HDTV and Progressive Scan beginner q's (1 Viewer)

[Antoine Peltier]

Hi all,
Brand new to the board, glad to be here. I have a few beginner questions:
What defines an HDTV and what is an affordable quality unit currently available?
Does a TV have to HDTV compatible to take advantage of Progressive Scan DVD players?
If not, what are the requirements for a TV to take advantage of Progressive Scan? What inputs or components are required and what is a affordable unit currently available?
What's the best "bang for your buck" 6.1 receiver?
Thanks for your help!
Antoine

 

[RoyGBiv]

Antoine:
Essentially, HDTVs are ones that are capable of displaying 1080i signals. (Whether all that claim to do so, can actually display this resolution is another story.) These TVs are marked in same way as being able to display this signal. There are numerous formats that are considered HD, and most TVs can only display one or two of them. The other format that is commonly discussed is 720p which only a few TVs can display. Most HD capable TVs do not have a receiver integrated into the TV that can receive these HD signals. Instead, you connect a "set top box (STB)" to these TVs to provide the signal in a format the TV can use. This signal is usually, but not always, then sent to the TV in component format of Y Pb Pr. It is sometimes connected via a VGA type cable, and may in the future have some other connection to prevent duplication.
There are a few TVs that I have seen which are "mid level definition" in that they can display a 480p signal from a progressive DVD player, but not a true HD signal of 1080i (or any of the other formats). I am not sure any of these TVs are still being made. Any HDTV should be able to accept a progressive signal from a DVD player. Standard TVs will not accept a progressive signal from a DVD player.
The least expensive HD capable TVs are around $1800. The prices go up from there, and there are numerous types of TVs capable of producing an HD signal. The TV forum can answer other questions regarding these TVs.
In terms of a receiver, that is purely a matter of taste and what features you want and feel are important. Searching this forum for info on Denon, Yamaha, Marantz and Onkyo will be a good starting place. Then go to a dealer and let your ears help you decide.
I hope this helps.
SMK

 

[Antoine Peltier]

thanks! That's a good start, and I've been doing some reasearch myself...

 

[Rick Radford]

Here's a FAQ that might be of interest:
click here
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--RR

 

[Antoine Peltier]

Thanks! That was really useful!
In light of the quote I posted below, what are the best, most affordable HDTV ready TVs without the tuner included?
"If I buy an HDTV-ready set today, will it be obsolete tomorrow?
That depends on whether you buy an "all-in-one" integrated DTV set, where the tuner is part of the set. There's a remote possibility that the modulation standards for broadcasting 8VSB DTV over cable systems may still change. And, of course, cable TV system operators such as Time Warner use the QAM standard for DTV.
The DTV picture transmission formats (480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i) are NOT likely to change, however. The smartest thing to do would be to buy a separate TV and set-top DTV tuner. This way, the most you'd have to do in the future is to switch to a new set-top box, and not replace your entire DTV set."
Thanks for the help,
Antoine

 

[Rick Radford]

Do you know if you want 16:9 or 4:3 format? Direct view or RPTV?
The least expensive HDTV, afaik, is the Hitachi 32UDX10S 4:3 direct view set. It's 1080i capable, has 3:2 pulldown, has a decent line doubler and even analog cable looks good on it. CC had it for $1199 recently. But's it's fairly small at 32 inches.
For more info, http://www.hitachi.com/products/consumer/audiovisual/colortv/udx2/halp-ZZZ6PH6NSPC.html
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--RR
[Edited last by Rick Radford on November 03, 2001 at 07:26 AM]

 

[Antoine Peltier]

thanks a million, that was helpful!