Embrace High Definition

First of what is this high definition (HD) anyway? why do we need to upgrade to HD tv? What the hell is HD ready and Full HD? What is the difference between 1080i and 1080p? Is 1080p is really full HD? What if there are other tv in the future more than 1080p like 5000p or 6000p? what is that called? Beyond HD?

You might be asking these questions if you are not familiar with High Def tv. HD is simply higher resolution than standard definition (SD) tv. 1080 represents the display resolution. "p" stands for progressive scan. The "i" stands for interlaced. So progressive scanning is better than interlaced. If you want to wait for tv more powerful than 1080p, then just buy HD ready (normally 780p) tv or keep using SD tv. Your choice.


So is it worthed to upgrade to HD now? If you are into Home Theather, the answer is yes. Buy blueray DVD player or PS3 and you can play Blueray movies which is many times better than normal dvd (imagine 25GB of information for single layer). But if you only going to watch your cable tv (which is still in SD in Brunei), then don't buy unless you want to impress your mate or neighbour. If there are cable/pay tv that offer HD or RTB start to introduce HD broadcasting, then it is a good time to upgrade. Other countries already using HD television program or broadcasting. If you getting PS3 or Xbox 360, then it is a good time to upgrade your tv.

Next which one to pick? LCD? Plasma? LED DLP? LCD technology is improving. They able to produce good black now and no sulphur burn unlike plasma tv. If you want to hang your tv on the wall and save space, get LCD (about 32-40 inch). If you want bigger size, then go for plasma because plasma is cheaper than LCD in big screen. If you want freaking huge and have plenty of room for your home theater or gaming, get LED DLP. Best thing about DLP, its cheaper than plasma and LCD, light source using LED last as long as LCD tv (about 60,000 hrs compared to 10,000hrs of use for the old DLP tv). It brights up instantaneously unlike previous model.

Next step, go for full HD 1080p if you want the best in the market. Some say there is no difference between 1080p and 1080i unless you look really close but technically there is still a difference. Personally I definetely buy full HD tv and my choice is Samsung LED DLP Full HD tv simply because it is as good as Sony bravia x-series with smaller price tag.

Here are Full HD tv that I recommend based from my research:

1. Full HD tv

LCD: Sony Bravia X-series (abit pricy but worth spending), LG Scarlet and Samsung Series 6.

Plasma: Panasonic Viera Full HD tv

LED DLP: Samsung LED DLP Full HD tv

Blueray player: Panasonic DMP-BD30 or PS3

Source: Wikipedia