07/27/10

I finally purchased a high definition TV back in the fall of 2006.  At the time, the choices were so bewildering that most people who were looking to acquire one were quite thirsty for advice.  Whenever people found out that I finally bought an HDTV after much research, they usually grilled me for the decision process I went through and what my opinions were.  To facilitate things, I decided to provide my advice in writing so that I can supply the names and sources that I found important.  This not only kept me from having to chew my cud more than once, but it also help me keep my lies straight. [Willie Nelson, when asked about his golfing handicap, replied, "Gosh, I lie about it so much I really don't know anymore."]

Cheaper and better

Moore's Law posits that the number of transistors possible on an integrated circuit doubles every two years as a result of technology gains.  This has been true for almost the last 50 years.  As a consequence the capabilities of electronic devices have increased dramatically while the cost of producing the devices has dropped.  The HDTV that I purchased in 2006 as a "bargain" at $2000, can be matched by a set costing around $650 today. 

Plasma vs. LCD

Plasma sets are still available and are priced lower than comparable LCD sets.  Plasmas perform quite well, but are under attack by the environmentalists because plasmas typically require more energy to operate than LCD sets.  LCD's that use Light Emitting Diodes (LED) for backlighting are even more energy efficient and produce very good pictures.  LED backlit sets are very thin and ideal for mounting on the wall.  When choosing an LED backlit set, choose sets that use "full" or local backlighting rather than "edge" backlighting.  The choice between plasma and lcd is a function of personal choice and the ambient illumination where the set is to be used.  LCD sets look better than plasmas when the viewing room is relatively bright or well illuminated.  There is a practical problem resulting from the ultra thin sets becoming available.  Because of the limited amount of space afforded in the thin sets, speaker sound suffers. If your plans are to use an external sound system for audio, then this isn't a problem.

1080p vs. 720p

It is most likely that you will be purchasing a screen size 40" or larger.  Definitely get a set with 1080p resolution.  Anything smaller than 40" doesn't benefit that much from the higher resolution to warrant the price difference.  Don't be too worried about the distinction between 1080i or 1080p unless you plan to watch very many Blu-Ray movies and are keen about gleaning as much resolution as you can get.  The major manufacturers all deliver outstanding images.  Even the worse is still pretty good.

Refresh Rate

If you choose an LCD set, be sure to get a set with at least 120 Hz refresh rate.  Costlier sets with 240 Hz refresh rates are becoming widely available.  Slower refresh rates result in problems showing scenes in which many objects are moving at once, such as in scenes with explosions or images of confetti being dropped.  The picture will become noticeably pixellated.  That does become annoying.

Three Dimensional Television

A higher refresh rate opens the door to what is now the next big step in home entertainment--three dimensional TV.  The major studios are well on their way to making more and more 3D movies.  One big advantage for them is that it makes piracy more difficult.  And the studios claim they have been losing a mint to piracy.  For another, 3D action films like Avatar have been drawing many people back into the theaters where the theaters can actually make money by selling you popcorn and soft drinks.  So a steady supply of 3D content appears to be in the offing.  Major networks like ESPN and the Discovery Channel are currently ramping up to broadcast programs in 3D.  Since it makes little sense to have 3D on a small screen, look for 3D HDTV sets to only be available on sets larger than 50" diagonal. Interestingly, the additional electronics is not really that complicated so the price of the sets themselves will not be terribly more expensive. 

However, the necessary glasses (1 per viewer) will be a major cost factor.  Right now the initial prices for a pair is around $150.  Imagine what that will cost you to host a Super Bowl party of 20 people.  Invitations will have to include BYOG(lasses).  But competition is expected to eventually drive the price down to under $50.  The current 3D sets work by quickly alternating between two slightly different images, one for each eye.  The glasses work by electronically shuttering each lens in synchronization with the alternating image on the screen through a wireless connection (infrared or RF).  The glasses blink rapidly for you so that each eye sees a distinctly different image at the same time.  As in normal sight, your brain merges the two images together to form the perception of a three dimensional image.  Thus the need for a sufficiently high refresh rate to make motion on the screen appear smooth.  I recently heard that there is a health advisory regarding the use of 3D TV glasses in Japan.  There is concern that the "flicker rate" may induce epileptic seizures in people who may be susceptible.

If you've been to the stores to view the 3D sets, the only thing they currently have to show is the Monsters vs. Aliens animated movie.  It looks good, but rendered 3D isn't what we all are interested in seeing.  I did see Panasonic's demo once showing the opening ceremony of Olympics in China.  That was pretty good.  But there is a very big difference in 3D on Blu-Ray and 3D being broadcast.  Broadcast 3D has to split up the resolution between the left and right images.  So things start to go downhill.  And there is noticeable motion blur on fast moving objects.  LCDs sets are inherently polarized   So if you tilt your head, the image darkens.  That's a problem for those of us who sometimes like to lie on our sides while watching TV.  3D plasma sets don't have this problem.  There is something else that I noticed in viewing the demonstrations.  There is a noticeable limit to the depth you can perceive.  Things don't appear to go back in depth as you see in natural vision.  As a matter of fact, things in the background appear to be painted on a large matte screen.  Once I noticed it, I couldn't help looking for it all the time. 

As you might surmise with such a rapid release of 3D technology, available 3D content will be very limited initially.  Samsung, and perhaps all the others as well, offer the capability of rendering 2D images into 3D.  I haven't read how well this works--probably as well as those ersatz derived "stereophonic" recordings back in the early '60's.  Unfortunately, you will need to purchase a new 3D capable Blu-Ray DVD player for recorded material.  3D Blu-Ray players are only slightly more expensive than regular high end Blu-Ray players.  At this time, they are bundling 3D glasses with the players.

It shouldn't take most of you long to realize that if glasses are necessary, why not just eliminate the TV display altogether and simply pipe the images to the eyeglasses.  By doing so, you can basically create a gigantic visual field into which the viewer can be immersed--a lot like the "holodeck" on Star Trek.  I don't think we are far away from that possibility.

Will 3D be a success and become the standard rather than a novelty?  That depends on the availability of content and the willingness of the consumer to wear glasses to achieve the effect.  A lot of experts don't think so.  But 3D technology has accelerated the availability of hardware capable of even better pictures.  So getting a 3D capable HDTV may be attractive simply because they are capable of better screen images in the first place.  The ability to view 3D pictures may simply be a side effect and not a major feature.

Connection Cables

Because the audio/video signal is digital, you do not have to purchase any of those super expensive HDMI cables the salespeople try to sell you.  Even the price of cables at Costco is overpriced.  If you need to purchase any cables, I highly recommend that you purchase them online from www.monoprice.com.  The same holds true for any type of audio cables or switching boxes you might want to add to your system.  These people sell you a great product at a great price and with rapid delivery.

Blu-Ray DVD Players

The data transmission rate required to achieve 1080p is currently too high for streaming via cable or satellite.  The best image you can achieve is to watch a Blu-Ray disc on a Blu-Ray player.  Here you can display real 1080p.  At this time the price of Blu-Ray players is beginning to dip below $100.  Most of these players are capable of upscaling.  So your older standard DVDs will look better on your HDTV, but obviously not as good as Blu-Ray.  If you enjoy video games, the most attractive entree into Blu-Ray is with the Sony PS3.  The Playstation will not only play Blu-Ray discs, but is capable of streaming Netflix videos from the internet. 

Streaming Netflix, Pandora, Amazon Video, You Tube, etc., are bonus features you should look for in a Blu-Ray player.  An internet connection is necessary to enjoy these features.  Some players are able to connect to the internet using your home Wifi connectivity.  As you might suspect, many new HDTV sets are also including these same bonus features or internet applications built right into the set.  So you may see some duplication of features for a while as the manufacturers vie for your business.  One benefit of having internet connectivity on the TV and/or the Blu-Ray player is the ease of upgrading the operating system on the equipment.  That's right, operating system!  The TV and player are each computers by themselves and actually run an operating system to control its functions.  And the operating systems are periodically upgraded by manufacturers to improve performance and capabilities.

When connecting up the DVD player, I personally prefer connecting it through my home sound system because "big sound" is extremely important to me when viewing movies.  If your home amplifier is relatively new, you may have HDMI connections on it so that you can connect the DVD to the amplifier and then connect the amplifier to an HDMI input on your HDTV.  This will not only facilitate connection and switching amongst input sources to your TV, but will also optimize the audio.  If you don't have HDMI connections on your amplifier, I suggest you connect the DVD player directly to the HDTV using HDMI, but also that you connect your DVD player to the amplifier using the optical TOSLink connection rather than using the standard right (red)-left (white) RCA connections.  By using the optical connection between the DVD player and the amplifier, you preserve the digital audio information that will allow your amplifier to employ Dolby 5.1 or 7.1 Surround or DTS audio available from your DVD.  If you are into sound like I am, that makes a huge difference.  You will probably have to turn the sound down on the HDTV itself when using your home sound system because there typically is a slight time difference in the sound from the two sources and you will get an unwanted echoic sound as if it were coming from a well.

Want more information or discussion with HDTV owners?

Visit the website www.avsforum.com to gain more insight into the world of HDTV.  Some of the comments are obviously motivated by personal bias or the need to reduce cognitive dissonance after having plunked down several grand on a TV set.  But there is still a lot of useful and entertaining information here.