Status of Plasma and LCD displays

Prob is, these displays are very source / material dependent–MPEG encoding artifacts from the digital broadcast or DVD are more easily revealed than on a slower, less resolving set (I use an old rear-projection CRT Toshiba F40W80 with component interlaced inputs at home).

Does this mean that it is a source and not a display problem?

Will an n-Vi or DVD5 not exhibit these problems?

Will it be possible to route a digital TV signal through the planned Naim Scaler and get a good picture?

Hans

hans, i have my n-v1 running via component into my panasonic pw6b and i dont get any of the problems you have stated, i also had no problems when i had an arcam dv89 dvd player, what dvd player was he using, i also dont get any problems with signal from my cable box in either sd or hd which is fed component into vga, hope this helps

John,

He was only using a cheap dvd player that he got 'free' with the plasma screen.

Your answer indicates that the problems are due to the source rather than the scren. Good news.

It is funny though that when I go into an electronic store (similar to Dixons) the dvd sourced flat screens often look good but TV signals seldom do.

Hans

Hans,
I guarantee that IF you get to see a flat screen that is set up correctly using the correct gear then it will leave you wondering why you asked these questions here. Do not think that a quick trip to your local high street retailer would give you this option! A lot of high street retailers are currently pulling 'a bit of a fast one' by displaying Hi Def screens with a true Hi Def input from a HiDef player usually hidden away somewhere near. Only problem is you cant buy one of these yet (the player that is-as far as I know - and playable material is a bit thin on the ground at the moment. Then do you go blue ray or HD-DVD?)
I would guess that very few are actually correcty set up and have a first class signal feeding them. Flat screens are very revealing of what & how they are fed.
CRT is still superior, but have you seen how big a 32" actually is compared to a 50" panel?

I went through this exercise a year ago when my Phillips 32" CRT went bang (literally) for the 2nd time. I was shocked by the poor quality of the majority of low cost plasma screens. I finally managed to get the sales rep to admit the fact that CRT was till superior. I went for a very expensive (at the time) 32" Sony LCD, not sure of the model, but it stood out in the shop head and shoulders above all other models.
My only minor regret was that my old CRT TV didn't last another 6 months as the cost of LCD's has plummeted.

Hans

The first thing you must realise when comparing CRT to digital displays is the processing required of the video signal. Your SNOY Triniton takes the 576 line interlaced signal and scans the tube accordingly.

A digital display is made up of lines of pixels, there for to " illuminate ) these pixels the signal must first be de-interlaced to 576 lines progressively scanned. It then must be rescaled to fit the native resolution of the display ( 1368 x 768, 1280 x 720 etc ).

These steps obviously introduce artifacts of varying degrees depending on the performance of the video processors built into the sets. Generally the consumer product manufacturers are not known for spending money on quality processers since they are in a high street price war more often than not.

In addition, you have the inherent technology shortfall of the digital display technology, LCD has re-fresh issues ( as seen with moving images ), poor black levels, poor colour accuracy etc. Plasma has other issues but is generally more mature than LCD for video displaying.

So yes, CRT is still superior in delivering a better more real picture but is limited in brightness, it´s big and heavy. There are better digital displays than other and it is model dependent ( and price ). A good DVD player will make a difference if calibrated to the display properly, but not hugely. You will need more than a good line doubler, a good scaler.

These display devices have native resolutions born from the PC graphics world and really can only deliver decent pictures when given a high resolution signal to display, that is High Def TV ( 1080i or 720p )or HD-DVD ( up to 1080p )

Hope this has not been confusing

Gordon

Steve.
When you say the new screens need to be setup,is this something that can easily be done, and where can the information be found to do this?
I,ve recently bought a Loewe lcd and would welcome any advice on this
Thanks
Kenn

Thanks for all the input. The conclusion seems to be that unless I have a good scaler TV pictures will look worse on a flatscreen, while dvd will look better if I have a very good dvd player.

The reason to go for a flat screen is more to avoid the bulk of CRT than picture quality. I had hoped that the technologies had progressed further at this stage.

Hans

Ken,
I have to admit that I do not know all the 'ins & outs of plasma & lcd setup.
I have seen it done several times now by people who realy know their stuff. There are correct tools for doing the job - i've even seen specs in use with correct colour filters etc (the DVD5 comes with a blue filter) to correct colour balance. There are also setup discs available that are played on the dvd player to help in the process. One of the main things that usually happens is the contrast is lowered from the maximum setting that the panel seems to arrive with!
The difference can be somewhat startling between a well set up screen and one that is just left as is.