8mm Forum: hd ready televisons-are they viable in the uk?.

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Topic: hd ready televisons-are they viable in the uk?.

Andrew Wilson
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 784
From: dundonald,belfast,co.antrim,northern ireland.
Registered: Jan 2006

posted July 08, 2006 08:09 PM

hi there fellow members.i was wondering what are other members views with reguard to hd ready tvs.
i know the usa is now broadcasting in hd.
here in the uk is it worth getting a hd tv now?.andy.

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Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted July 08, 2006 08:28 PM

Hi Andrew,
The advice given by Consumers Reports here in the USA is that if you need to purchase a new TV then its best to pay the extra cost to get an HD ready TV. Standard definition TV is supposed to be phased out in the USA by 2012, although no one really believes this will happen since most people will still have standard TV's. Presently in the USA, the average person is indifferent to HDTV, because standard def TV quality is generally excellent at least on screens up to about 40 inches, only people who are really into big screen TV's or home cinemas seem to feel HD is really necessary.

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Robert Wales
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 100
From: Toronto
Registered: Nov 2005

posted July 08, 2006 10:33 PM

Most people who are indifferent to high-definition tv have never seen it in action. I bought a high-definition plasma two years ago and four of my friends have since purchased high-definition sets because of what they have seen at my house. Sports, concerts and movies are all glorious and better than anything I have been able to see in my home since I never had the abilty to run 8mm in stereo. Even so, the crystal clear, dust and dirt free and perfectly color-timed high-definition movies I have seen in the last two years have made it impossible for me to look at Super 8 as anything more than a quaint memory of the way things used to be. And it's not just limited to recent titles. One of my HD movie services recently ran flawless HD transfers of Roman Holiday and Lifeboat in beautiful black and white mono.

Do your research before you buy your set, however. HD-ready is not always the same as a true high-definition set. HD -ready often means that the set can accept a high-def signal but it down-converts it to the standard resolution of the set so you can watch it. They are generally much cheaper than a true HD set, so if you are thinking about being ready for actual HD, then check that it is not just HD-ready but genuine HD. It's well worth it in my opinion.

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Tom Photiou
Film God

Posts: 4837
From: Plymouth U.K
Registered: Dec 2003

posted July 09, 2006 09:50 AM

I believe if your bying a telly here in the UK you'd just as well go HD ready, the picture will be superb once all programms are broadcasy this way, i myself have satalite tV and i see that both ITV and the BBC have HD programms going out, (all be it as usual you have to pay extra) so it is clearly ready and will be the future of broadcasting.
Any one who watch the recent Attenbrough programm may be interested to know that this was the first series in this counrty films in HD.
As it is at the moment, the LCD and plasma TV's under around 5grand are terrible compared to a good CRT tv, however, once they broadcast in HD these tv's will come into there own. [Wink]

As a footnote, i had a tv repair man around not too long ago and he did say at the moment the flatscreens and plasma technology is still in its early years and at the moment the cheap LCD's etc under the 5 grand mark are poor compared to CRT screens, his advice to me as my tv was beyond repair was to get 29 panasonic CRT tv offered to me free by my mate and wait about 2-4 more years when the flat screen technology will be very very good and hopefully considerably cheaper.

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Jan Bister
Darth 8mm

Posts: 2629
From: Ohio, USA
Registered: Jan 2005

posted July 09, 2006 12:54 PM

My impression is that both DLP and LCD technologies have made great strides and can already be considered mature technologies, whether above or below the $5K mark. It is plasma-TV technology that I'm feeling iffy about these days. I suppose comparing CRTs with LCDs/DLPs is like comparing analog recording technology, say studio reel-to-reel machines, with digital, such as DAT/CD or harddisk recorders. Analog may be "5 minutes ago" but as it's been developed to perfection it works very well, it just comes with its own set of disadvantages (such as high power usage). So, there's a place for all three (or four, if you count plasma) display technologies, and all are fairly established by now - it's just content that's lagging behind. Long story short, pick what works best for you, and make your own considerations as to how "future-proof" you want your new equipment to be at this time. [Smile]

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Kevin Faulkner
Film God

Posts: 4071
From: Essex UK
Registered: Jun 2003

posted July 09, 2006 04:21 PM

I have to say Jan that I tghink that is very good advice. For me I would leave Plasma alone for the moment as they suffer too much from "burn in" In the business I deal in we were supplying Plasma TVs for in store promotions of HD TV but we are having to pull them out now due to burn in problems. The LCD's dont suffer from this problem however but Plasma does look better then LCD to my eye.

Kev.

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Robert Wales
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 100
From: Toronto
Registered: Nov 2005

posted July 09, 2006 08:22 PM

Anyone savvy enough to put on a Super 8 show for their friends will have no trouble avoiding burn-in problems with a plasma, especially since it's most acute during the first few hundred hours of operation. Under-staffed electronics stores that leave a stationary menu on-screen for extended periods are not the same as home theatre lovers who nuture their precious equipment. It really requires less attention than regular maintenance on a projector . Other family members may have to be educated as well, however. They are not well-suited for video games.

As you can see, I much prefer plasma to LCD,(which I have in the bedroom.) Plasma simply has a better picture to my eyes, and the LCD drastically shifts colour and brightness when you move more than a few degrees away from centre viewing of the set.

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Andrew Wilson
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 784
From: dundonald,belfast,co.antrim,northern ireland.
Registered: Jan 2006

posted July 09, 2006 08:35 PM

it seems to me as if the stores ie currys,dixons and comet etc
are pushing the sales of lcds and plamsa.
i got one on saturday(an LCD)with the vochers.
i wasnt too pleased with the currys store staff
who said they wouldnt repair it within 28days of purchase.
they wouldnt give me the 50inch;instead i had to make do with
the 42inch model.it was only £2.00 cheaper.andy.

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Kevin Faulkner
Film God

Posts: 4071
From: Essex UK
Registered: Jun 2003

posted July 10, 2006 04:13 AM

Robert I agree with you but think of the people using their Plasmas as If they were ordinary TV's.
If they, like a lot of people, use the set to say watch Sky satalite here in the UK then it's possible if they are a lover of a particular station to then get that stations logo burnt in.

I think the next generation technology (SED)will be the one to watch.

http://www.hdtvsolutions.com/sed_tvs.htm

http://www.canon.com/technology/display/

I'm holding back till it all settles down a bit more. If I want an alternative to Super 8 (or both together) now, then it would have to be a VP such as the Panasonic 900. Best of both worlds, Film and Video.

Kev.

[ July 10, 2006, 06:18 AM: Message edited by: Kevin Faulkner ]

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GS1200 Xenon with Elmo 1.0...great combo along with a 16-CL Xenon for that super bright white light.

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Barry Johnson
Master Film Handler

Posts: 358
From: United Kingdom
Registered: Jul 2003

posted July 10, 2006 06:30 AM

Just think,all the crap our better halves feel compelled to watch will now be even crappier in super quality transmissions!!!
And the world turns!

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Standard8 rules!!

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Jan Bister
Darth 8mm

Posts: 2629
From: Ohio, USA
Registered: Jan 2005

posted July 10, 2006 07:35 PM

Well, I'll be! This SED technology is bloody brilliant!! [Eek!]

When did word of this first come out? Hmm, just one minor beef I have with it, it's useless as a projection source, but as far as direct-view displays go, this could very well make a huge impact [Smile]

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Call me Phoenix. *dusts off the ashes*

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Kevin Faulkner
Film God

Posts: 4071
From: Essex UK
Registered: Jun 2003

posted July 11, 2006 07:19 AM

I first heard of SED sometime last year. They were originally talking about the release of the first sets this year but like most things its got delayed. I think it will be well worth waiting for and lets face it the technology of using phosphors is well proven.

Shame we wont now see these till Q4 next year [Frown]

Kev.

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GS1200 Xenon with Elmo 1.0...great combo along with a 16-CL Xenon for that super bright white light.

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John Clancy
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1954
From: Cornwall
Registered: Jun 2003

posted July 11, 2006 09:41 AM

But if you can't wait until the end of next year, and probably beyond that, then HD is certainly worth looking at. Beware though, there are different levels of HD and it's worth checking the amount of lines the 'HD Ready' component is capable of displaying. A television or video projector only has to display a minimum of 720 (or something like that) lines in order to get the HD badge. The maximum is 1020 or 1080 - one or the other - and it's certainly worth looking at getting the best when making a purchase.

Richer Sounds are currently selling the outstanding Hitachi LCD video projector which has the 'HD Ready' badge for £999. I got quite a shock when comparing this to the latest Panasonic 900 series as I couldn't believe my eyes when it visibly appeared to give better imagery. Double-checking mean't I then couldn't tell the difference (so don't everyone with a Panasonic panic that there may be something better out there already, it's just very close) but it has subsequently been reviewed as slightly superior. And at such an amazing price it is certainly worth looking at. Just a shame it's not fully 'HD' and only offers the minimum number of lines in order to get the badge.

The BBC are broadcasting trials of HD with selected programming on digital. Trouble is you need a digibox with component out and a display that has a component in to view the upgraded images. If you have all this already then the trial programming from the BBC is free.

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Andrew Wilson
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 784
From: dundonald,belfast,co.antrim,northern ireland.
Registered: Jan 2006

posted July 11, 2006 04:16 PM

what's SED?.is this more new stuff or what?.andy.

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Jan Bister
Darth 8mm

Posts: 2629
From: Ohio, USA
Registered: Jan 2005

posted July 11, 2006 06:01 PM

Yes, SED is a pretty new display technology, with many of the advantages of the good old CRT tube... just read the links Kevin posted [Smile]

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Call me Phoenix. *dusts off the ashes*

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Joerg Polzfusz
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 815
From: Berlin, Germany, Europe, Earth, Solar System
Registered: Apr 2006

posted July 12, 2006 05:01 AM

Hi,

the problem with the current "hd ready"-gadgets is that most of them do have problems showing the current PAL/SECAM/NTSC-contents: Some of them will convert those signals to 640*480 Pixels (while e.g. PAL is 768*568 Pixels), other will only produce good results with digital sources (DVB-T, DVB-S, DVD,...) while having a lot of troubles with analogue sources (antenna, cable, VHS, ...), ... .

Jörg

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John Cook
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 183
From: Papillion, NE
Registered: Apr 2004

posted July 16, 2006 10:05 AM

What are the differences between HD in the UK compared to the US HDTV standard ATSC?

I beleive you're running COFDM in place of 8VSB for a modulation standard but what about the frame rates? Do you have a standard that uses something similar to the 3 our of the 18 frame rates of the ATSC standard that are considered HD here in the US? Anything capable of displaying 1 million pixels/second (720p, 1080i, 1080p) or greater is the defining value for HD in the US.

John

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