High Definition World: HDTVs, Tuners and Stuff

What are you really watching?

May 9, 2009 – 8:31 am, posted by Oliver

Are you aware that even today, when HD is being promoted everywhere, most content is still being broadcast in standard definition? This is caused by several valid reasons and can impact the quality of programming you have access to as well as how much you are truly getting out of your new HD set.

Since it is not yet mandatory to broadcast in HD, most of the older shows are still shot edited and broadcast in SD. However, most prime time content as well as new material is transiting to the high definition era. The change is slow due to the enormous costs involved in the production equipment required to create a show. The main piece of the puzzle is obviously an HD camera.

Since most studios have perfectly functional SD equipment and they are not yet obliged to change to HD, most do so gradually. For example you may fid that current episodes of a given sit com or soap are shot and broadcast in HD, but that older reruns are still in SD. Also, depending on their popularity, certain shows tend to lag behind when it comes to changes. After all, it is the demand that dictates the course of action for most big networks and film studios.

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Bedroom HDTVs

May 9, 2009 – 8:31 am, posted by Oliver

Is the old TV in your bedroom about to fade away? Considering a newer and slimmer replacement? What would be your best option for a small room?

That old clunker weighs a ton and has to go? There are so many choices when it comes to mid-sized (20 to 32 inches) flat screen TV’s, here’s what to look for.

First take a look at the room that will be the host of the unit. Size and brightness is important. Also don’t neglect to measure the distance from which you will be watching TV most frequently. For a bedroom, calculate the distance between your headboard and the TV’s placing. For example in a 12 by 16 master bedroom, where you will be 9 to 10 feet away, a 32 inch set would be ideal. For a guest room perhaps a 26 inch one will be sufficient.

Also, take importance in the content that you will be watching. Will you mainly watch movies or news or sit-coms? This is important as the quality, mainly the resolution and contrast of the set will play a big factor. Don’t forget to grab as well a receiver for that TV.

When it comes to choosing a set, you can usually save money by buying a lesser known or budget brand since this is a secondary unit that will see less usage time and therefore last longer, since TV longevity is calculated by hours of use. Expect to spend roughly 400 to 600 dollars for the TV.

The Old On The New

May 9, 2009 – 8:30 am, posted by Oliver

Ever wonder why regular TV programming looks not so great on your new HDTV set? There are few reasons for that.

Original Material: SD content was shot and produced at a resolution and quality far inferior to what your new equipment is capable of displaying. For example, if a standard show was shot at 320 lines a decade ago, and you attempt to reproduce it on a set capable of 720 or 1080 lines, your TV will fill the gaps in order to offer a full screen image. If it would not do so, you would be watching programming on half of your screen or less.

Image reproduction: When your TV tuner or HD Receiver up converts the image, it gets distorted in the process. And since this distortion is on both horizontal (caused by aspect ratio) and vertical (caused by lines), this creates a grainy and compressed image. Sometimes characters or shapes will appear to be square and details such as facial features will be smudged.

Size: When you purchased that big screen, you probably did not think that it would be possible for it to display so horrible content. Imagine taking a small picture, for example a passport sized one and enlarging it by a few hundred percent. What happens is that each pixel of the original now takes up a lot more canvas and since one pixel can contain only so much detail, the result is a grainy and fuzzy enhancement.

Size Matters

May 9, 2009 – 8:27 am, posted by Oliver

Or Does it? Is it true that image quality is proportional to the size of your TV set? Well, to be honest, it is not. What determine the quality of your image are three distinct factors.

First, your TV’s resolution is critical. This will determine the maximal amount of pixels or lines a TV can natively display. Generally, sets are divided into 3 categories. 1080p sets, which can display 1080 lines of pixels vertically. This is the highest quality available to date. At this setting one can watch full HD content. Then there is 1080i/720p which is midrange quality and is present in most budget sets. This will display 720 lines of continuous or 1080 lines of interlaced pixels. This is a resolution lower than, for example, BluRay discs. Third, there is the native resolution which is calculated in the same way as in a computer monitor. As an example a 32” set will have a native resolution of 1365 by 768 pixels.

Second, the quality of the programming that is being broadcast will determine the maximal quality displayed on your screen. This is due to the fact that content is displayed in its native resolution. If a given show or movie is not being broadcast at a resolution that matches or exceeds your TV set’s capacity the output quality will be diminished.

Third, the optimization of the image depending on your TV’s brand and model. In order to get the most from your set you must optimize it so that it performs to the best of its capabilities. Set items such as contrast, ratio, color palette and others to best match the environment. This will give you a better viewing experience.

SD content on HDTV

May 9, 2009 – 8:26 am, posted by Oliver

How does it feel when you think, legitimately or not, that the image on your TV set is well, horrible. Frustrating right? Well that’s one myth that is solvable and will instantly result in lower frustration levels and fewer trips to Best Buy.

Since not all of our TV programming is displayed in HD, we have to face reality and accept to watch at least some standard definition content if we don’t want to limit ourselves when it comes to the quantity of available shows.

In order to render SD content watch able on your HD set, you must restore its original aspect ratio and resolution by navigating through your TV’s settings menu. Aspect ratio refers to the proportions of the image displayed. In the case of HD signals it is native at 16:9 where as standard definition is displayed natively at a ratio of 4:3. The un parity of the ratios along with the screen size deforms SD content to fill the screen, resulting in squashed images. The resolution refers to the amount of lines that constitute an image. Standard definition content is broadcast at 480 lines while HD content uses either 720 or even 1080 for Full HD. When watching an SD channel, switch the aspect ratio to 4:3 and the resolution to 480p. This will result in a much cleaner and crisper image. But beware of dark vertical sidebars along each side of the picture as the screen fills unused pixels with black or grey. Some advanced set top cable boxes automatically sent signal specs to your TV eliminating the need for manual calibration.

HDTV Resolution

May 9, 2009 – 8:26 am, posted by Oliver

So how does your TV’s resolution affect your viewing experience? Does a set with a higher resolution mean that you will be watching better looking TV?

Not quite, since the primary factor that determines picture quality is the source and not the input device. Most frequently it is the original resolution of the content that will limit the quality of your viewing experience, not the maximal resolution of your TV. Since your TV displays images being fed to it by DVD players, gaming consoles, computers and, most importantly, cable and satellite receivers, it is those devices that directly impact the quality of the image you will ultimately watch on your TV.

Since most content is being sent through at standard definition resolutions of 480 lines, your TV will digitally process the image and adjust it in order to fill the 720 or 1080 lines of space it has. IF not you would not be benefiting from all of your TV real estate. The best way to understand that is to relate it to standard definition programming. If you don’t wish for your image to be distorted, your TV set will display the image in its original resolution and frame it with black frames. In order to fully benefit from the optimal quality of your set, use high definition devices such as BluRay players, high definition gaming consoles and HD programming from your cable or satellite provider.

Price Drop Speculation: A consumer’s version of the stock market.

April 20, 2009 – 12:07 pm, posted by Oliver

The recent speculative news of price drops from major HDTV manufacturers like Samsung, Sony and Panasonic, just to name a few has halted some of us from buying the sought after unit right away. Is the wait worth it? How will this affect the average consumer?

First let’s take a general look at what is concerned. The manufacturers announced a price drop in the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP). However, most major retail outlets such as Fry’s, Best Buy and others usually sell lower than the MSRP in order to attract the customers.

So does that mean that we will pay less for that shiny new TV or that the retailer will temporarily benefit from a higher profit margin? That depends. Most price cuts relate to new 2008 models that manufacturers wish to get rid of in the upcoming weeks as they constitute the time frame where most TV’s are sold. However some retailers still have 2007 models they are trying to push out the door. These models are generally sold at very low mark up. So the retailer may want to catch up on their margin by selling the current 2008 models at a higher rate.

Also don’t forget that fall will mean that the 2009 line up will arrive in time for the holidays. So, the bottom line is that regardless of what your situation is and when you plan your purchase, if you take some time to shop around you will most likely find a good deal.

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Power Consumption

April 20, 2009 – 12:06 pm, posted by Oliver

If you are shopping for a TV set and are taking power consumption as important criteria when it comes to making your final choice, you may be surprised on how it affects you. In reality, most similar sized flat panel sets, regardless of brand, model, or screen type (plasma or LCD) have nearly identical consumption patterns. In order for you to better understand, let’s take a look on how, and when, our set consumes energy.

As soon as it is plugged in your set will consume some energy, unless there is a physical power switch (not the power button) that allows shutting it off completely. Since stand by consumption is generally below one watt, the power switch becomes more of a safety feature if you are leaving for extended periods of time.

When in use, both LCD and plasma displays consume relatively low amounts of power compared to their DLP and CRT counterparts. As an example a 42 inch unit may consume roughly 150 watts when turned on. This is about 100 watts less than older model CRT sets.

In order to reduce power consumption most modern displays are Energy Star (TM) compliant, meaning that they employ power saving tools such as auto standby. This means that if as an example your movie on your DVD stops, the TV will go into a standby mode after a preset amount of time elapses. It is often possible to set this feature in your unit’s menu under the power management section. On many models you can also program a timer to automatically shut down the set at a specific time if you wish to record a show for example.

Image Width and Ratio

April 20, 2009 – 12:05 pm, posted by Oliver

How come that on some channels the image seems as it comes from a labyrinth mirror? It’s all a question of ratios. On your old CRT unit the aspect was 4:3, which essentially means that for each 4 horizontal inches your screen would be 3 inches wide. However since images are precise this is translated to lines or pixels. In the case of High Def sets, the aspect is 16:9. In the case of wide screen monitors, the ratio can even be 16:10. So if say in a standard definition Larry King’s face takes up 40 lines by 30 (as an example) if the same image will be distorted because of simple math. To keep a 4:3 ratio with a width of 16 you have to multiply by 4. So in order to keep the native ratio of 4:3 it would have to be 16:12. Since its 16:9 the image is shrunk on the vertical scale, thus sometimes resulting in a “fattening mirror” effect.

In order to correct this, you have to program your HD receiver to distinguish the native aspect ratio of a program and adjust the image by placing bars of solid color to each side of the image. If you do not yet own an HD receiver, you can set this in your TV’s view or zoom menu. It is also advised to do this if you have a standard DVD player or previous generation gaming console. For your computer hook up, it’s best to set your video card to your TV’s native resolution in order to obtain best quality.

Image Fluidity

April 20, 2009 – 12:05 pm, posted by Oliver

The good old days of standard definition images that offered flawless transition are gone… or not.

It all depends on what type of technology your set employs. While CRT’s are the most fluid, DLP and Plasma displays still offer excellent image fluidity. Unfortunately, LCD screens have low refresh rates and slow response times, which may affect to some extent the fluidity of the image. However, it is important to assess what type of programming one watches most.

If you are likely to watch primarily content with stable movement such as talk shows, news broadcasts or soap operas, the response time lack of LCD monitors is not an issue. This is why a lot of offices use LCD TV’s to monitor say CNN or MSNBC. In those cases, the esthetic appeal of the flatness of the LCD TV is achievable as it will not affect the output quality.

However, if your particular tastes are more geared towards say sporting events or movies that are action packed with often changing angles, camera captions and lighting, then either Plasma or DLP sets are more suggested. They offer good image quality and better response times than their LCD counterparts. In the case of Plasma sets, they also fulfill the sleek appearance criteria, but at a price premium. DLP sets on the other hand are usually reserved for bigger sized screens and require more space as they are closer in size to old CRT monitors when it comes to depth and weight.