Whats the difference between EDTV and HDTV plasma TV's?

[MachineMan]

Whats the difference between EDTV and HDTV plasma TV's?

[snowmoon]

http://www.projectorcentral.com/video_signals.htm

SDTV = 480i ( standard tv )
EDTV = 480p ( Enhanced digital tv )
HDTV = 1080i and or 720p depending on the unit

[MachineMan]

More questions:

I looking to buy a flat panel TV. Here are the specs for 2 models of a Sampo Plasma screen.

EDTV spec
42" 16:9 plasma display panel with 480p native resolution (852 x 480 pixels) — accepts inputs in all major DTV formats (1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i), plus PC video

HDTV spec
50" 16:9 plasma display panel with 720p maximum native resolution (1024p with compatible PC signals) — accepts inputs in all major DTV formats (1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i), plus PC video

The EDTV is >$1000 cheaper and can still play the HDTV foramt so why get a HDTV? (besides the physical size difference)

Since both can play 480i does this mean I can stiil use it to play my NTSC Direct TV satalite feed or analog cable feed through the S-Video In?

What will be the future broadcast format?

[snowmoon]

Both sound like good units on paper. Go and actually LOOK at them. I have seen 16:9 480p units that do a killer job on 720 and 1080i. I have also seen 720p units with poor upscalers that look ok on 480i materal. Rember that these units are FIXED native resolution, so the scaler in them is KEY and you can't tell from the specs if they are good.

If you are going to be watching TV and DVD's I would go for the EDTV. Most of your materal will not need to be converted for viewing ( less conversion means less change of error ). But I'de still go and look at them with TV and DVD's on to see how they really look up close and in person.

[djmattyb]

It's all about resolution. You could watch HDTV on your regular old TV, but you wouldn't be seeing all the quality HDTV has to offer. The highest quality HDTV (1080i) is 1,920x1,080 pixels. So unless you have a TV with that resolution or higher, you are not seeing all the detail HDTV has to offer. EDTV has a resolution of 852x480 which is good for DVD, but won't show all the resolution of a HiDef 1080i broadcast. It's like taking the 1024x768 wallpaper from a computer and shrinking it down to fit on a 800x600 desktop, you don't see all the resolution.