November 2005 - page 2
What About All of the Numbers?
480i, 720p, 1080i and 1080p confuse the living hell out of most consumers, yet home theater salespeople frequently like to show off what they know at the risk of completely confusing their clients. 480i is the resolution that traditional (NTSC) TV is broadcast at. DVDs are also in 480i resolution, although many “progressive scan” DVD players upconvert the 480i to 480p. The “p” mean progressive, which has a smoother look because it fills in the interlaced lines that make up a typical picture.
720p and 1080i are the two most common HDTV formats. Why there are two is beyond me, but for the most part, they both look great on most of today’s sets. The problem is that there aren’t enough programs created in these current HD formats. Monday Night Football is in 720p. Marc Cuban’s HDNet is broadcast in 1080i. Both look great. Discovery HD is in 1080i and “Desperate Housewives” is on ABC at 720p. Any HDTV set can switch back and forth between the two formats flawlessly with the ease of clicking your remote. The only disappointment comes from when you need to click over to a traditional NTSC broadcast in 480i. It just doesn’t compare.
1080p is the new hot topic in HDTV. 1080p is really the best-looking HDTV format, but no programming is available right now in 1080p. There are video processors (stand-alone boxes and ones inside top DVD players) that can take your traditional TV and upconvert it to 1080p. Does it look as good as native HDTV in 720p or 1080i? Not even close - but it is way better than watching a movie in 480i from a DVD. Where 1080p becomes more impactful is with the pending launch of a number of new formats, ranging from videogames to HDTV discs. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s Playstation 3 will both be HDTV machines that reportedly will output 1080p video via HDMI connections.  Hollywood is trying to prepare to put the lovable DVD to rest to make room for one of two (hopefully not) competing formats named HD-DVD and Blu-ray. Both can deliver you an HDTV image in 1080p HDTV that looks so good you can’t even believe your eyes. I recently saw demos of HD-DVD and Blu-ray at the CEDIA trade show and they were very impressive. But before you get all excited about going out and buying a new player, these formats at the soonest will be ready by Christmas 2006 – perhaps later. What is important is that you get a new TV that has the native resolution that can handle 1080p. While satellite and cable providers will not offer 1080p content for some time to come, your HD discs and videogames will be ready for this stunning format pretty soon.
What’s All The Buzz About HDMI?
HDMI is a new cable format that allows you to use one encrypted cable to connect your sources to your receiver (or AV preamp). HDMI eliminates several cables needed for HDTV like the feared component cable and replaces it with one that is far simpler and, many argue, more high-performance, since your HDTV signal stays digital the entire way from your sources to your TV set.
HDMI isn’t perfect yet, but it does offer a lot of promise. Early HDMI cables couldn’t reliably run more than 15 feet. Today there are cables that run over 100 feet. HDMI was preceded by DVI, a format that had promise but failed to cut the mustard. There are many older TVs out there (especially earlier plasmas) that only have DVI inputs on them. While DVI for data can be converted to HDMI with an adaptor, it isn’t normally possible to pass HDCP copy-protected material at the highest resolution. This is why today’s 1080p HDTVs sets are worth the investment over a closeout deal that seems too good to be true. Hollywood ultimately wants you to buy movies at home in HDTV through your cable or satellite box, but they are insisting on your set making what is called an “HDCP handshake” between your source device (HD tuner, D-VHS, Blu-ray, HD-DVD or new video game) with your monitor. Millions of sets (and lots of early adopter customers) are going to be angry when they find out that they can’t get the HDTV content they want on their expensive plasmas. When you go to shop, it is important that you know to get a 1080p set or projector.
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