Questions about purchasing a HDTV

[j120hr]

I finally have an excuse to purchase a HDTV (because of the xbox 360). However, I'm unfamiliar with the HDTV terminology / technology. For example, some HDTVs are "HD ready." Whereas other HDTVs have "HD built in." Can somebody explain the difference. Also, in order to have HD resolution when playing the xbox 360, do I need to purchae the HDTV that has the tuner built in?

Thanks...

J

[Hedao]

From what I have been reading you do not need a built in tuner to play xbox360 games in HD on an HDTV. To recieve HD signals you need a HD reciever. If you have cable many of the companines now supply receivers that can accept the HD signal. Also if you have direct TV you can purchase an HD receiver for their signal. I am in the same spot now, I will be buying an HDTV and a new suround sound receiver to feed my habit.

Hedao

[LynxFX]

A tuner is just for decoding over the air (ie antenna) HD broadcasts from your local tv stations. ABC, FOX, NBC etc. The tv's, whether "HD Ready" or with tuner have the same resolution and both will display the Xbox 360 games in HD. If they can do 720p or 1080i or both will depend on the tv.

As for the built in tuners, most people that buy tv's with them never even use it because their cable or satellite providers provide their own tuner for their HD broadcasts, and this will usually include your local stations as well.

[Bakeman]

ahhh LynxFX to the rescue.. you can be sure when it comes to HDtV LynxFX will have the answers :)

Anyways welcome to XBA. I've noticed a lot of new users lately.

[ShadedNine]

Ooh o_O...another home theater nut (cheers!).

HDTV is a rather ugly term for representing a product. It's kinda like saying I'm interested in a device that plays music :whistle:

So...what makes a TV "High Definition"? It's all just terminology really, but the "standard definition" put forth as NTSC is 648 by 486, similar to the old 640x480 that computers use, with a bit of extra throwaway space around the edges.

So 'High Definition' is often regarded as anything above that spec. The high def supported by the original Xbox was 480p, or 720x480. This is also the resolution of a typical DVD movie. However, upcoming standards, supported by the Xbox 360, PS3, Blu-Ray DVD and HD DVD are going to push the bar. Right now, there's a lot of support for and coming for 720p, the next step up (1280x720), and then there's also the holy grail of high definition: 1080p or 1920 x 1080. Do not mistake this for 1080i, which "interlaces" the signal, meaning you're really seeing 2 rapidly alternating sets of images at 540 lines of resolution.

So, if you've had enough technical jargon...for those looking to get into a moderately priced high definition system, I generally suggest looking into the 720p range. Whether to go front/rear projection, plasma, LCoS, etc.. will depend on the size of screen, the ambiance in the room of choice and couple other factors.

[Dompiece]

I'm moving to an area that may not have HDTV (towers) or a signal so to speak. Can I still play my games in HD on an HDTV. I'm not sure if the above post explained this clearly.

[swivel]

Yeah, TV signal is one input, your game system is another. They don't rely on one another.

High-Def is just a measure of the resolution of your TV and the video signal it is receiving. It could be talking about a DVD player, a console, Satellite TV, or Cable.

[Dompiece]

Yeah, TV signal is one input, your game system is another. They don't rely on one another.

High-Def is just a measure of the resolution of your TV and the video signal it is receiving. It could be talking about a DVD player, a console, Satellite TV, or Cable.

Thanks BRO!! That was the deal breaker in buying a 42' HDTV I've been eyeballing. :hail:

[swivel]

Nice and congrats. Your world will never be the same again.

I put a 65" set in the living room almost two years ago, and in the basement I built a 36" set INTO THE WALL. It is so sweet. And it is on a power swivel, so you hit a button on the remote, and the TV rotates inside the wall to face you. Also mounted in the wall is my High-Def TIVO, an upscaling High Def DVD player, a Home Theater PC, My XBox PS2 and Gamecube, and a system selector switch. The sofa is 6 feet from the TV. I swear it is my little paradise, the most perfect gaming setup imaginable. And all the wires are inside of a closet that you can walk into, so no mess, and keeping everything organized is so easy.

I even left space for two more consoles when I put it all together. The only thing I'll have to add is an HDMI video switcher when the PS3 comes out, because my TV only has two HDMI inputs. I really hope the XBox2 comes out with an HDMI connector. I'm sick of component, composite, RCA, and Optical.

[ShadedNine]

Err...if you have a dedicated HTPC, you can turn that into a far better DVD player than pretty much anything off the shelf. Using DScaler as your dvd decoder you can pull of a better image than any dvd player on the market until HD DVD finally rolls along.

As for high def TV sources...alas, support for those in Canada is very close to nada. Good thing I don't really watch broadcast TV.

My TV also happens to be flush with the wall, but that's because it's painted there :)

Oh, and what's wrong with component? It's quite capable of carrying a 720p signal.

[swivel]

The difference between software scaling with my HTPC and my Toshiba HD DVD player is startling. I've done all sorts of double-blind experiments with my home theater setup.

I also found composite to be the worst (most noise) connection possible. HDMI, DVI, Component, DB9, S-Video, Composite. (In order of decreasing worth)

[ShadedNine]

Whoopsie, did I say composite? that's fixed. Meant component (course coaxial manages to be worse than component ;) ). As for HDMI vs. DVI, they are identical as far as video is concerned. The only difference is that HDMI can be run in longer cable lengths, and can also carry digital sound signal. The video is pin-for-pin, so there is no difference assuming the same source.

Furthermore, are you certain your dvd player is HD DVD? Cuz...well, those don't actually exist yet. Release was supposed to be this holiday season, but it's being pushed back to 2006.

Also, before you knock software scaling, download zoom player and dscaler, then configure zoom player to use the dscaler encoder.

If you do want to get a component signal that'll knock your socks off...or at the very least scare off some of the smell, try Blue Jeans cables. It ends up quite comparable to an HD15 or VGA signal.

[swivel]

Man... I just typed a response, only to have IE crap out on me. Only seems to happen on this forum with my longer posts. Timing out perhaps. I even CTRL-C'ed the thing in case (i've been burned before), but it wouldn't paste. Odd.

Anyway, the reader's digest version:

Thanks for clearing up the typo. My esteem for you grows.
My player is a High Def DVD player, not an HD-DVD format player. It upscales the video feed to a full 1080 horizontal lines of resolution, so I don't get pixel spread.
It looks much better than my home-built HTPC. Even when I play Microsoft's new HD content via Media Player 9.
If you are ever in Virginia, come check out my setup. You would dig it.

(please go through... please go through)

[ShadedNine]

What TV set do you have? You should only set your dvd player to scale to 720p or whatever the native resolution of your display is (unless you forked out the dough for a 1080p display, which I'm sorry to say was a pointless investment if you did :) ). Downscalers on most HD display systems are terrible, so the last thing you want to do is feed it a signal above native.

If your dvd player really does to that good a job of scaling, then I'm guessing you paid a small fortune for it. The $80 "upscaling" dvd players that have hit the shelves recently are worse than or borderline compared to the tv's own. The only exception to this that i've witnessed in the sub $400 market is the Oppo (read about it here (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=491306&highlight=oppo) for the curious).

My system is no downer either ;). I run a Panny AE700 projo (720p) to my screen, currently sized at 106", though designs for a bigger screen are in the works (looking to go about 120"). I have my computer hooked up to it which is also running SageTV and Zoom player for media center functionality, until I build a dedicated HTPC box, on which i'll run linux and MythTV. The sound system will be the next big thing to change out. I'm running old JBL fronts and bookshelf infinitys for my surround and center, with a cheap Sherwood receiver that's acting as a glorified amp since I run direct lines from my audigy.

The xbox is currently not even hooked up until I get or make a component extension cable :D

[swivel]

Careful with the extensions for component video. The signal downgrades over 12 feet unless you use specialty cables, or a signal booster. You probably won't notice anything major until you get to 20 feet or so.

[ShadedNine]

I know. My plan is to hold out until I know exactly what cabling I need for the xbox 360. I'm not going to go out and buy good cables if I won't be reusing them on the 360... But, that's the one thing I love about VGA...you can do horrible horrible things to it and the signal still comes through strong over good lengths.

[mattgame]

Wiat until you guys see my new tv! It'll be next year but it's going to be nice!

[iblessi]

SWEET! I purchased a 50" Panasonic LCD HDTV over three months ago and I have to admit, television never looked so clear. However, I am in the process of buying another HDTV but I may need some help on this one. I am looking to get which ever television type that will give me the best Xbox 360 experience. My question is, which television type is better is it LCD or DLP? Because Plasma televions burn out, I am not looking to invest in that.

I like how you have all your wires hidden, there is nothing better than that. I had Best Buy employee come and hook up my set up. 1000 watt Home Theater, XBOX 360 HERE I COME!!

[ShadedNine]

Don't listen to the Best Buy employees who tell you Plasma is any more troublesome than LCD or DLP. They either A) are running of old information (yep, the early plasmas were indeed terrible) or B) Know you're keen on plasma and think they can hit you up with their service plan.

Having said that, I don't think plasma is the way to go for gaming anyway.

There's way too much to consider on the subject for me to post it all here. If you just want my reccomendation, post a shot of the room you're putting it in, where you sit, and tell me what you want or will use it for (PC/DVDs/TV/X360...) and how often. Also, do you want something hangable? or is rear projection ok?...and of course budget.

Or, if you want to research it yourself...http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=40 and http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=63 are the places to start.

Finally, if you want your AV system actually setup properly, the best bet is not to go through Best Buy, but find a hobbyist in your area that will actually calibrate your display, and position your speakers based on what he hears, not on what is commonly accepted as standard speaker positioning (every room is unique in dimension and material).

P.S. Watts mean nothing. Nothing