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T

T.T.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Before I buy my next whizz-bang T.V. there are some very basic questions I
would like to ask, and believe me, the local HiFi place or the local
Retravision places are not where I will find the answers.

I'll list some of these questions, and I hope the resident experts can point
me to a publication that can answer them for me. (Silicon Chip isn't it.)

1. Are the terms HDTV and digital TV pretty much synonymous? In other words,
are all HDTVs digital, and are all digital TVs high definition?

2. What is the pixel definition of a HDTV? For comparison, if our current
analogue standard has 625 lines, how many vertical pixels has a HDTV set? Is
there more than one standard? I have seen the figures 720 and 1080
mentioned.

3. Is broadcast digital TV, through a settop box, displayed on an analogue
TV screen, much of an improvement on the same content broadcast as an
analogue signal displayed on the same screen? If so, why? Does it have more
than 625 horizontal lines? I believed that this was impossible because of
the way a CRT screen is made.

4. Will HDTV sets receive analogue signals without any kind of set-top box?

5. Today's paper said that HDTV sets WILL need a set-top box to receive
digital signals. Surely this can't be true. Is it?

6. Will a HDTV set accept input from a current DVD read by a standard $300
DVD player. If so, will it look any better than the same DVD played on the
same DVD player displayed on an analogue TV set?

7. Will a HDTV set accept input from one or both of the new DVD formats?
Will my existing, big, expensive, CRT set do so?

Are these questions simple enough to have simple answers?

Am I in the wrong newsgroup?
 
T

Trevor Wilson

Jan 1, 1970
0
T.T. said:
Before I buy my next whizz-bang T.V. there are some very basic questions I
would like to ask, and believe me, the local HiFi place or the local
Retravision places are not where I will find the answers.

I'll list some of these questions, and I hope the resident experts can
point me to a publication that can answer them for me. (Silicon Chip isn't
it.)

1. Are the terms HDTV and digital TV pretty much synonymous?

**Nope.

In other words,
are all HDTVs digital, and are all digital TVs high definition?

**Yes. No.

2. What is the pixel definition of a HDTV? For comparison, if our current
analogue standard has 625 lines, how many vertical pixels has a HDTV set?
Is there more than one standard? I have seen the figures 720 and 1080
mentioned.

**See here:

http://www.dba.org.au/

For answers to all your questions.
3. Is broadcast digital TV, through a settop box, displayed on an analogue
TV screen, much of an improvement on the same content broadcast as an
analogue signal displayed on the same screen?

**It depends. At my last home, I had superb (analogue) reception. Adding a
STB was virtually no improvment, except for those times when reception was
marred by interference. At my present home, reception (despite the use of a
high quality, prefessionally installed antenna) is crap (with analogue).
Ghosting is (depending on material being watched) appalling. Using a STB (SD
type) provides virtually perfect reception.

If so, why? Does it have more
than 625 horizontal lines?

**Not necessarily. Reception is better, due to the inherent rejection of
interference by the digital system.

I believed that this was impossible because of
the way a CRT screen is made.

**Not necessarily. SD (Standard Definition) STBs will improve an analogue TV
in most circumstances.
4. Will HDTV sets receive analogue signals without any kind of set-top
box?

**I have yet to see one which can, but they probably exist. Somewhere.
5. Today's paper said that HDTV sets WILL need a set-top box to receive
digital signals. Surely this can't be true. Is it?

**No. SOME HD (the minority) sets incorporate a digital tuner. Most do not.
I susepct that the number of sets incorporating HD tuners will increase of
the next few years.
6. Will a HDTV set accept input from a current DVD read by a standard $300
DVD player.

**Sure.

If so, will it look any better than the same DVD played on the
same DVD player displayed on an analogue TV set?

**Maybe. Maybe not. I rather like my old Sony Kirrarabasso (analogue, CRT
set) as it provides a superb picture (whilst watching a DVD), compared to
many of the LCD and plasma sets I've seen. Or course, my Sony cannot do HD
though.
7. Will a HDTV set accept input from one or both of the new DVD formats?

**Possibly. Probably.
Will my existing, big, expensive, CRT set do so?

**Possibly. Probably.
Are these questions simple enough to have simple answers?

**Some are. Some aren't.
Am I in the wrong newsgroup?

**Maybe.


--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au



*** ***
 
P

Poxy

Jan 1, 1970
0
Trevor Wilson said:
**I have yet to see one which can, but they probably exist. Somewhere.

Mate 'o mine has been steadily filling his house with plasmas - about 6
months ago he bought a couple of LG screens that came with both an analogue
and digital tuner inbuilt - at the time he said LG were the only ones that
were doing the built-in tuner.
If so, will it look any better than the same DVD played on the

**Maybe. Maybe not. I rather like my old Sony Kirrarabasso (analogue, CRT
set) as it provides a superb picture (whilst watching a DVD), compared to
many of the LCD and plasma sets I've seen. Or course, my Sony cannot do HD
though.

I have yet to see a plasma that does as nice a picture as a half-decent
CRT - by nice I mean devoid of posterisation/banding in subtle colour
gradients and nasty sharpness. The only genuinely good picture I've seen on
an LCD is on the Sony professional units.
 
P

Phil Allison

Jan 1, 1970
0
"T.T."
3. Is broadcast digital TV, through a settop box, displayed on an
analogue TV screen, much of an improvement on the same content broadcast
as an analogue signal displayed on the same screen?


** Yes - the improvement is very noticeable.

But the TV set must have AV inputs with either S-video or 3 component.

Digital stereo sound from a STB is far better than the wacky 2 frequency FM
system used for TV in Australia too.

If so, why? Does it have more than 625 horizontal lines?


** No, but the colour resolution within each line is greatly improved.

Plus no noise, ghosting, colour bleeding etc.

Plus the choice of "letterbox" semi-wide screen format .




....... Phil
 
T

T.T.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Phil Allison said:
"T.T."


** Yes - the improvement is very noticeable.

But the TV set must have AV inputs with either S-video or 3 component.

Digital stereo sound from a STB is far better than the wacky 2 frequency
FM system used for TV in Australia too.




** No, but the colour resolution within each line is greatly improved.

Plus no noise, ghosting, colour bleeding etc.

Plus the choice of "letterbox" semi-wide screen format .




...... Phil
Thank you for your responses. I am a little better informed, but still have
a question or two.
Phil, you mention "semi widescreen format". Is that not a true 16:9
widescreen?

When I look at offerings in the local shop, there are LCD screens that seem
to be standard analogue receivers, standard analogue aspect ratio.
There are LCD screens that are much wider but still seem to be analogue
receivers.
There are LCD screens similar to these but with "an inbuilt set-top box".
Is that what a digital TV set is? A wide, standard definition, 625-line
screen with an inbuilt digital tuner?
 
P

Phil Allison

Jan 1, 1970
0
"T.T."

** There is no such animal as a "digital TV ".

Digital TV is a term that refers to the *broadcast signal format*.

There are STBs in two varieties, SD and HD.

There are TVs screens in two varieties, 4:3 and 16:9.

Only a tiny few programs are broadcast in GENUINE HD quality at present.

TV is currently in a state of transmogrification that will go on for the
next 10 years.

Hang on - it's gonna be a bumpy ride .....





......... Phil
 
T

T.T.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Phil Allison said:
"T.T."

** There is no such animal as a "digital TV ".

That one statement alone answers a lot of my questions.
Thank you.
 
M

Mike

Jan 1, 1970
0
Before I buy my next whizz-bang T.V. there are some very basic questions I
would like to ask, and believe me, the local HiFi place or the local
Retravision places are not where I will find the answers.

Lots of snotty nosed kids with chips on their shoulders...
I'll list some of these questions, and I hope the resident experts can point
me to a publication that can answer them for me. (Silicon Chip isn't it.)

Lot of stuff on the net that people are likely to post on this thread
1. Are the terms HDTV and digital TV pretty much synonymous? In other words,
are all HDTVs digital, and are all digital TVs high definition?

Lots of sales talk, some say a monitor with 1280x768 is hdtv - no it aint
though it will show a 1920x1080 image it loses a bit.

So 'HDTV ready' is a sales psuedonym for "it aint HDTV but will show it
at lower res'

Digital TV is only really a digital signal, your choice if you display
it on an analog TV or a digital (DVI type) monitor for best display.
2. What is the pixel definition of a HDTV? For comparison, if our current
analogue standard has 625 lines, how many vertical pixels has a HDTV set? Is
there more than one standard? I have seen the figures 720 and 1080
mentioned.

True HDTV is 1920 x 1080 pixels, so a 240T samsung 24" LCD monitor will
be more than capable of showing a true HDTV signal as its native resolution
is 1920 x 1200. I have one and although it is reported as slow (20mS response)
I havent noticed any issues at all with fast acting graphics etc And these
days you might find one for less than $1000, though if I now had the cash
I'd wait for the Dell 1920x1200 LCD monitors to drop a bit first...

One particular TV station has an 'HDTV channel' such as 70 but its only
720 x 576 but is at 50 frames per second, there normal stuff appears to
be 720 x 576 but 25 frames per second interlaced.

Only channel 9 (90) and as far as I know ABC (20) have true 1920x1080
images but they are also interlaced, so 25 frames per second but not at
all a problem on most LCD/Plasma monitors which have deinterlacing, and
interestingly, having seen an LCD with 8mS vs one with 20mS response
trying to show a 25 frame/sec interlaced transmission - I prefer the
slower one, it seems to have a little less flicker. So all the hype
about faster response is likely not all its cracked up to be...
3. Is broadcast digital TV, through a settop box, displayed on an analogue
TV screen, much of an improvement on the same content broadcast as an
analogue signal displayed on the same screen? If so, why? Does it have more
than 625 horizontal lines? I believed that this was impossible because of
the way a CRT screen is made

The Analog signal into a bog standard old analog TV is roughly equivalent
to a 640 x 480 image but you lose some lines, so 400 lines is proba the
best you'd expect from older analog sets. Given the SDTV transmission is
720x576 25 frames per sec interlaced then you lose a heap by going from
set top box to some analog output for an analog TV.
4. Will HDTV sets receive analogue signals without any kind of set-top box?

You mean an HDTV monitor with 1920 x 1080 minimum native resolution (?) then
yes most up to date monitors have analog inputs but its pointless feeding
these with composite or S-video as these wont do much more tha 640 x 480
with any sort of crispness. Best to have VGA or better DVI into a digital
monitor. ie Although VGA is analog its far better resolution than S-video
or composite (guh!), Component is between S-video and VGA and although
(afaik) will do 1920 x 1080 is not as good as DVI or HDMI.
5. Today's paper said that HDTV sets WILL need a set-top box to receive
digital signals. Surely this can't be true. Is it?

Nope they can show a low res signal but why do it. a true HDTV set is
1920 x 1080 and any analog signal from composite or S-video will be bad
and nowhere as good as the component output from a SDTV or HDTV set top box.
6. Will a HDTV set accept input from a current DVD read by a standard $300
DVD player. If so, will it look any better than the same DVD played on the
same DVD player displayed on an analogue TV set?

Might be a bit better as less analog stages and less losses but it depends
on how good the sales people say the HDTV set is and how much you convince
yourself (after you have paid heaps) that the HDTV is really really good
when you find out its native resolution is only 1280x768 etc...
7. Will a HDTV set accept input from one or both of the new DVD formats?
Will my existing, big, expensive, CRT set do so?

More than likely the HDTV set will easily accept component or DVI,
dont know anything about your CRT - did you tell us what it was ?
Are these questions simple enough to have simple answers?

Depends on your assumptions,
Am I in the wrong newsgroup?

Probably, go to aus.audio-visual.home-cinema or aus.dvd aus.tv.digital



--
Regards
Mike
* GMC/VL Commodore, Calais VL Turbo FuseRail that wont warp or melt !
* High grade milspec ignition driver electronics now in development
* Twin Tyres to suit most sedans, trikes and motorcycle sidecars
http://niche.iinet.net.au
 
T

T.T.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Mike said:
Lots of snotty nosed kids with chips on their shoulders...


Lot of stuff on the net that people are likely to post on this thread


Lots of sales talk, some say a monitor with 1280x768 is hdtv - no it aint
though it will show a 1920x1080 image it loses a bit.

So 'HDTV ready' is a sales psuedonym for "it aint HDTV but will show it
at lower res'

Digital TV is only really a digital signal, your choice if you display
it on an analog TV or a digital (DVI type) monitor for best display.

True HDTV is 1920 x 1080 pixels, so a 240T samsung 24" LCD monitor will
be more than capable of showing a true HDTV signal as its native
resolution
is 1920 x 1200. I have one and although it is reported as slow (20mS
response)
I havent noticed any issues at all with fast acting graphics etc And these
days you might find one for less than $1000, though if I now had the cash
I'd wait for the Dell 1920x1200 LCD monitors to drop a bit first...

One particular TV station has an 'HDTV channel' such as 70 but its only
720 x 576 but is at 50 frames per second, there normal stuff appears to
be 720 x 576 but 25 frames per second interlaced.

Only channel 9 (90) and as far as I know ABC (20) have true 1920x1080
images but they are also interlaced, so 25 frames per second but not at
all a problem on most LCD/Plasma monitors which have deinterlacing, and
interestingly, having seen an LCD with 8mS vs one with 20mS response
trying to show a 25 frame/sec interlaced transmission - I prefer the
slower one, it seems to have a little less flicker. So all the hype
about faster response is likely not all its cracked up to be...


The Analog signal into a bog standard old analog TV is roughly equivalent
to a 640 x 480 image but you lose some lines, so 400 lines is proba the
best you'd expect from older analog sets. Given the SDTV transmission is
720x576 25 frames per sec interlaced then you lose a heap by going from
set top box to some analog output for an analog TV.


You mean an HDTV monitor with 1920 x 1080 minimum native resolution (?)
then
yes most up to date monitors have analog inputs but its pointless feeding
these with composite or S-video as these wont do much more tha 640 x 480
with any sort of crispness. Best to have VGA or better DVI into a digital
monitor. ie Although VGA is analog its far better resolution than S-video
or composite (guh!), Component is between S-video and VGA and although
(afaik) will do 1920 x 1080 is not as good as DVI or HDMI.


Nope they can show a low res signal but why do it. a true HDTV set is
1920 x 1080 and any analog signal from composite or S-video will be bad
and nowhere as good as the component output from a SDTV or HDTV set top
box.


Might be a bit better as less analog stages and less losses but it depends
on how good the sales people say the HDTV set is and how much you convince
yourself (after you have paid heaps) that the HDTV is really really good
when you find out its native resolution is only 1280x768 etc...


More than likely the HDTV set will easily accept component or DVI,
dont know anything about your CRT - did you tell us what it was ?


Depends on your assumptions,


Probably, go to aus.audio-visual.home-cinema or aus.dvd aus.tv.digital



--
Regards
Mike
* GMC/VL Commodore, Calais VL Turbo FuseRail that wont warp or melt !
* High grade milspec ignition driver electronics now in development
* Twin Tyres to suit most sedans, trikes and motorcycle sidecars
http://niche.iinet.net.au



Are you saying that a computer monitor can be attached to a set-top box and
receive broadcast digital TV?
 
M

Mr.T

Jan 1, 1970
0
T.T. said:
Are you saying that a computer monitor can be attached to a set-top box and
receive broadcast digital TV?

Depends on the STB and monitor obviously. But it's possible.

MrT.
 
M

Mike

Jan 1, 1970
0
Are you saying that a computer monitor can be attached to a set-top box and
receive broadcast digital TV?

Definitely, as long as the interface is compatible, ie Same type.
I have seen a set top box put out VGA which of course is usable,
also you can get convertors which go from Component, which seems the
most common Set top box output, to VGA - or rather SVGA etc. Some
SDTV only set top boxes have DVI out.

Also the newer hdtv set op boxes have dvi, all the new large format
LCD's I've seen for PC's have VGA and DVI input and some component :)

Been using my Samsung 240T to watch HDTV for a couple of years now, only
minor issue is that for hdtv you really need a fast processor, my lowly
athlon 2800+ and 9250 radeon card can just keep up, though I cant do much
else at the same time, like burn dvd's or do large backups without the
hdtv skipping a frame now and then. But for SDTV, I can watch, record,
play divx's all at the same time quite comfortably. Though I wouldnt
recommend it you can record dvd's and do some dvd authoring transcoding
in the background whilst watching sdtv full screen. A 720 x 576 sdtv image
does look better on a 1920 x 1200 monitor than on a 1280 x 768 one, but only
just and depends on how well the video card and player software can upconvert,
the type of colour settings, how close you are to the screen etc etc


--
Regards
Mike
* GMC/VL Commodore, Calais VL Turbo FuseRail that wont warp or melt !
* High grade milspec ignition driver electronics now in development
* Twin Tyres to suit most sedans, trikes and motorcycle sidecars
http://niche.iinet.net.au
 
T

T.T.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Mike said:
Definitely, as long as the interface is compatible, ie Same type.
I have seen a set top box put out VGA which of course is usable,
also you can get convertors which go from Component, which seems the
most common Set top box output, to VGA - or rather SVGA etc. Some
SDTV only set top boxes have DVI out.

Also the newer hdtv set op boxes have dvi, all the new large format
LCD's I've seen for PC's have VGA and DVI input and some component :)

Been using my Samsung 240T to watch HDTV for a couple of years now, only
minor issue is that for hdtv you really need a fast processor, my lowly
athlon 2800+ and 9250 radeon card can just keep up, though I cant do much
else at the same time, like burn dvd's or do large backups without the
hdtv skipping a frame now and then. But for SDTV, I can watch, record,
play divx's all at the same time quite comfortably. Though I wouldnt
recommend it you can record dvd's and do some dvd authoring transcoding
in the background whilst watching sdtv full screen. A 720 x 576 sdtv image
does look better on a 1920 x 1200 monitor than on a 1280 x 768 one, but
only
just and depends on how well the video card and player software can
upconvert,
the type of colour settings, how close you are to the screen etc etc


--
Regards
Mike
* GMC/VL Commodore, Calais VL Turbo FuseRail that wont warp or melt !
* High grade milspec ignition driver electronics now in development
* Twin Tyres to suit most sedans, trikes and motorcycle sidecars
http://niche.iinet.net.au

Didn't make myself clear, did I. Once again.
What I should have said, is this:
Can a STB connect directly to a computer monitor, no computer anywhere, and
display broadcast digital TV?
 
P

Phil Allison

Jan 1, 1970
0
"T.T."
Didn't make myself clear, did I. Once again.
What I should have said, is this:
Can a STB connect directly to a computer monitor, no computer anywhere,
and display broadcast digital TV?


** Two posters have answered that in the ( conditional) affirmative already.

So you dunno what VGA or SVGA is ??





...... Phil
 
T

T.T.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Phil Allison said:
"T.T."



** Two posters have answered that in the ( conditional) affirmative
already.

So you dunno what VGA or SVGA is ??





..... Phil

I do.
I don't know anything about STBs. I don't know what comes out of them. I
don't know how a broadcast digital signal is dealt with in order to satisfy
various LCD TV layouts. I don't know what is the resolution of a
"widescreen" LCD computer monitor, or what use it is other than to play
movies. I live in the bush. My only contact with such matters is with
semi-literate counterjumpers in a Retravision, or in Silicon Chip with its
battery zappers, computer-controlled burglar alarms and doorbells that sound
like a V8.
I would like to know, and this is why I come to this newsgroup.
 
P

Phil Allison

Jan 1, 1970
0
"T.T."


** Then act like you do.

Some ( a few ) STBs have SVGA outputs on them.

So you can use up that spare monitor.





........ Phil
 
M

Mike

Jan 1, 1970
0
Didn't make myself clear, did I. Once again.
What I should have said, is this:
Can a STB connect directly to a computer monitor, no computer anywhere, and
display broadcast digital TV?

Sorry, thought I answered that,

Yes you can if the interfaces are compatible.

Most computer monitors have VGA, some STB have VGA *therefore* you can show
the signal on the monitor and I might add at a much higher resolution than
any most ordinary analog TV crts can display.

--
Regards
Mike
* GMC/VL Commodore, Calais VL Turbo FuseRail that wont warp or melt !
* High grade milspec ignition driver electronics now in development
* Twin Tyres to suit most sedans, trikes and motorcycle sidecars
http://niche.iinet.net.au
 
M

Mr.T

Jan 1, 1970
0
Mike said:
Sorry, thought I answered that,

Yes you did, and in a lot more detail than below.
Yes you can if the interfaces are compatible.

Which I had already stated, but tonyt92 doesn't know enough to understand
apparently.
Most computer monitors have VGA, some STB have VGA *therefore* you can show
the signal on the monitor and I might add at a much higher resolution than
any most ordinary analog TV crts can display.

Or you might have a DVI, HDMI, composite video, Svideo, or component
connection depending on the STB and the monitor.
Not all computer monitors are limited to VGA connector, and the number of
cheap SD STB's with VGA out is limited.

MrT.
 
J

jfc

Jan 1, 1970
0
Ostia Technologies 6' (3) RCA Component Video to HD15 VGA Cable.

High quality cable that allows connection of 3 RCA Component Video outputs
to a VGA Component input on a Plasma, LCD, or Video projector display.

Buy now price $4.99



 
M

Mr.T

Jan 1, 1970
0
Ostia Technologies 6' (3) RCA Component Video to HD15 VGA Cable.
High quality cable that allows connection of 3 RCA Component Video outputs
to a VGA Component input on a Plasma, LCD, or Video projector display.

OK, the number of cheap STB's with component out is still limited. But I
certainly agree there are often more ways than one to connect many devices.
Scart adapters being a common requirement with many STB's for example.

MrT.
 
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