confused full HD/HD ready

castle96

what 'extra' equipment do I need for an HD ready tv,to get HD pics ?
If I buy a full HD tv, I assume this equipment is already built in - yes ?


Currently I have sky (and a freeview box) connected to an older TV, and VCR, looking to change to a new LED/LCD/plasma TV, and I suppose, some sort of hard disk recording device - MORE confusion !!

macman

No, it's not built in to either. An HD Ready or Full HD TV can display HD, the only difference is the resolution. Additionally you need an HD tuner to receive HD.
You can get HD via VM cable service, Sky satelite service, Freesat satelite service, or Freeview HD aerial service (the latter is availabe in your region). The last two options are free, but limit you to 4 HD channels.
If you buy a TV with a Freeview HD tuner then that is all you'll need. For a PVR, you'll need the relevant HD version on your preferred platform.
Suggest you look at the Humax PVR's.

kitschkitty

As I understand it HD ready TV can't provide you with HD quality images as it only provides a screen resolution of 720 where as full HD is 1080. So while HD ready is a slightly higher screen resolution than conventional TV, if you play full HD media you will actually lose image quality. It'll still look better than a conventional TV, but not a patch on full HD.

I was just showing my mum the difference the other day as we bought a full HD TV (though at the moment the only HD we watch is a few programmes on BBC iPlayer) but my dad just went & bought a HD ready TV (he just wanted a flat TV to put on the wall), without thinking to find out what all the tech terms meant first! mum is a bit annoyed seeing as they already pay loads for Virgin.

almillar

macman is correct, kitschkitty is utterly wrong.
HD Ready is part of a labeling programme between manufacturers early on - to be able to have this sticker a TV must have at least 1 HDMI port, and have at least 720 vertical lines. So the TV is READY for a source to be plugged in and will display an HD picture. Full HD isn't really official, and should really be called, in most cases 'Full HD Ready', where the only difference is that the screen has 1080 vertical pixels instead of 720. The only way the 'Ready' part doesn't apply would be if the TV can display something in HD without plugging something else in - as in FreeviewHD, FreesatHD or a BluRay player.

castle96

thanks folks. so many people seem to be soooo confused