PM's list of the 10 ten HDTV myths..

ah802

Popular Mechanics top ten myths...

Myth #1
You need a cable or satellite TV subscription to watch HDTV programs.
Fact: If you live in or near a city, it’s likely there are several over-the-air local TV stations broadcasting HDTV programs, which you can watch for free. ABC, Fox, NBC, CBS, PBS and CW networks all offer HDTV programming (local HD listings are available at antennaweb.org). You can receive them with the tuner in your HDTV set or an external DTV set-top receiver, but you need an external HD antenna.

Myth #2
You can buy a flat-panel HDTV with 1080i resolution.
Fact: Much of the confusion on this one comes from the difference between broadcast formats and display resolution. Some networks broadcast using a 1080-line “interlaced” (refresh every other line every other frame) signal, while others broadcast a 720-line “progressive” (refresh every line every frame) signal. But all flat-panel TVs display video progressively, regardless of the source signal. The way to assess the resolution of a plasma or LCD set is to check its total pixel count (e.g., 1280 x 768, 1920 x 1080, etc.).

Myth #3
HD video can’t be recorded to regular DVDs.
Fact: Yes it can. New blue-laser discs such as Blu-ray and HD-DVD have high capacities, up to 50GB, but conventional red-laser DVDs can hold hi-def, too. Recording capacity is about 30 minutes for an HD program with the MPEG-2 digital compression system in widespread use today. But efficient codecs such as MPEG-4 and Windows Media can fit entire HD movies onto conventional DVDs that play back on computers and some DVD players.

Myth #4
A 1080p TV is always better than a 720p TV.
Fact: A 1080p set (one with at least 1920 x 1080 pixels) does have higher resolution than a 720p (at least 1920 x 780) set. But the importance of those extra pixels depends on the size of your TV and the distance you are away from it. If you are sitting more than 8 ft. from a 42-in. HDTV or more than 10 ft. from a 50-in. set, you won’t notice the difference. If you mostly watch standard-def TV and DVDs, an expensive 1080p set makes no sense — a 720p set will work fine.

Myth #5
An HDTV set automatically converts all programs it receives to HDTV.
Fact: HDTVs can stretch a standard definition (SDTV) image to fit their screens, but they can’t magically add resolution. Since SDTV has only 720 x 480 pixels, hi-def TVs tend to magnify the fuzziness of standard-def video — sometimes making it look worse than it would on a non-HDTV set.

Myth #6
All flat-panel televisions are high-definition.
Fact: To make sure you get HD resolution, you need to do pixel math. Many 42-in. plasma TVs are sold with 1024 x 768 pixels. But the two high-definition broadcast standards are 1280 x 720 (720p) and 1920 x 1080 (1080i). So 1024 x 768 plasmas give you only 85 percent and 38 percent of the pixels, respectively.

Myth #7
To get the best-quality HD, you need expensive cables.
Fact: Not true. If the cables running from your DVD player or cable box aren’t particularly long, you should be fine with inexpensive video cables. The extra shielding in expensive cables that prevents interference in analog equipment won’t improve the image of digital video through HDMI or DVI cables — the signal either comes through or it doesn’t. And the savings can be huge: 6-ft. HDMI cables range from $20 to $160.

Myth #8
HDTV means consistent picture quality.
Fact: Definitely not true. To transmit HDTV programs, cable system operators, satellite companies and over-the-air broadcasters compress their signals. And some shows are compressed more than others. To fit more programming into existing bandwidth, broadcasters often take a channel designed for one HD program and squeeze multiple SDTV and HDTV programs into it. That can lead to squirmy backgrounds and other compression “artifacts.” Unfortunately, there’s not much that average viewers can do about this — except to complain to their cable or satellite providers.

Myth #9
All 1080p HDTVs accept 1080p input signals.
Fact: There are a few “1080p” HDTVs out there that have 1920 x 1080 pixels and can display 1080i television signals, but can’t accept an external 1080p signal from a scaling DVD player or HD-DVD and Blu-ray players. Always check the manufacturer’s specifications for signal compatibility.

Myth #10
Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs always offer the highest possible resolution.
Fact: That depends on how the discs were mastered from the original movie. Some discs are transferred from an early-generation digital copy, while others are scanned from a later-generation film print of poorer quality. There’s no labeling on the Blu-ray or HD-DVD packaging to give customers a quantitative measure of relative video quality, but it’s worth scanning reviews on enthusiast Web sites.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/tech....html?do=print

That Boy Eyght

Thanks for the article. It actually cleared up a few questions for me and a friend.

rbinck

Very good article. I moved it to the Lounge so it could be a sticky.

__________________
www.highdefinitionblog.com
www.BlogOfHawaii.com

Lee Stewart

Myth #11

In February of 2009, all TV broadcasts will be in HD. Not true. All analog broadcasting will end and be replaced by Digital signals - which are not the same as HD Digital signals. They are 640x480 presented digitally as opposed to 1920x1080 or 1280x720

firsTraveler

"You need a cable or satellite TV subscription to watch HDTV programs."


True - if you live anywhere except a big city

rickybennett

not all flat screens are HD my sister had one that was not and i had one that was not to at one time

BrianO

False. Just ask the people in rural areas in northern New York state and Vermont who watch their HD via OTA antennas. For example, Plattsburgh NY and Burlington VT hardly qualify as big cities but their TV stations serve a wide area on both sides of the border.

paulc

Actually it's the opposite as well. One of the joys of big cities (and this can vary by city) is that OTA is NOT an option for anything, not even SD TV. AND in most of my borough, both OTA AND satellite are NOT options.

As for far rural areas, I know about OTA issues but I kinda thought all of those areas could get satellite.

Location, location, location!

m_vanmeter

"paulc"
OTA and satellite are not options because ???
tall buildings, poor signal?
apartments with no access to external antennas?

The broadcast signals are there, but I can see how in a dense city multi-path and signal reflections would make reception very bad.

The "magic distance" is about a 50 mile radius around a urban center for OTA reception. Distances up to 90 miles or so are possible with high gain antenna mounted on tall masts or towers, but this is trial and error and very unpredictable.

But ultimately you are correct: Location, location, location

JMS

Myth #12
HDTV is better than movies.

http://www.highdefforum.com/showpost...4&postcount=21

paulc

Indeed tall buildings are a factor, but location is more important in that you're line of sight to the broadcast antenna. There were big swaths of folks who got decent OTA before our Towers fell, broadcast antennas moved to the Empire State building and many lost. Satellite issues involve line of sight to the bird AND many buildings who will NOT allow plain old tenants to externally mount the small dishes.

There WAS a second cable company (RCN) but they totally stalled any build out because they ran out of money and couldn't raise any additional capital. For some unknown reason, they seem to still be operating, but only serving the very limited number of buildings they hooked into 10-15 years ago. Part of their issue was being totally dumb, their initial approach was that a building HAD to of 100% for their services, you had NO CHOICE of anything else.

BTW, I've read posts from guys in rural areas of rolling hills that have issues with OTA as well. I've anecdotally heard of folks in such deep valleys that satellite can't really get into (I found out Direct's bird is about 30 degrees high so it's easy to conceive an area where it can't get to).

BrianO

Yes. Location is important, even for satellite.

All the birds are at the same height above the equator. They have to be to maintain a geostationary orbit. However, the apparent height of the birds depends on the latitude and longitude of your location. The further you are from the equator (latitude), the lower the bird appears to be in the sky. The futher east or west from your location (longitude), the lower the bird appears to be.

paulc

Absolutely correct, thanks for a further clarification.

ercjncpr

The newer 19 inch LCDs are rated 900p, not 720p

edders

[quote=paulc;309278]Indeed tall buildings are a factor, but location is more important in that you're line of sight to the broadcast antenna. There were big swaths of folks who got decent OTA before our Towers fell, broadcast antennas moved to the Empire State building and many lost. Satellite issues involve line of sight to the bird AND many buildings who will NOT allow plain old tenants to externally mount the small dishes.

BTW, I thought the FCC was addressing the issue of apartments/satellite dish antennas. I know a couple of years back the commission was leaning toward allowing renters reasonable rights to install a satellite antenna, even when cable was available, they may have changed their position though! It is usually hard to get a landlord to recognize the FCC rules anyway!

Ed in Sacramento