Hd Tv............

[TonCrafter]

Ok, since I'm getting an xbox360, I figured I'd get an HDTV as well. I'm clueless on what's good and what's not when it comes to new tvs. So, any help will be appreciate it.

I've seen a few down at a local retailer for a pretty good price, but they say "720p"...............is that good or bad?

 

[The General]

Any HDTV will look clearer and sharper than and SDTV. But yes, 720P means 720 pixels high. My TV is 1080P which is 1080 pixels high. P and i mean progressive scan and interlaced. Interlaced means that every other scan line is refresh at once, progressive means every scan line is refreshed at once.

P > i

1080P > 1080i > 720P > 720i > 480P > 480i, and 480i is NTSC, I think PAL is like 536i or some crap like that.

A 720P HDTV is generally 1366x768, whereas a 1080P TV like mine is 1920x1080. Either of them look fine (actually I have one of both) but the 1080P looks better.

Plasma generally costs more per pixel, but it has way better color depth. LCD looks fine to me, costs less per pixel and generally has worse color depth. Both of them can be hung on the wall. They make very few 1080P plasmas, and I've seen a few where they were 1024x1080, so yes it has 1080 progressive scan lines but its not 1920x1080. It's a cheap gimmick that I want to kill people for.

DLP has good color depth, but it looks all shiney to me and I don't like it. It costs less than plasma but more than LCD, per pixel. Most of them are 1080P. You cannot hang them on the wall.

CRT has the best color depth, but most of them are only 720P and you can't hang them on the wall.

 

[Jorsoft]

I think The General pretty much said it. And if I remember correctly xbox 360 can't output higher than 720P without a firmware update, and even then most games will still not be available for 1080i/p for performance reasons.

 

[TonCrafter]

So, I should be good with one of the 720p tvs I saw then. I found this one and liked it.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5334817

 

[The General]

That's a ripoff dude, for a dollar more you could get a 42" plasma at Costco. If you want a Sony, then go for it, but that TV should cost no more than $600

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11165568&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=

Or for $200 less you could get a 42" Plasma
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16889187015

Those don't have tuners, not to worry, here's a 42" plasma with a tuner for a dollar more:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824187086

37" 1080P w/ tuner, $100 less:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824112174

 

[Snake-Eyes]

Why the need for a tuner?

 

[The General]

My cable company doesn't provide a box, so I can only watch TV on the TV that has a tuner. But I am getting dishnetwork soon so it shouldn't be a problem. But yeah, you won't need a tuner because if you get HDTV stations from your provider, chances are you have a box that is the tuner.

 

[TonCrafter]

I thought there could be a 'burn-in' issue with plasma tvs though?

 

[The General]

I thought there could be a 'burn-in' issue with plasma tvs though?

Yeah, ones from 2000-2005 but they don't have that problem anymore.

 

[Chankama]

Just some corrections..

1080P > 1080i > 720P > 720i > 480P > 480i, and 480i is NTSC, I think PAL is like 536i or some crap like that.

1080P > 720P > 1080i - in terms of visual quality

The fact that 1080i is interlaced, degrades the "quality" of the image significantly when you view the output... On a given "time slice" how much information is conveyed?

720p = 1280 x 720 = 921600
1080i = 1920 * 1080 / 2 = 1036800

Interestingly, the # of pixels for 1080i is slightly higher.. But, the deinterlacing operation along with other factors can severely reduce the quality of the output.

A 720P HDTV is generally 1366x768, whereas a 1080P TV like mine is 1920x1080.

720P = 1280x720 - the "720" is most definitely one of the #s

Keep in mind that "cheap" displays that say we are 720P, obviously have things wrong with them.

Color balance could be poor - interaction between the RGB at various intensities, contrast, gamma control, etc. etc.
Deinterlacing - if you are going to hook this to a normal DVD player or basic cable, the signal will have to be upconverted by the TV from 480i/576i to 720P for example. This unconversion operation is very much dependent on the quality of the TV.
Noise reduction - self explainatory

The best piece of advice I can give is to read reviews. You can list all specs to no end, but unless you actually "see" it, it's meaningless. Go to a store and see them beside each other and see the difference - especially if the "input" is non-HD.