Re: Advantages/disadvantages of LCD TVs - OT?

"harrogate3" <harrogate3@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"Robert" <RobertNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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Not strictly digital tv but grateful for any assistance.
Our 12 year old 25" Sony is starting to show its age - picture
changing
to monochrome for a while and then monochrome with a green cast,
sometimes as soon as it switched on an at other times after it has
been
on for a while.

If this was a monitor connected to a PC, I'd be trying another VGA lead,
looking for bent pins in the male plugs, etc. If this was an old valve set,
I'd be checking the valves were all seated properly. I'm not sure how CRTs
are connected to the rest of the TV circuitry these days. Perhaps someone
more expert than myself could comment on the likelihood that with the
changes in temperature as the TV is switched on and off some component has
worked loose in its holder.

I have checked the signal using another tv and it
appears to be as OK as it usually is.

In view of the sets age it probably needs replacing so we have
started
to look at LCD sets and it seems as though a 32" LCD will be the
optimum
size. The problem is that whilst we live virtually in line of sight
with Beacon Hill transmitter a number of nearby trees frequently
causes
poor reception problems so Freeview is not really an option.

Could you borrow a neighbour's/friend's/relative's Freeview STB for a few
hours to get an idea of what it will look like. I'm about 26 miles from
Hannington and yet the digital picture is generally better than the
analogue, though impuse interference from central-heating thermostats, etc,
(widespread around this 80s estate) is more devastating to digital.

This
leaves us with the question of how well do LCD sets, presumably
designed
to operate primarily with a digital signal, perform with an analogue
signal.

No real difference

I appreciate that BBC Freesat should be available in a year or so
and I
do not want to go down the Sky Freesat route in the interim.

It's already available. BBC1-4, and ITV1-4 have been broadcasting in the
clear (Free-To-Air, FTA) for over a year now, and have recently been joined
by Film4. Any off-the-shelf satellite system can receive them. The problem
is with the 4 & 5 channel groups, which are still broadcast Free-To-View,
FTV, for which you need a $ky receiver.

In many respects LCD is worse than a CRT TV as there is little
persistence on the screen in LCD which is present on a CRT, so any
jittering or blocking effects caused by the combination of digitally
generated pictures and fast moving objects can be more pronounced.

This is bollocks.

There are a number of CRT diehards in this ng who peddle this sort of
pseudo-scientific rubbish for whatever reasons of their own, but you can
tell it's rubbish if only because sooner or later they contradict each
other, sometimes, though AFAIAA not here, even themselves. Compare the
statement above with this diametrically opposite one taken from a previous
piece of pro-CRT pseudo-science:

Subject: Re: Coast - awful filmic effect
Newsgroups: Eclipse:uk.tech.digital-tv
To: "davidrobinson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <davidrobinson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

"davidrobinson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <davidrobinson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote
in news:1163501234.327765.234070@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

There is a great explanation showing why this is a great way of
reproducing moving pictures. If your eye tracks the motion on-screen,
a single clear image hits the back of your eye. Compare this with LCD
technology, where the "always on" nature of the image means any eye
movement simply smears the image on the back of your eye.

I have compared many pictures, some of them frozen, on both an LCD and a CRT
of about the same size side by side, and the picture is nearly always better
on the LCD.

HOWEVER, the down side is that LCDs also therefore show up more clearly any
*defects* in the picture being received, so certain types of blemish are
more noticeable on the LCD than the CRT. Most particularly, the
far-too-common type of digital over-compression that results in the scene
breaking up into squares is much more noticeable when seascapes are
involved, while for some reason other scenes that commonly show such
break-up, such as flames, show less marked a difference between the two.

The only area I have found CRTs to score over LCDs is in contrast ratio.
While both technologies need adjusting for dark scenes, and if the scene is
short one doesn't normally bother and then both are equally inadequate, if
you do have a mind to make the adjustment, then CRTs can be adjusted to show
some dark scenes more clearly than LCDs - for example, night-time CCTV,
night scenes in some old B&W movies, star- and galaxy-scapes in astronomical
programmes, etc. Having said that, I have rarely had such problems with my
LCDs, and they're more than compensated for by the superior picture in
normal viewing.

If you have not yet done so and you can find any on show, try
comparing an LCD TV with a CRT of similar size - if you have the room
to accommodate the latter you will probably find that the LCD is
unacceptable.

My advice on buying TVs always is: Take some DVDs (*) around the stores and
ask to see them played on the most promising sets. This will give direct
comparisons both between those in the shop and with the current set at home,
then make a decision on what the eyes (and the wallet) say.

* Hire some if necessary - I suggest a good mix of 3 - 5 including at
least:
1) To check colour balance, one natural history and one sitcom or reality
show (for human flesh tones indoors);
2) For interlacing and movement, some action shots such as the latest
blockbuster that takes the fancy, and some interlaced sport action.
3) Any thing else commonly watched at home.
4) Perhaps something containing dark scenes for assessing contrast ratio.

Also turn the set onto BBC News 24 or Sky News for how it shows poor quality
material such as news clips. This will show up much more clearly on
expensive sets such as LCDs, and, although it's strictly the material's
fault rather than the TV's, if a more expensive set just shows the blemishes
in the signal more clearly for most of what you view, that constitutes a
valid reason not to spend the extra money. It's easier to justify an
expensive set if you are going to be watching a lot of good source material
such as DVDs.


.

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