HD vs HD Ready Plasma TV

[silverbeauty]

I am looking at replacing my aging TV. Been looking around but getting confuse between the terminology of HD vs HD Ready. The price difference is about $500 - 800 depending on the brand / features.

Initially was looking at Pioneer kuros but with them getting out of the business, I am looking at alternative such as Hitachi / LG / Panasonic / Samsung. Prices have fallen and those that I seen are hovering aroung the $1000-1500 region

Take note that I am only considering Plasma Models as most of my viewing is action / sports movies.

Need some advise on which direction to go.

[ajay]

full HD means it fully support HD since the panel resolution (pixel) is 1920x1080.
HD ready means it can playback HD but the panel don't have full HD resolution as above

& oh.. yes better go for full HD ;)

[jeremaze]

the price different in Malaysia here is quite a lot...
I will put a HD ready 32" in my bedroom, HD 37" or bigger in living room.
dreaming only....

[drsec]

The way I understand it is that a full HD TV will be able to receive a full HD input usually at 1920x1080 resolution and then display it back at 1920x1080 resolution. So if you play an HD software or an HD movie on a full HD player or a blue ray movie on a blue ray player, there will be NO degredation in or downscaling of the resolution when seen on the TV screen. The resultant picture is awesome.

An HD ready TV is able to receive an HD signal but will scale down the resolution to display it at resolutions that is generally below 1920x1080.

In real world terms, I doubt if you can see the difference in resolution between an HD Ready TV and a full HD TV for screen sizes below 42" at recommended viewing distances. The bigger the screen, the bigger the pixel and thus is more obvious up close.

Astro in Malaysia is not HD. In fact it is analogue and sometimes I feel a normal CRT TV is better for viewing Astro.

HD titles are rare in this market. In fact, there are more Blue Ray titles. Many download HD movies for playback on their HD TV.

Games on Playstation on full HD and HD ready TV is also great. I cant tell the difference on my full HD and HD ready TV.

I invested in HD ready very early and then HD TV with an HDMI DVD player. Frankly, I wasted my money. Ocassionally, I'll play the demo disc to feel good that my TV is capable to such resolution.

I should have waited a while yet before going on the beelding edge.

[jchoong]

SilverBeauty,

Unless you want to get into BluRay which can take advantage of the full HD spec of 1080p, otherwise the HD ready units are good enough. As already pointed out, also if the screen is less than 50", it is unlikely one will be able to tell the difference from your normal sitting position.

Having said that, I went with full HD a few months ago and also got a BluRay and the combination is truly awesome - both video and audio. But at this stage, only BluRay can take advantage of the 1080p resolution. HD broadcasts on cable channels are not 1080p, so HD ready units can handle these adequately.

Plenty of info here:

http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/forum ... .php?f=226

[moeyhc]

Bro SB,

A TV usually last around 8-10 years. Hence I go for the full HD when I bought mine 2 years ago. One thing to look out for when choosing LCD TV is the contract ratio. This will ensure that you have enough back lighting to offset very bright environment. Most LCD TVs today have refresh rate of <8ms so you should have great viewing even for very fast action movies....

Choose one that has good color separation, depth of view and pay special attention to black & white color. Is it black or just dark and white shouldn't be glaring? Hope this helps.

[silverbeauty]

Many thanks for all the responses.

Looks like I will go for a HD ready Plasma. LG has just launched a new model LG42PQ30R with a resolution of 1366x768, a 600Hz refresh and a 200,000:1 ratio at $999. I will pop to view the model.

[SOSweet]

Bro SB, maybe you should call up Goh Ah Bee (Hougang) to enquire their price. I believe, they offer the cheapest price in SG.
I brought all my household appliances from this shop for all my 3 house shifting in the past 20 years. Never regret.
You need not go down to the shop. Just call them with the model you wanted and if the price is acceptable, give them your address and they will deliver to you. You then pay them with cheque, as simple as that.
Forget about those big stores with free "gifts" and "special offer". In actual, you are paying for the "free" gifts.

[sharkteef]

full hd better as this is nao the computer age. i've hooked mine up on my comp and confirm via hdmi, pic quality is .....awesome. no money to buy blu-ray rom yet but ........ u can get 1080p stuff for free , especially movie trailers and game trailers.

[ajay]

bro SB, for 42" better get full HD (1920x1080) la coz u'll notice the lack of pixel at that big size. for smaller size TV it's ok to buy HD ready (1355x768).. IMO