At some point, probably in the next couple of months, I'm going to be looking at LCD/Plasma big screens, mainly for a wedding show and demo purposes. Now, my plan is to take my demo SD footage the the store and try it out on various tvs and see what I like the best.

Would the logic hold true, that if I like what I see on SD footage, then the quality would be equally better using HD footage, when that technology becomes easier to deliver? This ofcourse assumes that the TV is HD ready.

You mileage may vary, but many HD televisions that I have seen do not display SD as good as a good SD set.

I welcome other opinions.

I agree with Dan and would go furthur. Displaying SD footage well is often down to having a fuzzy pixels. Nuts as it sounds I know. Displaying HD footage well is down to having a much sharper picture, and this goes double for 1080i as it does with 720p.

The sets that seem to display SD well are 720/768 plasmas, the ones that give the sharpest HD picture for my money were 1080 LCDs. I bought an LCD as a stopgap, and in a year or two I'm going back to hunt for a TV when the technology has matured.

There is a massive difference right now in the quality of what is on sale in the UK.

Hmm, then I may take my SD DVD and go around plugging it into TV's to find teh one I like the best.


Thanks for the comments.

Are you shooting widescreen DV? If so then you might look at ED (enhanced definition) plasma screens. They have gotten pretty inexpensive (maybe harder to find nowadays though). I got a 37" Panasonic ED plasma about 2 years ago and it looks terrific with DVD's and widescreen DV. The native resolution is 854x480 so it's a good match for SD widescreen.

Boyd,

Yeah, my plan is to take everything widescreen, more or less. Right now I shoot weddings in a 4:3 16:9 combo. As I replace cameras, I'll go totally wide screen. I'll print this thread when we go shopping.

I know that when you go into the stores, and even when the same show is playing on all the TV's there's a difference in 'quality.' Which makes things a little more complicated to get something that might work for me.

So I figured I'd take the highest quality SD disk in there and see what does well. I'll be looking for something somewhat portable, so the 100 foot screen is out. :}

Steven - I too will be interested in your results. I'm planning to buy a new flat HD monitor, and am in the process of ordering a HVX-200. Interestingly, plasma TVs in the 42" range are all native 1024x768, not wide enough for a 16:9 720p signal. I'm sure they resize it for viewing, but I'm looking for native resolution. If you go tot the 50 " plasma you can get 1366x768 native resolution, but that's bigger and heavier than I need. In LCD montiors, you can get 1366x768 as small as 17" or as large as 46" if you can afford the price tag. Be aware that many LCD monitors have slow response times that can cause motion blurring, although the newer ones are much better than the older ones. Panasonic makes two LCD monitors (17" and 26") that have special acceleration circuits to eliminate any blurring of motion. Finally, you will probably do better with a monitor rather than a "TV". I don't use the tuner in my present TV at all - my content comes in via S-video from the DISH satellite feed, and via component input from the DVD player. Best wishes.

Thanks guys. It would be so much easier if everyone just made the same tv.. :}

Hmm, then I may take my SD DVD and go around plugging it into TV's to find teh one I like the best.


Thanks for the comments.


Well I gave this a try and got limitted results from both Circuit City and Best Buy. Those are warehouse stores for my non-American reader.

The manager at my local Circuit City refused to plug my dvd's into any of his sets. Which my response to him was he obviously didn't appreciate small businesses or customer service and left the store. The dude at Best Buy found an open box LCD and a DVD player, and I'm glad he did. Because the model that I was looking at did a terrible job with my SD footage.

So I am resigned to do a lot of research on LCD's which do the best on SD footage. The set I tested was the LG 37 inch tv. I might have to go to a smaller LCD, such as a 32inch or go plasma, which might do better at SD. I'm like in a fog at the moment. Partly due to wasting 2 hours of my day at Circuit City.

I'll keep you all posted. I just need something decent to use at shows and to show my prospective clients.

Definitely avoid HD TVs if you are working in SD. I have done those tests, and I have yet to find a HD set that displays SD as well as a good SD set. The ED sets are generally very good for SD, and they should be out there in plasma, which would be better than LCD in most cases due to smearing which still plagues many LCD sets.

Definitely avoid HD TVs if you are working in SD. I have done those tests, and I have yet to find a HD set that displays SD as well as a good SD set. The ED sets are generally very good for SD, and they should be out there in plasma, which would be better than LCD in most cases due to smearing which still plagues many LCD sets.

Sorry, brain fried. ED?

ED stands for Enhanced Definition.

Thanks Dan, I'll give plasmas some thought.

I finally bought one of these http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=425122&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

So far I like it. I also purchased a dvd player that upconverts. The SD cable tv is ok resolution, my DVD's actually look better. But since I careless about 85% of regular TV, I'm good to go, and won't be tossing money at HD cable.

I spents months as you can tell from this thread looking at tvs, going through trial and error at different stores.

Thanks again to everyone on this board for thier input.

I was pleased with the Sharp 32" LCD LC-32D50U. Its gotten favorable reviews. To my eyes it was about even with the Samsung that Steven mentioned.

Regards