Re: LCD TV

["Phil Harris" <phil@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Phil Harris wrote:
>
>>
>> >> Are they HD-Ready/have HDCP?
>> > Yes (well they do 720p, which isn't really proper HD but that
is a
>> > debate for another time).
>> Yes it is ... whose definition of HiDef are you working from?
>
> A 720p panel can't display the full res of 1080i.

That is correct - however the agreement for hidef in Europe is that it can
be broadcast as *EITHER* 720 or 1080 lines. Therefore any panel of 720
lines or greater *IS* completely hi-definition capable. If the
broadcasters choose to broadcast in 1080 then that's their decision
(ultimately I doubt they will as 1080i holds no real benefit over 720p at
this time and you can bet your arse they'll still want to squeeze the
bandwidth requirements).

A panel which can display a true 720 lines is just as "proper HD"
capable
as a panel which can display a true 1080 lines as *EITHER* are allowable
standards for HD broadcasting.

> Sure, you can still
> call it "HD",

Of course - because it *IS*...

> but ultimately some detail will be lost.

Only given a 1080 source from start to finish and minimal compression ...

> Doesn't bother me for the 26" panels I've been looking at, as I
doubt
> the extra resolution would be that useful at that screen size when I'm
> sitting on the sofa a few metres away...

There's not a lot of panels currently commercially available that can
display 1080 lines natively without scaling (and remember that it's likely
to be 1080 *i* and not 1080 *p* due to bandwidth limitations) - more to
the point there's a huge number of plasma panels out there that will take
that nice hi-def feed and downscale it to 480 lines so the chances are
that the hi-def broadcasting companies will settle on 720p for the
foreseeable future.

Even "Euro1080" - the hi-def programming provider - has renamed
themselves
"HD1" and moved away from 1080 to settle on 720p as their default
broadcasting standard.

Phil