Don't worry about 1080p?

[poppe]

Hello

Hoping you all can solve this question for me? I'm very curious on something.

I want a TV and I want a Monitor, so as many people come to the conclusion like I did, I decided I want a TV/Monitor combo. So what should I be looking for?

I'm trying to stay under or at 999. Is 1080p a major factor for a great resolution when hooking my MBP up to the monitor? Or will it still look sharp and clear on a 720p?

The reason I ask is because I could save alot of money staying away from 1080p, but I can't have it looking all nasty or the icons being all pixalated. Especially when I'm video editing...

I searched but never found any clear answers. What are your guy's thoughts? Please pass on any links for me aswell.

[wako]

Well... how big is the TV?


In my opinion, if you are getting a small screen like a 24'' LCD, 720p should be fine. Anything larger, I would personally go up to 1080p.


Make sure though that it supports HDCP, or else the money you just spent just went down the drain when you try to watch HD movies.

[Chaszmyr]

You can't find a 1080p TV for anywhere near $999, so it's really a moot point. (Not one that you'd want anyway. I'd take a 720p TV from a namebrand company over a 1080p TV from an off brand any day)

[poppe]

You can't find a 1080p TV for anywhere near $999, so it's really a moot point. (Not one that you'd want anyway. I'd take a 720p TV from a namebrand company over a 1080p TV from an off brand any day)

I was looking at the Westinghouse 37" which I've heard alot of people hook up as a monitor/tv. Yes it doesn't have a TV tuner but seriously who needs that? Not me. I'm just learning about HDCP, but i'm not really sure why I need it... This is all I'll be doing with the TV. Xbox 360, Wii, Movies with an up converting DVD player, and using it to edit my MBP. So its not really moot.

What is the HDCP and why would I need that so badly?

Any more advice? or thoughts? I want 30+ inches... but no more than 40"

[Westside guy]

If you're in the US - and you are - I don't know that 1080p makes any sense anyway. I'm reasonably sure the US networks are all standardized on 720p for their HD broadcasts.

Someone will certainly correct me if I'm wrong. :D

[Chaszmyr]

HDCP is basically an encryption used by new digital content with HDMI and DVI connections to make sure the signal is sent from the output device to the TV and not intercepted in between. All new TVs you look at will probably have HDCP, including the Westinghouse.

I don't know, maybe that Westinhouse TV is the best TV on the market at that price, but personally I've never used an off-brand TV that I was happy with.

[Chaszmyr]

If you're in the US - and you are - I don't know that 1080p makes any sense anyway. I'm reasonably sure the US networks are all standardized on 720p for their HD broadcasts.

Someone will certainly correct me if I'm wrong. :D

You're not wrong about the broadcasts, but Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, and any other next gen "standards" that come along are all 1080p... and I think this user wants the higher resolution for computer display purposes more than video display purposes... And he may well be right that it would be a good idea.

[jpcos]

If you're in the US - and you are - I don't know that 1080p makes any sense anyway. I'm reasonably sure the US networks are all standardized on 720p for their HD broadcasts.

Someone will certainly correct me if I'm wrong. :D

CBS and NBC are 1080i.

[wako]

Yes it doesn't have a TV tuner but seriously who needs that?




WHAT?!


You are buying a TV that has no TV Tuner? Then... that is basically a monitor then...


As far as brands are concerned, Sharp and Samsung are the top leaders. Another thing to watch out for is some LCD screens come with a DVD player built in. AVOID that. If that thing dies, you are stuck with a feature you paid a premium for that will cost you a few hundred to fix.

[mkubal]

I was looking at the Westinghouse 37" which I've heard alot of people hook up as a monitor/tv. Yes it doesn't have a TV tuner but seriously who needs that? Not me. I'm just learning about HDCP, but i'm not really sure why I need it... This is all I'll be doing with the TV. Xbox 360, Wii, Movies with an up converting DVD player, and using it to edit my MBP. So its not really moot.

What is the HDCP and why would I need that so badly?

Any more advice? or thoughts? I want 30+ inches... but no more than 40"

Which 37" from Westinghouse were you looking at? The 37w3 or 37w1? I was looking at the w3 a while back because I was considering doing the same thing as you. My suggestion would be that if you want to use a TV screen as a monitor/TV, you should go with the 1080p set. More than twice the pixels (compared to 720p) would be hard to pass up when using it as a monitor.

Also, when I was looking at the Westinghouse in the past I was keeping track of a massive thread about that model over at AVS forum. If you haven't already, I'd suggest you search for threads there about the model you're interested in. You'll likely find people posting experiences and pictures of the monitor in action. Good stuff.

[mkubal]

WHAT?!


You are buying a TV that has no TV Tuner? Then... that is basically a monitor then...

It's really not a big deal. Most people buying an HD set won't be using the built in tuner anyway. They'll be getting digital, including HD, through a cable/sat. provider. But then I'm sure there are some people who don't and just use their set for a 360 or PS3... weirdos. :)

[balamw]

CBS and NBC are 1080i.

A number of the cable channels also use 1080i instead of 720p, e.g. HBO-HD and SHO-HD, but I agree with mkubal that for most folks it just won't matter. That goes for CableCard too.

B

[bigbossbmb]

i have the 37" 1080p westinghouse and it is a nice extension when hooked up to my laptop. looks great with Dish network HD and DVD movies.

[wako]

It's really not a big deal. Most people buying an HD set won't be using the built in tuner anyway. They'll be getting digital, including HD, through a cable/sat. provider. But then I'm sure there are some people who don't and just use their set for a 360 or PS3... weirdos. :)



Maybe for satellite since Im not too aware of the hook up, but for my cable, you definitely need a TV tuner to get the cable TV to run on your TV....

[prostuff1]

You can't find a 1080p TV for anywhere near $999, so it's really a moot point. (Not one that you'd want anyway. I'd take a 720p TV from a namebrand company over a 1080p TV from an off brand any day)


That is not entirely true!! Crutchfield has a deal going on right now for a 37in westy that is 1080p.

I just ordered one and am hoping to hook up a mac mini to it at some point.

There are a lot of ports on the back of the westy that should allow you to hook many different things into it.

[livingfortoday]

I just ordered one and am hoping to hook up a mac mini to it at some point.

I was wondering about that. I plan to do something similar with my Mini in the future, but I was confused since it can't drive a 30" Apple Cinema Display - but it can do a TV that large? Is it because the TV has lower resolution?

Sorry to be off-topic like this!

[Flynnstone]

I had my mini hooked up to my Hitachi CRT rear projection TV. I cold get it to drive the TV at 720p and 1080i. It wasn't really usable as computer monitor. But movies looked great. So did iTunes visualizer!
The CRT units don't have a native resolution.
If you are planning on using it as computer monitor, I'd recommend going to 1080p. I would think 720p (1280x768 or there abouts) would look pixelly.
I haven't seen a computer driving a LCD TV, but I suspect it looks ok.

Now I'm in the market for a 50" to 65" rear projection HDTV.
I'm looking at DLP and LCOS at 1080p.
Anyone have recommendations? or good websites for reviews and opinions?

[livingfortoday]

Oh, ok. I planned on using it as a media center computer, recording TV, playing movies and whatnot. No real "daily computer" use, if you will. So it should work ok with a 1080p TV?

[sblasl]

Check out the BenQ FP241W:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824014124&ATT=17-507-003&CMP=AFC-C8Junction

[poppe]

Check out the BenQ FP241W:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824014124&ATT=17-507-003&CMP=AFC-C8Junction

Hmm thanks... I think if i was going for a 24" i'd hit the dell up.

So it sounds like 1080p is the way to go

[mkubal]

Maybe for satellite since Im not too aware of the hook up, but for my cable, you definitely need a TV tuner to get the cable TV to run on your TV....

If you were running cable TV straight from the jack in the wall that would be the case. But as far as I know, you'll need a set-top cable box or Cable Card to receive an HD signal (excluding OTA). The tuner is in the cable box. Anyway, my point was that if you're buying an HDTV you're likely buying it to watch an HD feed in which case you would forgo the use of a built-in tuner anyway.

Not that an internal tuner would be pointless. It's just not a necessity.

[Redline13]

Unless you get a huge tv, 50 inches and up, your most likely not going to be able to tell the difference between 720P and 1080P video. Don't get to caught up on the spec sheets of the models you looking at. The best advice I can give you is to go to a few stores and examine the models your interested in.

[rmhop81]

Hello

Hoping you all can solve this question for me? I'm very curious on something.

I want a TV and I want a Monitor, so as many people come to the conclusion like I did, I decided I want a TV/Monitor combo. So what should I be looking for?

I'm trying to stay under or at 999. Is 1080p a major factor for a great resolution when hooking my MBP up to the monitor? Or will it still look sharp and clear on a 720p?

The reason I ask is because I could save alot of money staying away from 1080p, but I can't have it looking all nasty or the icons being all pixalated. Especially when I'm video editing...

I searched but never found any clear answers. What are your guy's thoughts? Please pass on any links for me aswell.

i have a 720P hdtv and mine is just connected through vga. it looks great and the size of the text is really good too. i can read it from all the way across the room. i've never seen a computer hooked up to a 1080P but i would think it would be too small to actually use with a pc as far as text goes. here's my tv just for a little example to see what i mean....42inch sony lcd projection

http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/634/rebel013dc2.th.jpg (http://img74.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rebel013dc2.jpg)

[volntitan]

Thought I would weigh in. I work at a video post production facility. If you can afford to get 1080p, by all means get that. No question. But honestly, I believe 1080i will become the "standard". The key won't be what the big networks have to do to convert over to HD standards. It is what the small affiliate stations have to do. 1080i would be the "easiest" to convert over since it is still based in the NTSC world.

[poppe]

i have a 720P hdtv and mine is just connected through vga. it looks great and the size of the text is really good too. i can read it from all the way across the room. i've never seen a computer hooked up to a 1080P but i would think it would be too small to actually use with a pc as far as text goes. here's my tv just for a little example to see what i mean....42inch sony lcd projection

http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/634/rebel013dc2.th.jpg (http://img74.imageshack.us/my.php?image=rebel013dc2.jpg)

Very nice loooking! thanks alot. i might forget 1080p if it looks fine in 720

[Jschultz]

Thought I would weigh in. I work at a video post production facility. If you can afford to get 1080p, by all means get that. No question. But honestly, I believe 1080i will become the "standard". The key won't be what the big networks have to do to convert over to HD standards. It is what the small affiliate stations have to do. 1080i would be the "easiest" to convert over since it is still based in the NTSC world.


Yes, does seem smart.

Also, 720p TV's will accept that signal and downconvert to 720p, and good 1080p tv's will deinterlace it.

[volntitan]

Basically, 1080p is the top resolution, followed by 720p and then 1080i.

[leekohler]

Ok, can somebody define 1080p, 1080i and 720p? What's the difference?

[prostuff1]

Ok, can somebody define 1080p, 1080i and 720p? What's the difference?

Don't quote me on this but i think it goes something like this:

1080p - 1920x1080 native resolution for the TV. Means the monitor will do 480i, 480p, 720P, 1080i and 1080p. The "p" stands for progressive scan which is better then "i," which stand for interlaced. Progressive scan means that it draws all the lines on one pass of the screen. Interlaced means it draws the odd numbered lines ont he first pass then the even number on the second pass. It is usually a better picture if all lines are drawn per screen refresh.

1080i - 1366 x 768 native resolution. Means the monitor will do up to 1080i but no more.

720p - is again progressive scan and the max monitor resolution is 1280x720.

I just recently purchased the Westinghouse LVM-37w3 which should be hear tomorrow. It is a 1080p monitor and i would suggest to anyone that if they are looking to get a TV soon needs to seriously consider getting a 1080p set just to future-proof themselves. Blue-Ray and HD-DVD are 1080p so if you plan on going to one of these formats then why cripple yourself now by buying a monitor that will not give you the best picture from those devices.

[Vlade]

I've been looking to get a new HDTV to replace my 800x600 21" TV (almost HD but not quiet lol), but I have one question. I was of the understanding 1080i had 1080 vertical lines, with half (ever other) line being refreshed every frame. I would then think that a 1080i TV would have around 1920x1080 resolution, but most I see are 1366x768. Now wouldn't you lose some sharpness and quality squishing the 1080 lines down to 768 lines, or am is my knowledge of HDTVs incorrect?

[jeremy.king]

Ok, can somebody define 1080p, 1080i and 720p? What's the difference?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television

[balamw]

Don't quote me on this but i think it goes something like this:


1080i - 1366 x 768 native resolution. Means the monitor will do up to 1080i but no more.

720p - is again progressive scan and the max monitor resolution is[SIZE=-1] 1280x720.

I would then think that a 1080i TV would have around 1920x1080 resolution, but most I see are 1366x768. Now wouldn't you lose some sharpness and quality squishing the 1080 lines down to 768 lines, or am is my knowledge of HDTVs incorrect?
You're both making a big mistake. Anything that wants to call itself an HDTV MUST accept and display 1080i input. What this means is that even a TV with 720p native resolution 1280x720, MUST accept and downscale 1080i to its display). This doesn't make it a 1080i set.

And yes, it'll be lower resolution than 1080i, but will still be much better than 480p.

To be a full resolution 1080i set you need the same resolution as 1080p, but somehow to lack the ability of displaying all the pixels in a progressive fashion, but instead only allowing interlaced signals where only half of the pixels are updated each frame.

The reason 720p and 1080i are the broadcast standards and 1080p is not is that these two schemes can both be transmitted in the same channel width as a regular SD NTSC signal. So they are backwards compatible to the old channel allocations.

B

[jsw]

I've been looking to get a new HDTV to replace my 800x600 21" TV (almost HD but not quiet lol), but I have one question. I was of the understanding 1080i had 1080 vertical lines, with half (ever other) line being refreshed every frame. I would then think that a 1080i TV would have around 1920x1080 resolution, but most I see are 1366x768. Now wouldn't you lose some sharpness and quality squishing the 1080 lines down to 768 lines, or am is my knowledge of HDTVs incorrect?
Keep in mind that there is a difference between what a TV can understand and what it can accurately display.

I have a $129 15" LCD TV I'm going to mount to a wall in the kitchen. I've verified that I can watch 1080i Discover Channel HD content on it, as well as 1080i PBS shows. However, it's a 1024x768 panel, so clearly it's not showing 1080 lines of resolution. For use as a monitor, what matters is the actual resolution of the TV, as well as the resolution it'll accept from its inputs. For example, my older 37" Westinghouse accepts 1920x1080 on one of the DVI inputs, but only a lower res on the other. Be sure to check the (often online) manuals before purchase.

Here's an old shot of my Westinghouse connected to my mini:

http://formymac.com/MR/TV_Small_2.jpg (http://formymac.com/MR/TV_Big_2.jpg)

[savar]

How big is the TV, and how close will you be sitting to it when you use it?

I have a 50" 720p Sony TV, and I use it with my G4 from across the room. The text is readable at default size (12 point) and it's quite easy for me to iTunes, Safari, even Terminal.

[slackersonly]

Get the 42" Panny. It is only 1080i but, as previosly mentioned, you will only miss 1080p using blueray, hddvd, xbox, or ps3. And missing 1080p would really be minimal vs the expense. Go to an electronics store and find a 1080i tv next to a 1080p with the SAME input and stand back 5ft and then 10ft and see if you can really tell a difference. Also, at 42", the resolution loss for your computer monitor would be minimal vs a 32" 1080p.

[volntitan]

HD DVD is not 1080p.

[flopticalcube]

http://www.carltonbale.com/wp-content/uploads/resolution_chart.png

or better yet, wait for HDMI 1.3 and 1440p!

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/specsformats/HDMI13specificationQA.php

[leekohler]

Don't quote me on this but i think it goes something like this:

1080p - 1920x1080 native resolution for the TV. Means the monitor will do 480i, 480p, 720P, 1080i and 1080p. The "p" stands for progressive scan which is better then "i," which stand for interlaced. Progressive scan means that it draws all the lines on one pass of the screen. Interlaced means it draws the odd numbered lines ont he first pass then the even number on the second pass. It is usually a better picture if all lines are drawn per screen refresh.

1080i - 1366 x 768 native resolution. Means the monitor will do up to 1080i but no more.

720p - is again progressive scan and the max monitor resolution is 1280x720.

I just recently purchased the Westinghouse LVM-37w3 which should be hear tomorrow. It is a 1080p monitor and i would suggest to anyone that if they are looking to get a TV soon needs to seriously consider getting a 1080p set just to future-proof themselves. Blue-Ray and HD-DVD are 1080p so if you plan on going to one of these formats then why cripple yourself now by buying a monitor that will not give you the best picture from those devices.


Thank you. I looked up mine and it's a 1080i. That'll do me fine for now. ;)

[poppe]

How big is the TV, and how close will you be sitting to it when you use it?

I have a 50" 720p Sony TV, and I use it with my G4 from across the room. The text is readable at default size (12 point) and it's quite easy for me to iTunes, Safari, even Terminal.

I'll be seating about 5-10 feet away. 10 feet rarely though. Mostly 5 feet ish...

[Flynnstone]

Has anyone connected a mini (G4 or Intel) to a 1080p TV?
That is a TV that can do 1920x1080 natively. Not CRT based. LCD, DLP, LCOS or plasma only.

This is all making me curious about iTV.

[jsw]

Has anyone connected a mini (G4 or Intel) to a 1080p TV?
That is a TV that can do 1920x1080 natively. Not CRT based. LCD, DLP, LCOS or plasma only.

This is all making me curious about iTV.Yes, I have mine set up that way. Look up a few posts.

[Flynnstone]

I guess I should read more carefully. I thought it was a 1280x768 LCD.
How do movies look? comparing DVD player to mini?
Is mini a G4?
What about high def? tried an trailer?

[Jschultz]

HD DVD is not 1080p.

Have a look at the new Toshiba HD DVD player. The HDAXA2, I think? It's going to do 1080p. :)

Also, people should stop misunderstanding 1080i. Just because your set can take it , doesn't mean it is. For instance...42" panasonic plasma (th42px6/60/600) is NOT 1080i. It is 720p. It's resolution is 1366x768. It takes 1080i because some stations like cbs, nbc, and occasionally discovery hd will broadcast 1080i.

Like I've said in countless threads, a 1080i set will have a strange resolution like 1024x1080 (see: http://www.hitachi.us/tv/browse/plasma/plasma/42hds69.shtml)

[KingYaba]

WHAT?!


You are buying a TV that has no TV Tuner? Then... that is basically a monitor then...


A lot of people get their signal from a cable box. No tuner is necessary.