HD TV for £500????

[rogeralpine]

Not sure it really fits the full bill, but the Dell 24" LCD computer monitor produces a superb image for the price (1920*1200)

Ok, it's ain't going to cope with HDCP, but component in could be of use if the 1st sky boxes that hopefully have component out, then you're left with d-sub and dvi connections both of which should be usable for the Xbox360 and PS3.

For 600 notes you're not going to get a full HD panel anywhere else for this cash just yet - it'll hopefully tide you over for 12 to 18 months when bigger cheaper 1080 sets hit the market whereupon you'll have a bigger chioce.

(And if you've got access to downloadable Hidef content, it looks excellent via you PC on this screen)

IMO I'd rather have the full 1080 smaller panel than a larger 720 one - I've watched quite a bit of stuff on my AE500 and I prefer the sharpness offered by the Dell panel!

[mjcairney]

Another one to look at here - £559 including delivery and a three year guarantee.

Cheers,

Martin.

[NackNack]

Originally Posted by rogeralpine

Ok, it's ain't going to cope with HDCP, but component in could be of use if the 1st sky boxes that hopefully have component out, then you're left with d-sub and dvi connections both of which should be usable for the Xbox360 and PS3.

For 600 notes you're not going to get a full HD panel anywhere else for this cash just yet - it'll hopefully tide you over for 12 to 18 months when bigger cheaper 1080 sets hit the market whereupon you'll have a bigger chioce.

But you can get a Samsung 26" LCD for £600 - which has component input (no need for a VGA lead for Xbox). Isn't the 26" Samsung a HD panel?

[danvitale]

26" LCDs are more than suitable for HD games playing, especially if youre only a few feet away from the screen. Ive played Hidef wmv xbox 360 demos and the batman begins trailer on my Sharp and its stunning.

"Size is always better" doesnt help when youve got limitations with budget and location of the TV set.

[rogeralpine]

Originally Posted by NackNack

But you can get a Samsung 26" LCD for £600 - which has component input (no need for a VGA lead for Xbox). Isn't the 26" Samsung a HD panel?

...it's not a 1080 screen though - the Dell is (well, 1200 - I don't mind the black bars, small price to pay IMO)

[NackNack]

It's HD Ready so it'll do 1080i - it's bigger, it has component input - I don't see the advantage of the Dell. Especially since you need to spend an extra £20 on a lead to plug it into the 360.

[rogeralpine]

Originally Posted by NackNack

It's HD Ready so it'll do 1080i - it's bigger, it has component input - I don't see the advantage of the Dell. Especially since you need to spend an extra £20 on a lead to plug it into the 360.

......the Dell has a full 1920 * 1200 panel unlike the Samsung which will only do native 720, it'd have to scale 1080 stuff - hence the image won't be as good. I've used HD 1080 stuff on my fathers 26" Xelos and although I was impressed, it wasn't as crisp as on the Dell. The Dell does have component input as well (as well as s-video and composite)

[NackNack]

Right, but the Xbox360 does 720p natively, so why would it matter? And I'd rather have something in progressive scan than interlaced, so 1080i isn't even a concern.

[danvitale]

And the Dell costs £1000.

[neil c]

The Xbox doesnt do 720p natively, it does 480i, 480p, 576i, 720p and 1080i all at the user's requirements. It doesnt have a native resolution as it doesnt have a display.

If you go for the Samsung you won't get native 720p, because the Samsung has a 1366 x 768 native resolution, so it will have to scale the picture. Unless you can get a PC connected at 1366 x 768, then (depending on the quality of the scaler) 720p will probably provide the best picture. I think that a PC is the only device that will output a 1366 x 768 picture.

The Dell will display a higher resolution picture - 1920 x 1080i - albeit with black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. It won't need to scale the picture as this resolution will fit within its native resolution of 1920 x 1200, it just won't use the full vertical resolution of it's own panel. To most peoples eyes a higher resolution picture is better, but the black bars may be off-putting.

Getting back on topic I believe that the Samsung 26" is probably the nearest answer to the HDTV for £500.
Rogeralpine where did you get the Dell from and for how much?

[rogeralpine]

Neil,

I got my own Dell TFT several months ago when they screwed up on the BOGOF offer (my order was cancelled ) and I ended up buying one off an associate for £550. The other week though I bought one for my Dad off eBay - those that are familiar with the DVDforums bargain forum will know there is a lengthy thread about this monitor (there are a few) in which a chap on eBay known as QPRfootball club was selling them for £614 delivered. (There are other re-sellers out there that seem as reliable, but most members have bought theirs from QPR who, IMHO, is one of the best eBayers I've come across - highly recommended - oh, and these are Dell 1st hand goods (not brown box) and come with the full 3 yr warranty)

The screen maybe a grand on Dell's site, but those that know them well will know that the price fluctuates literally daily and means jack **** - just wait for them to drop the price, which they will, the other week it was around the £680 mark delivered.

I never indicated that the Dell was the best option - I said it may not fit the full bill; it does have it's limitations, but for me at the moment the fact it can display 1080 stuff without scaling is a big plus for me and I can certainly see the difference when comparing the same material on a screen like the Samsung's ( the 26" Xelos my dad has is the same res from memory - 1366 x 768 - and the Xelos was fed from a PC with the screen already set at the right resolution, so all in a good comparison)

If you're viewing the material in a reasonably sized lounge and you're going to be sat more than 6ft away then I can perhaps agree that a larger screen would be more appropriate even if it is a lower resolution. Ity all depends on how good your eyesight though.

[NackNack]

Originally Posted by neil c

The Xbox doesnt do 720p natively, it does 480i, 480p, 576i, 720p and 1080i all at the user's requirements. It doesnt have a native resolution as it doesnt have a display.

If you go for the Samsung you won't get native 720p, because the Samsung has a 1366 x 768 native resolution, so it will have to scale the picture. Unless you can get a PC connected at 1366 x 768, then (depending on the quality of the scaler) 720p will probably provide the best picture. I think that a PC is the only device that will output a 1366 x 768 picture.

The Dell will display a higher resolution picture - 1920 x 1080i - albeit with black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. It won't need to scale the picture as this resolution will fit within its native resolution of 1920 x 1200, it just won't use the full vertical resolution of it's own panel. To most peoples eyes a higher resolution picture is better, but the black bars may be off-putting.

Getting back on topic I believe that the Samsung 26" is probably the nearest answer to the HDTV for £500.
Rogeralpine where did you get the Dell from and for how much?

Ah right, then the default output it has is 720p, then it either up or downscales depending on the display.

But you'll still be getting a larger image and no black bars with the Samsung, not to mention they use the Samsungs on the demo pods for Xbox 360s.

[rogeralpine]

...no, the XB360 doesn't need to scale because it's the source of the material and like a PC, the user can define the output - assuming the game supports the graphic mode that is.

So with games in 1080i, the Dell wouldn't need to scale the image. Therefore if you had the Samsung, or similar sized resolution panel, 720p would be the best default option in order to minimise the amount of scaling that is going on. (Or not as the case maybe if the panel is 1280 x 720)

I'll certainly be comparing closely games running in 720p against 1080i - seeing the Gamecube operate in both i and p, the latter may well be the best option (for me) on the XB360 even if there is a loss in resolution. As to which is best, I don't think we should go there?

[lordnoize]

that Cleardragon one seems too good to be true!! £559

Interface
SCART 1 : CVBS IN & RGB IN & TV OUT (EU) Full SCART
SCART 2 : CVBS In & Monitor out (EU) Half SCART
COMPOSITE 1 (USA) RCA
COMPOSITE 2 (USA) RCA
S_VIDEO Yes
DVD (Y/Pb/Pr,AUDIO L/R IN) Yes
PC In (15P D-SUB) Yes
PC Audio in DVI (HDCP) HDMI Yes
SPDIF(Optical) OUTPUT Yes
HDTV READY (480p, 576p, 720p, 1080i) Y/Pb/Pr, RGB, DVI, HDMI

[mjcairney]

Originally Posted by lordnoize

that Cleardragon one seems too good to be true!! £559

Also, if you speak with Patrick at Cleardragon, he seems to be very helpful.

Cheers,

Martin.