November 8th, 2009 | 
Author: How do you tell modern televisions apart? What does it mean to be HD ready? What does it mean to have full HD TV?
Full HD TV – The technical specifications for a full High Definition LCD TV must include a 1080p as its pixel count. The contrast ratio will be listed as 1920 by 1080p. This 1080p designation signals that a television set can fully and completely broadcast the highest level of high definition broadcasting without reducing it to a smaller pixel count. If you play a high definition DVD or blu-ray disk, a full HD LCD TV can claim the best possible LCD picture. In the same manner, if you check the technical specifications for a full High Definition plasma set, you will also find a pixel count of 1080p. The contrast ratio will be listed as 1920 by 1080p. Again, this is the only way to ensure a true high definition picture without loss of pixel count.
Full High Definition plasma sets also play blu-ray at its highest capacity and high definition DVDs as well. Full HD LCD TV sets broadcast in widescreen as do full HD plasma sets.
HD Ready – Unlike full HD, HD ready refers to the built-in capability of a set to broadcast higher pixel High Definition at a lower pixel count or ratio. Look for these sets to have a pixel rate designated as 1080i or 728i. An HD tuner converts higher number HD into these slightly lower pixel rates. There is no extra effort required on the user’s part. The television will simply make the adjustments, and some viewers may not be able to see the contrast difference between HD ready and full HD televisions.
Set Sizes – LCDs dominate the market because they come in sets as small as 10 inches and increase in size to family home theater size. Full High Definition LCD TVs often include the 42 inch TV. Full HD LCD TV’s are considered ‘high end’ compared to their HD ready counterparts. Plasma set manufacturers sometimes offer a 42 inch TV, which may or may not be a full High Definition plasma set. However, plasmas are most often in giant sizes, such as 50 inches and 60 inches. They are primarily for home theater use. Full HD plasma sets are “high end” compared to similarly-sized HD ready plasma sets. Already generously large, the 42 inch TV is the smallest size where both plasma and LCDs are available.
HD sets – One obvious difference between analog and full High Definition TV broadcasting is the aspect ratio. This is the width by height of a display. Analog broadcasting had an aspect ratio of four inches of width to three inches of height. HDTV broadcasts in a 16:9 ratio. You can expect a full HD LCD TV to be as wide as it is tall. It is thinner due to its streamlined technology, and its thinness is not a way to determine if a set is HD ready or a full High Definition LCD TV. Due to aspect ratio, full HD plasma sets and HD ready plasma sets may be as wide as they are tall. They are also thinner due to their technology, and thinness cannot be used as a guide to HD capabilities.
HDTV Converters – Analog televisions do work if hooked up to an High Definition TV converter. The HDTV converter works from outside of the television to tune the signal to analog. This is similar to the built-in digital tuners in LCD and plasma televisions. Without an HDTV converter, an analog television cannot receive digital broadcasting, which is fast replacing analog.
HD Online – Many television shows are now offer HD broadcasting online. This may or may not be full HD internet by manufacturing standards. After all, your computer also has a tuner that will simply convert any 1080p HD online internet signals into a lower pixel rate as needed.
Marshall Denyer writes about led tvs and samsung full hd tv
Posted in Film Reviews | 
Tags: blog, computers, DVD, electronics, entertainment, Film Reviews, films, game, high definition, home, LCD, Monitors, review, technology, Television
After checking out comparable 1080p 46″ models from Sharp, Samsung and Panasonic, we settled on the Sony KDL-46V5100 to replace our dying 10 year old 27″ Panasonic. Got it in May. We are very impressed by the overall picture quality. I am sensitive to jerky images that some models have: this one renders pretty well. The HD quality is incredible: on one particular CSI Miami fly-over shot of the beach, everything was so crystal clear that I rubbed my eyes in disbelief! I was aware of the “darkening” problem that others have mentioned and applied Sony’s patch right off the bat, so it is not been an issue for us.
Interestingly, 3 stations (ABC, Fox and PBS) that had worked fine on el-cheapo Comcast service (analog) in the City of Atlanta stopped working altogether (analog or HD) after the June 12 transition, while NBC/CBS and a couple of indie stations continued to work fine in 1080p HD! I did not want to upgrade to digital service just to get three “free stations”, so I bought the cheapest available HD capable antenna from Radio Shack and hooked it through an A/B switch. Now we get 28 digital channels off the air, including all the major networks in HD. We still use cable to watch some services in 480p resolution, but that is acceptable to us.
My only complaint with this TV is the remote: it works fine with the TV, but cannot be programmed to use with other devices (such as the audio system.) That means it is back to multiple remotes for TV and audio system
I guess Sony wants users to pay extra for an upgraded remote? Our 10 year old Panasonic remote was functionally superior.