Whats the difference between HD and HD READY??

[lorac2]

I want to buy a LED TV but don't understand the difference btween HD and HD READY??
Neither do I understand the resolution - is it best HIGHER or LOWER??

[MarkRae]

http://www.google.co....q=hd+ready+vs+full+hd

[sara3]

HD ready means it'll show the High Definition stations if you attach an HD receiver.

full HD is inbuilt, so you can automatically get the HD channels..

.. but only if HD has come to your area, in either case!

[Buenchico]

An 'HD ready' TV can display HD pictures but it doesn't have a suitable TV tuner (capable of receiving HD signals) built into it. To view pictures in HD you need to use a secondary device, such as a BluRay disc player, a 'Freeview HD' set-top box, a 'FreeSat HD' set-top box or a 'Sky HD' box.

Some TV sets which are described simply as 'HD' might actually be only 'HD ready'. (Some manufacturers don't make their labelling clear). If you want a (true) HD TV which can (without an external box) receive terrestrial TV in HD, you need to look for the 'Freeview HD' label on the packaging or product description, rather than simply 'Freeview'.

Similarly,if you want a TV which can receive satellite TV in HD, without an external box, you need to look for the 'Freesat HD' label, rather than simply 'freesat'.

Higher resolutions are better but you should also look at the screen refresh frequency. For example, if you're watching a football match, there will be much less 'motion blur' (as the camera pans from side to side) with a 600Hz set than a 50Hz one.

Chris

[VHG]

>>>with a 600Hz set than a 50Hz one.

I think you meant to say:

>>with a 100Hz set than a 50Hz one.

[ABerrant]

Sony Bravia offers 600Hz

[ABerrant]

...oops!

Sony "only" offer 200Hz TVs and like to undermine 600Hz of LG and Panasonic.

http://www.sony.co.uk...and-200hz-tv-compared

[Mobius1]

MarkRae has posted the accurate answer the this question.

HD Ready and Full HD have nothing to do with whether a decoder for over the air HD is built into the device. The difference is in the display resolution capability of the screen.

HD Ready can accept HD signal and display usually up to a resolution of 1080i, but at least a resolution of 720p. A Full HD display can accept and display a signal of resolution of "Full HD" which is 1080p.

The number represents the quantity of horizontal lines that make up the picture whereas the letter represents if the picture is interlaces or progressively scanned. A Blu Ray disc for instance will be encoded in 1080p, and so to see the full detail of the picture, a Full HD set is requires, but the image will still technically be HD on a HD Ready set.

[Mattk]

Another number to keep an eye on is the contrast ratio. For this, the higher the number the better as it is the number of steps between the whitest white and blackest black.

[ABerrant]

Of course there is also 'HD Ready 1080p' which encompasses the above description of "Full HD".

For the really accurate answer why not go to the originators of the European licensing scheme for 'HD TV', 'HD Ready', etc. logos...

http://www.digitaleurope.org/index.php?id=731

[ChuckFickens]

">>>with a 600Hz set than a 50Hz one.

I think you meant to say:

>>with a 100Hz set than a 50Hz one."

No, I think he meant to say 600Hz, my TV, as are several others, is a 600Hz tv..

Anyhow..

There are two definitions of full HD and HD ready that are generally used (correctly or incorrectly, there is and often even shop sales people don't get it right) and because of the confussion and becasue you can't rely on even the people selling you the TV to get it right I'd suggest totally ignoring the marketing terms of full HD and HD ready and looking at the actual specs of the TV and making your own mind up.

The things to worry about are..

The resolution, from worst to best they are

720p
1080I
1080p

Generally it is best to get a TV with the ability to show 1080p pictures even though you may not use it yet (as far as a know no TV broadcasts are in 1080p so you'll only use 1080p if you get a blu ray player or another device like a a games console that supports 1080p)

Then you have different receivers built into the TV.

Some TVs will have only a freeVIEW receiver built in that will receive the free TV channels from a normal TV aerial on your roof, if the TV has a freeVIEW receiver built in the you should look out for if it's a freeVIEW receiver or a freeVIEW HD receiver, a normal freeview receiver will not get you any channels in HD whereas a freeview HD receiver will be able to pick up and display the channels broadcast in HD.

Other TVs will also have a freeSAT receiver built in, this picks up free TV channels from a dish the same as the dishes used for sky TV and once again you can get freeSAT receivers that will only pick up normal TV channels and freeSAT HD receivers that can also pick up the HD channels.

You will also see TVs advertised as having anything from 50hz to

[ChuckFickens]

Hate it when that happens!


You will also see TVs advertised as having anything from 50hz to 600hz, which in theory is how well they will deal with a fast moving image, in practice it's not so clear cut though, a decent top end 100hz TV with a very good image processing engine in it may well display moving pictures a lot better than a low end 600hz TV with no image processing engine in it.

I'd seriously suggest you get your self a copy of which TV magazine and read the reviews they offer on any TV you're considering buying, an independent review will give you a lot clearer idea of how well the TV performs than any stickers on the box or even anything the sales staff in the shop will tell you (as most of them don't know what they are talking about and are just trying to sell you a TV, they don't care how good it is as long as they make a sale)

Finally, don't get caught out by people telling you that you need to buy expensive £50+ HDMI leads to connect the TV up with, a £50+ HDMI lead will not give you any better results than a £5 HDMI lead and anyone that tells you otherwise is talking out their proverbial!