Hello!
I've been seeing alot of so called HD 15"-19" lcd monitors/tv's.
Very pleased with my finished PSOne PJ, now on to something better/bigger.

Here's the ad I copied:

TV Type LCD flat panel

Screen Size 15"

Aspect Ratio 4:3

Display Type Flat-panel LCD

Built-In_DVR No

Digital Cable Ready No

Digital Capabilities HD-ready

Maximum Resolution 1080i

Vertical Scanning Lines (Native Mode) 768

Resolution 1024 x 768

Contrast Ratio 450:1

Brightness 450 cd/m²

Media Card Slot No

USB Slot No

Digital Convergence Yes

Picture-In-Picture Yes

HDMI Inputs No

Component Video Inputs 1

Composite Inputs 1

RF Antenna Input Yes


How can it be HD if there is no HDMI connector?

Happy Holidays!

Hello.

HD signals can be carried on Component (YCrCb, YPrPb), DVI, HDMI or VGA cables as they have the proper bandwidth for these signals.

HD is considered 720p or 1080i/p. The resolution of 720p is 1280x720 and the resoltution of 1080i/p is 1920x1080, with the 'i' meaning if it is interlaced or not.

Now comes the somewhat confusing part... A 15" LCD generally has a resolution of 1024x768, which does not meet the resolution requirement of 720p, let alone 1080... so why is it labeled "HD-Ready"? ... because what they are describing is the input capability of the panel, not the resolution that it is actually displaying. Should this concern you too much... I say 'no'. XGA (1024x768) is still a far better resolution than SDTV (480i), so HDTV programming in either 720p or 1080i will look great on that 15" LCDTV. Will it look better on a higher resolution panel such as a 17" 1280x1024 ? ... sure, the higher the resolution the better, but don't be fooled into thinking that just because the HD signals (720p or 1080i) need to be scaled down to an XGA resolution that the picture will look bad, because it won't... it's gonna look great. Only upscaling the resolution will give questionable results... like upsclaing 480i (SDTV) to fit XGA... this really shows how poor regular television signals can be.

cheers,
gs

It's not the cable but how wide HD is. In order to get 720p ( Any thing on a computer disply is always P) to display it has to be 1280 wide with most 4/3 panels it just doesn't fit so you have to crop it or get a wider panel.

There is some HD demos in 1280/1024 that looks great but all the movies that I have seen in HD are the wide 16/9 format.

So look for the widest screen that will fit. The 10" panel they are looking at in the small panels thread looks real nice.

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer here but I think HDCP should be mentioned.

In short, yes you can view HD signals without using HDMI... for now.

HDMI connection is meant to carry digital video and audio signals all in one cable. Unfortunately the entertainment industry wants to protect their media from piracy and thus HDMI is also capable of sending HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) signals over the HDMI cable. If you have a TV or Monitor that is HDCP compliant, then you need not worry. If however you are planning on getting HDTV programming from your local television company and your HDTV set only supports hi-def via component (analog), you might not be able to view it at full HD resolution. If HDCP is enabled via your TV provider, the hi-def signals get downscaled to DVD quality over the component input. If you are planning on buying a blu-ray or hd-dvd player, ps3, or even some upscaling dvd players, the HDCP signal via HDMI becomes an issue.

Many older HDTVs also have a DVI-I port which *may* support HDCP signals since it is a digital interface. You just need a HDMI-to-DVI cable. DVI does not support audio though so you would have to hook that up separately.

This may not be a problem now (as there are many people that currently view HD programming over component) but unfortunately HDCP is the future. Google "HDCP" and "Image Constraint Token" for more info.

If you are a gamer, consider your current options:

Xbox 360 (no HDMI port) + HD-DVD = 720p, 1080i/p over component.

PS3 (built-in blu-ray player) + HDMI cable = 1080p content properly displayed as it is HDCP compliant.

PS3 (using component cable) = blu-ray movies downscaled to dvd quality since component cables are not HDCP compliant.


Now I have read of HDMI strippers that you can buy, but have no idea if they work or not.

With the arrival of Windows Vista and HDCP compliant video cards, HDCP compliant computer monitors will soon follow. I believe there are some out there already but are not applicable for our use as they are too big.

As far as I know there is only one 15" LCD TV that is HDCP compliant and that is the Philips 15PF5120/28. It doesn't have a HDMI port but it does have a DVI-I port which can do both digital and analog. The Philips website claims that it is HDCP compliant over DVI. Of course you would need a dvi-to-hdmi cable but those are no problem to acquire. The other 15" HDTVs like the older Philips/Magnavox do not have a digital input. Only analog via component and VGA. If you consider building your projector as a great investment of both your time and money like I do, you may want to consider future-proofing it for HDCP.

The future is unfriendly.

I wouldn't worry about the DVI-D cable issue. yes DVI-D can be HDCP compliant. Some DVI-D monitors are cropping up now, the one i plan on using is the Samsung 940BW, 19" with 1400*940 rez it can display true 720P and is HDCP compliant. Many use HTPC's anyway, so DVI-D is really a good option as there are few HDMI video cards. Personally, if I am going to go through with the trouble of doing this, might as well do it right and get true HD resoulution, and HDCP compliance. Just my two cents.

Thank you for the info, VERY helpful...
Happy Holidays!

thats the lcd I just got done stripping and the hdcp is the main reason, I think once Vista comes out you'll see a lot more hdcp monitors, hopefully some 17"

awesome, how did it go? easy? FCC issues? I am now planning on going with the 941BW, same, but newer model, also with HDCP compliance. If you don't mind my asking, how much did you pay for the 940BW, and where did you buy it from?

Just wondering how you know that either one of those monitors, samsung 940bw or samsung941bw are HDCP compliant, i don't see that anywhere in there descriptions on any sites. Just wondering, because I'm currently looking for a 19" widescreen with HDCP and I've found a few, just not sure if they have FFC issues

I went throught the same problem... Samsung does not clearly identify HDCP compliant monitors in many of the specs, but if you actually see the monitor/box in a store it is clearly marked and identified as being HDCP compliant.

gs

yeah, it does say on the box, but I first saw it in a review somewhere and I think on the samsung site too

A good example is the samsung 940mw... just browsing the "Features" or "Specifications" you'd never know it, but in the manual it clearly states that the DVI port is HDCP compliant... Moral of the story... read the spec sheets... It confuses me why Samsung would not put this as a feature, it's rather expensive to license HDCP, so I would think they would want it right up front ! ... weird... especially since they have stickers and the box is covered with HDCP compliance "tags"... hmmm.... guess they don't keep up with the website advertising department !

gs

Yeah, I saw the same thing listed on samsung.com for the Samsung 940BW, I'm not sure if i want to tear apart the samsung 940mw, which i think is around 350 bucks, but i am anxiously awaiting the results of swill01, to see how his turns out.

I think the samsung 940BW is going to be the monitor i choose though, its just kind of stupid that retailers don't list HDCP as a feature, or at all for that matter, when it should be a pretty strong selling point.

trueluk.

What is going on with Samsung??

The Samsung 940BW has different specs in the USA and in Canada.

Is this really true?? Could these two monitors be different??

Notice this one in the USA, doesn't have hdcp:
USA

yet this one in Canada clearly states hdcp:
Canada

well, the 940bw I bought a couple of weeks ago in ohio definitly is hdcp why they don't mention it but do in canada is odd though, probably some automatic inclusion of it in canada per regulations or disclosure or something

thanks for the reply miky.
stuff is confusing the hell outta me.

trueluk.

all of the 940BW's i've seen in these parts of New Hampshire are also HDCP compliant... just a case of not having the lastest info on the Samsung USA site ??

Cool, i just biked over to office max on my lunch break, and there is a little sticker advertisement they put on it that says HDCP, so I'm gonna buy one later tonight, and test it out on an HD cable box. My fingers are crossed. Also, hoping my pro lens kit gets shipped soon, my box is ready for them.

trueluk

This may be too much to ask but I really wish people would simply NOT buy anything HDCP compliant. Maybe then the entertainment folks would finally stop the insanity. I don't copy anything but make personal backups or change formats for personal use yet (like transfer my DVDs to my HTPC) I have to put up with this bologne. There's no problem recording TV to VHS for a couple decades and now they want to protect EVERYTHING. Feels like force fed economic rape to me...sorry for the rant...

Curious as I was... I read the manual for the Samsung 940mw and although expected, I was disappointed to see no 1:1 Pixel Mapping. You have either Zoom, 4:3, or widescreen which I assume will take up the entire screen and thus scale the 720p image. Can anyone confirm this?

However, one thing about the manual is those little cartoon pictures of what not to do with your monitor are pretty cute.

I believe the option would be 'widescreen' when running an HD source for 1:1 mapping. If they don't include this option, they would likely be the only ones... best to ask someone who already has one ! ... I asked the question here of member Swill01.

gs

I know what you mean chris, but if I don't buy a screen with HDCP compliance, I can't get HD from my cable box (i tried, it spits out a black screen with white text sayiing something like, you tv does not support HDCP, please use one that does). I think the whole idea is stupid too, but if its the only way I can get HD, then i see no other option but to buy an HDCP compliant monitor.

trueluk.

Hehe they aren't "so called". You can have a true HD projector with the 15.4" WUXGA panel and a 17" or 19" will give you HD also.

I ABSOLUTELY agree. We should boycott ALL things HDCP, maybe then they will realize that it's BAD for the consumers and will NOT stop piracy. It's like the richer they get the more they wanna squeeze out of us. Screw them man, I refuse to buy an HDCP compliant anything.

Now they have HDCP compliant VIDEO CARDS, what the hell?????

welcome to Vista... DRM will be here to stay once people adopt Windows VISTA... either that or it will be the end of Microsoft and everyone will start running Linux...

keeping people from purchasing HDCP compliant items needed to diplay HD material is just gonna get harder and harder now that the "marketing barrage" has begun... think about it... networks all over have heavily invested in broadcasting HD (hell, we even scream for more HD material out there), HD-DVD and Blu-Ray are released, and if people want this stuff, they're gonna need the HDCP compliant items needed to work...

With every new 'lock' there are always others looking for a 'key' to open it...

gs