When are we going to get real HDTV?

[NeedaCobra]

Ok, so from what I have seen, the "HDTV" signals you can get are all over coaxial and usually 768x416, if I'm not mistaken. I often hook my PC up to my 51" HDTV via an DVI-HDMI adatpor and 720 and 1080 stuff is PRETTY :-D but none of the "HDTV" stuff from cable or over the air is like this. Is there any high resolution stuff, like ESPN that is truly hi def and not 768x416?

Now, when are we going to get stuff like 1280x720? Can coaxial even support higher resolutions?

op:

 

[Cobra03]

Not true. DirecTV is 1280 X1080i - full resolution HDTV is 1920X1080i. Cable is true 720p and 1080i but uses lower bitrates for compression. There is plenty of bandwidth on coax. The very best quality hdtv is full resolution 720p and 1080i off of your over the air antenna - rabbit ears. Over the air uses higher resolutions and higher bitrates than cable or DuirecTV , but all of it is spectacular and true HDTV.

Maybe your set top box is set on the wrong output?

 

[NeedaCobra]

You mean 1280x720 and 1920x1080, ;-)

I don't get any HDTV channels straight to my TV, but I have watched it. It's just weird, my "Monstor's Inc." DVD (Pixar) looks better than the HDTV content I watched. :shrug:

 

[NyteByte]

There are many levels of HDTV.

These are the most commonly used by broadcasters (from lowest quality to highest):

480p - 704x480 progressive, 16:9 or 4:3 aspect. This is basically "DVD quality".

720p - 1280x720 progressive, 16:9 aspect. This is the most commonly used format and is what most local broadcasters use around here (Chicago).

1080i - 1920x1080 interlaced, 16:9 aspect. Local broadcasters will use this format for some movies and sports events. The 1080i format is common on some HD specific cable and satellite channels such as INHD.

And don't forget that most HD broadcasts include 5.1 Dolby Digital sound.

Also, not to state the obvious, but you need a TV or display that can handle these resolutions in order to see a major difference in quality. Sometimes I hear people complain that their HDTV doesn't look much better than their DVD movies. It's because they're trying to watch HDTV on a TV that doesn't support High Definition.

 

[NeedaCobra]

I have two HDTVs, both supporting 480p/720p/1080i. I hook my PC up to it a lot and play games at 1280x720, but some games at 1920x1080. Something weird though, when I had a 7800gtx and then a 7900gtx GPU, they worked fine at 1920x1080 on an HDTV, but now this 7950gx2 always causes it to crash on several games, there are a few though I just edit the command line so it starts in this resolution, and then the PC won't crash/freeze. It's annoying for sure.

I guess I spoilt myself by playing games at 2048x1536@90hz on my 21" CRT which wasn't that much! (IBM P275)