Watching HDV footage - 1080i CRT vs. 720p LCD

JohnnyMalaria · Member Joined: 29 May 2006 Location: United States

I looking for real-world experience of viewing 1080i HDV footage on a 1080i CRT vs. a 720p LCD in the 30 - 32" range.

Here's why:

It fundamentally bothers me that LCD displays muck around with HDV's 1080i signal in order to shoe-horn it into a progressive, small display.

I am aware that 1080i CRT displays are still available and typically cheaper than their LCD counterparts. My only comparison of CRT vs LCD is with computer displays where I much prefer the CRT. Even watching the HDV on the PC with deinterlacing (VLC bob), the CRT looks far, far better.

I'm only interested in 1080i and I really believe I should view it in the way it is intended - interlaced.

So, does anyone have any experience of watching HDV on a 1080i CRT and a 720p LCD? (For the 30 - 32" size range I'm interested in, 1080p is not really necessary).

I'm not looking for theoretical arguments about i vs p, HD-DVDs etc. Just 1080i HDV from my camcorder.

Thanks!
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Krispy Kritter · Member Joined: 31 Jul 2003 Location: St Louis, MO USA

I'm not arguing one way or the other, just wanted to point out that not all TV's/LCD's are equal. Meaning it is entirely possible to view 1080i material and get different results from different hardware.
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jagabo · Member Joined: 09 Dec 2005 Location: none

I think you know this, but some things to note...

Computer monitors are not televisions. Color, brighness, contrast, and gamma is very different on a computer unless you calibrate the video overlay to match television's. Don't count LCD or Plasma displays out simply based on a computer LCD monitor.

Does anyone make good CRT HDTVs anymore? The lower priced ones will not have full 1920x1080 resolution on the screen because they don't have a sufficiently small dot pitch. In fact, there were very few CRT HDTVs manufactured that could come close to 1920x1080. Resolution may not be of primary importance to you though.

JohnnyMalaria · Member Joined: 29 May 2006 Location: United States

Thanks.

You are right - the resolution is not the primary factor. I sit about 10 to 12 feet from the TV (currently a 27" 4:3 CRT). A 32" 720p LCD will fit into the same space.

samijubal · Member Joined: 25 Jul 2004

The only 1080i CRT left that I know of is the 30" Samsuck. You might want to read the thread on that TV over at AVS before even considering buying it. They are loaded with problems.

edDV · Posted: Feb 20, 2008 15:15

Dot pitch limits CRT resolution to between 800x600 to 1280x1080i except for the highest end broadcast monitors. Most consumer models will max below 960H and don't resolve individual 1080i scan lines in the V direction.

King of the hill is the $42K BVMA32E1WU
It boasts 1000 horizontal lines of resolution for 32" (~1280x720 equiv)
http://bssc.sel.sony.com/BroadcastandBusiness/DisplayModel?m=0&am ... p;id=80823

Setting aside resolution, these monitors are highly accurate for motion response, colorimetry and linearity. This makes them great for film color correction or picture quality evaluation.

Consumer CRT models lack this precision. Some process fields as 960x540i or progressive as 720x480/576p. Very few use 1280x720p processing or even accept 720p input.

I like HD CRT as a nice SD (DV/DVD/TV) monitoring solution that also works for ~960x1080i direct observation (without deinterlace). It works nice for stepping through fields.
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JohnnyMalaria · Member Joined: 29 May 2006 Location: United States

edDV · Posted: Feb 20, 2008 16:05

JohnnyMalaria · Member Joined: 29 May 2006 Location: United States

Thanks - I think I can lay the whole thing to rest and go the LCD route now.

edDV · Posted: Feb 20, 2008 18:52

I should have added that more recent HD CRT sets have digital tuners and HDMI inputs. These sets have scalers that convert everything to an internal digital resolution nnnnx1080i or progressive. That then gets D/A conversion to the CRT either by interlace or progressive scan. The best ones may process at 1440x1080i before D/A.

There aren't many new ATSC HD CRT models yet. Attention is on the cheap 640x480i native SD models currently.
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samijubal · Member Joined: 25 Jul 2004

There aren't new HD CRTs coming. Virtually all manufacters have abandoned HD CRTs. Most decent quality manufacters have left CRT altogether. All that's left are remaining stock and low budget brands.

edDV · Posted: Feb 20, 2008 19:42

samijubal · Member Joined: 25 Jul 2004

It's true, in fact I think Sony has already made all the RPTVs they are going to. Still, there aren't any CRT RPTVs left either. They've been LCDs or DLPs for awhile now.