Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions TV resolution

I've owned a JVC AV-36D800 for about 5 years. It has a beautiful picture and I've always been very happy with it. I've been looking at new tv's lately and many of the high def tv's don't come close to it's picture quality. While doing a little resolution research I discovered that my tv has 850 lines of horizontal resolution. I know it is interlaced. What does this tv do with the extra lines of resolutuion. I know it's not the same as high def 720p but would buying a progressive scan dvd player give me an improvement in picture quality?
I read this article but got a little confused.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_6_3/essay-video-resolution-july-99.html

Link

You must not be looking at an actual HD signal on those TV's. There is no way the JVC would put out a picture better than a High Def broadcast. If your talking about regular broadcast it could be possible. I'm sure a 480P dvd player would look very nice on your older JVC.

TV broadcasts vary. I'm talking about the picture quality of DVD's. I know I don't have high def.. I know high def. tv's have more resolution, but many of them look terrible. I can't beleive that people pay two thousand dollars plus for them.
Others look great...
I'm just a little mixed up as to what my analog tv does with 850 horizontal scan lines when I thought interlaced tv's had 525.

It probably would be best to read your instruction manual or other brochures to find out how your TV really operates. There are several things that the TV could be doing.

A HDTV that is properly set up using quality source material should give you the WOW factor!! If it doesn't, then something is wrong. HDTVs are so expensive because of the light engines and electronics in them. It cost a lot to develop that technology and the companies must recover their research investments.

Lampshade,

You are mixing up the number of NTSC horizontal scanning lines (525 with 480 actually used for display) with an optical measurement of resolution. The 850 lines of "horizontal resolution" is a measure of the number of alternating vertical black and white lines (think of a picket fence) that are discernible on a chart from left to right.

Your TV uses an interlaced display and cannot display a progressively scanned image.

On an analog TV, the number of horizontal scanning lines (525 with 480 used) determines the "vertical resolution" of the set. Hence, standard definition is "480i".

I know it's confusing. But when properly set up and calibrated, an HD set is dramatically clearer and sharper than an analog standard definition TV because it delivers about twice the overall resolution (sharpness, clarity) of a standard TV. Moreover, because HD sets are digital, there is a dramatic reduction in video noise in deeply saturated areas of color. Analog sets have a "grainy" character in those areas (grain is the visual equivalent in video to hiss or noise in analog audio).

Regards,

I’m glad this topic came up. I also find TV / DVD resolution very confusing. Every time I try to muddle through a write up, 8 pages of #10 font single spaced lines later, I’m even more baffled. 480i, 48P, 1080, progressive scan, interlaced???? WTF? HD ready, HD compatible, up converting, blah – blah…… I’m lost….

Four years ago I bought the best “little” big screen TV I could find. – 46” Mitsubishi HD 1080 that was “HDTV ready” for 3500 bucks. Yeah right……HD ready my ass. I just recently thought I’d buy one of these new “up converting” DVD players with digital outputs and hook it up. Good thing I looked at the TV’s back inputs before I bought one, cause there ain’t no digital inputs at all.

Then I screw around with the TV’s advanced selections menu and find it supposedly “up converts”. I can select 480i, 480P and 1080. I try them and nothing happens. Go figure. I give up……..

My 17 year old, 25” Magnavox tube TV is still working like a champ. Dust everywhere, kid’s fingerprints all over it and a dozen different remotes later………still works.

And what makes it worse is everyone thinks of NTSC the same way as their computer monitor... in a digital realm with a number of square pixels in an array with no overscan...

Bren R.

Thank you, Alan, that clears it up. The 850 can exist I guess because it is a big tv and and the 850 was probably a nice marketing feature. I did assume they meant horizontal lines.

mdrew: I am a little curious as to your TV's inputs since you believe that it does not have digital inputs. Are you just looking for HDMI/ DVI connections?

Some of the TVs may use component connections or your standard "cable" input for the "digital" input.

Take another looks and see what combination of inputs your TV has. If it is advertised as HD Ready, there should be a "standard" input of some type.

<<The WT-46807 is a widescreen display that includes an improved line doubler for NTSC images and greater aspect-ratio flexibility for high-resolution sources. Combine this with Mitsubishi's continued use of an excellent comb filter and the TV's ability to accept high-definition images from an external tuner, and you have the makings of a great product.

Our recent Face Off (September '00) showed that Mitsubishi is keen to the public's need for features, and the WT-46807 accommodates that need accordingly. For starters, there are four audio and video inputs (three on back, one on front) that include composite and S-video connectors. Next, there are three (yes, three) additional component inputs. The first two accept both 480i and 480p scan rates. The third input accepts either component or five-wire RGB signals at 480i, 480p, and 1080i scan rates. Added to this are two RF antenna inputs, an RF loopthrough for your cable box, audio and composite video outputs, and additional audio outputs for the picture-in-picture source. That's more than enough options to integrate the set into any system.>>

The above from Home Theater mag. Input for HD is component, if this is your model.

WT-46809 is component as well

Hey bug, thanks! I thought that there may be a component input that would take care of the HD!!!!

I suspect that he was looking for either a HDMI or DVI input and there were none.

Keep up the good work.

That’s my TV!! Man you’re good!

So to add even more confusion to my already confused state, how do I run a DVD’s digital video signal to this TV’s component inputs? I thought you HAD to use the HDMI or DVI cables???

mdrew: no, it is not absolutely necessary to run HDMI or DVI to your TV to get HDTV. What you need to do first is get a reasonable set of component cables (no, I don't mean monster cables or the like).

Then, read the instruction manuals for your TV and DVD for proper operation. If you don't have the manuals, turn on the TV first. Make sure that it is on the correct input for the HDTV component input. Then go to the setup menu and see what the options are. After you have convinced yourself that you have reasonably correct settings, then, turn on the DVD. Do the same sort of thing with the DVD setup.

You may have to play with it to get the right settings.

In any case, I'd really try to use a set of manuals. Sometimes the setup is NOT intutitive!!

I've been using a Samsung over the air HD receiver via component since before DVI and HDMI were on the market. The picture on my Toshiba 32" HDready tv is dynamite.

Yeah, my HDTV really gives the WOW factor! I never realized how good it could really be!!!!!

My SXRD has digital inputs but I prefer the components hooked directly from the Integra 9.1 dvd player. I use OTA for HD and basic cable for the rest.

To get a DIGITAL signal to your TV, the options are HDMI or DVI (are there others?).

But you don't need a digital signal to get HDTV.

An HD signal can be sent thru component (analog). But I think it has to be a wide-bandwidth component input.

That’s what I thought. Take the Oppo DVD player for example. It scores great, but only in progressive scan, digital output. If the TV does not have digital video inputs, I’m not sure if the Oppo could send the same digital output to the TV via component.

Anyone know if it can?

See this thread for more on the Oppo.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=HT&Number=120489&page=9&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=0&fpart=all

Mike, assuming that the description of the Oppo in the Secrets review is correct(I never before heard of a progressive scan player that didn't output the 480p through its analog component outputs), then its deinterlacer can only be used on the digital DVI output; since the component output is analog it simply doesn't use it. Of course, if the TV has a very good deinterlacer of its own, there's no reason to be concerned about the one in the Oppo or any other player.

My understanding is that the Oppo can send the same signals to component or DVI outputs, but the output quality is extraordinary on DVI and only average on component out.

I have a new OPPO OPDV971H player. It has DVI output as well as component, S-video and "regular" output.

On page 20 it talks about the DVI output of 480P, 720P or 1080I. It can/ will output any one of the three.

Yes.

The Oppo does progressive/upconverting on the DVI output only. For the analog component/s-video/composite output, it's 480i only.

Oppo upconverts via DVI

I know this is a stupid question, but is there a DVI to componant adapter? Or, could that even work?

I'm sure there is something, but it's not a straight through passive connector. DVI is digital, and component is analog. So basically it would be an outboard D/A converter.

mdrew: don't think so. Previous post covers it pretty well.

OPPO supplied an additional HDMI to DVI cable at no additional cost.