Hi very new to hdtv and have quick question just bought an hdtv (lcd 46 inch) and use a scart plug to connect tv to digital cable box picture quality is very good but was wondering if i used an hdmi cable if the quality of the picture would increase or does it only benifit hd channels using this type of cable.
I know lcd tv's can have pixelation problems noticed this when watching football as players in background had sometimes quite noticeable pixelation around the edges ,as i've only had the tv a couple of days and asuming the hdmi cable doesn't correct this are there any ways to reduce the problem
cheers for any help
Maz
Sorry but, buying an HDMI cable will not fix this. What you are seeing is called ghosting or motion blur. This will occur more often if your LCD has a slow response time. Response time is the speed at which the pixels on your LCD change from one color to another. You usually want to buy an LCD that has a response time of 8ms or better if your going to be watching lots of sports or playing video games, due to the fast pace of the video.
Picture better with HDMI, well that depends. Some HDMI cables are made only to handle a 720p signal at 8-bit color so, if your video source is 1080p and your using a cable that can only handle a 720p signal at 8-bit color, your definitely not getting full picture quality. You would want to be using a cable that can carry a video signal of 1080p at 12-bits of color or higher.
Originally posted by Mazelda: If you buy an hdmi cable does it have on it somewhere if it is 1080p 12bit
Any cable that has a version of 1.1 (get 1.2 to be safe) and above should be able to produce a 1080p image fine. The cables that have a version of 1.3 are capable of carrying more bandwidth then previous versions.
Single-link bandwidth on 1.2 cable is around 5Gbps
Single-link bandwidth on a 1.3 cable is around 10.2Gbps
Any cable that has a version of 1.3a should be able to produce 10-bit, 12-bit, and 16-bit color depths.
Originally posted by Mazelda: are there any makes that are better than others
No, all HDMI cables are the same (rating system distinguishes difference, ie 1.0-1.3). Make sure you look for one that is certified to ensure the best quality. All the cables go through the same testing to get certified. Check out Monoprice on the web, they offer great prices on certified HDMI cables. One more thing, never buy Monster! ;)
What exactly does 1.3 offer that the other versions didn't?
Higher Resolution:
Quote:HDMI 1.3 can provide over 450% the resolution of 720pHDTV, and over 225% of 1080p HDTV for greater detail and larger display sizes.
Higher Refresh Rates:
Quote:We are increasingly seeing a demand for display panels with a 90Hz refresh rate. We expect this trend to continue, as faster refresh rates create smoother motion and less blurring in motion sequences. This will have an especially significant impact on the gaming market, where we will see not only improved motion sequences, but also faster response times. HDMI 1.3 does not specify an upper limit to frame rates and it is expected that rates as high as 120Hz will be found.
Deep Color:
Quote:HDMI 1.3 supports 30-bit, 36-bit and 48-bit (RGB or YCbCr 4:4:4) color depths, up from the 24-bit depths in previous versions of the HDMI specification.
-This will enable HDTVs and other displays to go from millions of colors to billions of colors.
-Eliminates on-screen color banding, for smooth tonal transitions and subtle gradations between colors.
-Enables increased contrast ratio.
-Deep Color displays can represent many times more shades of gray between black and white. At 30-bit pixel depth, a four times improvement would be the minimum, and the typical improvement would be eight times or more.
Many thanks for the info
Think will try getting a 1.3 cable from somewhere
When you say certified do you mean the little kite symbol or would it have certified written on it
checked my tv's response time and its 8ms have also been playing with settings and got it looking pretty good now just seems on crap signal if team playing abroad watched football yesterday and pixelation not as bad
