So I have been in the market for a flat-panel 1080p, and was originally looking at the 42HL167 from Toshiba. However, upon reading the specs, the only way to get true 1080p resolution on this set is through the HDMI. I have an HD DVD player, the Xbox 360 add-on, which does not have an HDMI port. Anyway, I was curious if anyone else had come across this issue or knew why manufactures wouldn't allow 1080p through inputs such as VGA or perhaps component?
1080p only going through HDMI is a copyright thing. There's hope for the future though. http://www.neowin.net/index.php?act=view&sub=c_reply&id=35162&cid=490153
Perhaps a year ago all that can be done is 1080p via HDMI, but 1080p has progress quite a long way in the past year. I know for a fact that I can do 1920x1080p via VGA now. The xBox 260 will also allow the component to transmit via games at 1080p, just not DVD's.
More to the point of my post, The 1080p is available in these other forms, I just don't know why some companies have not made using these forms possible on their sets. If the consumer is going to pay top dollar for 1080p, why set the maximum VGA resolution at 720p?
But don't most HD DVD players and Blu-Ray players send at least 720p via component? Furthermore, why should the consumer market care if the movie industry does indeed frown on anything other than HDMI? If I can buy a Samsung or a Toshiba LCD, and the Samsung has more flexibility, why would anyone buy the Toshiba?
No, HD-DVD doesn't send an HD signal through components. There have been a very few players that would send HD through components, they didn't last long. There have been hackable players to get HD through components. It's all about copyright laws. Analog connections are unprotected, HDMI isn't. If companies make players that don't comply to copy protection standards they open themselves up to lawsuits.
So the Samsung has more flexibility therefore it sucks? Thanks for your professional opinion...I'm just saying that I enjoy the added functionality of a set that can handle 1080p on more than HDMI, and if some will and some won't because they're afraid of lawsuits, so be it, I'll buy accordingly
Either way, all HDTVs upconvert to their native resolution. So what's the big deal? If you want to buy Samsuck over that, go ahead, you're the one that will be sorry in the end. Everything Samsuck makes has problems.
Hmm. I have been looking at Samsungs display trechnology for years and talking about their offerings with their developers and engineers as well. I don't care for their plasmas myself, which had significant qualitative issues in the past ( and were set up with a green push).
But their LCDs have come a long way on many fronts and I would consider them as an option for an LCD flat screen display.
"Either way, all HDTVs upconvert to their native resolution."
I don't care that a tv will upconvert, it's still creating something that's not there... You're basically saying that 480i should look the same as 1080p once the tv converts the image... 1080p is a big deal compared to a 1080i image when I'm watching high-motion videos.
Hey Marc, I agree that I'm not a big fan of Samsung Plasmas. There are a lot more reliable and better quality sets out there. Thanks for the input.
But alright you guys, I didn't mean to make this into a "Do you like Samsung Products post." I was just curious as to the 1080p available inputs on different sets. I guess that some companies have copyright issues with anything other than HDMI, and some do not. I would hope that in the future all sources able to send in 1080p would also have inputs to accept 1080p.
Sharp LCDs, at least several of their models, are not fully calibratable for ISF standards. Thats a problem.
In any case, 1080P cant be passed over component becuase that would make it able to be copied and the movie companies want to protect their Hi Def Content.
Of course James is correct that an upconverted signal is in no way the same qualitatively as a native 1080P signal, from, say, and HD-DVD player for example.