1080i worthwhile for LCD?

[joker_zero]

Originally Posted by neilmcl

That's my point Sky HD and to a lesser extent PS3 are months away so why not wait it out until we get a full offering before trying to get hold of 1080p panels. And when I say full offering I mean not just half a dozen channels and few games but the majority of output which will be some way off yet.

Also I don't think Sky have specified there preference of 1080i over 720p.

Months? - I like 2.5K spend to last me a few years not months, I'm obviously lower down the income ladder.

1080i is the most oft quoted standard on these channels but no they don’t commit to anything.

This forum is mainly focussed on buying panels now and looking at what is coming, people want the best investment they can get.

The point is anyone willing to do a bit of research knows that a 1080 panel is achievable for these manufacturers, (in the USA from Westinghouse who are owned by BNFL for cripes sake!).

Sharp just launched their 'revolutionary' 540p range, ok so I am clearly not in their target market, but the poor customers who are, probably don’t even realise their HD ready Sharp will look naff next to a 1080 effort in 12 months time.

Same to a lesser extent on 768 – lots of people out there are buying 768 panels without realising there will be a generation of `true` HD coming along shortly.

Now that’s fine for the readers of this forum – buyer beware applies and we make our choice from an informed position. ‘Jim in Curries’ does not know this, and further more he has no choice today he cant buy the 1080 panel because the animal does not exist. What is more all these HD ready stickers give him no hint to the fact that it may be coming. He spends his money and in January Samsung or some other pop up and say ‘hey buy our panel it’s the 1st to support True 1080 HD’.

You get the picture, manufacturers are not being completely honest with the public its a pattern that has run for a while now, and thier reward is slow take up, early adopters are punished. They are overcharged and given poor functional scope.

I’m ranting now aren’t I? I’ll stop.

[dsb]

plus,
i'd imagine most people here are watching 1080i material NOW! - not in months or years but right now,.....

[neilmcl]

I've not mentioned anything about buying anything now and then having to buy again in a matter of months for 1080p screen. All I'm saying is why worry about not be able to get the right equipment, why not wait and save you're cash until a full HD offering is out there so you can spend you're money in the confidence you're making a good buy. Why fret about not getting a 1080p screen now if there's nothing to make use of it for some time yet.

Joker, I've just bought one of those "naff" Sharp panels you mentioned and I did so because I like many others realise that this gives a much better viewing experience for normal SD viewing than a WXGA panel and still be able to show HD, albeit at a lower resolution. I'm not ignorant to the fact that it's not a true "HD Ready" screen and I'm sure most people buying this now this as well. I find it a bit insulting for you to insinuate otherwise.

Gareth, who are these "most" people you talk about that are getting 1080i material now, I don't think so.

[joker_zero]

Neilmcl, first of all sorry - no intention of insulting you, please dont be insulted.

You clearly made your purchase from an informed point of view. And you were willing to pay the sum involved knowing precisely what you were getting. No problem at all with that.

Further more I don’t want to insult anyone who bought the same panel thinking it was HD Ready. The point is - not necessarily their fault.

My issue on that panel is with the HD Compatible standard being touted as a 'future proof' guarantee that you have an HDTV. Now while your Sharp will do a cracking job with pal, and will display an image from an HD source, its not displaying HD. 540 lines = pal any way you look at it.
Now if this is true, then does that make 768 lines off a 1080i source true HD or not?

And I am sure that Gareth can answer for himself but I do agree re HD viewing:
1080i is availble on wmv files - and there are a lot of these doing the rounds.
Astra Demos are all 1080i
Eurosat is also known as Euro1080 - guess why.

If you are watching HD right now - chances are that the source at least is 1080i

[neilmcl]

Just to clarify, Sharp are not marketing the P series panels as "HD Ready" so there would be no excuse for someone to buy this thinking it was unless they were given the wrong information by some of our not so clued up AV outlets, mentioning no names.

Yes I agree with you and Gareth that there are 1080i source material out there but what I'm talking about is everyday use of HD and until Sky starting their service and start ramping up their offering as well as the other broadcasters coming on stream then a mainstream HD service is still many months/years away. I for one wouldn't want to spend thousands of pounds on 1080p screen only to be able to watch a few files I downloaded of the net. Which is kind of my point, the time to start worrying whether we in the UK are going to get the latest in HD screen technology is when a fully formed HD service is up and running and we can see what we'll need to make full use of this offering.

I think its simply all down to what you think looks best....somone told me that 720p is better than 1080i from my upscaling dvd player to my 42inch plasma....but I think the 1080i pic looks better so I use it....I dont care to much about the mathematics (although of course its all interesting to chat about) I use what looks best

[richard plumb]

all I know is that the 1080i feed that I saw on the panasonic PV500 plasma (1024x768) and the JVC DS6 (1366x768) via DVHS in Comet looked gorgeous, even though neither set had 1080 lines.

I'll be happy to take 720p sets now, and worry about 1080p sets in 5 years. That'll give them time to work out what a 1080p input actually is (sets might be 1080 lines but don't accept 1080p inputs for example).

In the meantime I might upgrade my projector if a 1080p one comes out and supports native 1080p from bluray etc.

[joker_zero]

Good points all, especially the 'what looks best' position and maybe that extra 12% of data in 1080i scales to produce a better PQ on what is after all, a 768 screen in most cases.

Sharp lable thier sets HD compatible - agreed not HD ready - confusing for some perhaps but again I agree that those in the know wont be missled.