120hz LCDs to save picture quality

I found a good article on Gizmondo about why 120hz LCDs are going to be better than 60hz, here it is:

120Hz HDTVs are going to help movies look better than ever on the little screen in your living room.

Here's how.


Film is 24 frames per second. That standard was the approximation of what was defined in the early 20th century by hand crank cameras. And just about every movie disc you can buy is encoded in this format. We're not just talking DVD. We're talking about HD DVD and Blu-ray, too.

The problem is, most TVs run at 30 frames per second. Fitting that 24-frame content onto a 30-frame screen isn't that easy; the math just doesn't compute cleanly. You can't divide 24 by 30 without filling in the gaps with some junk. That junk causes stuttering in the video. This is a jerky-looking phenomenon that's particularly noticeable when the camera pans across a scene. The conversion is better known by film and TV wonks as 2:3 pulldown. It spreads out 24 frames into 30 by placing one frame on the screen three times and the next one after that two times, and repeating this pattern ad infinitum.

How does this relate to an 120Hz HDTV showing frames at 120 frames per second? A bit of simple math tells you that 120 is a multiple of 24, because 24 x 5 = 120. So one of the claims of the purveyors of these sped-up monitors is that they can natively reproduce 24p programming, namely, just about every film has ever been shot.

These new HDTVs avoid this awkward 3:2 pulldown process altogether by changing their frame rate to something that's a multiple of 24 by using either frame doubling or interpolation (also called "tweening"). Then, their playback can be as close to native 24fps playback as you can get. That's why 72Hz (24 x 3 = 72) and 120Hz refresh rates are gaining traction. Native 24p playback: Yeah, sounds good. But how will it be implemented and which manufacturers are involved? And who does it best? – Brian Lam and Charlie White

Why I want a 1080p TV

subtitled: Fear of loss?

HDTVs come in a variety of formats, 480p, 720p, 10801, and 1080p. The more expensive sets can usually output all of these resolutions. The less expensive televisions are usually limited to 720p/1080i.
This article is not designed to explain the differences in all of these formats, perhaps in a future article I will do that (as soon as I fully research and understand them). This article is intended to talk about why I am determined to get a 1080p system while the 720p/1080i televisions would probably do all that I need.
I am looking for a 42" or larger screen (although I may settle for a 37") with 1080p resolution (1920X1080) to hook up my computer to. I want to watch recorded and downloaded media on my tv while sitting in my easy chair, my office chair is not comfortable enough.
About two months ago I rebuild my PC as a Media Center by installing a couple of HD tuner cards and loading Windows XP Media Center Edition on it. MCE, as XP Media Center is known, downloads a catalog and allows for Tivo like scheduling and recording of shows and series.
Currently to watch the shows I record my wife and I sit in our office and watch on our 19" screen. Not comfortable and not fun, hence the need to buy an HDTV that I can hook the computer to.
Now, why do I say that 1080i (1920X1080 / 2 because it is interlaced or 1.04 million pixels compared to 2.07 million pixels on 1080p) would work just fine? 1080i is the maximum resolution currently being broadcast over the air and over cable. The only signals that are in 1080p are HD-DVDs, Blu Ray and the computer.
My reason for waiting for 1080p to come down to my price point is that I'm not sure how the computer would look at 1080i and I would always wonder if I should have held out. My fear of loss.
Hope this helps.

I think prices are moving!

Best Buy has a 50" Philips plasma for $1499 after a $200 rebate. Nice to see the prices coming down. I'm hoping to pick up my 42" 1080p LCD for $999 before the super bowl.

Here's the link if you are interested in the plasma:
http://enews.buy.com/cgi-bin5/DM/y/nily0KgoSe0JE60B4qI0GL

120hz vs 60hz in LCD

While I doubt this is the final word in the debate I found a piece on Anandtech.com talking about 120hz vs 60hz:

A subset of the 1080p displays is Toshiba’s new Regza Cinema series, which use 120Hz panels, while the rest of the displays use standard 60Hz displays. Toshiba did have a live comparison showing the benefits of 120Hz vs. 60Hz panels, but honestly it’s tough for the normal viewer to see a difference between the two.

http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=2904

This does ease my mind somewhat and may help me make a decision based upon current LCD offerings.

Indecision has me frozen

I watched the Vizio 47" LCDs sell out at Costco on Monday without buying one. I am undecided as to which model / size is right for me.
I've been keeping up with the comments from Vizio owners on AVS forum. Some of the buyers are reporting problems with the television but I still think it would work well for me.
Problems being reported include a humming sound from the speakers, a backlight bleed through that seems to clear up over time and color adjustment issues.
The Costco sale price of $1650 is way out of the range I'm looking for but I'm still tempted. I went and got a rain check so I can wait and make up my mind later if Costco gets the model back in stock.
Announced at CES are 120hz LCD models vs the current 60hz models. I'm not sure what this change actually does but reports say the picture is much better on the 120hz models. I'll do a little research into this and report back.

here's a link to the AVS Vizio 47" forum: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=777914&page=1&pp=30&highlight=vizio+47

Ahhhhh the horror of it all

I know that in 6 months HDTVs will have dropped at least 25% in price. I know that I should wait for this to happen before buying but I want one now. The 47" at Costco is too expensive for my budget so I'm still watching and waiting. My goal is a 1080P 42" LCD for $1000. Nothing in that range now but I'm hoping to have it by SuperBowl time.

Still looking for my HDTV

I got all excited when I read that Costco was going to offer a $250 off coupon on the Vizio 47" LCD that they retail for $1899. Unfortunately, when I looked up the specs on Vizio's website I found that the TV is not a native 1080p monitor boot upconverts to it. I need a full 1080p for the computer to hook up to, or at least that is what I want.

I'll continue looking and waiting.