I don't like HD, is there anyway to 'shut it off'?

Most TVs accept many differing formats ranging from 480p (SD) to 1080p and beyond using a variety of different cable types. HDMI provides the biggest bandwidth and carries both audio and video in one cable - this is the cable most devices will want you to use for HD. Don't go to any major retailer and pay more than ~$15 for a HDMI cable, btw. They like to sell you cables worth hundreds of dollars, when a $15 or less will do the job just fine.

If you really wanted to switch back down to SD, you'd do so by connecting standard A/V, composite or SCART cables, which are only capable of providing a 480p image. You would look at the SD image for about 5 minutes and think to yourself 'why am I doing this?'.

I understand that the HD factor will only really work, with HD compatible channels.
So on normal channels it will look just like it does on my old tv?

Yup. Well, more or less.

Also what about video cassettes and DVD's? Will those automatically be in HD,
or only if they were HD compatible?

VHS... umm... you can probably throw that away :) But yes it will look the same as it always did.
DVDs theoretically will look the same, as has been mentioned they are recorded on-disc as sub-HD. However, a good DVD player (or a good TV) will upscale the image to a higher resolution, filtering most of the notable artefacts that comes with such highly compressed media.

Really though, you don't need a HD TV unless you want to use a console. Film and TV are heavily pre-processed images, designed to look their best at the low resolution and frame rate they come in. It's not going to suddenly stop looking acceptable just because you've upgraded. You will notice *some* improvement in Blurays vs DVDs for example, but it's not going to be enough to warrant converting your entire library to Bluray, or indeed even buying the more expensive Bluray titles over the DVD versions. Consoles on the other hand... there's very little post-processing done on the image sent out, since consoles lack the real time power to do so, so they benefit greatly from a larger native resolution... exactly the same as computers do.

...

As others have pointed out, get an LCD over a plasma. Plasmas were good when LCD technology was new, but the two displays are no longer different enough to warrant spending extra on the running cost of plasmas and destroying the environment etc. Your wallet will thank you.


WERDNA(Posted 2011) [#25]
wow, thanks for the lengthy post Hotcakes!

I'm glad that I'm considerably less clueless now about HD. I always thought it was
more than just higher resolution, lol.

Really though, you don't need a HD TV unless you want to use a console.

Or unless it's the only option :)

Just about every single tv on www.amazon.com is an HD one. That's why I started this
post to begin with, since it seems to pretty much be the standard now.


Thanks everyone!


xlsior(Posted 2011) [#26]
There's a few other things when comparing it to old TV's, in that HDTV's are all digital and many of the older ones are not. That means that your HDTV will allow you to do partial zoom, widescreen, black bars, etc. which can make the image much easier to watch and less distorted, since more and more of the broadcast content is in widescreen now.

Other than that, it's pretty much "just more pixels"


Hotcakes(Posted 2011) [#27]
Or unless it's the only option :)

That too :)