If Sky HD isn't full HD i there any point in buying a full HD tv?

marieukxxmarieukxx Posts: 4,779
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I need a new tv as my current one is on the blink. At the moment I have a 32 inch lcd which is hd ready not full hd.

I've been looking with the intent of upgrading to full hd but after some research I discovered sky don't even broadcast in full hd.

I don't use my bluray player anymore because I'm more into watching things on the net and hooking that up to my tv.

So when buying a new tv for watching sky hd is there any point at all getting a full hd one? Bearing in mind that the hd ready are about £70 cheaper. I assumed all this time I was missing out on the best quality because I had stupidly bought only hd ready but when it comes to sky if I get a full hd tv will I see any difference in quality on the hd channels?
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  • fastest fingerfastest finger Posts: 12,860
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    marieukxx wrote: »
    I need a new tv as my current one is on the blink. At the moment I have a 32 inch lcd which is hd ready not full hd.

    I've been looking with the intent of upgrading to full hd but after some research I discovered sky don't even broadcast in full hd.

    I don't use my bluray player anymore because I'm more into watching things on the net and hooking that up to my tv.

    So when buying a new tv for watching sky hd is there any point at all getting a full hd one? Bearing in mind that the hd ready are about £70 cheaper. I assumed all this time I was missing out on the best quality because I had stupidly bought only hd ready but when it comes to sky if I get a full hd tv will I see any difference in quality on the hd channels?



    HD broadcasts on Sky generally use 1920x1080 which is "Full HD" resolution.

    Just because it is 1080i rather than 1080p, it still uses all the pixels on a "Full HD" screen.
  • Marti SMarti S Posts: 5,763
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    marieukxx wrote: »
    I need a new tv as my current one is on the blink. At the moment I have a 32 inch lcd which is hd ready not full hd.

    I've been looking with the intent of upgrading to full hd but after some research I discovered sky don't even broadcast in full hd.

    I don't use my bluray player anymore because I'm more into watching things on the net and hooking that up to my tv.

    So when buying a new tv for watching sky hd is there any point at all getting a full hd one? Bearing in mind that the hd ready are about £70 cheaper. I assumed all this time I was missing out on the best quality because I had stupidly bought only hd ready but when it comes to sky if I get a full hd tv will I see any difference in quality on the hd channels?

    I think you are very confused by all the terms, HD ready tends to mean it dosent have a T2 tuner so cant get freeview HD.

    HD ready means if you plug in Sky HD with and HDMI lead you will get full HD.

    1080I with 50 interlaced fields is generally better than 1080P25, to my knowledge, no one broadcasts 1080P50
  • chenkschenks Posts: 13,231
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    Marti S wrote: »
    I think you are very confused by all the terms, HD ready tends to mean it dosent have a T2 tuner so cant get freeview HD.

    no it doesn't.
    "HD ready" generally means that the TV is 720P, and not 1080P.
    Marti S wrote: »
    HD ready means if you plug in Sky HD with and HDMI lead you will get full HD.

    sounds like you are the one confused.
    this is not correct at all.
  • fastest fingerfastest finger Posts: 12,860
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    Marti S wrote: »
    I think you are very confused by all the terms, HD ready tends to mean it dosent have a T2 tuner so cant get freeview HD.

    HD ready means if you plug in Sky HD with and HDMI lead you will get full HD.

    1080I with 50 interlaced fields is generally better than 1080P25, to my knowledge, no one broadcasts 1080P50

    Please ignore this post, this must hold some sort of record for inaccuracies.
  • Dave-HDave-H Posts: 9,922
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    I thought "HD Ready" meant that the screen was at least 720 pixels vertically, although the vast majority of the screens in "HD Ready" sets are actually 768 pixels vertically.
    "Full HD" means a screen with 1080 pixels vertically.
    It's nothing to do with progressive or interlaced signal compatibility.
    :)
  • ktla5ktla5 Posts: 1,683
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    And to add to confusion some HD READY labeled sets are 1080p too! but as said no one transmits in 1080p anyway only 1080i but you would not notice the difference, and if you watch sport, some say switching to 720p gives a better pic
  • dazbdazb Posts: 3,247
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    Every reason to get a Full Hd TV even though sky only broadcast 1080i the difference on a 40 inch screen compared to a Standard Picture is a lot, plus try watching a decent Bluray and you will see the difference.
  • ktla5ktla5 Posts: 1,683
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    and the other thing even though it says FULL HD there may well be no Freeview HD on the set
  • gothergother Posts: 14,641
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    As far as i'm aware (somebody will correct me if i'm wrong) at the moment only blu ray and ps3 , xbox360? use full 1080p.
  • marieukxxmarieukxx Posts: 4,779
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    gother wrote: »
    As far as i'm aware (somebody will correct me if i'm wrong) at the moment only blu ray and ps3 , xbox360? use full 1080p.

    Yes that's what I've read
  • chenkschenks Posts: 13,231
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    gother wrote: »
    As far as i'm aware (somebody will correct me if i'm wrong) at the moment only blu ray and ps3 , xbox360? use full 1080p.

    the new AppleTV also is 1080p, as well as other media players too.

    the bottom line is that saving a few pounds and buying a 720P TV is a false economy.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 6
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    Freeview HD uses 1080p
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 892
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    Usual Disclaimer

    Yesterday I purchased LG 42" LED FULL HD with WiFi built in
    1920x1080 Resolution
    HDMI x4
    USB2 x3
    Freeview HD
    Connects to my PC by Router/Wireless to access Pictures/Music etc.

    Cost £479 ......Model...LG 42LS575T...supplier..CURRYS.

    Very happy bunny indeed.
  • ariusukariusuk Posts: 13,411
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    Freeview HD uses 1080p

    occasionally
  • Nigel GoodwinNigel Goodwin Posts: 58,270
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    marieukxx wrote: »
    I need a new tv as my current one is on the blink. At the moment I have a 32 inch lcd which is hd ready not full hd.

    I've been looking with the intent of upgrading to full hd but after some research I discovered sky don't even broadcast in full hd.

    Your research was completely wrong, Sky (and all UK HD broadcasts) are Full HD.
    So when buying a new tv for watching sky hd is there any point at all getting a full hd one? Bearing in mind that the hd ready are about £70 cheaper. I assumed all this time I was missing out on the best quality because I had stupidly bought only hd ready but when it comes to sky if I get a full hd tv will I see any difference in quality on the hd channels?

    A good quality HD Ready TV will give a better picture (on both SD and HD) than a cheap Full HD set. In order to get benefit from a Full HD set, then buy a good one, and view it from closer than your old set (or buy a bigger set).

    But to repeat, ALL UK broadcasts are in Full HD.
  • chenkschenks Posts: 13,231
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    Your research was completely wrong, Sky (and all UK HD broadcasts) are Full HD.

    hmmm.. not sure I agree with that.

    for me the "Full HD" marketing term refers to 1080p, and we both know that it's 1080i that is used by Sky HD.
  • Nigel GoodwinNigel Goodwin Posts: 58,270
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    chenks wrote: »
    hmmm.. not sure I agree with that.

    for me the "Full HD" marketing term refers to 1080p, and we both know that it's 1080i that is used by Sky HD.

    That's only your mistaken belief, as both have the exact same number of pixels and number of frames per second. 1080i was one of the two HD standards approved for use in the EU (the other being 720P) - 1080i being Full HD, and 720P not.
  • chenkschenks Posts: 13,231
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    That's only your mistaken belief, as both have the exact same number of pixels and number of frames per second. 1080i was one of the two HD standards approved for use in the EU (the other being 720P) - 1080i being Full HD, and 720P not.

    so if you say 1080i is Full HD and 720p isn't, what is 1080p? extra Full HD?

    besides, what the EU decides is a standard doesn't make it a worldwide standard.

    also, didn't Eurosport HD start off with the "Full HD" DOG and then had to change it to "Native HD"? if 1080i is in fact Full HD, why change it?

    "Full HD" and "HD Ready" are simply marketing terms, and I think it's generally accepted that when you see "HD Ready" on a TV it means it's 720p, and if it says "Full HD" then it's 1080p.
  • mogzyboymogzyboy Posts: 6,366
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    Sky does not use 'Full HD'. Anybody who tells you that is lying to you. 1080i IS NOT 'Full HD'. 1080p IS 'Full HD'.

    Blu-ray films tend to be 'Full HD'.

    'Full HD' has nothing to do with what Freeview tuner the TV set has. If it has Freeview HD, it will state that separately.

    You can have a 'Full HD' set without Freeview HD.
  • fastest fingerfastest finger Posts: 12,860
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    mogzyboy wrote: »
    Sky does not use 'Full HD'. Anybody who tells you that is lying to you. 1080i IS NOT 'Full HD'. 1080p IS 'Full HD'.

    But the point relevant to this thread is that 1080i and 1080p use exactly the same amount of pixels, they are just delivered in a different way, and you need a Full HD (1920x1080) TV to accurately resolve all of the detail in both of them.
  • Tony RichardsTony Richards Posts: 5,741
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    If Freeview does sometimes use 1080p then give me 1080i on Sky any time - it looks much better!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 437
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    If Freeview does sometimes use 1080p then give me 1080i on Sky any time - it looks much better!

    Freeview does sometimes use 1080p/25fps which I don't think is technically full hd either. Surely that would be 1080p/60fps if we are going to be pedantic.

    Totally agree though freeview hd is poor compared to dsat hd.

    Tbf what Nigel said is spot on; don't go purely on specs, buy a tv with a half decent name and decent online reviews
  • lbearlbear Posts: 1,773
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    avit_now wrote: »
    Freeview does sometimes use 1080p/25fps which I don't think is technically full hd either. Surely that would be 1080p/60fps if we are going to be pedantic.

    Totally agree though freeview hd is poor compared to dsat hd.

    Tbf what Nigel said is spot on; don't go purely on specs, buy a tv with a half decent name and decent online reviews

    Almost all Freeview HD broadcasters use a system that dynamically changes between 1080i50 and 1080p25.

    1080i50 effectively uses two half resolution frames, one taken slightly later than the first to complete the picture. That makes fast moving scenes less jerky. On slow moving scenes or film, 1080p25 gives a more detailed image.

    Both these are compromises to conserve bandwidth for broadcasting. Blu-ray players are not so restrcted and can do 1080p50.
  • ktla5ktla5 Posts: 1,683
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    Think it is only the BBC that broadcast some programmes in 1080p and that is only on FV, my FULL HD TV is only a year old, so I shan't bother buying another TV or even a set top box to watch the slight differnce between that and the 1080i on Sat!

    All the other broadcasters still use, and no doubt will do for some time to come 1080i
  • OrbitalzoneOrbitalzone Posts: 12,627
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    As most, if not all UK broadcasters of HD are 1920x1080 presumably having a same pixel resolution on your display means the best matching between broadcaster and viewer?

    Whether it's transmitted interlaced or progressive can't be as important as whether it's being displayed natively or scalled - can it? (a question as much as anything)

    VIewing on a 1366x768 "720P" (*) display means some rescalling of the image is required and although it might be progressive, some image detail must be removed from the 1920x1080 source?


    (*) just to please the pedants: 720P displays are 1366x768 generally speaking. :D

    All of this is subjective and only as good as your viewing equipment, eyesight, viewing distance, alcohol level and lucidity.
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