Please explain HD TV specifications

aliEnRIK

Taffybiker wrote: »

No one has mentioned i or p yet. I means interlaced and P means progressive. It is to do with the way the picture is made up. A 720p will almost certainly look better than 1080i.
However, 1080p is the true HD standard. Whilst the difference between the standards is negligable at the moment, this is largely because true HD is not being received. Mostly it is electronic upscaling. To future-proof your investment though, 1080p and at least 100Hz would be the way to go in my opinion.

A 1080i or p tv will almost certainly look better being fed with a 1080i source than a 720P as theres no scaling involved. Unless its 'de-interlacer' software is poor then it might be better in 720P (Unlikely though, as most scalers are worse then the deinterlacers)

720 tvs could look better in either. Really depends on the scaler involved

you say at least 100Hz but if the extra Hz arnt processed correctly then it could easily look WORSE than a 50Hz tv

NOWSE

Thanks for the replies guys. I've picked up some good pointers. Although the replies do show that it's sometimes difficult to separate fact from opinion.
Since my original post I've called into a Currys branch and a Richer branch. The guy in Currys didn't seem to know any more than I did. The guy in Richer said that no HD is broadcast at 1080 and that, as I mainly want to use it to watch broadcast tv, I should go for a 768 model with 100hz. He then showed me some 42" plasmas.
I still haven't decided what to go for yet (partly because I want to see if anything comes up in John Lewis' sale at weekend). I have decided that the 42" Hitachi, that I bought from Argos at the start of their sale last week, is going back. I'd bought it on the basis of it being full HD but didn't unpack it as I wanted to do some more research before committing to it. Unfortunately I found more negatives than positives.

aliEnRIK

DONT buy an hitachi. Theyre rebadged tvs (Hitachi dont make tvs anymore)
Buy a Sony, Panasonic or Samsung
The guy at richer doesnt know what hes talking about, sky AND virgin hd are broadcast at 1080i (HE ment 1080p)
A 768 model will be fine if it has a decent enough scaler (My pioneer is 768 and blows just about EVERY other tv ive seen out the water for picture quality save my dads Pioneer)
Dont get roped into all the 'specs'. None of the following really matter ~ Hz, pixels, contrast ratio, all the extra 'crap' the manufacturers come out with (super XL4 sharpness enhance or whatever the hell)
You need a tv that scales well, has good 'picture quality' (NOTHING to do with Hz etc), has enough hdmis and whatever other connections you need (Scarts, svideo etc)
Bear in mind most tvs have poor sound (If this matters then your going to have to spend more and look for 'sound' reviews too)
Look at proper reviews (NOT opinions as the people that simply buy one and post an opinion dont have anything else to compare it to)
Looking at the fact you were prepared to buy a cr*ppy Hitachi I think id be buying a Panasonic plasma from Richer.