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What kind of HDMI cable should i get from Monoprice for a HD DVR to a HDTV?

 

Which one would be the best for that setup?

 

Don't need anything spectacular. I don't notice a whole hell of a lot of improvement from my component to HDMI upgrade, other than a little stability on text on screen. I'd say the greater advantage is the neater connection of having one cable instead of five.

 

Hell, since PS3 and 360 now offer HDMI, try a MadCatz brand or other video game third party. Probably be the cheapest way to go, and there's really not much difference between different HDMI cables for my money.

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Is it true that 1080p is only available when transferred via HDMI, and not by component, as my 360 currently is?

 

If that's the case, what's going on inside my 360 (set at 1080p, which my TV is capable of) when I play Tiger 08 or GHIII, which are 1080p compatible?

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Is it true that 1080p is only available when transferred via HDMI, and not by component, as my 360 currently is?

 

If that's the case, what's going on inside my 360 (set at 1080p, which my TV is capable of) when I play Tiger 08 or GHIII, which are 1080p compatible?

 

False. Component video can do 1080p. However, many TV's don't support 1080p from component video, and only accept it through HDMI.

 

As far as your 360, the game is upscaled before being sent out. If your TV doesn't support 1080p through component, the TV downscales it to 720p or 1080i.

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I didn't think it was exclusive to HDMI. Just for the hell of it, I played Tiger a few weeks ago in 1080i, then 1080p, and noticed a fair amount of improvement in stability when the camera was zoomed in on the backspin of the ball, etc.

 

Thanks for clearing that up. I don't think I offer enough thanks here, all things considered. As has been discussed here before, Wal*Mart's product training is pretty minimal, and it's nice to know I have a resource if there's anything I'm curious about, rather than having to tell a customer I don't know something; and it's also helped when I purchased a new tv myself.

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What kind of HDMI cable should i get from Monoprice for a HD DVR to a HDTV?

 

Which one would be the best for that setup?

 

Don't need anything spectacular. I don't notice a whole hell of a lot of improvement from my component to HDMI upgrade, other than a little stability on text on screen. I'd say the greater advantage is the neater connection of having one cable instead of five.

 

Hell, since PS3 and 360 now offer HDMI, try a MadCatz brand or other video game third party. Probably be the cheapest way to go, and there's really not much difference between different HDMI cables for my money.

 

 

You can get one for 6 bucks from Amazon.

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once again, I don't understand that logic.

 

Say you have a 4:3 32inch HDTV. You get to watch the SD programming (the vast majority of TV) at 32inchs and with HD programming in 16:9 you have the equivilant of a 29 inch HDTV.

 

On the other end, with a 32inch widescreen, You have the HD programing at 32 inches (losing a whopping 3 incheswhen compared to the 4:3 display) but get SD programming at 26 inches(losing 6 inches off you view size.

I honestly don't think that unless you are getting a widescreen of at least 42 inches, it makes more sense to, me at least, to stick with the 4:3 because you get more screen for your money.

 

Of course, I don't think many people are buying smaller widescreen TV's. But to say that having a 4:3 HDTV is a ripoff seems kinda false to me seeing as most of them would be in the 32-36 inch range.

 

I am planning on getting a 28" widescreen HDTV, and the size is more motivated by the size of my apartment(s) (I use plural because I'm probably moving to another one in the next few months, though it won't be much bigger) than anything else, and as I said, it just depends on what you use it for. I think your math may be a tad off, as I don't think I've ever lost THAT much off SD programming and you have to consider that many people don't mind a bit of stretching or zooming for standard definition on smaller screens, myself included.

 

 

Ew. Stretcho screen...I can't do it.

 

The math is right though. There is a screen calcuator on Cnet i think too that will do it for you.

 

If size is a issue, yeah, any flat screen would beat the 4:3, mostly because of the sheer weight and width of a CRT. I have a 32 inch 4:3 CRT HDTV and that thing is fucking huge. I also just won a 32 inch LCD flat, which is in the living room now, because I do watch alot of things in HD and I have no problem with a 26 in SD display, but my point was that to call a 4:3 screen a ripoff is wrong, because at this point, no mater what size of TV you get, mathmatically, you will always get more screen with the 4:3 than the widescreen.

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What's the difference between 1080i and 1080p?

i = interlaced

P = progressive

 

To elaborate on that, think of the picture on your screen at any given time as a painting. In a 1080i image, one thousand and eighty lines are painted vertically on the screen, first the odd numbered lines, then the even numbered lines. With 1080p, the picture is drawn with lines in sequential order, resulting in more stable picture.

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If I fucked it up, the answer is yes. I have said it inverse more than once.

 

Honestly, nearly everything I know about products in my department, I've learned from hands-on experience, here, howstuffworks.com, or Wikipedia.

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I always say that the "p" stands for placebo, because if you tell people its a 1080p TV, they swear the quality is SO much better than the 1080i. Even though what they are watching is being broadcast in 1080i. Just saying the "p" will make people say "See, the picture is so much smoother".

 

While the difference can be noticable(although most times its not at normal viewing distances), and it definately makes video game view smoother since alot of people sit closer with video games, the price difference between the two is not justifiable right now. Of course, this won't stop anyone from going for the 1080p, higher priced ones and making the prices of the 1080i ones keep dropping. Which is cool with me. I would like a 37 inch Philips LCD and I should be able to get one around 500 bucks soon.

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In general, things like sports/video games look better with a "p" due to the draw rate. Usually, you want to do with whatever your TV natively supports. Mine supports everything up to 1080i but it's native is 720p so I have my cable box/dvr, hddvd, 360 and PS3 set to output at 720p. That and I watch a lot of sports.

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I always say that the "p" stands for placebo, because if you tell people its a 1080p TV, they swear the quality is SO much better than the 1080i. Even though what they are watching is being broadcast in 1080i. Just saying the "p" will make people say "See, the picture is so much smoother".

 

Right on.

 

And CanadianGuitarist, you didn't fuck anything up. :headbang: Good on ya for teaching yourself.

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My mom just called and asked me if she should buy a TV she thought was a good deal. I asked her to tell me the specs on it.

 

32" LCD Polaroid

2 HDMI inputs

2 component inputs

1080i/720p

$449

 

 

So what the frick is up with the 1080i/720p? I had never heard of them together before. I had told her before she went shopping that 720p was what she was looking for. I told her to hold off and let me try to find something about it online.

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My mom just called and asked me if she should buy a TV she thought was a good deal. I asked her to tell me the specs on it.

 

32" LCD Polaroid

2 HDMI inputs

2 component inputs

1080i/720p

$449

 

 

So what the frick is up with the 1080i/720p? I had never heard of them together before. I had told her before she went shopping that 720p was what she was looking for. I told her to hold off and let me try to find something about it online.

 

 

I think 720p is the native resolution but can support 1080i.

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My mom just called and asked me if she should buy a TV she thought was a good deal. I asked her to tell me the specs on it.

 

32" LCD Polaroid

2 HDMI inputs

2 component inputs

1080i/720p

$449

 

 

So what the frick is up with the 1080i/720p? I had never heard of them together before. I had told her before she went shopping that 720p was what she was looking for. I told her to hold off and let me try to find something about it online.

 

 

I think 720p is the native resolution but can support 1080i.

 

I'd been meaning to ask that as well. I mean, there's obviously a difference, but they seemed tied together pretty often. Where's Marvin?

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They don't exist according to Marvin. But the TV can display both. Thats all it means. Just up to preference.

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I have never claimed to be smart about the TV resolutions, but it was always explained to me that interlaced showed half of the lines and then the the other half, while progressive showed all the lines in correct sequence. So wouldn't 1080i be like 540p? I always figured 720p would show 480p, 1080i, and 720p...everything except for 1080p. So why would they deem it necessary to say that it would be compatible with 1080i?

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A lot of TV's support all the resolutions aside from 1080p (480i/p,720p/1080i) but by support it means that if the signal that comes into the TV is different than the native resolution, it converts it one way or the other to the native resolution of the set. So if you have a 720p set (most flat panel tvs) and you try a 1080i signal, it gets downconverted to 720p and if you have a 1080i set (99% of crts & a couple plasmas) and try a 720p signal, it gets upconverted to 1080i.

 

 

 

 

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You are still going off of antiquated technology. That was true a while back, but for the most part, most are able to display multiple display resolutions. Most CRT's would be able to do the same now also but most companies stopped making CRT's which is why there are only a few companies or sets that are able to display 720p. LCDs and plasmas have been able to display both for a while now.

 

As for the 720p vs 1080i debate. First, 1080i is not 540p. I hate that logic that people came up with. Interlace does not show the complete picture in one frame true, but ever single frame that it is displaying has video information on every pixel. It is a higher resolution than 720p. 720p is just smoother, slightly less resolution. Its all up to preference, although most wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

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Okay, if 720p is a lower resolution than 1080i, why does my 1080i big screen not play anything in 720p from my HD-DVR box from DirecTV? I had set it to where every show or channel would play in the resolution it was shown in, and all 720p programs are black screens with sound only. If you try to set ANY program to be shown in 720p, same thing. By this logic, would 720p not be a higher resolution than 1080i? You said you hate logic like that, but my experiences have lead me to this logic.

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Because your TV doesn't support 720p. Same way there are TVs that support 720p and don't support 1080i.

 

But Simply put, 1080i is 1080 lines of resolution at 60 frames per second with every two frames being needed to form a complete image. But since television broadcast at 30 frames per second, you are never getting the 60 frames, only the combination of the two frames.

 

720p is 720 lines of resolution at 30 frames per second with each frame being a complete image.

 

But in a interlaced frame, there is no missing data on any of the frames.

 

Interlace.jpg

 

There is info on every line of resoultion, it just doesn't create a clean image. But there are still 1080 lines of resolution there.

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You are still going off of antiquated technology. That was true a while back, but for the most part, most are able to display multiple display resolutions. Most CRT's would be able to do the same now also but most companies stopped making CRT's which is why there are only a few companies or sets that are able to display 720p. LCDs and plasmas have been able to display both for a while now.

 

ITS 100% IMPOSSIBLE FOR A FIXED PIXEL DISPLAY (LCD/PLASMA/DLP) TO DISPLAY ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE SETS NATIVE RESOLUTION IN ITS ORIGINAL RESOLUTION.

 

For example, a 720p set has 1280x720 pixels which are fixed and cannot expand to actually show 1080i which is 1920 x 1080 pixels, and vice versa for a 1080i set.

 

A non-CRT set can support multiple resolutions, but again for the upteenth millionth time, support = convert for everything other than the native resolution of the set.

 

hopefully we have graduated past one of the easiest principles of HD display technology...and if you dont friggin believe me then

here!

 

Fixed-pixel displays follow a few basic rules:

  • No matter the resolution of the source material, whether VHS, DVD, or HDTV, a fixed-pixel display will always convert, or scale, it to fit its native resolution.
  • If the incoming source has more pixels than the display's native resolution, you will lose some visible detail and sharpness, though often what you're left with still looks great.
  • If the incoming source has fewer pixels than the native resolution, you're not getting any extra sharpness from the television's pixels.

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Ive never heard of Eyefi before, but theres a 13 page thread over at AVS on the exact model you might want to check out.

 

Its sold out online so Id say it might be hard to get now considering its a one day (thursday) deal.

 

Well I already have an HD-TV I am happy with...I was mostly posting this for other people to take a look at.....read the thread and I would say it is a good buy.

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Here's a question. For a 720p HDTV (lcd)... is it worth getting an upconverting DVD player? or is the difference between "normal" DVD and up-converted to 720p DVD not that striking?

 

Yes. If you've seen the jump from digital television to HDTV, it's tantamount to the difference between standard and upconverted DVD.

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Here's a question. For a 720p HDTV (lcd)... is it worth getting an upconverting DVD player? or is the difference between "normal" DVD and up-converted to 720p DVD not that striking?

 

Yes. If you've seen the jump from digital television to HDTV, it's tantamount to the difference between standard and upconverted DVD.

 

really? The thing is, standard DVDs look far better than SD digital TV on my HDTV

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I've noticed that with my LCD as well. The cable guy said it had to do with the response time of the television.

 

Even so, every DVD I've seen upconverted has looked absolutely beautiful, to the point I would have thought it was an HD DVD or legitimate HD broadcast.

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