High Def Forum - Your High Definition Community & High Definition Resource - View Single Post - Half Empty or half full? Why 768x1024 is HD

weberman · 02-20-2006, 08:32 PM

The following is a composite of research into HDTV.

High Definition TV = 1080i

HD-DVD and BLU-RAY are both 1920X1080 (If you don't believe this look up the specs)

Technically speaking, both HD-DVD and and Blu-Ray would have enough capacity to hold the same ultra-high quality movies. (With stunning 1920x1080 resolution, a lot of people will have to upgrade their TV sets too see it, even recently purchased ones.)

What is 1080? Why does this number matter?

There is a world of new terms and stretched out images and slick sales talkers out there, ready to "yes" you into buying something. Since you have more questions than they can answer, you may well find that you are on your own. Lets break it down to the useful facts and make sure you know why before you buy, and get the most out if it when you do.

The most basic stuff:
You need to know resolution, or how many pixels make the picture. Each pixel is a group of red, green, blue elements.

The most basic stuff:

1080 lines of resolution means 1080 rows of pixels from top to bottom of your screen with 1920 pixels per line across the screen from left to right.

HDTV is 1920 wide by 1080 high pixels in resolution.

Resolution: The "Other" HD is 720 lines

Basically, 720 line or 720p was created as an interim HD format and has the benefit of being 2 times faster in frames per second displayed. It is 1280 by 720 pixels and according to industry specs is considered HD. Typically a TV built (designed years ago) for this resolution is marketed with a 1366 by 768 display, and internal scaling up-samples the 720 lines to 768 lines to fill the screen. There are also 852 x 480 EDTV's that are big and wide and look like they may be high definition... but they are not.

Native Resolution: What is Being Sold?

Although it is perfectly legal to say that a TV is "HDTV" or "HD-Ready" when it has less than 1080 lines of resolution, It really is the low-end of HD TV.

I'm sorry, but 768 (720) HD is NOT the best HDTV.
Typically the larger Plasma TV's priced at $2500 on up are like this. They are easy to want beacuse they look great in the store, but they will NEVER display 1080 in all its pristine glory, which is the reason you wanted HDTV in the first place.

If you want truely stunning crisp HD - you need 1080 resolution.

Sellers are begining to know this too, and may well leave the native screen resolution out of the Specs they list. If you see NO resolution specs listed, then that is a clue to pass on it. If the display can do 1080i/1080p then they will surely list that.
Buyer Beware ::: Many of these TV sets will accept a 1080i input signal and then display it ok at 1366 x 768 which is 1/2 the number of pixels. WHY PAY HUGE $$ and get HALF the resolution?

Interlaced vs Progressive scan

This one annoys me, since the research you will get elsewhere indicates Interlaced content is not so good. WRONG. I will belabor the details later, but if you have a decent DVR/set top and or LCD HDTV, the picture you get to see is not interlaced anyhow. Most of the time each frame of an HDTV image is buffered by the system to make a full screen 30 times per second regardless of how it arrives to your system. The de-interlacing firmware that handles building the image is what matters, and most are so good you cannot see any problems. The Best in my humble opinion has the name "Faroudja". Propperly handled, interlaced source comes out rather like Film with a nice eye-pleasing motion blur where things move fast.

Bottom Line
The right stuff is a NATIVE RESOLUTION 1080i / 1080p system with Faroudja de-interlacing and filtering. Dont settle for anything else and you will be very happy with what you got.

... and you want the HDCP (DVI) in there since it is the right protection mode that your future HD-DVD and broadcast will use. TV's without HDCP will see junk when it goes into use.

The biggest problems arise in the system as a whole and that is where the details start to matter. When selecting an HD Monitor, resolution choices will muddy the water on selections. There can be a big difference between what an HD Monitor is and what an HDTV is. The practical reality is that you want a TV that does all resolutions without a problem, technology options for managing that make the difference in what to buy, what to expect from it and how to use it. It is currently a Buyer Beware market.

02-20-2006, 08:32 PM	#61
weberman ONLY HI-DEF Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 139	Let the Flames Begin The following is a composite of research into HDTV. High Definition TV = 1080i HD-DVD and BLU-RAY are both 1920X1080 (If you don't believe this look up the specs) Technically speaking, both HD-DVD and and Blu-Ray would have enough capacity to hold the same ultra-high quality movies. (With stunning 1920x1080 resolution, a lot of people will have to upgrade their TV sets too see it, even recently purchased ones.) What is 1080? Why does this number matter? There is a world of new terms and stretched out images and slick sales talkers out there, ready to "yes" you into buying something. Since you have more questions than they can answer, you may well find that you are on your own. Lets break it down to the useful facts and make sure you know why before you buy, and get the most out if it when you do. The most basic stuff: You need to know resolution, or how many pixels make the picture. Each pixel is a group of red, green, blue elements. The most basic stuff: 1080 lines of resolution means 1080 rows of pixels from top to bottom of your screen with 1920 pixels per line across the screen from left to right. HDTV is 1920 wide by 1080 high pixels in resolution. Resolution: The "Other" HD is 720 lines Basically, 720 line or 720p was created as an interim HD format and has the benefit of being 2 times faster in frames per second displayed. It is 1280 by 720 pixels and according to industry specs is considered HD. Typically a TV built (designed years ago) for this resolution is marketed with a 1366 by 768 display, and internal scaling up-samples the 720 lines to 768 lines to fill the screen. There are also 852 x 480 EDTV's that are big and wide and look like they may be high definition... but they are not. Native Resolution: What is Being Sold? Although it is perfectly legal to say that a TV is "HDTV" or "HD-Ready" when it has less than 1080 lines of resolution, It really is the low-end of HD TV. I'm sorry, but 768 (720) HD is NOT the best HDTV. Typically the larger Plasma TV's priced at $2500 on up are like this. They are easy to want beacuse they look great in the store, but they will NEVER display 1080 in all its pristine glory, which is the reason you wanted HDTV in the first place. If you want truely stunning crisp HD - you need 1080 resolution. Sellers are begining to know this too, and may well leave the native screen resolution out of the Specs they list. If you see NO resolution specs listed, then that is a clue to pass on it. If the display can do 1080i/1080p then they will surely list that. Buyer Beware ::: Many of these TV sets will accept a 1080i input signal and then display it ok at 1366 x 768 which is 1/2 the number of pixels. WHY PAY HUGE $$ and get HALF the resolution? Interlaced vs Progressive scan This one annoys me, since the research you will get elsewhere indicates Interlaced content is not so good. WRONG. I will belabor the details later, but if you have a decent DVR/set top and or LCD HDTV, the picture you get to see is not interlaced anyhow. Most of the time each frame of an HDTV image is buffered by the system to make a full screen 30 times per second regardless of how it arrives to your system. The de-interlacing firmware that handles building the image is what matters, and most are so good you cannot see any problems. The Best in my humble opinion has the name "Faroudja". Propperly handled, interlaced source comes out rather like Film with a nice eye-pleasing motion blur where things move fast. Bottom Line The right stuff is a NATIVE RESOLUTION 1080i / 1080p system with Faroudja de-interlacing and filtering. Dont settle for anything else and you will be very happy with what you got. ... and you want the HDCP (DVI) in there since it is the right protection mode that your future HD-DVD and broadcast will use. TV's without HDCP will see junk when it goes into use. The biggest problems arise in the system as a whole and that is where the details start to matter. When selecting an HD Monitor, resolution choices will muddy the water on selections. There can be a big difference between what an HD Monitor is and what an HDTV is. The practical reality is that you want a TV that does all resolutions without a problem, technology options for managing that make the difference in what to buy, what to expect from it and how to use it. It is currently a Buyer Beware market.