[gamercraig]

I am contemplating buying a HD set in the next year, but am a bit confused by the resolutions. Also, I have seen sets priced from £499 to over £1000 and presume there is some great difference in the picture quality depending what you pay.

Am I right in that SkyHD broadcasts in 720p but that the forthcoming PS3 theoretically can produce games in 1020p if developers so wish (I've also read that the XBox360 is receiving a firmware upgrade to 1020p).

Is 1020p the ultimate resolution (better than 1020i?) and so if you are going to spend £100s on a TV you may as well keep saving until you can afford the 1020p sets?

I intend to go to a speciaist shop when I do buy rather than Curry's / Comet etc.

Also do sets have more than one HDMI connection, or can you get splitters if you want to hook up a console and a HDbox like SKy?

[Jarrak]

You can pay upto £50000 for a HD plasma if you have the cash
More realistically the price peaks around £5000 with the latest top brand 50"+ 1080p plasmas that are coming soon.
While brand name plays it's part the reason we have such "cheap" displays is that they tend to be based on panels a generation or two old so yes price does reflect performance.

SKY HD (all UK HD) is broadcast ar 1080i resolution, the PS3 can support 1080p but will also output any other HD resolution to match your display.
The difference between 1080i and 1080p is not a huge one given than a HD display will turn de-interlace an interlaced and turn into a progressive one for display, it's just that some displays do it better than other.

Basically a 1080p display that is a panel with 1920*1080 resolution and inputs that support 1080p source material will only come into it's own with large screen sizes.
Smaller and we are talking below 50" and from average viewing distances the extra resolution is being wasted as you can see the detail to any significant degree compared to a 1280*720 panel, in theory

Twin HDMI or one HDMI and one DVI plus component is becoming ver common on the current models, cheaper older models may only have one digital link and HDMI switch boxes are not cheap.

[gamercraig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jarrak

You can pay upto £50000 for a HD plasma if you have the cash
More realistically the price peaks around £5000 with the latest top brand 50"+ 1080p plasmas that are coming soon.
While brand name plays it's part the reason we have such "cheap" displays is that they tend to be based on panels a generation or two old so yes price does reflect performance.

SKY HD (all UK HD) is broadcast ar 1080i resolution, the PS3 can support 1080p but will also output any other HD resolution to match your display.
The difference between 1080i and 1080p is not a huge one given than a HD display will turn de-interlace an interlaced and turn into a progressive one for display, it's just that some displays do it better than other.

Basically a 1080p display that is a panel with 1920*1080 resolution and inputs that support 1080p source material will only come into it's own with large screen sizes.
Smaller and we are talking below 50" and from average viewing distances the extra resolution is being wasted as you can see the detail to any significant degree compared to a 1280*720 panel, in theory

Twin HDMI or one HDMI and one DVI plus component is becoming ver common on the current models, cheaper older models may only have one digital link and HDMI switch boxes are not cheap.

Thanks for that!

[Jonstone]

I wouldn't be too concerned about future proofing.

Televisions are fast becoming the new pc's in so much as they are changing so fast at the moment that they halve in value every couple of years and improve considerably.

If you spend £5000 on a 50 inch 1080p plasma now to future proof yourself you will find in 2 years the same plasmas are selling for half that and there are better screens on the market anyway.