HD Ready/Compatible.

[wormatron]

I recently heard a radio interview with someone from Toshiba talking about there being a difference between a HD Ready television and a HD compatible teevision. If this is fact the case, what is the difference in terms of picture quality etc
Your help would be muh appreciated

[Ethel]

It's a minefield.

HD Ready is a recognised standard - but even then there are variations -
280x720 @ 50 and 60Hz progressive (720p), and
1920x1080 @ 50 and 60Hz interlaced (1080i)

Obviously 1080i is superior to 720i, and that is reflected in the price. However, several independent tests have shown that the majority of users in their home will not be able to tell the difference between the two.

HD compatible is a very grey area used by manufacturers and retailers to confuse. The resolution is no where near good enough to show true hd, but you will see a picture. As any tv will display the tv picture through a hd box, whether it is deemed hd compatible or not.
However, it should be 'better' than a non-hd compatible (or comparable) tv.

Unless you need to buy a tv today because you don't have one at all - I strongly suggest you wait at least 6 months before buying any HD tv. The prices are constantly falling and the 'market' is settling down, to bring out properly recognised standards.

[rojash]

There is no 720i in the normal range of HTDV formats. There are 720p, 1080i and 1080p. The i stands for interlaced and means that the picture is composed of alternating half frames rather than full frames (i.e. for one scan only the even numbered rows are refreshed and in the next, only the odd numbers). This reduces the required bandwidth at the expense of reduced quality.

[jezmatron]

Well spotted rojash.. still.. a very good answer.

[Llamatron]

I keep reading that 1080i and 1080p are pointless unless you have a 50 inch plus TV.
Apparently you just can't tell the difference between 720 and 1080 on 42inch screens.
I've not seen 1080 on a 42inch screen so I couldn't comment either way.

[The Mack]

in addition to the 720i mistake if it was meant to say 720p then that would also be wrong as half of 1080i is 540p

im pretty sure i can tell the difference on a 21" monitor but you sit closer to the screen
my mate has just bought a 1080p 42" hmmm normal sky looks a bit crap
gonna link up the pc with some high def content see if there is a difference