HDTV and flight sim

[DaryllB25840 1]

There's about a year left before the TV broadcasting system changes over to digital. I am considering the big step of bitting the bullet and buying an HDTV LCD 720p in the 32" inch range. Contrast ratio will be a prime consideration in the decision.Since my computer is in the same room as my tv I was wondering if anyone is using their HDTV for flight sim because they do come with a VGA connection.This is one more consideration that might just kick me over the line into buying.thanks

[OHN 1]

Yes im using our 40" Sony bravia 720P running FSX/FS9 in 1280x768. Its awesome. But if i was to buy a HDTV today, i would look at 1080P, which will run in 1920x1080.

[DaryllB25840 1]

The salesman said that broadcast HDTV was going to be broadcast in 720p. I think using it as a TV should be the first consideration for me. He also said that the only applications now that could use the 1080p were some gaming applications, design programs and the HDTV / Blue Ray players. 1080p has an additional cost over the 720p which I think I would rather use the money to get a set with a contrast ratio in the 6000 to 8000:1 range.thanks for your feedback.

[tunnelcat 1]

According to Sound & Vision magazine, my Sony Bravia 40" diagonal LCD TV (with 1920x1080 pixels in the display) has a contrast ratio that is good as the plasma HDTV sets that used to be much better than LCD sets. High-end LCD sets have good contrast ratio provided they are adjusted correctly (the default settings are usually meant to look good only in the showroom with bright lights).NOTE: In America the broadcast networks are not all in 720P. NBC and CBS are mostly broadcasting prime time shows (not most game or reality shows) in 1080i. FOX, ABC and ESPN are mostly 720p -- they chose 720p because it does a better job with fast moving sports action than 1080i, which requires more digital compression. 1080i will give more detail in slow moving pictures because the digital compression software can use more of the same pixel information from frame to frame.However, some local TV stations are choosing to compress the HDTV network picture further so they can squeeze in more than one virtual channel on their over-the-air broadcast channel. For example, my local PBS station has 4 virtual digital TV channels squeezed into their one physical broadcast channel. (1 is HD and the other 3 are SD or standard definition TV pictures)But for computer games it is the pixel count that matters, not the TV broadcast standards of 720p or 1080i. The more pixels the better on a computer game, provided your video card is fast enough to handle it. 720p is 1280x720 pixels and 1080i and 1080p are 1920x1080 pixels, however some sets will have more or less pixels than this in the actual display because the standard does NOT specify the number of horizontal pixels, only the number of lines 720 or 1080. For example, plasma sets mostly had only 1024 pixels across by 720 pixels vertically, but this is now true only on the cheaper plasma sets. 720p LCD sets sometimes have 1366x768 to be compatible with standard 1024x768 computer display resolutions.NOTE: On one of my older HDTV sets (not my high-end Sony), as with many sets, the VGA connection is not able to give the full 1920x1080 pixel display. On some HDTV sets you must have a computer video card with an HDMI output to get the full 1920x1080 pixel resolution with a computer game. Likewise, the DVI connections that are common on computer video cards and a few older TV sets are limited in resolution unless they have a dual-link DVI connection. (Few people spec this in a way that you can find out which one you have -- you must actually try it out in the showroom with your portable computer to see what the set can do.)Fewer sets are being made with DVI ports, and VGA ports are vanishing from HDTV sets in favor of HDMI. The computer video card makers are slow in adopting HDMI as an output because HDMI can either have copy protection or not, but many things won't work without the copy protection, such as watching a DVD!Kim

[ronzie 21]

I'm a broadcast tech.HDTV (or more properly DTV some of which is HD) in the US typically broadcasts in 1080i or 720p. 1080p may be available at some point. NBC uses 1080i as their HD standard for their main programming channel HD shows, usually most filmed drama shows (Law and Order, etc) and many sports features. NBC news is HD with contents mixed including upconverted SDEF content to HD at output. CBS is the same.Your TV set should be capable of translating the received signal to whatever screen format you have set up.Look for a TV set with HDMI input that can mate to your computer display card HDMI output if available, component analog, and XVGA (if your PC does not have an HDMI output).Some viewers have reported in our area that they prefer 1080i appearance to 720p.Finally look for minimal near black and near white compression should be minimal for the best shadow and highlight detail.

[JET 1 0]

My "not very HDTV-tech-savvy" opinion is you should get a 1080p capable set if you want to use it with the simulator or gaming.I have a 32" Sony Bravia, which is 1080i / 720p to which I have connected my PC with a DVI -> HDMI connection.The problem is, if I try to set a resolution anything higher than the 720p "default" 1280x720, the TV interprets this as interlaced 1080i signal which of course the video card output is not, and this lead to horrible flickering of the image. There is no workaround.At the moment I'm just trying to live with the flicker as the low resolution is simply not enough for clarity of some VC quality instruments. Very tiring for the eyes but I can't afford a new set just now.. :(

[tasmanet 0]

Wait and then buy a 1920x1080 HD Monitor I think you are just wasting your money otherwise.At the moment I use 2 19inch 1024 x 768 monitors .From about 450mm (18 inches) I get a very good image.My plan is to get a 40" 1920x1080 HDTV/Monitor and use the current monitors for the throttle and for the overhead.

[ronzie 21]

Maybe the PC card refresh rate needs to be changed if possible.

[JET 1 0]

Hi,That does not make a difference. I was even a bit dary and momentarily switched to 60Hz while in high resolution - no effect. The problem is that the HDMI is not designed for PC input and it inteprets any signal above native resolution as 1080i, applying the relevant correction algorithms which causes the flickering. That's my theory anyway.So anyone thinking about higher resolutions than 1366 x 768 - get full HD 1080p which can do up to 1920 x 1080.

[ABE 0]

Been using a Wistinghouse monitor.....37".....1920x1080 HD for over 4 months now.....................BEAUTIFUL.Abe