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Plasma TV Forum / Knowledge Base
All questions are answered by Editors of the Plasma TV Buying Guide.
EDTV/HDTV Questions List of Categories
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- Can you explain the differences between the 852 X 480 and 1024 x 1024 resolution. I am trying to decide if it's worth spending the extra $1500 to get a higher resolution TV. Thank You. Lee, San Diego, CA
- Will an edtv perform nearly as well as an hdtv when receiving a 720p signal?
- how important is contrast ratio in plasma tv's.
- Is a HD tuner really needed for a 42" plasma in HD and EDtv formats? It was mentioned that most 42" plasmas have a internall built in converter/scalar.
- Hello, I want to buy an HDTV plasma monitor, and was leaning towards the Panasonic TH-42PHD6UY after reading your review. A question came up after reading a review for the same TV at www.cheap-plasma-tv.com. In their review, they plainly state that it is not a true HDTV (If you want to read it, the link is http://www.cheap-plasma-tv.com/plasma-tv/TH42PWD6UY-review.htm). My question, for any TV that I'm interested in, would be how do I know if it's a true HDTV? I don't want a TV that converts the incoming HDTV signal to something else, I want to be sure that it's showing the picture in HDTV format. I will be using whatever TV I buy mostly for watching movies on DVD. Thanks, I love your website, it's the best!
- I have two questions I would like to get answered before I purchase a plasma tv. Can someone give a very simple answer to which is better HD or EDTV. I watch a lot of sports and want to get the best experance as possible. Next how reliable are the plasma tv's and is one manufacture better than another?
- I bought a 46" Visio Plasma and connected Direct TV on it using SVHS as well as tried RF cable. The picture looks pixelated and digitized. However, when I play a DVD (connected with SVHS or Component input), the picture is VERY clear without any pixelation. Can you explain to me why?
- Will an edtv provide a better picture (typically)than an hdtv if the source is a dvd? What is the max vertical resolution available from dvd players today?
- I was looking at buying a plasma HDTV, preferably the Pioneer PDP4340. However, because of the cost of a HDTV; is it possible to buy a Panasonic TH42PWD6UY/EDTV now and buy a video scaler later to get a High Definition picture on an EDTV?
- I have an NEC 42" MP3 plasma screen w/no internal tuner. Currently I use a VCR for tuner coupled to digital cable box supplied by cable company; audio is through stereo system. I am upgrading to the cable company's HD cable box. Their telephone tech said I do not need an external HD tuner; HD cable box alone will work. The NEC does have composite, component, optical, etc., inputs. Is the tech guy on the phone correct, or will I be ordering a tuner after the cable guys put in the new HD cable box? (All cable boxes referenced are table top version.) Thanks.
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- Can you explain the differences between the 852 X 480 and 1024 x 1024 resolution. I am trying to decide if it's worth spending the extra $1500 to get a higher resolution TV. Thank You. Lee, San Diego, CA
Pixel resolution with regard to plasma monitors is a tricky issue. Basically, all 42" plasma tv's have a built in converter/scalar to take care of the interpolation issue with matching up the incoming signal with the native pixel resolution. A 42" plasma monitor with 1024X1024 will not display a 1080i signal straight out. In order to show a true 1080I HDTV signal a 42" 16:9 plasma display monitor must have a native pixel resolution of 1920X1080. None currently have this resolution. All current 42" plasma monitors must do a certain amount of interpolating through the video processing chip/converter/scalar.
Because the 1024X1024 monitor seems closer in native pixel resolution to the 1080I signal than an 853X480 monitor it stands to reason that it would show the 1080i signal at a higher resolution - closer to the 1024 than the 853. However, the 1024X1024 monitor uses an interlace scan to see every other line while the 853X480 monitor uses progressive scanning. Using a comparison at a 60hz refresh rate, what you will actually see vertically is 512 lines on the 1024X1024 monitor compared with 480 vertical lines on the 853X480 monitor. Not much difference.
While the 1024X1024 (XGA resolution) plasma monitor still appears to have the edge in resolution we have to remember that the pixels are rectangles rather than square. This enables the monitor to produce the images for the 16:9 widescreen monitor. This means that the 1024 X1024 monitor has to do more interpolating on the horizontally stretched pixel, which can cause some softening. There is just a lot of severe scaling to be done there. The 853X480 monitor, having square pixels, will have an easier time with the horizontal conversion.
The 1024X1024 monitor can end up softening the image more due to the more severe horizontal filtering. It can depend upon the scalar/converter of the monitor as to which views the best.
This is where the difference between reasoning and true to life experience gets a little hairy. Contrast, brightness, and black levels come in to play with video images. What the eye picks up may be a much better picture on the 853X480 monitor because the converter/scalar does a better job of "blending" (through progressive scanning) the color information in such a way as to cause a crisper image. Contrast will necessarily translate into a better picture image given the effectiveness of the scalar/converter, though at the same time the 1024X1024 monitor may show a bit better depth/ three dimensionalities.
Since computer signals are progressive the 1024X1024 monitor will convert the signal very well to interlaced and provide a good resolution vertically. Obviously an XGA resolution will favor the 1024X1024 monitory because of the similarity in signal and pixel. Still image graphics for instance would look better on the 1024X1024 than on an 853X480 monitor because the refresh rate does not come into play. The progressive scanning 853X480 may look better using a computer with fast motion imaging, but generally the 1024X1024 monitor should display most computer graphic presentation materials better. A normal VGA resolution of 853X480 will match up nicely with the 853X480 monitor.
The 50" plasma monitors display somewhat different pixel resolutions. Native pixel resolutions of 1280X768 or 1365X768 are shown. These plasma monitors will use progressive scanning to show the best possible picture. An incoming 1080i signal will be cross-converted to 768P (as opposed to down-converted with an 853X480 widescreen monitor). An incoming 720P signal will be upconverted to 768P. Therefore, the viewer will get a full and true HDTV picture.
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- Will an edtv perform nearly as well as an hdtv when receiving a 720p signal?
The EDTV will down convert the signal to 480p. It will look very close to an HDTV but not have the 3-D real life image as found on an HDTV set. Side-by-side, one could tell the difference, stand-a-lone, it would be hard to discern.
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- how important is contrast ratio in plasma tv's.
The contrast ratio is a measure of the difference between white and black. The higher the contrast ratio, the blacker the blacks will appear. With a lower contrast ratio specification, the blacks will appear gray and not black. This is the case for any display device, not just plasmas.
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- Is a HD tuner really needed for a 42" plasma in HD and EDtv formats? It was mentioned that most 42" plasmas have a internall built in converter/scalar.
In order to watch HDTV, one needs an HD decoder (ASTC tuner). This can come from your cable or satellite provider or a separate box to receive OTA, over-the-air, broadcasts. There are only a select few models that have an ATSC tuner built in. The HD signal displayed on an EDTV will be downconverted to 480p while it will be 720p or 1080i on the HDTV plasmas.
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- Hello, I want to buy an HDTV plasma monitor, and was leaning towards the Panasonic TH-42PHD6UY after reading your review. A question came up after reading a review for the same TV at www.cheap-plasma-tv.com. In their review, they plainly state that it is not a true HDTV (If you want to read it, the link is http://www.cheap-plasma-tv.com/plasma-tv/TH42PWD6UY-review.htm). My question, for any TV that I'm interested in, would be how do I know if it's a true HDTV? I don't want a TV that converts the incoming HDTV signal to something else, I want to be sure that it's showing the picture in HDTV format. I will be using whatever TV I buy mostly for watching movies on DVD. Thanks, I love your website, it's the best!
Please review the link you posted, it is for the TH-42PWD6UY. That is an EDTV, not HDTV. The TH-42PHD6UY is a true HDTV. Very similar other than the resolution.
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- I have two questions I would like to get answered before I purchase a plasma tv. Can someone give a very simple answer to which is better HD or EDTV. I watch a lot of sports and want to get the best experance as possible. Next how reliable are the plasma tv's and is one manufacture better than another?
HDTV gives a sharper and clearer image than EDTV. Plasmas are very reliable now and most manufacturers share similar components.
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- I bought a 46" Visio Plasma and connected Direct TV on it using SVHS as well as tried RF cable. The picture looks pixelated and digitized. However, when I play a DVD (connected with SVHS or Component input), the picture is VERY clear without any pixelation. Can you explain to me why?
The Visio probably has a poor scaler/doubler built in and does not go a good job of converting the 480i signal from DirecTV to 480p. Also the satellite companies have limited bandwidth and each channel may appear better or worse.
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- Will an edtv provide a better picture (typically)than an hdtv if the source is a dvd? What is the max vertical resolution available from dvd players today?
DVDs have a resolution of 480 lines. Currently, there are a couple of players on the market utilizing the DVI output and can scale the image to 1080i and 720p, those are made by Samsung and V-inc.
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- I was looking at buying a plasma HDTV, preferably the Pioneer PDP4340. However, because of the cost of a HDTV; is it possible to buy a Panasonic TH42PWD6UY/EDTV now and buy a video scaler later to get a High Definition picture on an EDTV?
It is not possible to make an EDTV with a native resolution of 853x480 to an HDTV. The EDTV will downcovert the HD signal to 480P.
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- I have an NEC 42" MP3 plasma screen w/no internal tuner. Currently I use a VCR for tuner coupled to digital cable box supplied by cable company; audio is through stereo system. I am upgrading to the cable company's HD cable box. Their telephone tech said I do not need an external HD tuner; HD cable box alone will work. The NEC does have composite, component, optical, etc., inputs. Is the tech guy on the phone correct, or will I be ordering a tuner after the cable guys put in the new HD cable box? (All cable boxes referenced are table top version.) Thanks.
The digital cable box acts as the tuner. The tech is correct.
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