Understanding LCD HDTVs

Discussion in 'The Lounge - Off Topic' started by tripwire45, Jan 15, 2009.

  1. tripwire45
    Honorary Member

    tripwire45 Zettabyte Poster

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    Many of you helped me do my research in stopping for a new flat screen digital TV and I came up with a LG - 37" 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV. It finally arrived (was supposed to come in last Friday) and I just got done setting it up.

    I have just a couple of questions. I hooked up our old "bunny ears" and ran the auto tuning sequence. It reached out and pulled in and stored 36 channels in various bands. I watch virtually no broadcast TV, but just in case I want to view the latest episode of "House", is this going to go "bye-bye" when Analog does in the middle of February? Will I need to go out and buy an HDTV antenna?

    I hooked up the DVD and it works like a charm. Slipped in a M*A*S*H DVD and noticed that the picture was all stretched out. I set the aspect ratio to "scan" hoping it would autodetect the DVD's needs but it didn't (worked well for broadcast TV as some stations came in at the old squarish ratio and others in wide screen). So my wife could watch the DVD, I manually set the aspect ratio so it would provide the best viewing for her show. Does anyone know if I'm missing something here as far as the configuration?

    BTW, I read through the manual, which I found to be more or less adequate, but it could have been better (the steps for putting the stand together left out a lot of steps which fortunately, I was able to figure out). I checked the specs online and went through every menu I could find on the TV itself searching for likely settings.

    Beyond what I've mentioned so far, it works like a dream. Set up wasn't really that difficult. I'm just not used to the whole digital TV thing, so it's all new to me.

    Anyway, let me know what you think. Thanks.
     
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  2. twizzle

    twizzle Gigabyte Poster

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    Trip was teh DVD player and old one? a lot of newer DVD players do what they call upscaling (filling in pixels basically) to produce a viable looking hd resolution. Your DVD player probably only outputs SD. ALso was teh DVd format 4:3, again most HD TV's display a standard pic of 16:9. You should be able to change this ratio in teh TVs menus. This is teh more likley case of the streching. I know our old TV had formats of 4:3 16:9 and what it called widescreen which streched the pics.

    As for teh Analog being turned off. I know here in teh UK its already going of in some counties. Which means if those people dont have some form of Digital reciever (SKY, Freeview etc) then they cant watch any TV. I'd assume it will be the same for you. Now some LCD Tvs have built in Digital recievers so all you need is an areial capable of picking up teh digital signals, best ones for that are external areials as well. Your manual should tell you if yours has this built in.

    HTH i hope.
     
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  3. UKDarkstar
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    UKDarkstar Terabyte Poster

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    Hey Trip

    Here's the feature list from the link you gave :

    Product Features
    Built-in HDTV tuner
    Add HD-capable antenna to receive over-the-air high-definition broadcasts, where available. Optional set-top box required for high-definition cable or satellite programming.
    37" screen size
    Measured diagonally from corner to corner for enjoyable viewing of your shows.
    1080p display
    Provides the highest quality progressive-scan picture possible from a high-definition source.
    16:9 widescreen aspect ratio
    6 aspect ratio correction modes to give you the right ratio for every program or movie you watch.
    XD Image Processing Engine and Intelligent Sensor Technology
    Adjust brightness, contrast, color, sharpness and white balance to save on energy consumption and to optimize the picture for a variety of light conditions.
    8 picture selection modes and 3 A/V modes
    Customize picture and sound settings for movies, sports or games.
    Wide 178° vertical and horizontal viewing angles and 20° swivel stand
    For comfortable viewing from almost any seat in the house.
    Other image enhancement technologies
    15,000:1 dynamic contrast, 500 cd/m² brightness, 5 ms response time, wide color control, enhanced line doubler, enhanced video noise reduction, 4 color temperature modes and black stretcher.
    2-way built-in 20W speaker system
    Dolby Digital sound decoder and SRS TruSurround XT deliver a virtual surround sound experience. Bass, treble and balance controls and 4 selectable sound modes create a customized sound.
    Clear Voice technology
    Automatically enhances the sound of the human voice to provide clear dialogue when the background sound swells.
    Auto volume leveler
    Prevents volume fluctuations during commercials, eliminating the need to readjust the settings.
    Ultraslim LCD
    Measures 3-1/2" deep and may be mounted on a wall (with optional mounting kit, not included). VESA 200mm x 200mm compatible.
    HDMI inputs
    Provide an uncompressed, all-digital audio/video link for the highest quality connection and support of copy-protected HD broadcast content.
    USB 2.0 port
    For quick connection of a digital camera or other USB device.
    Inputs
    Include 3 HDMI-HDCP (1 side, 2 rear), 1 composite A/V (side), 2 HD component A/V (rear), 1 component A/V (rear), 1 S-video (rear), 1 PC (rear), 1 PC audio (rear) and 1 RF (rear).
    Outputs
    Include 1 stereo audio (rear), 1 coaxial digital audio (rear) and 1 optical digital audio (rear).
    V-Chip parental controls
    Give you the option of blocking undesirable material that you don't want your kids to see.
    ENERGY STAR qualified
    Designed to use less energy and meets strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Energy.
    Additional features
    Include LG SimpLink functionality, input labeling, quick view, picture still/freeze, closed captioning, trilingual (English, French and Spanish) on-screen display, channel add/delete, favorite channel, clock and sleep timer.

    As you can see you're ok for the digital service when analogue goes.

    As to the dvd - assuming this is not a brand new one capable of playing ND DVD or Blu-ray then there won't be any upscaling but that's not the issue. It will play just as it always did and the set should detect the widescreen aspect ration. If it isn't then it'll be a setting under one of the menu options on the LG or it could be your scart lead (check you have one with all pins fully wired to ensure that scart-switching works ok). This should then pickup the signal from the dvd player and display it correctly.

    Only other possibility is if you bought the dvd outside of the USA so it's not Region 1. If that's the case then that could be causing it to have a problem with displaying. It would be unusual and the set should sort it ok but it may need setting manually.
     
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