HD TV Help

lambchop9428 · #1 (**permalink**) 01-05-2008, 12:46 AM

So, I just recently got a PS3 and Want to get the most out of it. I plan on buying some Blu-ray Movies, but not until I have a TV that will make the juice worth the squeeze, so to say.

I'm just wondering if any one has any advice on what to look-out for and/or any pure awesome TVs. I don't know much about prices and to be honest I haven't even begun to look. Any info will help.

01-05-2008, 01:11 AM

The phrase, you get what you pay-for; greatly comes into effect here. But basicly, if your looking to get the most out of your PS3 and Blu-ray discs, then your probably going to need / want to go flat HD plasma.

I'd suggest looking at getting a 1920 x 1080 dpi wide screen, though one thing to look for, is alot of TVs that claim to be 1080 dpi, aren't running it natively, and still running the 760dpi scaled up to 1080. Try and find yourself one that is 1080 native, I would also suggest looking for a TV that supports progressive scan (i.e. 1080p native) A setup like this is going to cost you $1,500+; if you have the space for, and the know-how, I might suggest looking into getting a real-time projector instead. ( One not optimized for stills, you'll burn out the bulbs too fast, or worse, fry it permanently )

lambchop9428 · 01-05-2008, 01:16 AM

Wow, that was probably the most perfect answer i could of hoped for. Now i know exactly what to look for. But first i must save some money. xD

So, What i need to find is a progressive scan supported HD plasma TV. Mind explaining what Natively means? I understand it's not 780dpi scaled up, but are there there any other types out there? Just so i don't goof up and regret anything later.

**HeartAttack** · 01-05-2008, 04:13 AM

Native resolution means just that: the resolution your monitor is, pixel for pixel. If the computer monitor you're using is capable of 1280x720, then it's native resolution is 1280x720. Other resolutions may me possible to use, such as 640x480, but it's native resolution would be 1280x720.

LCD's are getting cheaper, and their quality is getting higher. If you're looking for 1080p, then LCD is where it's at. Firstly, you won't really find many Plasma displays with 1080p capability. Secondly, if you do, it will cost an arm and a leg.

Plasma displays, while generally having superior contrast ratios to LCD's, are more susceptible to burn-in than LCD's as well, sometimes making them the inferior choice. LCD's also generally weigh less. DLP's may be something to look into as well.

EDIT: @ AlexL: what's all this talk about 1920x1080 dpi? That really makes no sense...Also, what do you mean they don't run 1080 non-natively? The things you are saying aren't really making sense to me...It's not coined as "dpi", it's either "i" or "p", interlaced or progressive.

Any 1080p set is progressive scan, as is any 720p set, and they will all display at their native resolution, should the source material originate at that resolution. There were some older sets that couldn't run 1080p natively through an HDMI connection, but that problem has long since been squashed. That, and they are all widescreen resolutions by default.

HD CRT monitors are now nonexistent, and those were the only one's capable of displaying 1080i natively. Any Plasma or LCD monitor is progressive scan by default, as it is their nature due to the fact that the display doesn't have to refresh itself like a CRT display does. The typical, NTSC HD resolutions are 1280x720 (720p) or 1920x1080 (1080i or p, depending on if it's a CRT or not). Another gripe many have with Plasmas is the fact that you lose horizontal resolutions sometimes. You'll see some Plasma displays with odd resolutions like 1024x720, and even though that's not a widescreen resolution by it's physical nature, the monitor will still be widescreen. This is due to the use of rectangular pixels. It effectively gives you a widescreen, but the pixel ratio isn't 1:1, thus taking detail away.

The reason they do this is because the failure rate among higher-resolution Plasmas is high.

01-05-2008, 02:08 PM

@Lesman, my oppologies for the confusion, at the time I posted this I was having a conversation with a few different people; an' some of what I meant for them got posted here and vise-versa. Such as the dpi, I was discussing a camera and the photo resolution and that accidentally got put in my above post.

As for the 1080 non-native, it's quite possible that I am thinking of a peripheral, such as a dvd player, game console, ect, that doesn't support the 1080 resolution and will scale from the 720; I'm not entirely sure, this is just something that has come up in some of my discussions and I can't clearly remember everything about the issue.

With the Plasma vs. LCD, this is something that I am indifferent on, I personaly own a plasma and have never had a problem with it; though I have heard of quite a few plasma users having problems with their displays. This is something I should have probably elaberated further on in my first post.

Swift19 · 01-05-2008, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexL

@Lesman, my oppologies for the confusion, at the time I posted this I was having a conversation with a few different people; an' some of what I meant for them got posted here and vise-versa. Such as the dpi, I was discussing a camera and the photo resolution and that accidentally got put in my above post.

As for the 1080 non-native, it's quite possible that I am thinking of a peripheral, such as a dvd player, game console, ect, that doesn't support the 1080 resolution and will scale from the 720; I'm not entirely sure, this is just something that has come up in some of my discussions and I can't clearly remember everything about the issue.

With the Plasma vs. LCD, this is something that I am indifferent on, I personaly own a plasma and have never had a problem with it; though I have heard of quite a few plasma users having problems with their displays. This is something I should have probably elaberated further on in my first post.

the 1080 non native is the XBOX 360. it can display 1080p resolution but all it does is scale from 720p. there were articles on this way back and i think this is what you're referring to.

**HeartAttack** · 01-05-2008, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexL

@Lesman, my oppologies for the confusion, at the time I posted this I was having a conversation with a few different people; an' some of what I meant for them got posted here and vise-versa. Such as the dpi, I was discussing a camera and the photo resolution and that accidentally got put in my above post.

As for the 1080 non-native, it's quite possible that I am thinking of a peripheral, such as a dvd player, game console, ect, that doesn't support the 1080 resolution and will scale from the 720; I'm not entirely sure, this is just something that has come up in some of my discussions and I can't clearly remember everything about the issue.

With the Plasma vs. LCD, this is something that I am indifferent on, I personaly own a plasma and have never had a problem with it; though I have heard of quite a few plasma users having problems with their displays. This is something I should have probably elaberated further on in my first post.

Okay I gotcha. Some cheap HD-DVD players will only upscale 720p material as 1080p for display, but, as you said, if your money is spent correctly then you shouldn't run into that issue. I've had just about every display type out there, and I can say that I definitely like Plasmas, and if you're careful and break it in correctly, then you shouldn't have any issues with it. But, like I stated, if you want 1080p then LCD is definitely where it's at in regards to price/quality ratio.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swift19

the 1080 non native is the XBOX 360. it can display 1080p resolution but all it does is scale from 720p. there were articles on this way back and i think this is what you're referring to.

It's a requirement that all Xbox 360 games are rendered internally at 1280x720. There have been a few exceptions, most notably PGR3 and Halo 3, which are actually rendered at around 1280x600 for performance reasons. The scaler then simply scales it to 720p. There are a select few games that DO render internally at 1080p. Aside from those, the rest are simply upscaled.

lambchop9428 · 01-05-2008, 10:57 PM

Thanks for all the advice. I'll probably look into this "breaking in" of a Plasma and see if it's something i can handle. I'm not exactly bringing home the big bucks so I don't want to get something I will one day mess up. But i do want to get something high quality enough that I won't have any regrets about in the future.

Right now my PS3 is laughing at my standard TV. It still looks amazing but... I can barely read the text

**HeartAttack** · 01-06-2008, 07:14 PM

What's your price range and space requirements?

lambchop9428 · 01-09-2008, 11:52 AM

Space shouldn't be a problem. Me and my current roommates are getting a new apartment. It's a large place but I'm not exactly sure yet. And for price.... As much as it takes to get something awesome >.>

I'm going to be putting some money away for it.