What is progressive scan and why's is it important

I've heard a lot about it and I don't understand

How does is benefit you and is it worth getting ?

 

There's a whole website about it here

Cheers,
Liam

 

Put me down as another who's confused about the benefits of Progressive Scan.


I'm just about to purchase what I would call my first real TV. I had pretty much decided to go for the Toshiba 32ZD26P based on magazine reviews when I came across this website and, in particular, the Toshiba 36ZD26P thread (all 970+ messages ).

One of the features people are raving about, with this set, is the quality of its NTSC Progressive Scan (with suitable DVD player). Unfortunately, 95% of my DVDs are Region 2 so this feature is lost on me but it does raise the questions.....

....if NTSC Progressive Scan is gaining such great reviews, am I not best waiting for (affordable) PAL Progressive Scan enabled TVs/DVDs to appear (and who knows how long that's going to be ?)

....or is NTSC Progressive Scan much better in comparision with NTSC interlaced which was inferior (?? please correct me if I'm wrong about this ??) to PAL interlaced ? i.e how much better is NTSC Progressive Scan over PAL interlaced (oh great, he's asked a quantify question )

....or does any of it matter given that I'm only after a 32" set and not a 50" plasma ?


Sorry if these questions seem a little naive. As I said, this is my first real TV and I've spent the last week or so trying to get to grips with a lot of the knowledge associated with TVs but there's so much of it (and differing opinions), it can all get a little confusing.

Thanks for any help, Barry.

 

Whiting,

I am a 36ZD owner and I can highly recommend this TV (when you get a good one).

It's not the quality of the TV's NTSC PS, it is the fact it can accept NTSC PS from an external source (DVD player). The television does have its own Progress Mode, which although produces good results (with interlaced Pal/NTSC material) it doesn't really come close to the crystal clear image provided by a NTSC PS DVD player.

The improvement of NTSC PS over NTSC interlaced is a very noticeable one; scanlines, jaggies, moiring and other picture problems associated with NTSC are eliminated when using PS.

Pal interlaced vs. NTSC PS is also won by NTSC PS; although the difference is not quite the step up from NTSC interlaced, there is still a huge improvement.

You will definitely notice the difference in picture detail on a 32" screen, and do not need a 40"-50" Plasma to reap the rewards. I previously owned a 32ZD and can verify you will be amazed by the results.

Finally I would comment that I could not wait for Pal PS to become official, and settled for an NTSC PS compatible DVD player and TV; the results with NTSC PS are simply stunning. When watching Pal material I use the Progress Mode on the TV for a pseudo PS effect, it's not as good as a true PS signal, but your Pal DVDs will certainly look superior.