TV query

Rumman

Hi, were looking for a new tv to buy, with HD ready about 37-42 inch but the problem is were bit stuck on the jargon. There are some HD tvs out there but then dont have HDMI socket, or is not HDCP enabled also there are LCD and plasma tvs.

Could someone give me a low down on what HDMI, HDCP is? do we need both of them for High definition. Also what is the picture difference between LCD and plasma? is it viewing the picture at different angles or so?

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5362059/Trail/C%24cip%3D42492.Sound%2Band%2Bvision%3EC%24cip%3D47161.Plasma%2Band%2BLCD%2BTV%26%2339%3Bs.htm
that at argos looks like a good deal but has no mention of the how many HDMI sockets, etc, so is that true HD? what are the main features i should look out for?

I would be grateful, thanks

cdbrown

Here's a description of HDMI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI
and HDCP http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDCP
Perhaps take a look at this http://www.drmblog.com/index.php?/archives/80_DTV_+_HDTV_+_HDMI_+_HDCP_+_DVI__BAD_DRM.html
Lots to read over and understand the implications of not getting something that is HDCP enabled (even though they are supposed to be HDCP enabled as part of HD Ready label in the EU)
Other questions you need to ask is
Do you have anything that outputs using HDMI?
What components are you going to be connecting to the tv? What cables do they use?

Some further info
The HD Ready logo appears on all TV screens and projectors that are compatible with HDTV signals. HD Ready screens must meet the following specification:
Minimum 720 vertical lines (the latter figure when a resolution is written out, e.g. 1280 x 720)
Analogue component video and either
DVI or HDMI inputs
Support for HDCP content protection
Able to display 720p
(1280 x 720 at 50Hz and 60Hz progressive)
Able to display 1080i
(1920 x 1080 at 50Hz and 60Hz interlaced)

Hope this makes sense - boss took us out for lunch and drinks

Rumman

Cheers for that. So that one link at the top that tv any good? worth it? m confused whether to go for plasma or lcd, plasma seem cheaper

Astaroth

There is HD ready and HD compatable - the former is "the full thing" HD compatable means that it doesnt meet the standards required for the HD Ready status - this can be something relatively minor or something very significant.

HDMI is a socket type for a digital signal that carries both sound and pictures
DVI carries the same picture signal as HDMI but doesnt carry sound - it can be both digital or analogue but for the HD Ready standard it must carry digital. As they are the same signals you can get cables that have HDMI plug at one end and DVI-d at the other though with DVI or a hybrid cable you need to have a seperate cable to link up the sound.

HDCP (high definition copy protection) will be increasingly used to prevent people making pirate copies of things - undoubtably there will be devices brought out to remove it/ ignore it but really the system should accept it

There are many threads on arguing which is better out of plasma and LCD. General accepted idea is that 32" and below should be LCD 42" and above plasma and 37" can go either way. Once issue plasma does have is screen burn which is particularly an issue if you intend to play consol games. On the other hand LCD has slower reaction and so CAN suffer from motion bluring in fast moving scenes and the black level isnt always as good.... in short, a lot comes down to personal preference.

One other consideration is that when Blu-Ray (one of the formats for HD dvds) comes out it will support 1080p output from the disks. A standard HD Ready screen only has to support 1080i so will not get the best out of it... there are a few 1080p screens out there but the last time I looked they were either very large screens or very expensive but in the fast moving technology that flat screens currently are this may have changed in the last few months.


EDIT
The above screen you mentioned is neither plasma or LCD but the 3rd option which is a rear projection screen - similar in basic theory to the projector you get in a pub etc but rather than the projector being infront of the screen it is built in behind it.

I dont like RPT screens personally so cannot say anything about this screen in particular. In general however they tend to be much cheaper per inch than the other 2 technologies but suffer from dark screens (on some models particularly in the corners) and a shallow viewing angle. They are also somewhere between a plasma/ LCD and traditional CRT in thickness

cdbrown

Bravia's are a top quality HD tv from all acounts. Unfortunately I can't really answer as I don't have a HD tv of any sort (just a crummy little crt) and am just doing spot googling to help out.
Edit - and that one is 50" compared to the 37-42" you initially mentioned. Make sure you aren't sitting too close.

Rumman

Thanks Asteroth, thats a great post summed up more or less what i wanted. On a side note, for longevity, both have similiar shelf life? wont die out after a few years?

EDIT: was looking at this http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/store/dix_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1889680667.1162312436@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccciaddjffjmhmecflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&sku=341056&tabIndex=1&page=Product&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null
best ive seen for that price, i was wondering is it worth buying it with the egg card, where you get 5% cashback and then 6 months interest free of which to pay it back with?

Thanks

Astaroth

I personally have a big thing for Panasonic when it comes to TVs so I personally would go for:

http://www.electricaldiscountuk.co.uk/itfx_product_details.php?pid=5438&PHPSESSID=84eacd6614f3dadfb2eda6c013898459

The original plasma screens did have a life expectancy issue but from all accounts these have been resolved and life expectancy of the screen itself is now about 60,000 hours so if you "only" watched 6 hours of TV every day it would give you about 27 years of viewing if my maths is correct - of cause other elements in the electronics could fail before that.

sporty1

I bought a tv 18 mths ago, at the end of Jan 07, it was HD READY with 2 HDMI sockets, i packed in smoking to buy this!;)
As technology changes so fast I DID MY RESEARCH i made sure that the tv was good technology wise for at least 4-5 yrs i.e HDMI etc. The tv came with freeview various ways of connecting appliances and most importantly HD READY, as i wanted in the future to connect to High Definition on whichever source, so now Oct 08 i choose to connect to sky HD who is one of the biggest supplier of digital throughout the uk.
I now this week have took the offer from sky £75 hd box + £35 installation total £110, using the savings of my ciggie money ( i’m proud of it packing in smoking ).
Sky engineer came out to install on 13 oct 08 and was emmediatly prompted with a HDCP banner across the screen. Saying this is not compliant with HDCP Basically the people in Hollywood copying there films shown on tv onto dvd players etc, I was told by the sky engineer that one of there technical boffins would ring me to explain the situation , after speaking to him at long length he basically told me it is a tv issue and not a sky problem, i therefore got intouch with PHILIPS the manufacturer of my tv, who are fully aware of this issue and offer a free software/firmware upgrade so that the tv and sky box do an electronic handshake ( accept each other ) the upgrade is via a usb dongle which is sent free of charge in the post simply insert into tv and follow the instructions and it solves the issue. Unfortunately my tv doesn’t have a usb port, when i told Philips this they quickly told me i would have to go through there recommended tv engineers as it is out of warranty at a cost of a minimum of £165 + VAT AT MY COST
( i dont think so ), i have now had to go down the route of trading standards who have told me that the book stops at the retailer who sold me the tv as it does not suit the purpose it was originally bought for HDMI connection (under the sales act of 1979 ). I am still awaiting the response from the retailer .
So to clarify i have purchased a HD READY TV to watch HD when i’m ready (which is now! :j , BUT CANT BECAUSE OF THIS HDCP BANNER ) :mad: Philips say i need the upgrade software to which they don’t have a plan B of getting it into my HD ready tv because i have no usb on this model ( unless i do the other option above at my cost, by having it sent away the back took of to make it then HD viewable ).
I think this is totally unacceptable as i purchased the tv HD READY at a cost of £1200 so not a cheap tv ,
As anyone else experienced this problem if so how was it resolved , bearing in mind the new sky boxes only support HDMI connection
thanks

aliEnRIK

HDCP tends to be fine on all the latest tvs (decent BRANDED tvs at least, Sony, Pioneer etc)

Dont look into all the jargon too much as theres very little between LCDs and Plasmas these days. generally speaking LCDs are ok upto around 40" and Plasmas are fine for 36" upwards

Makes to look at are Pioneer (the VERY best), Sony or Panasonic.
Ones to avoid are LG, Sharp, Toshiba, Philips and any of the 'supermarket cheapies'.

If you go for a Pan or PioneerI would suggest a plasma
Sony make some cracking LCDs

The only thing you should look for is the number of HDMIs and the size your after. I would suggest 3 as EVERYTHING will use them in the future (Until the next great connection comes out). But bare in mind what you have NOW that needs plugging in. Also bare in mind you 'GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR'. Cheap BIG tvs tend to be awful.

Any questions ask away

What size are you looking at?