Goodmans LD1928W (Comet) - is it really HD Ready ??

[andylorenz]

The Comet-only LD1928W is advertised and marketed as their "LOWEST PRICED HD READY LCD TV" @ £229.99, and yet the specification - according to their own web-site - has a DVI interface but it doesn't support HDCP. If this were the case, the set could not be branded "HD Ready", and Comet would be performing an illegal act to display the EICTA "HD Ready" logo in conjunction with this product.

A colleague of mine purchased this set, and we have checked the user manual ... no mention of HDCP support on the DVI interface.

I rang Goodmans for technical advice - but of course they couldn't help me in any way as this isn't really a Goodman's product, it's only branded as such under some ages-old commercial agreement with Comet.

So I rang Comet for 'technical' advice - their first response was that it is HD Ready because it says so. I pushed. So they rang up a store for advice - and the reply .. "yes sir, it is HD Ready because it has a DVMI interface" (sic). Hhmm, that convinced me .. not !

So I emailed Comet via their website for technical confirmation ... but they haven't replied inside a week of waiting.

So I checked out the eicta.org website, and looked down the list of manufacturers licenced to display the "HD Ready" trademark; Goodmans is listed there, but only as a brand-name under the parent company Alba; there is no mention of Comet, nor Goodmans under any other parent company.

Now I am deeply suspicious.

So I rang Trading Standards, and reported Comet for possible infringement of the law (misuse of registered trademarks, mis-representation of goods,etc), and they have - to their credit - been into Comet and given the tyres a good kicking (well as best they could given the technology debate in question is somewhat above their heads). And after some to-ing and fro-ing, Comet have apparently faxed some evidence to support their claim that the set is indeed truly "HD Ready" - only this fax is waiting at the local Comet and my Trading Standards man won't get back there now until after Christmas to collect it.

So .. in the meantime .. does anyone have one of these sets to verify its support (or otherwise) of HDCP, or can anyone comment with knowledge as to the true specification of the set?

Happy Xmas to all

 

[Badger0-0]

Well, looking at this link;

http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbrowse/product.do?sku=342831&tab=specification

You have cause for concern, as it specifically says it's not HDCP enabled.
(look down the spec).

Get back in touch with trading standards, as it appears it's being mis-sold.

Or get in touch with Comet by E-mail, pointing them to a copy of the Eicta specs and a copy of their spec. Point out that it's christmas and a goodwill gesture would be appreciated. You never know your luck

Either way, they can't argue, as it doesn't do what you bought it for.
It would be interesting to see if it works with Sky HD at all
I doubt it myself.

Naughty naughty, Comet

 

[Orbitalzone]

Looking at that link and it says it's HDCP enabled but no HDMI....

 

[Badger0-0]

Ah, they've changed it.
HDMI isn't a problem, it doesn't have to have it.
If I'd bought that telly, I'd take a screenshot of that page, just in case

 

[darkwood]

Even if its not really HD ready its still a good price for the spec. Most I've seen in this price range are rubbish so is this one any good for low res telly?

 

[pixelated]

Well, Comet are now clearly claiming it's HDCP enabled etc so you should be ok. Even if it isn't a HDTV, you should have no problem giving it back because it'd be their fault anyway.

 

[Badger0-0]

Even if its not really HD ready its still a good price for the spec. Most I've seen in this price range are rubbish so is this one any good for low res telly?

It appears it is HD ready mate
Can't comment on the performance though.

 

[TheBlueBrazil]

Got one today,

looks like they have revised the spec of the TV but not updated the manual.

I wanted this because it had a 16:9 resolution of 1366x768 for Sky/DVD via scart.

However, it now has a resolution of 1440x900 which is 16:10 which means it chops the left and right hand side off the picture now to get a 16:9 picture.

Grrrrr!

 

[akki007]

Got one of these yesterday. Not had a chance to test it properly yet but it looks amazing through VGA with my laptop on full res.

Will test component tonight. Not got a HD source yet so can't test that!

One question, are all HD LCDs thicker than non-HD LCDs? This thing is really thick! I looked at a SONY HD (19") and that was really thick too. About twice the size of the non-HDs

 

[tangle]

Anyone got a view on whether this is any good?

 

[TheBlueBrazil]

Seems fine to me for the price now I've got used to it.

SD
==
It has 3 viewing modes 4:3, 16:9 and 16:10. The 16:10 means the picture is a bit thin and stretched. The 16:9 mode chops a bit off the left and right hand sides to fit the 16:10 screen instead of shrinking it. This may or may not annoy you.

Picture from about 10ft away is perfectly watchable. We use it as a bedroom TV and it has a reasonbly good viewing angle vertically as well as horizontally.

It's not CRT quality with SD Sources but considering the price and the space it takes up it's fine. Got the sky box connected up via RGB Scart and the Matsui 20 quid DVD player using component.

HD
==

I've no dedicated HD source attached to this so cannot comment if the DVI does HDCP for the HR Ready badge or not.

I have however downloaded various demos off the net and plugged my laptop into the VGA port on the LCD TV. Running at 1440x900 is the native resolution so everything is viewed in the proper aspect ratio handled by my laptop.

Picture quality here is 100x better than SD.

Overall, it has it's flaws but if you are only going to use it for SD occassionally then it will be fine.

 

[ARRONWIL]

I have the same tv,and have just tried to plug my ps3 into the back of it with a component video cable,which should turn the tv into hd,but it doesnt!!! Ive just came across this forum and was wondering what andylorenz or anyone else did to get an exchange or refund as it doesnt actually say what the outcome was of the whole farse!!

Would someone please tell me what i can do to get an exchange or even refund??!!!

 

[TheBlueBrazil]

I have the same tv,and have just tried to plug my ps3 into the back of it with a component video cable,which should turn the tv into hd,but it doesnt!!! Ive just came across this forum and was wondering what andylorenz or anyone else did to get an exchange or refund as it doesnt actually say what the outcome was of the whole farse!!

Would someone please tell me what i can do to get an exchange or even refund??!!!

Hmmm,

We moved our TV into the conservatory and I plugged my Sky HD Box into it via Component and it did accepted the HD signal. Very nice it looked too. It worked with 720p and 1080i. There was one issue though as it's a 16:10 display it needs to chop the sides off a wee bit to show the image in the proper ratio. This could be annoying for a PS3 as the detail at the side could be extremely important.

I don't know anything about PS3's but do you have component set to output 720p or 1080i?