Hd Tv

baconbarris

Hi all. wonder if anyone out there could give me a brief run-down on what exactly hdtv is and whether or not having it justifies the purchase price on the telly along with the increased sky subscription. thanks very much

T4i

Wait a couple years and save hundreds if not thousands. As any new technology gets intorduced they can charge a damn fortune.

Its already been reported that Sky have reduced the image quality on some 'main' channels to allow for HDTV broadcasts. This is making some people very angry as they pay premium fee's/month for sky sports etc, only to find out the image has been reduced making it pixelated and quite harsh on the eyes.


If I did take the plunge into HDTV I would have to see the TV working in front of me. I was in Curry's the other day and I don't know if its how they set the TV's up but some of the HDTV pictures are damn horrible. They had a fish/water scene playing on all the TV's showign off HDTV, the LG's looked awsome, all the others looked poor. It could just be the way Curry's link all the TV's to a distribution box.....

wolfman

I agree with T4i. HDTv isn't ready yet. The technology is at a premium, there's no media (films etc...) and no (or very few) broadcasts. It's being heavily marketed but won't be mainstream for at least another year probably two.

Just seeing tv's marked as "hd ready" puts me off as I'm not prepared to pay large amounts for a tv that is merely "ready" and not yet able to use the technology. Wait until it is, you'll get a better, more advanced tv, and probably for quite a bit cheaper.

jon_r_2

Was in my local John Lewis today,at the moment the Panasonic 42" (or 37") seemed to outstrip the competition.Picture quality looked superb,but bear in mind 2 factors H.D.will only outshines on tv's over 37 inches,second the quality will only be as good as what the broadcaster transmits!Prices have fallen and will continue to do so at an alarming rate,the salesman's advice,hang on a year or so !

Astaroth

HD really isnt that new and the prices are massively lower than they were 3 years ago.

The problem with all technology is that it is changing all the time - at the moment the maximum that most screens will show is 1080 interlaced (ie it does what normal TVs do at the moment which is to "draw" half the screen first and then second half) but when the sony high definition DVD players come out (Blu-Ray) it will support 1080 progressive scan (ie it draws the whole screen in one go)

In addition to this where as at the moment for high def is only available on plasma, lcd and rear projection screens in the next year or 18 months there will be another 2 types of screens coming out - but of cause the first generation of these will most likely have bugs.

There will be no point when you can get "the screen" which will be the best thing for years... there will always be the next big thing just around the corner so at some point you have to decide to jump on the bandwagon or you never will.

baconbarris

anyone any opinions on 37" or 40"?

baconbarris

anyone got any bright ideas as to cheapest places to get em (and also wall brackets?)

schiff

There is a little deception in showrooms that you might need to know about!

When I was in John Lewis a while back I mentioned to one of the salesmen how fantastic one of the pictures was on one of the TVs on display - it was really superb for clarity and definition.

The TV was playing an HD DVD and not relaying a TV programme!

Astaroth

For best picture quality on SD then the flagship CRT screens will give you the best picture but top of the line plasma/ LCD are close second these days. For HD sources then there is obviously no contest.