| Video Noise July 2003
Real-World HD-Capable
Video Displays
So you want a "real"
home-theater system with a "next generation" video display that will allow you
to enjoy HD programming. You’re willing to commit a pile of ducats to the
acquisition, but you’re a real-world person: you have a mortgage, car payments, other
people to worry about, and you need clothes, food, utilities, and all the other
necessities of life. For you, $1500 to $2000 is what you can realistically justify
spending. Of course, you’d prefer to spend less rather than more, but you want an
impressive home-theater display. All the sets in this price range are going to lack fancy
features, but you can end up with something relatively impressive if you make your choice
carefully. I hope you have a little more cash in the kitty because your new HD-capable
video display won’t show you any HD images until you have at least one HD source for
it.
High-definition programming
Video displays in the $1500-to-$2000 price range will have
a conventional analog TV tuner for "old tech" TV and cable, but nothing fancier.
The box you will need to receive local broadcasts in HD will set you back $500 to $800.
Another box to receive satellite HD programming will take another $500 to $800. Satellite
HD programming will also cost you a monthly fee on top of whatever package of
"regular" channels you buy. If your cable company carries HD channels, you can
probably get access to them by paying the monthly fee for digital cable service plus a
monthly fee for a box that will decode the HD signals -- no cash up front, but two monthly
service fees you may not be paying now.
The last HD source available to you is D-VHS/D-Theater.
D-VHS machines play and record Digital-VHS tapes and play your old analog VHS videotapes.
D-Theater VHS tapes contain pre-recorded all-digital HD movies with Dolby Digital 5.1 or
Dolby Digital Surround EX sound. The D-VHS/D-Theater format will give you the best HD
images available from any source, but rental locations are rare. D-Theater movies are
priced like laserdiscs used to be priced: $35 to $40 for most titles. D-VHS players
themselves are in that "prices are dropping really fast" phase. Last year they
were all priced in the $1000-to-$2000 range. This year prices are mostly in the
$800-to-$1500 range and they have more features.
Not daunted in your quest for HD for your home theater yet?
Great! Let’s move on to some recommendations about what to look for in your
real-world HD-capable video display.
Video inputs
The number of video inputs on the set will be limited and
will not include the latest digital video inputs -- at least not the "current"
versions of digital inputs appearing on newer equipment that will guarantee compatibility
into the future. Two analog component inputs will be common, but some sets will have
three. By using the video display to do the video switching, you add some complexity to
switching sources, and an extra button press or two on the TV’s remote, but you
remove the need for an extra set of component-video cables, extra RCA connectors, and the
switching circuit. Not all receivers or processors have the bandwidth in the switching
circuitry to handle HD video -- so you may have no choice but to use the video display for
video switching. Look for at least three component-video inputs on your new set.
Resolution capabilities
$1500-to-$2000 RPTVs will almost always have more
resolution than similarly priced direct-view sets. Neither set will display HD programming
in full HD resolution, though; you have to spend big bucks to get a video display that
will reproduce full HD resolution. Nevertheless, both the direct-view set and the RPTV
will produce images much better than conventional sets and both will give a pretty good
showing on HD programming. Resolution isn’t the only factor in good HD images, as
you’ll see as you read on. So even though the RPTV will out-distance the direct-view
set, there may be other factors that make the direct-view set better for you.
Conventional-programming conversion
When you watch conventional TV programming on an HD-capable
set, the set itself has to do something to the low-resolution signal to make it bigger to
fit the screen. Making an "old tech" TV image larger is a difficult task because
of the variability in the image quality, the source (film or videotape), and whether the
incoming signal originates as an analog or digital signal. As of 2003, you’ll
probably end up viewing a significant amount of "old tech" TV programming so you
want your new video display to do justice to it.
Be sure you view conventional TV signals on new sets you
are considering so you can see how well (or poorly) the conversion is handled. Look for
blocky, soft-looking images and motion that causes the image to lose detail. Text banners
at the bottom or top of the screen during sporting events and on some of the news channels
are also good for evaluations. You want the text and banners to remain crisp and clear
whether still or moving.
Adjustments
Video displays in this price range may lack some of the
adjustments available in more expensive sets. Sometimes this is a non-issue because the
adjustments in the more expensive sets aren’t particularly helpful. Scan Velocity
Modulation is something that is almost always advantageous to turn off so you may want to
see if various sets in your price range allow you to disable this questionable
"feature."
The bar indicators used in almost every set come in two
flavors: with numbers and without. If there are no numbers, you are really lost if you are
trying to reproduce a favorite setting. You end up having to count button presses -- a
time-consuming and error-prone process. If the bar graph includes a number that goes up
and down as you adjust the setting, it’s easy to know where you are and whether you
have the setting you want.
How do they look?
The direct-view CRT set will produce satisfying HD images
that are somewhat lower in resolution than the RPTV set. You’ll get the benefit of
HD's overall improved image and some of the improvement from higher resolution.
You’ll notice more textures and details, great blacks, and a seemingly endless range
of colors. All of the HD-capable direct-view screens are flat and have minimal problems
with room reflections. The picture is bright enough to be viewable in rooms with some
lighting during the day. Convergence, geometry, and purity can be issues and require
trained technicians to correct. These heavy sets may require a new stand or rack, and that
can increase the total cost to get up and running. Big sets that are jostled or turned on
their sides during shipping may need extensive adjusting by a service technician before
you will see the images they are capable of delivering.
The big RPTV picture will (usually) appear sharper than the
direct-view CRT set, but blacks will not be quite as black due to internal reflections.
Owners willing to tweak their sets inside with black paint and black cloth can eliminate
all or most of the problem. You’ll get color that’s roughly equivalent to the
direct-view sets -- vibrant and lifelike. You’ll probably notice that the center of
the RPTV image is noticeably brighter than the edges -- a significant "issue"
for RPTVs that can’t be completely resolved. This seriously bugs some people and is a
complete non-issue for others. You need to decide which type of person you are before
jumping into an RPTV purchase.
To maximize the life of the three picture tubes, RPTV sets
should be viewed only in darkened rooms. The screen in an RPTV is a significant variable.
Some have reflection problems; some have narrow viewing angles (the picture looks very dim
if you stand up, lie down on the floor, or sit too far to the left or right); some RPTVs
don’t have reflection problems and produce good brightness for almost everyone in the
room, though their peak brightness might be lower.
The HD experience
Last night Star Wars: Episode Two -- Attack of the
Clones on HD-HBO mesmerized me. Compared to the DVD, everything about the HD image is
better. There was improvement in colors: The HD images had shades of every color that were
more distinct and vibrant without being more saturated. There is a greatly enhanced sense
of depth in the HD image. The sky-car chase of the changeling assassin is considerably
more riveting in HD due to the great sense of complexity and depth in the images. Yes,
everything still looks like computer graphics (CG), but it’s much better CG. You
notice a lot more detail in the HD image -- yet when you return to the DVD, the details
are there, though they just seem to blend into the image rather than stand out as details
as they do in HD. HD images have a "snap" and vibrancy to them that DVD images
cannot match. HD will show more detail in textures, hair, skin, clothes, leaves, and
almost everything else in each shot.
HD is here now. You can have it in your home theater, even
if you’re a real-world person with a real-world budget.
...Doug Blackburn
db@hometheatersound.com |
