'Don't buy a HD Ready telly thinking it's high-definition – it's not' blog discussion

It also worth considering that for screen sizes under 32" most people would be hard pushed to see a difference between the picture on a "HD Ready" TV and "Full HD 1080p" TV.

There also the problem of TVs being HD and having Freeview built in but not supporting Freeview HD channels.

HD *typically* comes in 2 flavours (720p/1080i and 1080p), but there is no definition of HD beyond being a marketing term. It is just not SD (Standard Definition). Must admit I am surprised this is news enough to be bloggable, we're best part of a decade or so into 'HD'. There are also many more, higher resolutions and aspect ratios used in cinematic digital projection for instance.

Interlacing was a stroke of genius for making pictures seem smoother, especially for things like sports. In fact, football etc look pretty horrible when shot progressive. Progressive works well with a good cinematographer who understands how fast an object can and cannot pass through a frame, or the fastest you can pan without getting stuttering. Alas everybody thinks progressive images are inherently 'better' than interlaced ones, the case isn't as simple as that.

Me, I actually still prefer the picture on a good CRT.

Given that probably quite a few people will have been buying new TVs recently, triggered into it by approaching digital switchover, which has now happened across about 90% of the country, I think Martin could have produced this useful advice a little earlier.

Switchover here started roughly a couple of months ago, and the old Freeview box was superseded, and the CRT telly I bought on eBay a few years back has always had its digital tuner go off after half an hour, so although one choice was just another Freeview box the excuse for a new telly instead managed to gain ground.

So I looked into and got the hang of all of this a couple of months ago, and I don't think I'll have been alone.

I reckoned if it was going to be HD at all it might as well be 1080, and went for one also supporting having an internet connection.

A lot of people forget to figure out where they are going to be sitting and how far away the TV is going to be.

The Screen size and distance to the viewing area makes a big difference in buying a TV along with the source.

For example viewing SD content on a 42" TV (capable of 1080p) would be about 12 feet minimum distance, any closer and you would notice the blockness (though most image processors nowerdays are good at filling in the blanks (remember 576 resolution is only the source, you still see all 1080 lines, which means the TV is creating 500 extra lines which it's made up itself) ) but back to the distance, viewing 1080p content on a 1080p 42" TV would only be about half the distance (meaning you can sit closer without noticing any problems).

Also the further away you are from the TV the bigger the screen should be.

The best way is to trust your own eyes. There are some great 720 line 'HD Ready' TVs out there and some not so great 1080 line 'Full HD' sets.

My four year old 42" 720 line Panasonic plasma still shows a better picture both in standard and HD modes than a lot of modern 1080 line TVs.

At the time I bought it I was working in the TV/Home Cinema trade so had the luxury of being able to have a good play with lots of models, both 720 and 1080.