LCD/Plasma/CRT/DLP - questions

[themanwithapc]

There is some aliasing in 360 games on any set you play - it doesn't do a high enough level of anti-aliasing to completely eliminate them. Most sets, however, don't do as good a job scaling as they should though (particularly 480i/p) and if there's any kind of sharpness enhancement (very common these days) that will introduce a lot of aliasing. The Toshiba is great for both. There is a tiny bit of sharpness enhancement, but it's significantly less than any other set I've seen, and very hard to detect unless you're right up close to the set looking for it.

I'm also really impressed with how well it copes with composite even, the Wii is far from unplayable as some people have said.


(note: those vertical lines over the image are moir? caused by my camera not being focussed correectly)

I thought you weren't going to get a Wii andrew?

Anyway, a more general question for anyone that would know. Is 16:9 available through ALL connections (composite, rf, s-video etc.)? I used to think it was only possible through certain connections (e.g. component, VGA and HDMI)?

[Spatial]

Cheers Andrew.

I've been tinkering with my set for for most of the day now and having looked at Gears again, there's clear aliasing issues around Marcus when he's breathing, noticeably that his head doesn't form a smooth curve and is jagged.

I'm still weighing up the pro's and con's of getting a newer LCD. TBH I'm still in two minds.

On one hand the set I have has no real problems to my eyes with black levels and contrast, but on the other if it's introducing Aliasing (now that I've really noticed it) I'm going to be hard pressed to turn that off in my brain. The hardest part of all is trying to justify the money at this time of year on another set which isn't really going to magically make all jaggies disappear, but may technically make things much smoother and appealing.

If I could demo the sets for comparison I would, but living in the sticks here is a pain in the arse in that respects

Ah, the joys of AV in the HD-era.

On the subject of Zelda, the issues I had with Composite weren't really with the cut scenes on my JVC. They looked great - it was usually the ingame stuff that looked like Vaseline-o-vision.

[andrewfee]

I thought you weren't going to get a Wii andrew?

Anyway, a more general question for anyone that would know. Is 16:9 available through ALL connections (composite, rf, s-video etc.)? I used to think it was only possible through certain connections (e.g. component, VGA and HDMI)?

I was, then I wasn't, then I did, and I'm glad.

16:9 should be possible through anything really - the difference is whether or not the actual resolution is 16:9. My understanding is that even if it's a 4:3 signal, it will compress the image so that once your TV stretches it out, it looks like proper 16:9.

[Lyris]

Yeah, it's the pixel aspect ratio that changes, not the resolution.

Some developers might argue that you need to draw more objects ons creen at once though...

[Mayhem]

Read Lyris' guide over at the AVforums.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2760409

Cheers for that, most comprehensive. Guess I'll be looking for a V most likely once I get the work yearly bonus money through.

Only one query that I didn't see mentioned: what's the response time like on them?

[Lyris]

Sony quote it at 8ms. In other words, like all LCDs, it still blurs sometimes, just not very much.

Some levels of Super Mario World are good for showing it up - the thick black outlines and vivid yellows sometimes leave little orange streaks out of the lines when you move quickly.

[Mayhem]

8ms is still very good and probably not gonna get better on other makes, right?

Guess I'll have a look at the prices and see if one takes my monetary fancy...

[Kotatsu Neko]

Manufacturers are very clever/dishonest about how they measure response times. Only way to really tell is to see the set in action and see if you can detect any afterblur. My PC monitor (Dell 20" WS) has nasty afterblur on Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis original), but is fine on pretty much everything else. My TV (Tosh 42") is fine even with Sonic.

[Shozuki]

ok, well ive been home for around an hour or so.

Im absolutely in love with the Bravia (W series 40") that I have purchased. I havent had a chance to shove any HD material down its throat yet - but i'll be setting everything up tomorrow and post some pics.

First things first, I switched on the TV and watched some freeview - I made absolutely NO adjustments, and im simply amazed how good SD material looks. I was watching a bit of footie (Real Zaragoza v Osasuna) and it still held its own pretty well, although I felt it looked a little too sharp - but i'll have a tinker with the settings in the morning.

Second thing I did was to plug my regular Xbox in and have a peek at some gaming 480p as that was the most upsetting thing for me on my previous TV's. Again it didnt fail to dissapoint, pin sharp, vibrant and crisp. DoA3 has never looked so good.

Overall, so far im incredibly impessed and I shall be moving my Wii, PS3 and 360 to it in the morning i'll also adjust the settings and and report my feelings.

This is truely the TV for me so far.... love it....

[Concept]

I'm not one for additional video processing features, but I've just tried the contrast enhancer on the Bravia's advanced settings and it's surprisingly good. Try it with Gears of War playing in the background and you'll see what I mean.

[sj33]

Some of the Bravia ones are actually useful, sticking Live Colour on Low gives a much more vivid, less washed image without looking too saturated.
I can't actually see a real difference when using Pure White or Black Corrector though.

[Salsa Party Animal]

Are there any good budget Projector with upscaling and 480P/720P/1080P HD Ready
support with component / HDMI out there. Just to have a look.

[Magic Daps]

Hi guys, looking to buy a hdtv, but I am slightly restricted by budget. I had my eye on the 32" technosonic that woolies were selling, it was getting great reviews over on the av forums. But sadly that has now sold out on the website.

Basically I think I can persuade the wife to spend ?500 of our savings on a new tv. I would like a 32" one, but a 26" would be fine I guess.

So I have had a look around and saw this one on play

http://www.play.com/Electronics/Electronics/HP/3-/3256503/Teco_32_W_TL3281RT_HD_Ready_LCD_TV/Product.html#

Is it any good? I now very little about what makes a good hdtv so any help is appreciated.

[Shozuki]

right, ive had a good, long sit down with the telly and im still incredibly impressed by it. HDMI via the PS3 looks amazing - heck even composite via Wii looks usable enough. I can also confirm it WILL accept 1920x1080 resolution via VGA and Gears is truely a sight to behold with it.

i'd love to show you lot some pics - but sadly I only have a 3.2M phone camera that died just this morning, so i'll post up some pics asap.

[sj33]

That the Bravia W? If it does 1080p over VGA I may have to look into it!