HDTV, ask your questions

[Reaper]

I did about a months worth of research into HDTV's and i know pretty much everything and anything about them.  Any questions?  I will post the answers here as you ask them. 

What is a HDTV to start with?
HDTV stands for High Definition Television.  There are many types of HDTV. The most common types are known as 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p.

Whats with these different types of HDTVs?
480p shows 480 lines of horizontal resolution that is refreshed every 1/60th of a second.
720p shows 720 lines of horizontal resolution that is refreshed every 1/60th of a second.
1080i shows 1080 lines of horizontal resolution that is refreshed every 1/30th of a second.
1080p shows 1080 lines of horizontal resolution that is refreshed every 1/60th of a second.

What is the difference between DLP, LCD, CRT, Plasma and LCOS?

DLP-- DLP or Digital Light Processing is used in projectors, which means that the image is projected into view. That image is created by microscopically small mirrors on a semiconductor chip. These tvs are known for good dark colors and good contrast rations, as well as an ability to produce a large amount of light.  One setback to this type of tv is the lamp to power these mirrors usually lasts 4-5 years with average use, compared to the 15-20 years of other sets.  These lamps are replaceable although.

LCD-- LCD or Liquid Crystal Display is a flat type tv that uses very little power.  They are used as new computer monitors because they are remarkably thin and produce very sharp colors.  They also produce good contrast ratios and brightness levels.  A problem with these tvs are the fact that they are expensive at larger sizes compared to other HDTV sets, making them ideal for bedrooms or computer monitors rather than a home theater display.

Plasma--  Plasma tv's are used in many large tv's today.  They are thin like lcd, although they are capable of producing better blacks, contrast ratios are higher, wider viewing angles, fast response times and have a larger practical size compared to LCD.  A problem with these types of tv is the fact that they had issues in which static images were "stuck" on screen, although new tvs are preventing this problem.

LCOS-- LCOS or Liquid Crystal on Silicon is a projector technology which can produce extremely high contrast ratios and very high resolutions. Sony's SXRD is a combination of 3 LCOS chips that can produce 1080p native and a contrast ration of 15,000:1, compared to the average resolution of 720p and around a 2500:1 contrast ratio.  One setback of these tvs is the fact that they are more expensive than other types, although you get what you pay for.

There is a difference in the lighting on a Plasma and an LCD. Plasma produces its image directly from the panel providing clear, bright pictures with a high contrast ratio.  LCD is a back lit technology, so in a scene where the screen is supposed to be pitch black, the back light shines through making it appear gray.  In a bright room plasma would give about the same brightness as an LCD, but in a darker room, the Plasma would look better.

What's the difference between HDMI and DVI? 
HDMI is a High Definition Media Interface port, it is capable of streaming uncompressed audio and video. 
DVI is a Digital Video Interface, it is capable of streaming uncompressed video only.
The only difference between them is the ability to send sound as well as video.
Cables for these are less than 10 dollars shipped to your house. (in most cases)
http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024004&p_id=2412&seq=1&format=2&style=

It is possible tht plamsa tv's are dangerous for the employee to make because they give off small amounts of radiation.  The amount of radiation, howerver, is small, there is more radiation given off of a tube tv.

[Gavia]

Start from the ground up..

What the hell is a HDTV to start with?
Whats with these different types of HDTVs?
*Every sort of question possible for and about HDTVs*?

[HoffmanMyster]

I basically know the answer, but Ill ask for others...whats the difference between LCD, DLP, Plasma, and SXRD??

[Takahashi]

Is an LCD or Plasma better in a brightly lit room?

[nab]

What's the difference between HDMI and DVI and which is better for a Sony Brav.. er.. Which is better for a large 52 inch tv?

Because cables are like 200$

[Graphis]

I heard a rumor about plasma tv's that they're very dangerous for the manufacturer to make, I mean, the employee of them, working in a third world country.

Heard anything about this?

[User]

I'm not surprised about the hazards.
On black friday my girl tried to get a replacement 56" rear projector for $500 (to fix the RGB interlacing got qouted at $600) Insdead she came home with a 42" plasma. I was pissed when Sony didn't include HDMI cables, even more pissed when I went and got sony cables for $60 (yeah I know) and then it wouldn't work with my TV. It says there is a signal, but no pic or sound. Even with the 5 sec hold down config. No avail from either company. Any one know how to polish that turd. Component cables are doing the job till then, but the drop in quality is just lame.

[Poseidon04]

One Change, and an Addition, just because I"m an engineer at a tv station, not that its a huge thing but

480p is not HDTV ... its, in my world of tv engineering, refered to SDTV (standard definition television) but to the public consumer its considered EDTV (Enhanced Definition television)

now for the addition,

HDTV (if available in your area) can be received for FREE with a tv that has an ATSC tuner,  (marketed as a "digital tuner")  all you need is a decent antenna and that tuner, if your tv has one your set, if your tv does not you can buy either a stand alone atsc (digital) tuner OR you can get dvd recorder/vcr units with digital tuners,  or dvr's with digital tuners.  If you are a satelite subscriber and can't pick up local channels but have a tv antenna on your roof, try the following, unplug the RG6(coaxle cable) that runs to your satelite box, and plug it directly into your tv, in most cases you will see that you can see the locals ... most satelite boxes strip off a lot of the RF (radio frequency) signal and once it is jumpered back to your tv there isn't enough to see this signal.  Why am I telling you this?  Because if you want you can watch local channels in HD without paying the extra money for the satelite company to provide the HD channels!!!

If you have any other questions feel free to ask!!!

-PoSeIdOn04

[MattZani]

1. HDMI Carries sound, DVI only carries picture
2. Plasma is better for a TV that size
3. HDMI cables have no quality difference, a £10 cable is just as good as a £100 cable.

[Poseidon04]

2. Plasma is better for a TV that size

Remember one big thing with plasma is "burn in" .... be carefull as most tv stations are only on "hd" programming a few hours of the day, and some stations do not auto stretch their signal to fill a wide screen tv ... if they don't and your plasma isn't set on a stretching format then you will have to black bars on either side of the picture since the station is transmitting in a normal 4:3 format  ... in this case your high dollar plasma will have burn in

-PoSeIdOn04

[MattZani]

no you won't. if there's black bars, there can be no burn in. besides burn in is no longer fatal, every TV has a program (static) to get rid of it.

[Poseidon04]

no you won't. if there's black bars, there can be no burn in. besides burn in is no longer fatal, every TV has a program (static) to get rid of it.

Burn in is still very present in PLASMA tv's ... especially when there are black bars on the side.

http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/home_av/tvs/0,39037594,39169380,00.htm

check out number 4 ...

plasma's quality started out extremely supurb to lcd, but now lcd's have made major advancements.  Plasma is still hands down better quality, but the gap is diminishing almost on a daily basis.  We've already replaced one of our GM's plasma's with an lcd because of burn in.  But when set up side by side with an lcd you can hardly tell a difference....

-PoSeIdOn04

[MattZani]

how old is that? got a article published this month stating that Plasma's no longer have serious screen burn. and that any screen burn can be solved with a few hours of static TV.

[Poseidon04]

That article was january of this year, and yes they are making advancements in plasma technology with burn in, however that technology isn't at all saturated into the television market, meaning that if you go buy a tv today the chances that this burnin REDUCTION(cause its not a cure, it is just a reduction) isn't part of the tv unless your paying a grip for the tv, and since most of the time the sales are what catches people's eyes the really cheap tv's that are on sale are not going to be the newest tvs.  Burn-in is just part of the plasma technology ... the same way crt's had (and still suffer from) burn-in.

-PoSeIdOn04

ps, i grabbed the first article i found, i could link hundreds of articles stating the same thing with plasma maybe later on today I'll find some more, but i have to head into work to do some work on the transmitter! hahahahaah

Although, there may be new stuff out that I haven't seen, if so post a link so I can check it out.  Just cause I work at a tv station doesn't mean anything, just like if someone worked at microsoft doesn't mean they know everything about Windows.  I am just sharing what I do know but I am in no means against the possiblity of something else out there.  I'd be curious to read what you read with the Screen Burn-in.  Post a link if you have it.

[fishandchips]

A new plasma is kinda like driving a new car.  You need to break it in for the first thousand miles so you don't tear it up.  Panasonic posted a white paper that might be worth reading (http://www.dynamicdigital.ca/documents/Plasma%20Facts%20and%20Myths.pdf).  If not, here are the important details:

Plasma phosphors are most susceptible to image retention in the firsthundred hours of use. The panel becomes considerably less sensitive toburn-in after this period. Very often, televisions, including plasma, are shipped from the factory withthe contrast control at a high setting to provide a bright picture under typical dealer showroom lighting conditions. In your home, the room light levels areusually one half or less than that in retail showrooms. The contrast control may need to be lowered in your home for comfortable contrast levels that donot induce eye strain.

When the plasma is initially installed, videophiles say it is best to do the following:
Make sure the display is in a viewing mode (aspect ratio) that completelyfills the screen (there are often three or more settings from which tochoose).

The panel is shipped in this condition, in what is called the“Just” mode. Turn down the picture control (contrast) to 50% or less.

Briefly engage the 4:3 mode to confirm the side bars are set to mid-gray(there is usually an adjustment in the Set Up menu that takes thesidebars from black to gray) to minimize the chance of burn-in.

Return the set to a “full screen” (Just, Zoom, Full) position during thefirst hundred hours of use.During the first hundred hours of use it is best not to view the samechannel for extended periods.

This should prevent channel logos andother fixed images found on some channels from being retained.

Avoid any static images (video games, computer images, DVD titlescreens, etc.) during the hundred-hour break-in.

After the hundred-hour break-in period, during the next nine-hundred hours: Continue to retain the picture setting at 50% or less.
Limit the use of 4:3 aspect ratio mode (traditional picture size that doesnot fill the entire screen) to 15% of viewing time.
Limit the use of static images (computer, video games, etc.) to less than 10% of viewing time.
After one-thousand viewing hours, panels are much less likely to experience image burn-in.

Enjoy

[fishandchips]

One more thing about cables:
There as been some discussion on the internet about the darker side of the glorified HDMI.  HDMI cables use of twisted copper pair to carry high bit-rate digital data without error correction.  This can lead to severe problems with signal degradation over distances as short as 20 feet.  Component cables, are capable of carrying a 1080p signal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Component_video), provided your TV can handle it, and are still the best option when trying to send a digital picture signal over longer distances. 
Nothing like having just one cord for everything though.  (well two cords if you route it through your stereo system).