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General discussion

What is the pixel count of a 1080p HD resolution?

Jun 19, 2005 9:56PM PDT

I am looking at video scalers that will output at 1080p. I welcome all feedback. Why don't more people convert the video signal before the monitor and watch everything at 1080p?

Discussion is locked

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about 2.073megapixel.
Jun 20, 2005 1:38AM PDT

1920 X 1080

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Video Scalers (aka Upconverters)
Jun 20, 2005 1:54AM PDT

First of all, do you have a true 1080p TV? If you have a 720p TV, make sure your scaler is set for 720p output. If you have a 1080p set, set the upconverter to 1080i if the upconverter does not have a 1080p setting.

As an example, I just bought a Samsung 941 upconverting DVD player for a soon (I hope) to arrive Samsung hl-r5688w rear projection 1080p TV. At the present time the TV's HDMI port will only accept up to 1080i input and will easily convert that signal to 1080p. The DVD player's maximum output is 1080i.

I guess the reason more people don't use upconverters is because they are happy with the conversion their HDTV makes from a 480i or 480p signal, or the price of the upconverter is prohibitive. The DVD upconverters are priced around $150 - $200; however, they don't convert off the air, satellite or cable signals. For that you would have to have a fairly expensive Video Scaler.

When my TV arrives, I plan to use the Cable Card for the cable programming and see how well the TV upconverts the standard defintion 480i signal to 1080p. I'll be happy to let you know how I make out if the TV ever arrives.

Good luck.

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The unit I'mconsidering will do 1080p - Hatachi 50V500
Jun 20, 2005 8:32AM PDT

Although it will/may require almost complete re-convergence of the picture,(great story to follow). The price was the closer!!

In the showroom the picture looked sooo shabby the unit actually drew my attention, all settings were off at least slightly, some were off the chart.

Thanks for your willingness to share info!!!

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Shabby Picture in Store
Jun 20, 2005 9:42AM PDT

I too have seen shabby pictures in one showroom but not another. One possibility is the use of multiple signal splitters reducing the quality of the 480i signal.

Try to get a look at the picture at a different showroom. Many writers in this forum noted that TVs that looked awful in the showroom actually had excellent pictures at home.

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Warning - Hitachi 50V500 is not a 1080p TV
Jun 20, 2005 9:49AM PDT

In fact, it is a 2003 model.

CNET says: "The three LCD chips that create the 50V500's image each have a native resolution of 1,280x720 pixels. That's a perfect match for 720p HDTV sources and qualifies this set as an HDTV-capable display. By the way, Hitachi's "Virtual 1080p" video-processor terminology is a bit misleading, since all incoming sources--from standard TV to DVD to 1080i HDTV--must be scaled to fit the available pixels (which amount to 720p, not 1080p)."

http://reviews.cnet.com/Hitachi_50V500/4505-6484_7-30825252-4.html?tag=top

You certainly don't want to upconvert and then down convert. Hope this helps.

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Absolutely Right, Up then down conversion would be a waste!
Jun 20, 2005 9:23PM PDT

Thanks for the Review link!

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Sorry it's 720P
Jun 30, 2005 3:33PM PDT

This TV is only capable of 1280x 768, thus the max it will do is 720P . To actually do 1080, both sides MUST be over 1080, this is why a true 1080 is 1080x 1920. The salesman lied to you.

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What is the pixel count of a 1080p HD resolution?
Jun 20, 2005 2:43AM PDT

A Good scan converter, aka. video scalers will cost $1000 and up. They just convert they do NOT add picture detail.
They can add a processing delay which will cause a lip sync problem.
The other post with DVD plater that up converts might be good idea, ask him in a week how he likes the unit. John

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processing delay was mentioned in lit and reviews
Jun 20, 2005 8:26AM PDT

Good point on the processing delay! everything that seemed worthwhile was at about $1000US. Another great point about the "not adding detail just converting the signal".

Thanks very much for your willingness to share info!!!