Choosing a LCD - does pixels matter?

[Svend Rost]

Hi Ranchers,

Im looking for a new TV and have choosen to buy a 26" LCD. Im thinking about
"investing" around 1000-1300$. While browsing the net I found this (in
my eyes) nice looking LCD TV which also is very cheap (ca 1050 $):

SHARP AQUOS LC-26P50E:
http://www.sharp.co.uk/Product.aspx?ID=1001

My concern about the TV is the following:

I noticed, that it's resolution was 960 x 540. This isn't much compared
to other brands in the same price class (Phillips, Samsung ect) which has
a resolution of 1366 x 768. According to Sharps website, the TV should
be HD Compatible.

Can anyone tell me what this "means" to the quality ?

There arn't any Sharp retailers here in Denmark afaik so I can't see the TV
IRL. According to a webshop selling the Sharp TV:

"AQUOS P-serie is a breakthrough withing TV. ... The secret behinds these
models is the unique PAL-panel. ... This eliminates the need for signal-
compression." (translated from danish -> english) edit: more

Thanks in advance,

/Svend Rost

[ March 08, 2006: Message edited by: Svend Rost ]

edit: Modified the title
[ March 09, 2006: Message edited by: Svend Rost ]

[Zip Ped]

HD stands for High Definition. The regular channels are broadcasted in a 4:3 aspect ratio format whereas HD is transmitted in 16:9 format. That means higher resolution and exceptional picture quality. The only way you can actually experience the picture quality of HD is if there are Stations broadcasting channels in HD. There are already HD channels in the US like Fox etc.

Only a TV with HD compatibility can receive HD broadcast and not regular 4:3 TVs.

I have a Philips 42" plasma at home and I am very happy with the picture quality.

I think Panasonic Plasma TV are the best in the class or atleast have the highest Consumer ratings in the HDTV class. But Sharp Aquos is equally good, but they are expensive.

[Bob Reardon]

Try this site
www.flattvpeople.com

I used their sister site the www.projectorpeople.com when I purchased my lcd front projector, a Sanyo PLV-Z2, last summer. They provided a lot of information on the different specs and how they effect picture quality.

-Bob

[Svend Rost]

Thanks for the feedback. I think my initial "title" was a bit misleading...

Thanks for the links Bob - sadly they didn't have any specs for my LCD TV I
am thinking about buying. I think the SHARP AQUOS LC-26P50E is only available
in europe..

My problem is, that I dont know what a "low" resolution does to the quality
of the TV. As mentioned before, the Sharp 26" TV has a resolution of 960 x 540
whereas other TV's in it's class has 1366 x 768.

Is this a problem (note: The sharp should be HD compatible which as I
understand it means, that it has the avail. to show high quality TV)?

/Svend Rost

[Bob Reardon]

Svend,

According to the sites I mentioned, TVs with a resolution of 960 x 540 are considered 1/4 HD. You might need a resolution of at least 1024 X 768 to get a true HDTV picture.

-Bob

[Kishore Dandu]

why want to buy a lcd tv?

The new fad is 'projector' with a component audio system. That way you can add and remove different things from the overall group.

The experience is also great.

[Svend Rost]

@ Bob: Thanks for the information. I didn't see that on the site. I emailed
a webshops service center yesterday, and their reply to my question concerning
the Sharp and quality was, that they would recommend another TV instead
(a Samsung model - it costs 500$ more though)

@ Kishore: I think a projector with accessories is more expensive than a
26" LCD TV.. I dont need a big cinema system (i.e. I dont want to pay
5000$ for it). All I need is a 26" black TV for watching the news, a
serie and the occasional movie.

/Svend Rost