[www.popularmechanics.com]

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Aloha, Ken


“I have developed significant attachments to several members even though I wouldn't recognize them if I sat next to one on a park bench. I'm often tempted when in an airport to walk around, hollering "The Løpe", to see if anyone other than the Homeland Security people will acknowledge me. ” - The Løpe

"If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us." Justice Robert Jackson

I love that picture of the back of the TV. I think the biggest myth is that the industry thinks that the vast majority of tv watchers even know what "high definition" is at all. Most of my friends and family, it's all just jargon. They just want a bigger tv.

Hmmmm

#1 & #2, Ok, I guess some people didn't know those

#3, What? They say that it's fact HD can't be recorded to regular DVDs, but then they say it can be. So shouldn't it be Fiction?

#4, well, duh

#5, they should mention that some sets can do that. Not all.

#6, This one should be Fiction as well. Same with #8, #9 & #10... did they just mess up and label them all as Fact?

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Very interesting article. If the points are true it minimizes my lust for hdtv somewhat. Particularly the one about regular tv being poorer.

So what exactly is the difference between the "i" and the "p" in 1080i and 1080p?

Is the "p" for pixel and the "i" for input?


And, yes, they were idiots when they chose to use the word "Fact" in front of every response to the myths. It leads to confusion.

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[www.zeemaps.com]

i = interlaced (this means that every other pixel row on the screen is "painted" on the first pass and the intervening rows are "painted" on the second pass. This can result in visible scan lines and motion artifacts.

p = progressive scan (also known as noninterlaced). This means that there is only one pass, and every single pixel row is painted one after the other. This reduces the visibility of scan lines and motion artifacts, and is significantly better than "i", almost as good as doubling the number of rows if done properly.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

Quote
The UnDoug
So what exactly is the difference between the "i" and the "p" in 1080i and 1080p?

Is the "p" for pixel and the "i" for input?


And, yes, they were idiots when they chose to use the word "Fact" in front of every response to the myths. It leads to confusion.

i = interlaced

p = progressive

[en.wikipedia.org]

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stil doesnt help me to decide whats the best TV for my $500 budget.

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Edited 999 time(s). Last edit at 12:08PM by jdc.

I have no desire for HDTV or to learn about or be tested on its various myths.
Though I did read it, NONE of it affects my life.

They might have just called that "10 pages we want you to click on in order to increase our ad views."

I prefer single pages:
[www.popularmechanics.com]

As the happy owner of two HD TVs, one 50" plasma and one 42" LCD, I can truthfully say that HD is well worth it when the program video quality is up to it -- see, eg, any "Planet Earth" episode in HD. Regular TV (480i) often shows its warts, but bigger is better, period. And bigger in HD is waaaaaaay better.

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What it is, man, a low-down and funky feelin'

Quote
Jp!
I have no desire for HDTV or to learn about or be tested on its various myths.
Though I did read it, NONE of it affects my life.

If I'm not mistaken, it "will" affect your life in about 2 years if you continue to watch tv.

On my HDTV, regular programming looks sharper and clearer (the result of a thorough fine-tuning process), HDTV programming looks freakin' SPECTACULAR, and DVDs look noticeably better and richer than they did on my SDTV.

Part of the thing about HDTV that non-HDers overlook, however, isn't the picture but the SOUND. Most people who buy the more expensive HDTV's *also* invest in 5.1 surround sound.

So now you have a wider, brighter, sharper picture (ie LCD over CRT) that fills more "eye space" AND you have much better sound than you probably had with your SDTV. Overall effect -- WOW.

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chas_m




[crawlingfromtheusa.blogspot.com] <-- Moving to Canada blog

Quote
spearmint
Very interesting article. If the points are true it minimizes my lust for hdtv somewhat. Particularly the one about regular tv being poorer.

Yeah. It really irritates me when Comcast tries to tell me that digital cable is better quality than analog.

---

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Well, it's better for them.

I've seen a couple of widescreen TVs recently in people's homes that displayed SDTV programs distorted to fit the available space. That stuff looked horrible. Is it possible to set up a widescreen TV so that it can show content in the correct aspect ratio?

Is the big switch suppposed to happen in 2 years? What happens to those of us who don't want to spend big bucks on new TVs? I haven't followed the whole HDTV thing too much. Whenever I've seen them in stores, I haven't been impressed.

The idea of putting in a 5.1 sound system just for TV seems ridiculous to me…



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/2007 06:20PM by ka jowct.

Quote
ka jowct
Is the big switch suppposed to happen in 2 years? What happens to those of us who don't want to spend big bucks on new TVs?

Government-subsidized converter boxes.

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I am not Ryan Seacrest, and I do not approve this message.

Quote
ka jowct
I've seen a couple of widescreen TVs recently in people's homes that displayed SDTV programs distorted to fit the available space. That stuff looked horrible.

Uneducated users think wide screen must equal a filled screen, or else something is wrong or that they're not getting their money's worth etc. It's the old quantity vs. quality compromise. Lots and lots of people consciously pick quantity (a filled screen) over quality (a correct aspect ratio and an image not upscaled as to exacerbate a poor image's warts.)

But having said that, some TVs are more sophisticated in how they stretch the image, only stretching the outer-most portions of the image so that most content (people on camera in the center) don't look bloated.

Quote
ka jowct
Is it possible to set up a widescreen TV so that it can show content in the correct aspect ratio?

Absolutely. And so for 4:3 content you get black or gray bars on the sides, which freaks some people out for the reasons I mentioned above.

Quote
ka jowct
The idea of putting in a 5.1 sound system just for TV seems ridiculous to me…

Not everything people watch on TV is the nightly news. If it has benefits in a movie theater it can have benefits in your home, and for the same reasons.

If it has benefits in a movie theater it can have benefits in your home, and for the same reasons.

Exactly.

Some TV shows have 5.1 sound, as do most newer and some older remastered DVDs.

Imaging and localization with 5.1 can be eerily realistic. For some reason off-stage knocks on doors often display that quality.

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I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

I'm surprised they didn't include this one:

Myth #11 Soon all broadcast television will be HDTV.

Quote
Mike Johnson
I'm surprised they didn't include this one:

Myth #11 Soon all broadcast television will be HDTV.

Untrue.
All broadcast TV will be ATSC, but not necessarily HDTV.
Broadcasters choice, 1 great HD broadcast, or cut up the bandwidth and have 10 mediocre SD broadcasts.

BGnR

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"Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"
"If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster."
"Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
"A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."

Quote
BigGuynRusty

Quote
Mike Johnson
I'm surprised they didn't include this one:

Myth #11 Soon all broadcast television will be HDTV.

Untrue.
All broadcast TV will be ATSC, but not necessarily HDTV.
Broadcasters choice, 1 great HD broadcast, or cut up the bandwidth and have 10 mediocre SD broadcasts.

BGnR

Thus wouldn't all ATSC TV become the new "Broadcast TV?" Seems that if it's from network television, it's considered broadcast or Free TV.

Quote
vision63

Quote
BigGuynRusty

Quote
Mike Johnson
I'm surprised they didn't include this one:

Myth #11 Soon all broadcast television will be HDTV.

Untrue.
All broadcast TV will be ATSC, but not necessarily HDTV.
Broadcasters choice, 1 great HD broadcast, or cut up the bandwidth and have 10 mediocre SD broadcasts.

BGnR

Thus wouldn't all ATSC TV become the new "Broadcast TV?" Seems that if it's from network television, it's considered broadcast or Free TV.

Of course it is, hence the monicker "Broadcast TV".

BGnR

---

"Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"
"If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster."
"Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
"A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."

Quote
BigGuynRusty
Untrue. All broadcast TV will be ATSC, but not necessarily HDTV.

For the record, that's why I called it a myth. And it's one I heard a dozen times from salesmen the last time I was shopping for a teevee.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/2007 03:10PM by Mike Johnson.

Actually, the article itself contained another myth, or at least a semi-disingenuous statement:

"You can receive them with the tuner in your HDTV set or an external DTV set-top receiver, but you need an external HD antenna."

... an external antenna, yes, but NOT necessarily an HD antenna. Good old rabbit ears might do it; nothing special about HD antennas.

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Freya says, 'Hello from NOLA, baby!' (Laissez bon temps rouler!)

Good point, Peter. Actually, I don't think an HDTV or digital antenna exists other than as marketing jargon. Television broadcast frequencies are same with HD as they are with analog. Although many stations have moved their digital broadcasts up into the UHF range (because there was only limited bandwidth in the VHF range and it was already being used for analog TV) some plan to move back to VHF when they shut down their analog broadcasts.

At any rate, other than the VHF / UHF distinction, a TV antenna is a TV antenna.

Quote
BigGuynRusty

Quote
vision63

Quote
BigGuynRusty

Quote
Mike Johnson
I'm surprised they didn't include this one:

Myth #11 Soon all broadcast television will be HDTV.

Untrue.
All broadcast TV will be ATSC, but not necessarily HDTV.
Broadcasters choice, 1 great HD broadcast, or cut up the bandwidth and have 10 mediocre SD broadcasts.

BGnR

Thus wouldn't all ATSC TV become the new "Broadcast TV?" Seems that if it's from network television, it's considered broadcast or Free TV.

Of course it is, hence the monicker "Broadcast TV".

BGnR

You love being you.

Quote
vision63

Quote
BigGuynRusty

Quote
vision63

Quote
BigGuynRusty

Quote
Mike Johnson
I'm surprised they didn't include this one:

Myth #11 Soon all broadcast television will be HDTV.

Untrue.
All broadcast TV will be ATSC, but not necessarily HDTV.
Broadcasters choice, 1 great HD broadcast, or cut up the bandwidth and have 10 mediocre SD broadcasts.

BGnR

Thus wouldn't all ATSC TV become the new "Broadcast TV?" Seems that if it's from network television, it's considered broadcast or Free TV.

Of course it is, hence the monicker "Broadcast TV".

BGnR

You love being you.

You mean correct, or maybe precise?
Being a real "Technician" kind of drives me too that end.
Sorry if it upsets you!

BGnR
Some of my jobs in the past have had "Life or Death" consequences tied to the decisions I made, or the work I performed.

---

"Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"
"If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster."
"Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
"A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/26/2007 10:44PM by BigGuynRusty.

Quote
BigGuynRusty

Quote
vision63

Quote
BigGuynRusty

Quote
vision63

Quote
BigGuynRusty

Quote
Mike Johnson
I'm surprised they didn't include this one:

Myth #11 Soon all broadcast television will be HDTV.

Untrue.
All broadcast TV will be ATSC, but not necessarily HDTV.
Broadcasters choice, 1 great HD broadcast, or cut up the bandwidth and have 10 mediocre SD broadcasts.

BGnR

Thus wouldn't all ATSC TV become the new "Broadcast TV?" Seems that if it's from network television, it's considered broadcast or Free TV.

Of course it is, hence the monicker "Broadcast TV".

BGnR

You love being you.

You mean correct, or maybe precise?
Being a real "Technician" kind of drives me too that end.
Sorry if it upsets you!

BGnR
Some of my jobs in the past have had "Life or Death" consequences tied to the decisions I made, or the work I performed.

It doesn't upset me. I appreciate you.

Quote
vision63
It doesn't upset me. I appreciate you.

Thank you.

BGnR

---

"Good heavens, Miss Sakamoto! You're beautiful!"
"If we dig precious things from the land, we will invite disaster."
"Near the day of Purification, there will be cobwebs spun back and forth in the sky."
"A container of ashes might one day be thrown from the sky, which could burn the land and boil the oceans."