Is Hi-def really THAT good?

Stampax

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I havnt had the chance to see any hi-def yet, as no stores near me have any sets demonstrating it (northants). So was just wondering just how big a leap it will be - are we talking the leap from VHS to DVD quality, or more?
Is it going to be ground breaking enoughto pursuade joe public, or just AV freaks who obsess over every last detail?
 
oh no there is a MASSIVE difference, i think its a way bigger jump than was vhs to dvd
 
SD : 720x576i = 207,360 pixels = 5,184,000 pixels per second
HD 720p : 1280x720p = 921,600 pixels = 46,080,000 pixels per second
HD 1080i : 1920x1080i = 1,036,800 pixels = 51,840,000 pixels per second

VHS to DVD was probably doubling the information, SD to 720p is 4.4 times the information per frame, 1080i is 10 times the information per second. Thats almost like comparing a VGA still camera (like on a basic camera phone) with a 1M pixel one.

I am sure that someone will dispute my calculations.

-Ian
 
Oh yes, there's a difference :) The detail on offer is fantastic!!
 
I've given several HD demonstrations, some of them to very sceptical individuals. All of them have been amazed. Not one has said that the reality didn't match up to the hype. You should try to see a demo, even it it's just a rearpro in Currys.
 
When you watch a wildlife or nature documentary you wanna weep with joy for truly seeing Gods creation as it was meant to be, via high technology:)
 
HD makes a lot of sense on large displays, but I'm not sure if it that much of an improvement on say < 32".
 
hi i'm sure i've seen it in currys near the big b &q superstore in northampton sometime ago-they were showing it on the sagem dlp

if you can get to fosse park in leceister i think they had it in the comet store
on the sagem as well
hope this helps
 
r47463 said:
HD makes a lot of sense on large displays, but I'm not sure if it that much of an improvement on say < 32".




It makes a huge difference on PC monitors, what resolution are you running at now:)

However the obvious counter point would be you don't sit a couple of feet in front of your TV in the lounge so HD on a small screen would probably be wasted:)
 
sparkytoon said:
hi i'm sure i've seen it in currys near the big b &q superstore in northampton sometime ago-they were showing it on the sagem dlp

if you can get to fosse park in leceister i think they had it in the comet store
on the sagem as well
hope this helps





If you've got a half decent PC, then download some demo clips here...

Microsoft HDTV sample clips


If the 1080p clips won't play properly, then try the 720p clips. Even on my 14 inch laptop screen, they look great - especially Friday Night Lights!
 
On a big screen you can definately tell the difference.

On my old 28" SD looked perfectly fine.. no blocking or anything and was nice to look at even close up.

Ony my new 37" LCD even DVDs are practically unwatchable closeup... You need HD to get the quality back.
 
Ah, but alot of that is the LCD!
 
If Milton Keynes is not too far away John Lewis has got an HD demo running, it looks stunning.
 
Stampax

At home I can switch between D-VHS (1080i or 720P) and SKY (576i) and even on the best SKY channels were talking night and day; on the low bit rate channels were talking different ball game.

Interestingly though you don't actually require a Display with more than SD numbers of pixels to see the difference - if you have a decent quality SD Display that's 'HD Compatible' or 'HD Ready' its easy to see that HD is quite different from the SD signal your used to watching.

An HD source presented on a decent quality HD resolution Display or Projector doesn't require an AV Anorak to be appreciated :)

I pretty much stopped buying DVD's when I first saw what HD had to offer - the list of 'must have' High Definition DVD's grows by the day mind!!!

Best regards

Joe
 
Joe Fernand said:
...I pretty much stopped buying DVD's when I first saw what HD had to offer - the list of 'must have' High Definition DVD's grows by the day mind!!!

Best regards

Joe

Me too, last DVD i bought was Gladiator R1 when it was just released.

Apart from resolution HD also has better color. Dunno if normal CRT TV's show that difference, CRT PC monitors do. I watch HD on 55" DLP HDTV and on a 19"CRT monitor and both show improvement over normal DVD. Improvement obviously is more noticeable on the big TV.
 
Stampax said:
Eh?????? Theres a difference?




A very big difference:)


HD Ready displays should carry the EICTA logo which means they have the minimum resolution to support HD and the required inputs.

HD Compatible means that the TV can accept some form of HD input (maybe only component) and scale it down to the tv's own resolution which in many cases means 852*480 thus losing most of the reason for watching HD in the first place.
 
Hello Stampax

As Starburst says YES some very Key Differences.

'HD Ready' is a European designation to ensure your Display is capable of accepting 720P and 1080i Digital signals (via HDMI or DVI with HDCP) at both 50Hz and 60Hz.

There are loads of 'HD Compatible' Displays on the market than will accept 720P and 1080i in Analogue format at 50hz and 60Hz and even Digitally at 60Hz but crucially lots of kit is NOT compatible with a 720P or 1080i Digital signal at 50Hz (not ideal if you plan on adding SKY or other European (50Hz) HD sources).

Best regards

Joe
 
You forget one important thing, you need to have High definition cameras, High definition tapes or whatever to speak about real HD. What's the point of have movie which is taped 10, 15, or even 2 years ago and call it HD version or HD movie:rotfl:
 
Stampax said:
so is the 5200H HD ready AND compatible?






The Hitachi 5200 (42"model) ia an old plasma and as such I don't think it has HDMI so wouldn't qualify for HD Ready status which makes the logos absence from the Hitachi website understandable.
 
I've seen HD at a Dixon store on a 50" Plasma and it looked amazing but the chioce of film was a beach sceen were there wasn't any quick movement - I'm very sceptical due to this choice of setting.

Now can Plasmas really handle all that detail with fast or even moderate camera panning on screen?

I understand it no longer will run at 100 htz which will help but does the detail really resolve the flicker issue :rolleyes:
 
Sofa1 said:
You forget one important thing, you need to have High definition cameras, High definition tapes or whatever to speak about real HD. What's the point of have movie which is taped 10, 15, or even 2 years ago and call it HD version or HD movie:rotfl:



Virtually every movie made can be remastered to HD spec, yes the VHS and DVD collection on your shelf are not HD which is one of the reasons SKY are so eager to offer HD so they charge you for content:)

Pre-recorded HD via HD-DVD and Blu-ray are due within the year as well and the BBC have committed themselves to 100% HD production by 2010.

However this is all pointless unless you have a HD display which is were most threads eventually end up going:)
 
Sofa1 said:
You forget one important thing, you need to have High definition cameras, High definition tapes or whatever to speak about real HD. What's the point of have movie which is taped 10, 15, or even 2 years ago and call it HD version or HD movie:rotfl:

But the resolution of 35mm and 70mm film is much higher than Hi-Def.
 

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