Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with 1080p

Which 1080p HDMI media streamer should I purchase?

Perplexer — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:07:00 -0800

Which 1080p HDMI media streamer should I purchase? My Xbox with XBMC is starting to show its age. Which device should I consider as its replacement?

Requirements: Adequate processor for 720P, ideally for 1080P. Ethernet port for streaming MP3s and various video formats from a media server (Windows Vista/Windows7). Intuitive menus. Multi-format support. Should be under $200. (I'm not sure a Roku or AppleTV will meet my needs.)

These are on my comparison list:

WD Live TV Media Player (WDTV-2)
Brite-view Cinematube
Mvix Ultio

Have I missed anything, and what would you recommend?

Make PS3 games use 1080p?

Who_Am_I — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 08:08:22 -0800

How do I force PS3 games to play at their optimum resolution? I've got a PS3 hooked up to a 1080p native TV (Philips 42" LCD, can't remember model number) via HDMI. When I leave all the PS3 video settings alone, 720p-capable games play at 720p, but 1080p-capable games also play at 720p. If I disable 720p output from the PS3, then 1080p games go up to 1080p, but 720p games go down to 480p. I'm getting sick of switching the video setting around every time I play a different game, and I feel like I have to be missing something here. Why won't 1080p games use that resolution normally? How is this supposed to work?

TV Woes

ashaw — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 03:59:17 -0800

I'm looking for a 32inch or larger TV under £500 give or take, I've done weeks of research which has resulted in greater head scratching. Knowledge needed from someone who knows his 1080Ps from his 100MHZs. I'd love to hear names of specific models. First of all, is 1080P worth it? I heard it's negligible for anything under 40"

Secondly, I don't fully understand what 100Mhz is, but I know it looks pretty good, especially for fast movies and games. Worth it?

Finally, I'd like something with pretty good sound, and a reactive remote control that isn't sluggish.

Big ask i know, but it's a big investment for me and I don't want to screw up!

Thanks Mefi!

Can I still be one of the cool kids with 720p resolution

Saucy Intruder — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:24:50 -0800

I grabbed a 42" LCD television made by LG, on sale at Circuit Bankruptcy for $750. I saved a couple hundred bucks by choosing one with 720p/1080i resolution rather than 1080p. Am I a dumbass or a genius? Intended uses: Standard and hi-def digital cable from FIOS with maybe a 5-foot viewing distance; low-intensity gaming (of the Wii variety); low-to-moderate DVD watching (but we don't run with the finding-nemo-hi-def-bluray crowd.)

Any drawbacks to jumping on this now?

What's the best option these days for building a home theater PC (HTPC)?

twiggy — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:09:48 -0800

HD-capable HTPC advice / help? I'm overwhelmed here... XBMC, Boxee, MythTV, Windows Media Center, CableCARDS, Popcorn Hour, Apple TV -- too many options! What should I build to fit my needs within a reasonable cost? I should start by saying I'm plenty tech savvy. I'm not overwhelmed by the terminology. However, I've been putting off building an HTPC for a long time now and the longer I do, the more crazy software/boxes show up that muddy my idea of what I should do!

So, in my ideal world, here's my needs:
- Absolutely HAS to decode 1080p video without dropping frames -- from what I've heard a Mac Mini can't handle 1080p. I'm guessing then that a hacked AppleTV (which I see you can now install XBMC or Boxee on) is also not an option?
- I'd like it to serve as a DVR - I have Comcast Digital Cable, so I may need CableCARDS for this, right? I do have a Comcast DVR, and could live with using that instead, but I can't "copy off" my programming and archive it which sucks.
- I'd like it to also serve as a great media player -- I use XBMC on an original Xbox and I love that...
- Assuming I build something myself - I have no idea what a good video card is that has HDMI output and is reasonably priced. I don't really have much interest in playing games on it, so I don't need the craziest card out there...
- While looks aren't super important (it'll be in a cabinet behind frosted glass), it should at least have a case that will keep it running quietly (unlike Xboxes, which are loud as crap!)
- Future expandability is a big plus, but not 100% necessary as long as it fits today's needs. I love that XBMC is continually updated, has cool plugins, etc, but I'm not 100% married to it.
- I have a Logitech Harmony 890 remote that I love. I've got to at least be able to hack something together to control it with that.

Basically, a machine that runs XBMC and can decode 1080p, combined with a DVR, would be perfect. I just don't know what the ideal way is to build that for a reasonable price.

Then the HTPC world gets more confusing -- there are boxes out there like Popcorn Hour, AppleTV, etc that look like they either do a lot of this, or are hackable to do this stuff.. am I better off going with one of these? I see Popcorn Hour will even act as a NAS and a BitTorrent downloader, which is fantastic, but it doesn't seem to have any recording capabilities.

Any help would be sincerely appreciated - the vast array of options has become too much for even the finest google-fu given my lack of available free time.

is a 1080p projector worth it right now?

Silky Slim — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 04:35:13 -0800

i'm getting a new projector to replace my existing one. my current macbook only has a 720p native resolution (1280x800) so i'm leaning towards buying a projector with 720p resolution. but thinking forward, with blu-ray players etc, will i have problems playing 1080p movies in 720p? and how will they look? is there a big difference? also, 1080p projectors seem to be much costlier than 720p. for instance, boxlight make a projector called broadview which has 1280x768 resolution and only costs about $1400 (i've been happy with my current projector which is also a boxlight). however, it seems 1080p projectors only start at about $3,000. is this true?

1080p v 720p

jmd82 — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 09:30:37 -0800

42" plasma 1080p v 720p quality question. I've found the "perfect" 42" 720p plasma to buy these holidays. I've seen it in action compared to some 1080ps in the same price range, my untrained eye says the 720p looks pretty much the same and seeing as it's the only TV in my house, I'll never notice the difference if I buy it.

However, as I've been thinking this through, I'm trying to figure out if it's because the 1080p in my price range (<1200) are just "meh," or if it's a matter of the video sources aren't high quality enough for me to really notice a difference. Say three years down the read, will there be a noticeable difference between a 42" 720p and 1080p at similar prices? Might also be important to know I primarily watch movies, sports, and play the Wii (which doesn't use 1080p anyways).

The issue here isn't buyer's remorse here. I've seen the two TVs in action and know I'll like the TV. I'm just trying to figure out if the similar viewing quality is a source issue and if it'll take some time for the current crop of 1080ps to really show their advantage over 720p?

What video cards should I get?

aerotive — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:23:48 -0800

I'm looking for recommendations for a couple of video cards. One for an older PC, PCI only, driving a 1680x1050 display. The other for a newish PC driving a 1980x1020 HDTV. I have two desktops at the moment. Old PC is currently connected to my old 720p TV. New PC is connected to a 22in 1680x1050 LCD display. The video card in each PC is maxed out resolution-wise. I'd like to take the old PC, put a new video card in it, and connect it to my current 22in display. Take the new PC, upgrade the video card, and connect it to the 1920x1080p HDTV that's being shipped to me.

So, are there any PCI cards that will work with my old PC? If so what would you recommend? It doesn't need to be a gaming card, just needs to be able to support the 22in monitor correctly. The card for the new PC also won't be used for gaming, but I want it to handle whatever 1080p video format I throw at it.

I'd like to spend no more than $150 total for both cards. More than that and I figure it's better to just replace the old PC entirely and upgrade only the newer one. I'm willing to buy used/refurbished.

Old PC specs: 512MB RAM, 1.3Ghz Celeron processor, PCI slot for video cards, XP

Newish PC specs: 2GB RAM, 2GHz X2 processor, PCI-E slot for video cards, Vista

HDTV resolution confusion

jozxyqk — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 06:50:22 -0800

How do HDTV resolutions work, really? I'm starting to do the research on buying an HDTV for later this year. Plasma/LCD/DLP/next-big-thing debates aside, I'm a little confused about the concept of "native resolution" and "upsampling".

I've seen HDTVs with resolutions of 1024x768, 1366x768, and of course true 1080p (1920x1080) (although my price range is currently below the 1080p level, which is why I'm more concerned).

1024x768 isn't 16x9, so how does that work? Does it look crappy?

Also, none of these have exact multiples of 480 lines, so how exactly does "480p" work (I've got a Wii and a regular DVD player, so this would probably be the most common mode I'd care about)? Does it show up in a smaller 480-line (or 960-line) box? Or does it squish/stretch/distort the picture in some way to fit it into the full screen of lines (in which case, how does that make it much better than an interlaced picture?)?

Or is "native resolution" really something that I don't need to worry about and probably wouldn't notice?

Looking for personal experience as much as technical answers. I hope that's not too chatfiltery :)

Any 1080p HDTV reviews/recommendations ?

ringmaster — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 10:47:16 -0800

Given the wife's blessing to buy a big screen for our new home, I'm laden with the burden of selecting a TV that will meet our family's needs until we move again (unlikely). That said, what's a good future-proof 1080p TV, and where can I compare models for myself? A little background on where the TV is going might be useful. Our family room is not wide, maybe 15 feet, but it is connected through to the kitchen over about 50 feet, and it would be nice if the TV wasn't a glowing speck on the far wall when viewed from the kitchen. I originally thought that the 37" screens would be fine, but the 50" screens look about right, too. 42" might be the ideal size - I'm still waffling on this, unsure what will work best in the available space.

Also, I fully intend to upgrade other components for the best picture. I currently have an XBox 360, and will likely upgrade to HD-DVD when it's available (and I have a TV that supports it) for movies. I will play games on this set, so refresh rate and burn-in resistance are important. We'll probably use satellite for HD programming, so cable-card access isn't a necessity.

I also intend to invest in a new AV receiver that switches between composite and HDMI signals. The TV should accept HDMI input (and none of that HDCP stuff) and probably composite - at least, just in case.

One of the primary issues with the TV search is finding somewhere that does actually compare the TVs. Consumer Reports has a few HD sets reviewed, but they don't provide enough detail in their specs to know which are 1080p. Most sites that review TVs are so riddled with ads, it's hard to even operate them, much less find the type of high-end TV I'm looking for.

My hangup on 1080p is that this is a long-term investment. I have no interest in spending $2000 or (probably) more on a TV and then wish I had gotten more. Perhaps it's not even an issue of noticing the difference (oh, but you can), but knowing that it isn't the best picture and that I'm locked into that set until the wife agrees to another big TV purchase - in other words, for quite a long time.

True 1080p

MattD — Sun, 25 Sep 2005 21:46:58 -0800

Home theater geeks: when will true 1080p big screen TVs be on the market at a consumer price point? Definitions:

big screen: over 50" diagonal on 16:9 aspect ratio.

consumer price point: $5,000 or so.

true 1080p: able to accept, process and losslessly output a 1080p source input (i.e., HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, 24p camcorders), as opposed to merely creating a 1080p output by deinterlacing 1080i source or upscaling 720p source.