Explaining Hd Tv Versus Hd Ready Tv

[stgrhe]

HDTV - What is HD Ready & Full HD TV?

There are two main types of HD TV. HD Ready TV delivers twice the resolution of standard definition TV, with 720 horizontal lines of information in every single frame – good for watching most HD television broadcasts. But for the ultimate high definition experience, Full HD TV delivers 1080 horizontal lines per frame, bringing you an extreme level of real-life detail - perfect for watching films on Blu-ray Disc™.

High Definition explained

What is it?

HD TV makes it possible for you to enjoy home entertainment with stunning picture quality and sound.

Whether you're watching an HD TV channel, enjoying a Blu-ray Disc™ movie, or playing a PlayStation game, characters and scenes spring to life on screen.

It's all down to the much higher resolution in HD TV sets, producing an incredibly clear and detailed picture.

What resolution?

Standard Definition TVs have 720 x 576 pixels, or 576 lines of 720 pixels.

High Definition TV screens have a lot more, starting with twice as many at 1280 x 720, and then up fivefold to 1920 x 1080 pixels, the more advanced you get.

So the more pixels, the better the resolution and the finer the detail you see in the images. But what else makes HD give you such amazing picture quality? It's the difference between a progressive (e.g. 1080p) and interlaced signal (e.g. 1080i). Simply, the way the image is written and displayed on the screen.

How does it work?

With an interlaced format, the screen is filled in two stages, with odd lines first and then even lines.

While the movement is so fast the human eye can't easily see it, you may have experienced a 'flicker' quality.

A progressive signal is more advanced, it writes screen content all at once - meaning that you see all the details on the screen in one go.

What the logos mean

HD Ready

HD Ready is a format that allows double the resolution of standard definition TV pictures. TVs must be able to show 720 horizontal lines of information in every single frame. HD Ready will give a brilliant picture whether you are watching HD broadcasts, Blu-ray Disc™ movies or gaming on e.g. a PlayStation.

Full HD 1080

With 1080 horizontal lines per frame, Full HD represents the ultimate in HD viewing. When the format is combined with picture improvement technologies on a HD TV, the results are truly breathtaking.

A device bearing the Full HD logo displays Blu-ray Disc™ films without any re-scaling so you can watch movies just as the director intended on the studio set. It's also the format of choice for real gaming enthusiasts.

[BuckarooBanzai]

My 32 inch LCD says HD-ready 1366x768 so I find the information above somewhat confusing. Just because a TV says HD-ready does not mean it is not HD or am I missing something?

[stgrhe]

My 32 inch LCD says HD-ready 1366x768 so I find the information above somewhat confusing. Just because a TV says HD-ready does not mean it is not HD or am I missing something?

If you read the above post you'll see that HD ready TVs are "starting with twice as many at 1280 x 720". Only a TV with 1920 x 1080i or 1920 x 1080p is regarded to be a true HD TV, hence the somewhat cryptic name HD ready for TVs with resolutions above SD TV.

[BuckarooBanzai]

My 32 inch LCD says HD-ready 1366x768 so I find the information above somewhat confusing. Just because a TV says HD-ready does not mean it is not HD or am I missing something?

If you read the above post you'll see that HD ready TVs are "starting with twice as many at 1280 x 720". Only a TV with 1920 x 1080i or 1920 x 1080p is regarded to be a true HD TV, hence the somewhat cryptic name HD ready for TVs with resolutions above SD TV.

Standard Definition TVs have 720 x 576 pixels, or 576 lines of 720 pixels.

High Definition TV screens have a lot more, starting with twice as many at 1280 x 720, and then up fivefold to 1920 x 1080 pixels, the more advanced you get.

This seems to say that HD goes from 1280x720 and up and so I guess this part of your post was indeed somewhat confusing. I regret that it appears that I did not read your post before replying.

[JurgenG]

One more important choice when buying a TV is the size of the screen

Until now, I thought 2.30m between the sofa and the TV means the optimum size for the TV was 42 "

Now, I just read a Sony brochure that says it's not true. For TV HD ready it's still 42" but for a full HD I should buy a 55".

Is it true or is it just a way to push me to buy a bigger (and more expensive) TV ?

[astral]

HD means 1080 resolution.

HD Ready is an advertising con for a lower standard

Mind you it is all a matter of perception.

I visited Alexandra Palace in north London

and saw this plaque on the wall.

Now that refers to 405 line resolution, which at the time

was real step up from the original system of John Logie Baird.

[bkkjames]

Fyi, I was in powerbuy the other day and they a brochure /catalogue that is wicked by local standard. Every lcd, led, plasma tv they offer in it with pricing and specs (detailed) at the back which will save you hours of aggrivation trying to source comparitive info from salesperson.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Now that we have digital technology and have dropped analog a TV's picture quality is based on the sets pixel density and amount of control over each pixel ie. contrast and color control.

Labels unless accurately and meaningfully applied really mean nothing and the facts are what count.

The requirements for a 100 inch TV differ greatly from a 32 inch in maintaining the same viewing experience (at a proportional distance from the set) and all this assumes that the signal source can provide HD regardless of screen size which simply is not the case.

A 32 inch HD ready is fully equivalent in picture definition to a larger screen HD model given equal pixel control.

I think the OP might work in marketing for some electronics firm.

[OriginalPoster]

It seems as if "HD Ready" and "Full HD" were terms made up with the intention of confusing consumers. It would be much more clear if they just said the TV was 720p or 1080p, if that's what they mean.

[stgrhe]

I think the OP might work in marketing for some electronics firm.

Wrong, I am a retired marketing manager from SAAB, a Swedish defence contractor, and this is what I was selling until I retired three years ago - 9LV HD Compat Management Systems.

[BuckarooBanzai]

I think the OP might work in marketing for some electronics firm.

Wrong, I am a retired marketing manager from SAAB, a Swedish defence contractor, and this is what I was selling until I retired three years ago - 9LV HD Compat Management Systems.

No offense intended with the electronics firm connection remark stgrhe as it was said tongue in cheek (just joking). But it did bring a smile to my face when you said you did work in marketing. It was an interesting post and and gave me something to look into as the terms applied to the technology seemed to me to be ambiguous. Cheers.

[PattayaParent]

But doesn't it also depend on what is being broadcast?

[bkkjames]

But doesn't it also depend on what is being broadcast?

the other thing i found in the powerbuy brochure the other day was a statement the True broadcasts in Full HD 1080. Can anyone verify this?

[OriginalPoster]

But doesn't it also depend on what is being broadcast?

Sure, if the resolution of the TV exceeds the resolution of the source material then the higher resolution TV could look worse than a lower resolution TV.

[OriginalPoster]

But doesn't it also depend on what is being broadcast?

the other thing i found in the powerbuy brochure the other day was a statement the True broadcasts in Full HD 1080. Can anyone verify this?

I have't been able to find anything where True definitely states what they are doing, but it sounds as if they are rolling out a set-top box that is capable of upsampling to 1080p.

[astral]

I live in the Middle East and recently purchased an HD receiver to watch the Barclays Premier League

matches broadcast from Abu Dhabi.

The signal is 1080i, the receiver tells me that, and the quality is stunning on my 40" Samsung Series 6.

I can also receive some other HD channels coming in at 720i, the difference is very noticeable

little better than the standard def of 576i of channels like BBC News.

I am really looking forward to watching the F1 race from Singapore on Sunday,

in HD and with the UK commentary.

[bkkjames]

Your series 6 is led or plasma? Also, I heard that progressive scan is better than - I, interlaced.

My problem is when I go into the shop, they all look so dam_n good these days.

[ludditeman]

HD = High definition display

HD ready = no high definition display, but we have a load of these on the shelf and some daft bugger might misunderstand and buy one.

[BuckarooBanzai]

Salesmen and daft buggers aside the misleading commentary in this thread needs a touch of sanity blended in. So here goes:

First about nomenclature:

DIGITALEUROPE was responsible for setting the definitions of High Definition.

http://www.digitaleurope.org/index.php?id=731

It should be noted that originally there were only two primary descriptors for HD TV components.

HD TV Ready and HD TV. Simply put the HD TV Ready unit is just a monitor capable of hooking up to a HD source while the HD TV was required to have it's own internal receiver.

And originally their were two subsets of HD boxes for each descriptive term listed above.

HD ready = 720p, 1080i - This set can process both 1280x720 progressive or 1920x1080 interlaced input

HD TV = 720p, 1080i - This set receives both 1280x720 progressive or 1920x1080 interlaced content

HD ready = 1080p - This set can process 1920x1080 progressive input

HD TV = 1080p - This set receives 1920x1080 progressive content

Now someone figured that the label HD ready for two different levels of definition could be confusing (probably from marketing) so they came up with a new name for the HD ready 1080p. They called it Full HD which still was rated as 1920x1080p. They could not call it simply HDTV as it would then require some sort of receiver so added Full to differentiate it. But - a Full HD TV is still just the upper standard of HD Ready TV.

By the way - progressive means all lines are updated at the same time and interlaced means the odd ones are updated first and the even ones are updated in the nest cycle.

An interesting article - this is just the lead in but recommend those interested read the whole thing:

While high definition has become a reality for many consumers, the technical jargon associated with this exiting new technology is causing much confusion. Just as we were beginning to understand the differences between Blu-ray and HD DVD along comes a new high-definition format, 1080p.

http://www.hdtvorg.co.uk/focus/resolution.htm

Size matters.

Diagonal----------Resolution--Pixels------Aspect------PPI---Details

32 in (810 mm)----1366x720----1049088-----16:9--------48----television, 720p

42 in (1,100 mm)--1920x1080---2073600-----16:9--------52----television, 1080p

As you can see the pixels per inch between the 32 inch HD Ready and the 42 in Full HD are about the same.

As the sets get larger than 42 inch while still maintaining the 1920x1080 resolution the pixel per inch ratio continues to drop.

This in a nutshell indicates:

1. For a 32 inch set you should not waste your money on a Full HD set.

2. The 42 inch will provide the optimum picture clarity as there are more pixels and they match one to one with the high definition input signal.

3.As the set size increases from above 42 inch the picture will start to degrade as the pixels per inch decrease.

For the future - Larger screens with progressively higher resolutions and equal 52 pixel/inch densities will match the 42 inch quality only when provided with an input signal matched to its higher resolution.

So if you take the time to try and understand the reality of HD then the marketing and sales people will not be able to lead you astray and no one will be able to call you a daft bugger. Cheers.

[sezze]

Maybe some consideration .

The tv resulotion is 1 thing , the signal is something different . Settop boxes claiming they can upsample to 1080 or the True HD claiming to be 1080 . Both might be the case but what is lost stays lost .

Similar as MP3 64kb/s file , you can put it again to full cd resolution . Does it mean it is the full signal ... yes the end signal is full but the data lost when putting it from full to 64kb/s is gone forever . Things like this are never mentioned and your tv or settop box can only say what comes in . What has been done before is a big mistery .

My personal opinion . Buy a tv for what suits you best : many tv programmes and dvd , less blue ray , any HD ready tv is plenty good enough . Many blue ray , big screen ( 50 inch or + ) try to look for full HD .

Anything in the middle , it is up to your pockets and personal preference .

For price performance , tv and dvd watching , PDP is hard to beat ( little higher power consumption but nowhere near the 1st plasmas ) .

[bkkjames]

Thanks for the in-depth info guys.

[astral]

Your series 6 is led or plasma? Also, I heard that progressive scan is better than - I, interlaced.

My Series 6 is the basic LCD, purchased about 18 months ago.

This -i versus -p is an interesting point.

I first purchased a progressive scan TV 20 years ago.

It was labelled as 100Hz and utilized internal memory to store the

two interlaces 50Hz images. It certainly gave a better image than the

conventional TV's of the time.

Doing a little digging it appears that the interlaced standard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080i has been adopted by the broadcast industry.

However the film industry has gone for the progressive approach

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080p

I must admit I am still unclear as to what my TV can support.

The broadcast material I am receiving is 1080i, according to the info on the

screen from my set top box, and the TV info button.

I do not have access to a Blu Ray player to see what that is outputing.

[astral]

Having said all that, I now notice that the Saudi Arabia HD channels are in 720p.

They do not look as crisp as the 1080i from Abu Dhabi Sport.

[KunMatt]

You make it sound much more complicated than it has to be.

HD = 1920 x 1080 resolution

HD ready = TV will accept a HD signal but it will display it a lower resolution.

HD ready was mainly introduced around 6/7 years ago before anybody had any HD sources but they wanted to be prepared for the HD revolution, however full 1920 x 1080 displays were expensive so they brought out these half-way fill ins.

[OriginalPoster]

HD ready = TV will accept a HD signal but it will display it a lower resolution.

And would generally would be 1280×720 pixels.