Recent Comments:
Kondo bot battles rage in Japan, vision of humanity's imminent destruction crystallize {Engadget}
May 11th 2009 7:14AM Just wait till Apple gets a hold of of one of these and sells it on contracts with overpriced proprietary downloadable moves from Robostore and a shit camera! I want one in the shape of Steve Jobs wearing a Skivvy with a bitten Apple for a head.
Video: Steampunk Segway ditches electric motor for the sake of authenticity {Engadget}
Apr 20th 2009 1:05AM Speaking as a hard criminal, in these tough economic times with high fuel prices, I'm seeing this as the future transportation choice for my bikie gang. It's bad ass road presence makes my Harley look like a tricycle. Or perhaps I'll consider consider it as the ultimate getaway vehicle after my afternoon bank robberies. Its just got "get the fuck out my way" written all over it.
3-in-1 cigarette lighter / air purifier / perfume dispenser won't make your cigarettes any safer, your car any less rank {Engadget}
Apr 9th 2009 7:16AM Sounds great, but does it multitask and have cut and paste?
Overcompressed bitstarved HDTV frustrates World Cup fans {Engadget HD}
Jun 13th 2006 12:31PM Try living in Australia where thanks to our crappy simulcast system (SD and HD sharing the same 21mbps bandwidth) we are limited to a maximum of 14mbps, with most networks using 11mbps. Yep 11mbps 1080i. Compression artefact city. And they have the cheek to call it HD.
Pioneer releases "1080p-compatible" 720p plasmas {Engadget HD}
Jun 9th 2006 7:53PM In response to Rymix’s suggestions of ..
“I think we need some sort of universal scale or star rating system for picture input and output capabilities. Imagine something along the lines of:
Two columns; one for input signal and one for output. From top to bottom are the ratings: 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 720i, 480p. And somewhere beside this graph is the TV's native resolution, for absolute clarity.”
That is one of the best ideas I have heard in ages. Start writing to manufacturers, AV journalists and other industry experts! I’m serious. I think something like this is desperately needed and could really catch on.
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In response to Galley’s comment of …
“Drops means "stops selling" not "announces". This isn't the hip-hop world where albums "drop" onto the market.”
Exactly. Thought the same thing myself. Drop means “to discard”.
Pioneer releases "1080p-compatible" 720p plasmas {Engadget HD}
Jun 9th 2006 12:57AM That's true Dave. I agree that although 1080p input is a worthwhile addition, it can certainly translate into misleading marketing and further customer confusion.
Regarding people using SD inputs on their HD displays, I see it all the time. Here in Australia it's even worse, as we have separate SD and HD Digital TV systems (simulcast at the same time). You'd be amazed how many people buy shiny new HD displays and pair it up with a SD STB via S-Video (or worse, composite) and think they are watching HDTV. Hell, half the people I have talked to think DVDs are HD! We certainly have a long way to go with regular consumers and the HD transition...
Pioneer releases "1080p-compatible" 720p plasmas {Engadget HD}
Jun 8th 2006 10:09PM While I agree that it's a far cry short of a true 1080p display, 1080/24p input/processing does offer a couple of major benefits on ANY HD display:
1. No de-interlacing required. Therefore no chance of inferior bob de-interlacing or incorrect weaving (causing loss of resolution, combing or interpolation artefacts). You simply get a neat progressive down-scale from 1080p to 768p.
2. No 3:2 judder! This is a huge benefit allowing faithful 3:3 pull-down for HD 1080p material resulting in clean judder free movement at 72hz.
3. The lack of any intensive processing/de-interlacing should theoretically result in a sharper cleaner picture.
Sure its doesn’t compare to a true 1080p display, but 1080p input is still a very worthwhile addition to any quality 720p/768p HD display.
Plasmas being installed in bus drivers lunch rooms - Australia {Engadget HD}
Jun 5th 2006 10:32PM While they may be rolling out big screens for the World Cup here in Australia, its worth noting that the World Cup itself will NOT be broadcast in HD. Unfortunately the Australian broadcaster of the World Cup is SBS (one of two federally funded national TV networks) who do not broadcast in HD at this time (they only have an up-converted 576p channel). This means the World Cup will be in 16x9 720x576i@50hz only for Australian viewers.
We will however be getting cool interactive digital features that supplement the main feature. Still no where near as cool as HD though :(
Big things coming from Pioneer tomorrow {Engadget HD}
Apr 20th 2006 4:46PM "maybe it has something to do with SED's!"
Unlikely given Canon and Toshiba are the sole developers and owners of that technology at this stage (however it may be licensed out and produced by other manufacturers later down the track)
The (in)famous 1080p truth {Engadget HD}
Apr 20th 2006 4:42PM Excellent post Richard.
As you pointed out I think the biggest misconception with 1080p is that a lot of people assume that its only of benefit with a 1080p signal, and then follow through with the conclusion that if there arent any 1080p broadcasts why should I bother?. The reality is there are a LOT of benefits a 1080p screen can deliver, but many of them are only relevant if the set supports 1080p input (which many dont yet). Thankfully it seems that most 2nd generation 1080p screens should be equipped to support 1080/60p input (and the better ones will accept 1080/24p 48p 50p and 72p as well).
As far as getting the full benefit of 1080p goes there are many things to take into account, such as seating distance and the quality of the scaling/de-interlacing to the native 1080p resolution of the screen (if using anything less than 1080p input which people obviously will be).
If a 1080p screen DOES support 1080p input then the following are the major benefits of a 1080p display:
1. Much better detail from 1080i and 1080p sources (providing you sit close enough to see it).
2. The ability to accept a native 1080p signal 1:1 mapped (from Blu-Ray/2nd gen HD-DVD players/Playstation3/external scalers or a PC). Result: Zero de-interlacing/scaling artifacts (no uneven interpolation artifacts, no aliasing, better defined edges, and a sharper picture with better detail). Put simply 1080p input means there is no margin for error as there sometimes can be with the scaling and de-interlacing of 1080i sources.
3. 1080p input will often (but not always) mean support for the original native 24p frame rate of film sources, and if so it can apply 2:2 or 3:3 pull-down for display at 48hz or 72hz. Result: No 60hz 3:2 judder (or 4% speedup for people in 50hz countries). In other words a 100% faithful spatial and temporal reproduction of the original 1080/24p film source.
4. Compatibility with a 1080/60p signal from a PC, providing a sharper picture, less screen door effect, far better detail and lots more screen real estate.
5. Support for 1080p input from an external scaler (1:1 mapped) for high quality motion adaptive de-interlacing and scaling of all other lower quality sources. This is admittedly a niche enthusiast area, but given the sub-standard de-interlacing/scaling present on the majority of 1080p displays in the US at the moment, this can be a very advantage down the track for those wanting to get the best possible image quality out of their display. Keep in mind if a 1080p set doesnt support 1080p input, then youre limited to the de-interlacing/scaling capabilities of the display (when dealing with a 1080i signal) for its entire lifetime.
6. Many 1080p displays currently use bob de-interlacing for all 1080i input, meaning you are only getting up-scaled 540p at all times, with the addition of aliasing (jagged edges), shimmer, line twitter and moir?rom bob interpolation. 1080p input gives you full 1080 line resolution with no interlacing/interpolation artifacts. However any good 1080p display should definitely also feature weave de-interlacing (for film sources) and in the best case scenario would feature motion adaptive 1080i de-interlacing (for native interlaced 1080i video sources such as sport). Good 1080i de-interlacing is rare on current 1080p displays, but the situation is improving.
7. Compatibility with any future native 1080/60p devices such as Playstation 3.
8. Put simply 1080p input means your display will fully resolve all recognised HD formats on the planet at maximum resolution and detail!
Its worth noting that most of the above is currently niche HD enthusiast stuff, and wouldnt be noticed by many regular consumers. Its also generally accepted that you have to sit very close to a 1080p screen less than 60 to perceive the full level of detail difference over a good 720p/768p screen.
It would seem the HDBeat guys agree that the most importance thing with a 1080p screen is to make sure it has proper weave de-interlacing of 1080i sources (or motion adaptive de-interlacing!), and that it accepts 1080p input. Not to mention people should look for all the typical important image quality factors such as black level, colour rendition and response time. People often get caught up on raw resolution, and its important to remember that a 768p display with good processing and black level will often look better than 1080p panel with poor black level and processing. Resolution isnt everything!
My 2 cents :)
