Quote:
Originally Posted by burn_baby_burn
Oh crap! I just bought a 50" DLP rear projection with 1080 (what ever that means). My heart was set on plasma. But I was told for sports and video games that the plasma was no good. The research I did on line told me the same.
|
Just make sure your set is covered, and you should be okay!
1080 describes the number of horizontal lines that are used to make up the picture (the number of vertical lines is the other half of the resolution number but is usually bigger because TVs are wider than taller - therefore the smaller number is used to describe the maximum resolution of the TV).
The difference between 1080i and 1080p is how the picture is 'processed' - i stands for interlocking and that means that the picture is split into two groups (odd number lines, even number lines) that are generated in an alternating fashion (i.e. odd, then even, then odd, then even) that is how the picture is 'updated'. p stands for progressive, which mean each individual line is processed, one after the other. p provides far superior picture quality over i.
DLPs truly have a 780p resolution that gets 'amplified' to a 1080i equivalent through various means, depending on the manufacturer.
Refresh rates on LCDs and plasmas are longer than rear projection tvs, which do make them less suited for fast moving pictures (sports). Plasmas have been known to get burn-in on screens that have a static image (say a set of icons in a video game), but they have made progress with that recently.
I don't think you made a bad choice, just make sure you get a proper warranty so you don't have to cover the costs if your unit breaks down. A 20 minute search on the internet should yield decent results in terms of what you should be looking to protect yourself against.
cnet.com, about.com, and various forums would probably be your best bet.