Need to update my Display (1 Viewer)

[Geoff H]

I've been out of it a while -- My interests vacillate from photography to computer hardware/software as well as HT, and have been giving more attention to the latter the last few years, and as a result, my system (HT) is getting a bit long in the tooth.

I have a Mitsu RPTV and have been looking at the LCD, LED, and Plasma panels and in doing so have noticed how much I appreciate my "old" technology, that is to say, that I've been noticing that the LCDs/and other, seem so give that "cartoonish" look (in the computer world I'd say "vector graphics/Illustrator" look), or what is described in the scanning of the forums here as the soap opera effect (how did it get that name I wonder?).

Don't care for that look at all, I've also noticed from the comments here, that Plasma is the best route to mitigate that look, or that it's more film-like, true? Looking around for a 50 inch or so.

Also, around this time I will be wanting a BD player -- How do the current players do with SD? Do they all upconvert? If I were to get the BD player before the monitor would it play ok through component on my current setup, or is it just not worth it?

Lot more questions, but I'll end it at that. Advice, experiences, tips much appreciated.

Geoff

 

[Michael TLV]

Greetings

If you can't tell the difference between HD cable/satellite and DVD ... then forget BD.

Worth is relative. Worth it to one person ... not to another.

Is a BMW worth it? Is a LExus worth it?

Plasma for best pure image quality and performance. Others for things like bright sunlight in the room and watching when it quality doesn't matter ... lean to the LCD camp. High end LCD units are now just as reflective as plasma TVs ... shiny surfaces ...

regards

 

[Steve Schaffer]

The sets you see in stores are almost always in what's called "torch mode"--they're in the factory default Vivid or Dynamic setting which gives the highest possible light output and most brilliant color along with lots of edge enhancement for oversharpenning. This is easily corrected by using one of the other picture modes and calibrating with a disc like Video Essentials or for the ultimate in accuracy get a professional ISF calibration.

"Soap Opera Effect" stems from the fact that the frame interpolation features on 120/240hz lcd sets tend to make film based material look like it was shot on HD video cameras as is the case with Soap Operas. This interpolation can be turned off but then the motion blur inherent in lcd technology rears it's ugly head.

Short answer--as previously posted a good plasma set will more easily and much more economically provide a film-like image.

BD player would be of little benefit over a good standard dvd player with your current tv unless it's HD capable, in which case you would get HD over component for BD discs but the player would not upconvert standard dvd past 480p. On a newer set with HDMI most BD players would do a nice job of upconversion to 1080p using the HDMI connection. It would not be true HD but would be noticeably better than 480p.

Blu Ray disc is the best possible HD source available now due to the fact that broadcast, cable, and satellite HD is almost always digitally overcompressed. Your local OTA broadcasters are given 19.2 mb of bandwidth and are using MPEG 2 compression--barely adequate for a good 1080i signal even if they are not robbing part of that bandwidth with subchannels--and they are all doing subchannels. BD can run as high as 40mb and most are encoded with the much more efficient AVC (MPEG4) or VC1 compression, resulting in as pristine an HD source as you're gonna find.