On Thu, 08 Feb 2007 13:41:59 +0000, Resident Drunk wrote:

Also whats 'Full HD' as compared to 'HD Ready'? If your TV is HD ready
and for example you connect a £400 HD DVD to it (or your Sky box),
press play do you get an the full HD experience?
I'm relatively new to this so please bear with me - the more I look
into it the more complicated (and expensive it gets).

HD Ready = able to display a HD feed but may downscale it (i.e. show
less pixels than available).

In order to be awarded the label “HD ready” a display device has to cover the
following requirements:

Display, display engine
The minimum native resolution of the display (e.g. LCD, PDP) or display engine
(e.g. DLP) is 720 physical lines in wide aspect ratio.
Video Interfaces
The display device accepts HD input via:
Analog YPbPr. “HD ready” displays support analog YPbPr as a HD input format to
allow full compatibility with today's HD video sources in the market. Support of
the YPbPr signal should be through common industry standard connectors directly
on the HD ready display or through an adaptor easily accessible to the consumer;
and:
DVI or HDMI
HD capable inputs accept the following HD video formats:
1280x720 @ 50 and 60Hz progressive scan (“720p”), and
1920x1080 @ 50 and 60Hz interlaced (“1080i”)
The DVI or HDMI input supports copy protection (HDCP)

Full HD = A display with a minimum of 720 horizontal lines (or even
better 1080 lines) which can display a HD feed without downscaling.

No. Full HD is 1920x1080p



From what you've said it sounds like there'll be lots of Comet
salesmen telling discruntled customers
'Ah MR. Gullible, what you actually bought from us last week was HD
Ready TV but in order to get the crisp picture you see here in our
showroom you should have bought the Full HD Model, that'll be another
£2000 please. The HD Ready just means you get a sticker saying HD
Ready'

I would imagine that 90% of the people who bought the sets believing
that will plug a HD source in and convince themselves that they are
getting full HD. Not all HD ready sets are only 480p, some are 720.

See above all HD Ready sets are capable of a minimum of 720p below that they
cannot be described as HD Ready.

There are actually some broadcasts is the US that are 720p but the vast
majority of transmissions including those from Sky & the BBC in the UK are
1080i.

--
Nigel Barker
Live from the sunny Cote d'Azur

StudioUK wrote:
HD Ready means it is able to display a HD signal, it may downscale it
though.

I need to check my manuals for both tv and projector.
Even if my tv & projector didn't downscale and I had the HD Toshiba
DVD would the amp I've got between them potentially downsize the
signal if it's not full HD?

I've got Cambridge Audio standard DVD going through a Cambridge A.
Azur 5.4 amp connected via component into an Hitachi TX300 projector.
I'll look into the output potential for all. Sound is to Tannoy 5.1EFX
+SW.
I suppose Full HD kit is V expensive - please don't tell me for my £2K
I could have done better.

I would have thought your kit is ok but as a rule it is probably better
to ask these questions before parting with 2k

Re paint on the wall - right now its standard white Matt Emulsion I'm
afraid. I've looked at the Goo and something on Amazon. I've got a
screen but quite like the chic of just using a wall, it impresses
dinner guests!
Does using the special paint really add that much to the viewing
experience?, I mean really? (as in my sceptical wife would see the
difference - I wouldn't need a bearded Lord of the Rings fan sporting
a lab coat and an IQ of 160 to prove it to her with a light meter).

I was being slightly tongue in cheek with that one - some people swear
by a certain shade/make but you probably wouldn't notice any difference.

I also can't help but think you are trying to impress the wife with
completely the wrong things - IME cooking dinner and a bunch of flowers
gets me far more sex than showing her just what a difference there is
between 5.1 and 7.1 surround ;-)

The more I learn the more I worry.


Enjoy what you have. I am at the moment struggling with an inner demon
that is telling me to spend 3k on a new projector when my current one
looks brilliant.

Nigel Barker wrote:
On Thu, 08 Feb 2007 13:41:59 +0000, Resident Drunk wrote:

Also whats 'Full HD' as compared to 'HD Ready'? If your TV is HD ready
and for example you connect a £400 HD DVD to it (or your Sky box),
press play do you get an the full HD experience?
I'm relatively new to this so please bear with me - the more I look
into it the more complicated (and expensive it gets).
HD Ready = able to display a HD feed but may downscale it (i.e. show
less pixels than available).

In order to be awarded the label “HD ready” a display device has to cover the
following requirements:

Display, display engine
The minimum native resolution of the display (e.g. LCD, PDP) or display engine
(e.g. DLP) is 720 physical lines in wide aspect ratio.
Video Interfaces
The display device accepts HD input via:
Analog YPbPr. “HD ready” displays support analog YPbPr as a HD input format to
allow full compatibility with today's HD video sources in the market. Support of
the YPbPr signal should be through common industry standard connectors directly
on the HD ready display or through an adaptor easily accessible to the consumer;
and:
DVI or HDMI
HD capable inputs accept the following HD video formats:
1280x720 @ 50 and 60Hz progressive scan (“720p”), and
1920x1080 @ 50 and 60Hz interlaced (“1080i”)
The DVI or HDMI input supports copy protection (HDCP)

Full HD = A display with a minimum of 720 horizontal lines (or even
better 1080 lines) which can display a HD feed without downscaling.

No. Full HD is 1920x1080p

From what you've said it sounds like there'll be lots of Comet
salesmen telling discruntled customers
'Ah MR. Gullible, what you actually bought from us last week was HD
Ready TV but in order to get the crisp picture you see here in our
showroom you should have bought the Full HD Model, that'll be another
£2000 please. The HD Ready just means you get a sticker saying HD
Ready'
I would imagine that 90% of the people who bought the sets believing
that will plug a HD source in and convince themselves that they are
getting full HD. Not all HD ready sets are only 480p, some are 720.

See above all HD Ready sets are capable of a minimum of 720p below that they
cannot be described as HD Ready.

There are actually some broadcasts is the US that are 720p but the vast
majority of transmissions including those from Sky & the BBC in the UK are
1080i.

--
Nigel Barker
Live from the sunny Cote d'Azur

I stand corrected - it was the 'HD Compatible' stickers I was thinking of.

I also can't help but think you are trying to impress the wife with
completely the wrong things - IME cooking dinner and a bunch of flowers
gets me far more sex than showing her just what a difference there is
between 5.1 and 7.1 surround ;-)

women eh! 7.1 surround would get me in the sack faster than you could
say HD Ready!
Re flowers - my better half would only suspect I'd bought another
cable.

My projector is only 720x1280 - bit disapointed now I know
there's1080p out there.
Is 720p much crisper than the standard DVD I'm now looking at -
Cambridge Audio 80's Series player.
I read some DVD's are outputting 720p anyway without being HD - is
this true and if so by upgrading to the Toshiba am I not going to see
a difference.

Last question - if I got the Sky/Ntl HD box - are all channels in HD?
- even BBC 1 will be 720p all of the time?
I thought it was just the odd thing that was HD like that Planet Earth
thing and even that was just a test.

If I can watch any football match or Film Four in HD on my projector
(720p) I may be tempted to subscribe.

StudioUK wrote:
I also can't help but think you are trying to impress the wife with
completely the wrong things - IME cooking dinner and a bunch of flowers
gets me far more sex than showing her just what a difference there is
between 5.1 and 7.1 surround ;-)

women eh! 7.1 surround would get me in the sack faster than you could
say HD Ready!
Re flowers - my better half would only suspect I'd bought another
cable.

My projector is only 720x1280 - bit disapointed now I know
there's1080p out there.

You would not have much left from your 2k budget if you had bought a
1080p projector. I think the Panny AE1000 is about 1900.

Is 720p much crisper than the standard DVD I'm now looking at -
Cambridge Audio 80's Series player.
I read some DVD's are outputting 720p anyway without being HD - is
this true and if so by upgrading to the Toshiba am I not going to see
a difference.

Some DVD players upscale the picture off a standard DVD, they can be
good but not as good as a HD-DVD


Last question - if I got the Sky/Ntl HD box - are all channels in HD?
- even BBC 1 will be 720p all of the time?

Nope.


I thought it was just the odd thing that was HD like that Planet Earth
thing and even that was just a test.

There are specific HD channels and these are not 100% HD I don't think.
You remember the naughty illegal way we spoke ab out earlier? That's how
I get my HD feeds.

If I can watch any football match or Film Four in HD on my projector
(720p) I may be tempted to subscribe.


I would sooner spend the money on a Giganews sub personally.

In article . com,
StudioUK writes
I also can't help but think you are trying to impress the wife with
completely the wrong things - IME cooking dinner and a bunch of flowers
gets me far more sex than showing her just what a difference there is
between 5.1 and 7.1 surround ;-)

women eh! 7.1 surround would get me in the sack faster than you could
say HD Ready!
Re flowers - my better half would only suspect I'd bought another
cable.

My projector is only 720x1280 - bit disapointed now I know
there's1080p out there.
Is 720p much crisper than the standard DVD I'm now looking at -
Cambridge Audio 80's Series player.
I read some DVD's are outputting 720p anyway without being HD - is
this true and if so by upgrading to the Toshiba am I not going to see
a difference.

You can get various DVD players that will upscale normal DVDs. Although
I definitely noticed an improvement in picture quality, general
consensus seems to be the improvement may be as much to do with the
upscaling process on whatever you're watching it on rather than the DVD
player.

Last question - if I got the Sky/Ntl HD box - are all channels in HD?
- even BBC 1 will be 720p all of the time?
I thought it was just the odd thing that was HD like that Planet Earth
thing and even that was just a test.

No idea about NTL, but with Sky, you get the BBC test channel, which
broadcasts stuff from in the evenings, mostly consisting of stuff like
Planet Earth, Bleak House, Torchwood etc... They do occasionally show
new stuff, simultaneously with BBC1. They did with Planet Earth and they
will apparently do so next week with the new series of Hotel Babylon.
They also show any BBC football matches in HD (FA Cup, England games).

On Sky, off the top of my head, in HD you get, Sky One HD (lots of US
imports in HD, the likes of 24, Lost, Deadwood, Bones, Las Vegas etc...)
with a lot of it in DD 5.1 too, they also seem to show non-HD stuff
upscaled.

You also get Artsworld, History Channel, Nat Geographic and a few
others, which I can't remember at the moment.

If you subscribe to any other than the basic packages, you can get Sky
Movies 9 & 10. All in HD, with DD 5.1.


If I can watch any football match or Film Four in HD on my projector
(720p) I may be tempted to subscribe.

If you subscribe to Sky Sports you get to watch any football match they
show in HD with DD5.1. Sky Sports HD 1& 2 shows all sorts of stuff in
HD, football, cricket, rugby, even the Super Bowl last weekend.

Then there are the HD Box Office channels, if you want those.

No Film Four HD though.

Rumours abound that Sky will be dropping the additional £10 fee for HD,
whether this is a) actually true or b) just for subscribers of 'X'
number of premium channels, like the Sky+ fee, remains to be seen.

Personally, I think Sky HD is good value. It may not be for everyone,
but the main issue with it for me, is the Sky HD box having only 160gb
of available recording stuff, I tend to fill it up very quickly :-)
--
Sean Black