# SD on an HD LCD



## F1 fan (Jul 6, 2006)

Im seriously considering purchasing a 37" LCD(Toshiba37hl86 or Westinghouse 37W1)HD set but have some concerns about SD quality on an HD display.I currently have a decent looking CRT and most of the sat signals I will be watching are only SD.I don't want to take the plunge if the HD set is going to be annoyingly revealing of faults in the low res broadcasts. 

Can I expect the SD PQ to be equal,inferior or better on the LCD?

Without using any wide or stretch modes how much of the LCD's screen will be utilized?

I have the same questions about my progressive scan 480p DVD player?

I would be interested in finding out about anyones impressions and expieriences with the above.

Thanks


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## Harold Dale (Jun 26, 2006)

well it wont look quite as good... But it's still watchable and the HD content will look so much better you'll probably forget about it


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## basementjack (Sep 18, 2006)

480p dvd's look pretty **** good on these LCD sets.


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## SteveCallas (Apr 29, 2006)

SD quality will vary from brand to brand on LCD sets based on the internal scalers. I have the Westinghouse 42" 1080p and my parents have the Westinghouse 32" 720p W6. SD on my unit looks noticably better. If the quality of the SD feed is high enough, I've found it can actually look better on my 42" LCD than it did on my 27" JVC CRT. 480p dvds will look great, and I'd highly recommend an upconverting player with top notch scalers. 



> Without using any wide or stretch modes how much of the LCD's screen will be utilized?


Same as a 4:3 SD tv :R


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## F1 fan (Jul 6, 2006)

SteveCallas said:


> If the quality of the SD feed is high enough, I've found it can actually look better on my 42" LCD than it did on my 27" JVC CRT. 480p dvds will look great,


Interesting,I was hoping this would be the case because the majority of my viewing will be SD and the signal feed is of very high quality.It is good to know your Westinghouse performs well in this regard so maybe the model I'm considering will be as well.Their units appear to offer a lot of performance for the money.
Yes I will be looking to eventually add an upconverting player if I can find one that also supports DVD-A and SACD.
Thanks Fred


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## bobgpsr (Apr 20, 2006)

It can look bad though with a low resolution source if you are too close (whereas an old interlaced direct view CRT would have been more forgiving). onder: Just sit further away.


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## F1 fan (Jul 6, 2006)

bobgpsr said:


> It can look bad though with a low resolution source if you are too close (whereas an old interlaced direct view CRT would have been more forgiving). onder: Just sit further away.


good point ,I will normally be viewing from about 7 feet away.


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## SteveCallas (Apr 29, 2006)

> Interesting,I was hoping this would be the case because the majority of my viewing will be SD and the signal feed is of very high quality


Allow me to clarify what I said earlier, as I think you may be thinking of something else. SD cable programming, no matter how strong the signal, isn't what I would call a quality SD feed. Sure, CSPAN and maybe National Geographic put out a nice picture, but I was talking more along the lines of video game systems or even a high quality VHS movie. The flaws in SD cable will shine through pretty clearly, and a SD CRT will likely look better - my JVC had the edge there. If the majority of all your viewing is going to be SD cable, I'd hold off on the purchase. If you have SD cable but watch a lot of movies or play video games, I'd say go ahead and get it.


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## F1 fan (Jul 6, 2006)

Thanks Steve,I guess what I really need to do is find a dealer that can demo the units I'm interested in with the particular satelite system I use.Then I can decide if it is of acceptable quality.


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## Guest (Mar 29, 2007)

My experience with satellite signals is that they generally look terrible on an HDTV _if_ you don't have an HD satellite receiver. Having the HD receiver makes a significant difference with the SD channels. I have installed too many TV's for customers with old satellite boxes that were very dissapointed by the picture quality.


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## F1 fan (Jul 6, 2006)

Hi Ho said:


> My experience with satellite signals is that they generally look terrible on an HDTV _if_ you don't have an HD satellite receiver. Having the HD receiver makes a significant difference with the SD channels. I have installed too many TV's for customers with old satellite boxes that were very dissapointed by the picture quality.


I finally took the plunge and purchased an HD sat reciever and could not decide between LCD or Plasma so I bought BOTH.:coocoo: The plasma is a Panasonic 37PX60 and the LCD an LG 37LC2 both of which have a 30day return option.
These are the two that while in stores impressed me the most with their PQ.I thought that having this in house comparison would make the choice easier but it hasn't.:rolleyesno: Both have great PQ in HD and both are better at SD than I was expecting.The differences in the two are those usually stated for Plasma vs LCD and my preference is dependent on the program material.So I will be watching a lot of TV and DVD's the next couple of weeks to try and make a desicion.:huh:


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