HD on EDTV

[Tom Bombadil]

I have seen multiple 42" ED plasmas where the action scenes were excellent. And I have seen others that were poor. But they never varied within a brand name. That is, the plasmas from Panasonic and NEC were always good.

Over the years on various forums I have read many, many criticisms of ED plasmas. However such simply isn't valid for the good quality ones. I would rather have a good quality ED plasma than a mediocre HD plasma.

I have even run on-the-floor comparisons of ED vs HD at a couple of Circuit City's. I spent 15 minutes tweaking Panasonic ED plasmas to get them set up correctly. And then ran them up against low-end HD plasmas and sat there for several minutes asking everyone who came by, which had the better picture, from a viewing distance of 10'. Nearly everyone picked the Panny ED. And it was watching full res HD football.

I haven't seen recent LG models. Three years ago the LG's weren't that good. But I've read that they have improved.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Here are some excerpts from a 2004 CNET review of a Panasonic 42" ED Plasma:

"The PA20U produces some of the best pictures we've ever seen on a plasma display. Unlike many sets of its kind, this Panasonic can produce a deep, inky black and render subtle shadow detail. The panel's exemplary performance on darker scenes was nearly equal to that of tube-based TVs."
...

"Since the panel's native resolution exactly matches that of DVD, we weren't surprised that DVD material had plenty of detail. The PA20U flawlessly detected 2:3 pull-down cadence in Star Trek: Insurrection, with rock-solid lines during camera pans. Between our DVD player's interlaced and progressive-scan modes, the latter produced an ever so slightly sharper picture.

To test the PA20U with a variety of material, we checked out some sequences from Digital Video Essentials on DVD. The second montage's opening shot, a time-lapse view of day passing into night and back again over a mountain range, immediately impressed us. Unlike with the Samsung SPN4235, for example, the darkness of the evening shadows was rich and true, and we could make out the sagebrush in the twilight.

Despite its relatively low resolution, the PA20U also did a remarkably good job with HDTV. We watched some baseball highlights from the past year on ESPN HD, and colors were a bit richer than with DVD, although the grass wasn't resolved quite as sharply as we would have liked. Again, darker parts of the picture looked terrific. "

Doesn't sound all that bad, does it?

I could post similar excerpts from several other reviews. While definitely not perfect, an ED plasma can throw up a nice picture.

 

[Poke]

Overall everyone is better off getting a HDTV.

 

[dougruss]

Overall everyone is better off getting a HDTV.

That really depends on what your planning on watching and what you can afford and still buy Beer !

 

[navychop]

No, no. Buy the beer first and then see if you have enough left over to buy an HDTV.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Navychop almost gets it right.

Buy the beer, drink it all, and then you can watch EDTV or DishHD-lite and it will look good to you.

 

[griz_fan]

It always amazes me how so many people get hung up on resolution, as if that was the only thing that mattered when viewing HD programming. In reality, resolution is probably the third most important consideration behind contrast ratio and color accuracy. So, if you have a nice EDTV with good color and contrast, you'll really benefit from upgrading your programming to HD. Not as much as you would with a higher resolution display, but the improvement from SD to ED will be far greater than the improvement from ED to HD. Plus, don't forget the improved sound quality, too.
Get your HD upgrade and enjoy the show!

 

[dazed0119]

I too have an EDTV, but have been running HD for quite some time. While not in HD, it is still a significant difference. You will notice quite a big difference between HD & SD.

 

[sternpry]

I have a JVC 42in EDTV plasma and up until they changed the format to MPEG 4 I had the HD package using it with a 921 box. The difference in SD and HD was very noticeable especially on the Discovery channel. I would recommend going ahead and doing the HD thing. Have been there and done that and loved it until they changed the format. Next move is a true HD tv with a 622 box......but then D* will probably change the format again and require another damn box.

 

[ncmark]

well installer just left and WOW, great picture. He hooked up a 2 dish setup, he said that his company is required to use 2 dish's, good for me
Now time to check this HD out. Oh by the way, ViP211 didnt come with HDMI cable. Should I get one to use?

Thanks to all for your input on this.

 

[dougruss]

well installer just left and WOW, great picture. He hooked up a 2 dish setup, he said that his company is required to use 2 dish's, good for me
Now time to check this HD out. Oh by the way, ViP211 didnt come with HDMI cable. Should I get one to use?

Thanks to all for your input on this.

You should be fine with just using Component Cables, seeing how there are problems with the HDMI on these Receivers.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=68950

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Good to see it worked out for you, not that I had any doubt.

Component will be fine, especially for an EDTV that has a max resolution of 480p.

You could experiment by changing the output resolution of your receiver. If you leave it at 480i (default) then it will convert 1080i and 720p to 480i. It is possible that your TV can do a better job of this, thus it is possible that selecting 1080i or 720p and letting your set do the conversion could result in a better HD image.

However it is also possible that this could worsen your SD picture, by having the 211 convert those to 720p or 1080i outputs. Only way to find out is to pick out a good SD channel, a 720p channel (ESPN) and a 1080i channel (HDNET, HBO) and watch carefully as you change the settings.

 

[navychop]

sternpry -

You talked about Dish but referred to it as D*.
D* is DirecTV. E* is Echostar, or Dish.
Yeah, I know, confusing, but that's the way 'tis.

You may also see TB*, or TurdBird, for DirecTV, because their owner, Rupert Murdoch, referred to them as such.

Stay tuned for further acronyms.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Yes TB* !!!

I am actively promoting this symbol for DirecTV

Tom Bombadil for TB*

 

[sternpry]

sternpry -

You talked about Dish but referred to it as D*.
D* is DirecTV. E* is Echostar, or Dish.
Yeah, I know, confusing, but that's the way 'tis.

You may also see TB*, or TurdBird, for DirecTV, because their owner, Rupert Murdoch, referred to them as such.

Stay tuned for further acronyms.

Thanks....my bust. Not paying attention to detail!