[kmusgrave]

I'm confused


I have a 3 year old Samsung plasma (PS-42S4S) which apparantly has a resoluton of 852 x 480, which is obviously not HD.

However, I've downloaded some HD demos and when I play them on my Samsung they look superb. I can't tell that they are any differnt to the demos I've seen in the shops (Obviously I can't see them side-by-side).

How can this be? Would these demos look the same on any TV connected to a PC?

I am ready to go and buy a new HD-ready but when I saw these demos I was wondering if I actually need to? The TV doesn't have HMI but it does have component input, so I could use this at a pinch.

Given what I have seen on thses demos, what would broadcast HD look like on this display?

[Jarrak]

While your plasma is only SD resolution consider this, it has never before had such good source material to display.
Analogue and digital SD, DVD and VHS are all inferior to High Def so you are starting from a much higher level and even with the downscaling you are still going to get a better picture than from a SD source.

If this is enough to warrant buying a SKY+ HD and extra sub is questionable but other sources of HD may be of interest

[Chippy99]

You raise a very interesting point.

I have my HTPC connected up to my old (TH-42PW3) Panasonic plasma. Its only an 852x480 panel. And yet watching HD demo's on it, they look incredibly good. Even the WMV HD ones - which aren't in fact particularly good as far as HD goes - they look really excellent.

The "Ray" WMV HD trailer, for example, is *way* better than the DVD of the same. To my eyes - at normal viewing distance - I doubt if I would notice "real" HD being any better.

Chip

[kmusgrave]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chippy99

. To my eyes - at normal viewing distance - I doubt if I would notice "real" HD being any better.

Chip

That is my concern - I wonder if I will be disapointed with the difference between HD source to my current screen vs HD source to a true HDTV-ready panel.

[Chippy99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmusgrave

That is my concern - I wonder if I will be disapointed with the difference between HD source to my current screen vs HD source to a true HDTV-ready panel.

In my mind, its really down to Sky. I have seen HD demos in John Lewis on a 42" HD Panasonic being fed by a little Japanese server box, feeding high bandwidth (like maybe 20 MB/s) mpeg2 material in 1080i.

The picture was PHENOMENAL. Awesome, breathtaking, stunning, incredible. Quite beyond belief.

Fantastic detail, really brilliant colour, no artefacts of any kind (false contours, pixelisation etc.) Just off-the-scale brilliant.

Of course that was viewed from 3 feet. As I mentioned in another thread, whether you'd get the same benefit at 20 ft is another matter.

Anyway, that's what it *can* be like. Sky, its up to you...

Come up with the goods with a decent amount of bandwidth and I am sure it can look superb. Penny-pinch and try to squeeze too many channels into too little bandwidth, and I am equally sure it has the capacity to be crap.

Chip