Plasma, LCD and DLP TV's

Foggy43

Am I mistaken in beleiving that picture quality received on Plasma, LCD and DLP TV's will be poor? This is when reception quality is very good.

I'm sure I read this some where

I'm not sure on the cost of these TV's in Ireland but here in the UK a 26 inch LCD is anything from £600 to £999 depending on the brand name :eek:

mathie

Yeah a good question.

I guess the TV can only be as good as the quality its receiving. Some TVs are HDTV ready.

Anyone any idea if this is better than Digital TV (like Sky)?

M

Ulsterman 1690

Plasma screens are not as good as LCD's (but Plasmas are used for larger screen sizes because at the moment there are limits to how big one can make an LCD)

As to whether LCD or CRT (conventional picture tube technology) is better is pretty much a matter of opinon each type has its technical pro's and con's and which are the more important is a matter of individual taste

The technology is still evolving though and LCD's keep getting better, bigger and cheaper so Personally I reckon its only a matter of time before they take over from both Plasma and CRT unless of course something new emerges that turns out to be better than LCD

Mossy Monk

mathie wrote:

Some TVs are HDTV ready.

Anyone any idea if this is better than Digital TV (like Sky)?

far superior
Sky will be launching some HD channels next year

Foggy43

OK
I suppose HDTV is High Definition TV!

I was looking at these TV's yesterday and had to laugh a bit. You won't be able to stick those TV's in the corner of a room. I am prepared to wait until the prices come down. May need an extension to the living room.

I can't help but notice here in London there is a hell of a lot of Quad X UHF Aerials going up. More so than Sky dishes. Maybe this Digital TV is taking off.

I put a Digital TV Card in my PC and was amazed that the picture quality is way, way better than on my analouge TV (Same Aerial). I am restricted to Free channels is the only draw back. Still contracted to Sky at present.

DAB radio is brilliant. Way better quality sound than FM even with an external FM aerial! I think you in Ireland are really missing out here. People still haven't clicked as to how I know the track and band that are on air

lawhec

Molly Dawson wrote:

I can't help but notice here in London there is a hell of a lot of Quad X UHF Aerials going up. More so than Sky dishes. Maybe this Digital TV is taking off.

I put a Digital TV Card in my PC and was amazed that the picture quality is way, way better than on my analouge TV (Same Aerial). I am restricted to Free channels is the only draw back. Still contracted to Sky at present.

DAB radio is brilliant. Way better quality sound than FM even with an external FM aerial! I think you in Ireland are really missing out here. People still haven't clicked as to how I know the track and band that are on air

(Inital warning: This post is off topic!)

Would be inclined to disagree on the comments of Digital television and DAB.

For the majority of people a digital TV picture (or DTT) will be better than their scratchy terrestial analogue picture but if someone has an analogue picture that is free of ghosting and snow and any other forms of impairment then the analogue picture will win hands down. This is because the digital TV picture is prone to artifacts or "blocking" especially in scenes that are fast moving and/or contain a lot of detail. Also some channels including ITV2, E4 etc. are using resolutions (544x576) that are less that the standard (704 or 720x576), making a picture lose some sharpness. Finally the Nicam sound of analogue TV is superior to the MPEG audio though to be fair you'd have to be an audiophile who could hear a fly fart to notice the difference.

DAB better than FM, even with an external aerial? :eek: Not a hope. Here at home I've a DAB radio which receives two multiplexes, the BBC National and Score NI. The only DAB station that could only be reasonably compared to its FM eqivalent in terms of sound quality is BBC Radio 3. With the BBC stations comparing them to FM is no contest, on DAB much of the high frequency sounds are abruptly cut e.g. the cymbals of a song being played on BBC Radio 1. The stations on Score NI are even worse, often sounding like a badly encoded MP3 file set at much too low a bitrate. The reasons for this? Bitrates are not high enough to give a good enough quality compared to FM, because quantity sacrifices quality. The compression technology used for DAB is over 15 years old (it predates MP3!) and is inefficent compared to todays codecs. I can't listen to stations on DAB from Score NI with a set of headphones, it's just too harsh, though it's OK for a cheap portable set. The only thing I'd like about DAB from London would have to be the choice. :cool:

Mountjoy Mugger

Ulsterman 1690 wrote:

unless of course something new emerges that turns out to be better than LCD

There is talk of a new kid on the block. SED which is supposed to be the dogs danglies. It's under development at the moment as is due to hit the streets in the next 12 months or so.

Foggy43

Northern Corrospondent

Thinking back to what I said opening the thread, I would have the same opinion as you if I was in your situation. I have the Roberts RD-20 DAB. I can't fault the audio quality. I accept it is a different story in your location. I just looked up where the transmitters are and I am very close to quiet a few. I got them at all angles.

Just thinking! VHF Band 111 is used by RTE. Is there any chance of it affecting DAB in Northern Ireland? Where I live in Ireland there is an overlap of 3 Band 111 tranmitters. Doesn't leave much room for anything else? Could this lead to a problem. As I understand it DAB can carry lots of radio stations on the one frequency. To be honest I do not really understand how it works!

lawhec

Molly Dawson wrote:

Northern Corrospondent

Thinking back to what I said opening the thread, I would have the same opinion as you if I was in your situation. I have the Roberts RD-20 DAB. I can't fault the audio quality. I accept it is a different story in your location. I just looked up where the transmitters are and I am very close to quiet a few. I got them at all angles.

Just thinking! VHF Band 111 is used by RTE. Is there any chance of it affecting DAB in Northern Ireland? Where I live in Ireland there is an overlap of 3 Band 111 tranmitters. Doesn't leave much room for anything else? Could this lead to a problem. As I understand it DAB can carry lots of radio stations on the one frequency. To be honest I do not really understand how it works!

One problem with FM listening in London as I understand it is that there are a large amount of pirate broadcasts that mean people tuning into legal stations are having to put up with interference. DAB at least elimanates this problem. I have an Acousitc Solutions Portal 2 receiver and while for background music most of the DAB stations are alright, it's a pain listening to them through the earphones.

Also bear in mind that in cities like London, transmitters need to be usually more powerful for stations on FM than in rural areas as the radio signals have to get through concerte buildings unlike the countryside with free open space.

DAB in Northern Ireland is affected in that only some of the frequencies available for DAB in the UK can be used in Northern Ireland because VHF Band III is still used for TV in the Republic. This means we're restricted to two "multiplexes" only. A Multiplex is a signal on DAB that carries several radio channels, there's 5 altogether in London if I'm right. The two main operators in the UK are the BBC who have a multiplex on channel 12B which carries the "national" stations across the UK. For commercial radio the operator is "Digital 1" which carries stations like Primetime, Virgin, Classic FM etc. on 11D in England and Wales and then there are local multiplexes which tend to carry more local or regional stations (some of these will carry local BBC stations). In London there's close to 60 radio services on DAB, but in N.Ireland it's restricted to 22. Because of VHF Band III being used for TV in the Republic, Digital 1 can't transmit in N.Ireland.

One final thing to remember is that DAB can work on one single frequency to cover a wide area, like the BBC do for the whole of the UK for their national stations. It also means that if there's an area which is a reception blackspot, the operator can simply add another transmitter on the same frequency to that area. I believe that Digital 1 has something like 20 transmitters covering London to help give solid reception all around the city.

Foggy43

Northern Correspondent!
I find it very interesting what you are saying.
I must read up on what plans there are for DAB radio in the south of Ireland. I'm sure there is a forum here on this site.

Band 111 TV signals travel a long way. I think the channels available on Band 111 are D, E, F, G, H and J using 12 frequencies for audio and video. I know the transmitter at Truskmore pumps out RTE 1 and 2 at 280kw and in on your doorstep.
DAB is using numbers for the multiplexers. There must be some relation between say 12A and Channel D, E and so on.

I'm sure I read, although I can't find the evidence, DAB in the south may operate on another system to the UK. I could be getting it mixed up with something else.