Debunking The Myths of HD - Part 2
So now you're armed with HD knowledge and you are ready to buy, buy, buy! Whoa, wait a second. Let's talk TV's. Back to part 1's questions.***** Before we continue, please note that since this technology is always evolving, this article will continue to evolve. I will post a revision date at the end of this article. - Janaki *****
What's the better HD TV? Plasma, LCD's or perhaps Rear Projection?
Tough call, as all three of these display technologies are making rapid gains in picture quality. Your final determination will probably come down to price, size and features, as opposed to their respective picture quality. For maximum coolness, most people prefer flat panel sets, like Plasma and LCD. The prices for HDTV's vary wildly (even amongst the same size) so don't let that be the determining factor. On a recent trip to an electronics store I saw two 46" Plasma HDTV's by two well-known manufacturers with comparable features (at first glance), one was priced for $1,499 and the other $2,499. The key is to take into account what you need now, with what is available now, while somehow making your purchase future-proof (as much as you can).
Finally, as with all of these HDTV’s if you have children then it takes quite a bit of re-training because most HDTV's (especially LCD's) are “soft” screens as opposed to the “hard” glass TV’s we all know and love, although most manufacturers are working hard to combat the "child" factor. So exercise caution and let's focus.
Plasma HDTV's
So far the main attraction that set flat screen Plasma HDTV's apart from LCD's is their size. Plasma's usually start at 42" and can go as high 106" with the most popular sizes hovering around the mid 50's to low 60's (inches, not price). However, Plasma's have been known to experience burnout in 2-3 years (under heavy use). Who wants that? Most of them have terrible glare issues as well. Rumbles in the industry say that plasma's will be going away so I wouldn't throw your eggs into that basket. To me a huge drop in price is not necessarily a sign of an over competitive market. Sometimes it means that the industry knows something, hmmm. But hey, if I can buy a 42" Plasma HDTV for $700, then count me in! Some things to be aware of about Plasma's is that there are different kinds of HDTV's so be careful and don't be fooled.
- Ideal: HDTV Television - receives and displays all HDTV resolutions.
- Lousy: HDTV Monitor - only displays images from source, (Requires a separate tuner to show HDTV).
- Sucks: HDTV Compatible - can't show HDTV resolution, but can receive and show HDTV at a lesser quality.
LCD HDTV's
LCD's are like comparing 720p to 1080i, remember that argument? LCD's are quickly surpassing Plasma's on all fronts like contrast ratio's and color accuracy. They already surpass Plasma's in clarity, burn in (and out) issues, and power consumption. LCD's also don't have any of the glare issues that Plasma's have and manufacturers are getting better at fixing the "melt in" when you touch the screen. But what about size? Usually LCD's cap out at about 42" and then Plasma's take over. But, many companies such as Toshiba, JVC, Samsung, Sony and Sharp are releasing stunning LCD's that are as large as 65". The main issue with LCD's is the cost. Sure you can get a 37" LCD HDTV for about $1,500 but when you get bigger the cost goes up dramatically. What can you expect with a superior and more environmentally friendly technology!
Rear Projection HDTV's
Rear projector HDTV’s come in a bunch of different technologies but the most common is DLP, LCD and LCoS. I won't get into the differences for the sake of time but I will say that Rear projector HDTV's offer the biggest bang for the buck. They are awesome TV's but demonstrate both the best and the worse of the HD spectrum.
Positives?
- Sharp and very bright displays.
- Come in huge sizes.
- Offer better clarity and resolution.
- Relatively cheaper than Plasma's and LCD's
- Proven Technology
- Very heavy and bulky (most of them) and are not sleek.
- Need periodic alignments and adjustments.
- Have to be right in front of TV or image dims. This is the biggest issue.
But if you have the time, maybe you want to hang around and wait for the new SED HDTV technology that Toshiba and Canon pioneered. SED stands for Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display. Each SED houses a really tiny electron emitter like your old tube TV, and six million+ SED emitters are roped together to create a flat panel HDTV with the color purity and deep blacks that only CRT's (regular TV's) can do. Plasma's and LCD's still don't do really deep blacks, just really dark grays. As for SED lifetimes before burnout, supposedly they are getting 66,000 hours in the lab before you see minimal light drop off. Sounds too good to be true, but we shall see when they finally roll out their SED HDTV products sometime in mid to late 2007 (maybe) although there have been several delays and push backs. SED promises pictures that are as bright as CRT (regular tube) televisions, while consuming one third less power. SED combines elements of CRT and LCD technologies and is being positioned by the companies to kill off Plasma's.
What type of resolution and features should I look for?
1080P, the maximum HDTV resolution, is almost useless on sets smaller than 42 inches, as you will never see the difference between 1080p and 720p or 1080i. And if you sit closer than seven feet or so from a big screen, it’s not likely you will see much difference even with 1080P. However, if you buy an HDTV in the 46" to 60" range than make sure you get one that does true 1080P and 720p. Regardless of the size never, ever get an HDTV that says it will "up rezz" or "up convert" or manipulate your signal in any way shape or form. Now, don't hold your breath for any content being broadcast at 1080p because that is far in the future and is a whole other broadcast technology that is barely even being considered at the moment. High-def DVD players will be able to take advantage of full 1080p and that's what you would need it for. So don’t listen to the salesperson, and don’t pay big bucks for something you don’t necessarily need.
Contrast ratio is another big thing you will see on all the advertisements for HDTV's. This is a term used to describe the range of dark and light shades a HDTV is capable of producing. Basically, it's how they reproduce the blackest of the black and the whitest of the white. LCD and Plasma's have been waging a war over whose technology offers the highest contrast. Until recently, Plasma televisions were seen as having a higher ratio but LCD's have pretty much caught up. So the higher the number such as 2,000:1 the better, right? LCD's and Plasma's measure their contrast ratios differently so don't be too excited about Plasma's 10,000:1 ratio.
Lastly, I haven't mentioned the audio capabilities of HDTV's. You might have heard TV or radio ads touting "HD Audio" but let me tell you, that is really a misnomer. High Definition refers to picture quality not sound, period. Companies have decided to capitalize on the fact that everyone equates HD with the best quality and just for simplicity they say "HD Audio", but in reality all that means is that the audio is high quality and more importantly it's uncompressed. It also uses 2 more channels to create a 7.1 audio experience (instead of the standard 5.1). All the HDTV's will come with Virtual Dolby Surround, but look for DTS capabilities as it's still the best. Also, don't be shocked when you have to buy speakers to mount on the side of your new HDTV as most don't come with any, like we are accustomed to with our old TV's. Connections and inputs are vital with HDTV's which I will discuss in the next section. Oh, I mean right now!
Are you still with me? Stay with me now. Okay, next question.
What kind of inputs do I need for an HDTV?
Now, here is where it gets kinda complicated and confusing. A common mistake people make is using their old S-video or composite cables (red, white and yellow cables) to hook up their HDTV to their cable/satellite box or DVD player. Bad idea. HDTV signals do not work over these connections as they are Standard Definition (analog) cables only. You have many options here but I will try to simplify it as much as possible.
On HDTV's there are a multitude of input connectors like RCA composite and S-Video jacks, and "component" outputs (YPbPr - green, red and blue) which is the highest Standard Definition you can get (better than S-video, but still not HD). The "component" jacks will be the fallback option if you are unable to upgrade the rest of your equipment to be HD compatible. 
You might see RGB inputs as well, and even though the look similar to "component" inputs they are different so go ahead and ignore them.
A DVI (Digital Video Interface) is an HD input (and can be used to make your TV into a large computer screen) but the problem is that it only does video and not audio so you will have to use component inputs just for audio, so I call it the first level of HD. I have to mention that if you do use DVI connections with almost any source, from satellite or cables boxes to DVD players, everything in the signal chain must be DVI-HDCP compliant. 
Confusingly, HDCP has several definitions, but the most common is High-bandwidth Digital Copy Protection. However it's defined, it means it's a way to copy protect content from piracy. If your HDTV has a DVI connector but does not support HDCP, you are seriously screwed as nothing will play. Piracy safeguards have created mass consumer confusion. Make sure your HDTV has this.
The main connection you need to be concerned with is the HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) input because this is the industry standard and will give you "true" HD. HDMI does it all with one connection. "True" HD AND audio all in one cord! Pretty cool huh? But there is of course issues with this (isn't there always?)
HDMI is an evolving standard. HDMI 1.0 was the first version. It was OK, but it had many performance restrictions. Following the releases of HDMI 1.1 and 1.2, HDMI 1.3 is finally out. HDMI 1.3 lets HDTV sets display billions, not just millions of colors which truly maximizes more capabilities of either Plasma or LCD screens. More to the point, HDMI 1.3, which will be appearing on HDTV's in early to mid 2007, provides a significantly better looking picture as it offers increased contrast ratio, better tonal transitions, higher resolution and a slew of other improvements. HDMI 1.3 can also carry what I mentioned before as “high-definition” (Dolby HD and DTS-HD) audio for vastly improved sound quality. As with versions 1.0-1.2, HDMI 1.3 is backwards compatible with DVI compliant devices (which is a relief). So if you already bought an HD set, chances are you have HDMI 1.2. But don't stress too much, we all get screwed by rapidly advancing technology. HDMI 1.2 is still pretty damn good.
But, if you haven't bought a HDTV set yet, your best bet is to wait a little while (Xmas 2007) and get one with an HDMI 1.3 interface (make sure you check this before you buy). Just be sure your set top box and HD DVD player also support HDMI 1.3, which means, naturally, junking your current DVD player (which I will talk about next). The problem is that a big cable company such as Cox offers HD receivers that only have HDMI 1.0, never mind the fact that they are still using analog coaxial (standard definition) cables to transmit into their HD receiver box. Funny isn't it?
You have to make sure there is at least three HDMI inputs in order to somewhat future proof your HDTV.
Whew, that's enough tech talk for now, right?
Remember, when you start shopping, keep in mind that the HDTV requires four parts:
So, in order for you to do a complete switch to HDTV it will require a major overhaul of your entire television watching setup (including cables and DVD players and all their components, remember, either it won't work or it won't give you "true" HD) and when the drop down date happens in 2009 you will more than likely have to change out all the TV's, DVD players etc, in the kid's room as well and you can forget about VCR's as they will be totally dead. Sorry folks, this is just the way technology happens. If you are over 40 just remember how many times you had to buy "The White Album". If you are under 40 then you should already be accustomed to massive technology change. So get over it already!
Should you wait to buy or upgrade your HDTV?
It really depends on your needs and money situation. If your TV literally burns out tomorrow than go ahead and buy a large screen Plasma because the prices are totally amazing and will only drop further. If you can wait then I would recommend to wait until next Christmas 2007 at the earliest as SED sets should hopefully come out by then and LCD's will have worked out most of their size and price issues. HDMI 1.3 will be a standard and High-definition DVD player situation should be on it’s way to being resolved. Hopefully the cable and satellite companies will have gotten their acts together as well.
Okay then. In the next post I will talk about Blu-ray and HD DVD players which I'm sad to say is another huge fight. What's new technology without a fight? Makes us feel important that huge conglomerates are always competing for our measly cash, doesn't it?
Disclaimer: The above mentioned HDTV comments were designed to help inform the confused public about HDTV technology and should not be taken as gospel. I reserve the right to be totally wrong about this (but I'm not) and this is by no means a fully detailed and exhaustive explanation on the beautiful HDTV technology. Use info at your own peril and fully do research before you buy anything you will be stuck with for a very long time.
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