HD build in vs. HD ready?

Exfoliate

Exfoliate

Geek Trainee
I look in Circuit City and Best Buy mags and I see flat panel TV's with little badges that say either HD build in of HD ready. I know that HD build in is better but I don't know why? Also what makes projection TV's image quality lower than whatever the better alternative is (and what is the alternative?). Thanks for the input!
 
HD build in means you can plug in a source with HD right into is, HD ready means you will have to buy additional parts for true HD I believe.

Projection TV's create a small image and then light pushes the image onto a plastic or glass screen. By design, this is a flaw. You can't create nearly as many projected pixels because they are stretched out across the screen from the original projected image.

So far, that's all I know and may be a little off because I haven't keept up in TV world.
 
HD built in already has an HDTV tuner in the tv, so you can watch over the air HD broadcasts.

HD ready means the TV is capable of HD resolution but you'll need an HD tuner card to get the signal. Basically with HD ready it means you'll have to buy the HD version of either the cable or satellite compamies receiver.
 
The picture quality question it depends on what type of projection.

Rear projection tends to have a fairly poor picture, however if you look at a DLP display you'll be blown away by the comparison. Apart from DLP the other two option would be rear LCD or plasma tv's. Although personally I'd go with the DLP or rear lcd over the plasma just because of concerns over plasma's high burn-in rate.

BTW Exfoliate, if you're in the market for a new TV make sure it has a secure HDMI or DVI port, preferbly HDMI. With the upcoming Blue-ray and HD-DVD standards, the MPAA is pushing for it to only be able to be delivered using a secure digital connection, so a TV with just component inputs will probably be out of luck.
 
Thanks Syngod, you guys have definately cleared this question up. Though I'm by no means able to afford a new TV, it's still nice to know what to look for, and what port to secure.
 
syngod, is there a standard companies must follow for it to be labled HD ready? like whats the minimum resolution, I know 720 lines and 1080 lines are HD but what if TV only supports 720 and not 1080 is it still HD ready? maybe I got the wrong end of the stick here :)
 
Anything 480P, 720P or 1080i is considered HD. Although I'd argue with the 480P, I personally don't consider anything under 720P HD.
 
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