FredP

Hello all, I have noted, particularly in the Panasonic Plasma threads, that the majority of DTV purchases on this forum are made with extended warranties. Modern electronics are quite reliable and manufacturing defects are most likely to surface during the first 12 months of use. As the extended warranty is a significant cost, I often wonder if it is really worthwhile. However, I have no experience with plasma TV and therefore would like some feedback from users - particularly Panasonic users - who have purchased the extended warranty or had problems after the initial 12 month manufacturers warranty period. Thanks in advance.

Thanks to all for your prompt responses.

Hi all, Will any SD set top boxes display the HD channels at "SD" resolution? I believe that the networks may have differrent content on the HD channels in the near future? Thanks and regards Fred

Hello all, Have followed this thread for a little while now. I can see both points of view - where 1:1 pixel mapping can be beneficial for HTPC setups and overscanning may be favourable for normal video inputs. But I see this is only relevent for native 1920 x 1080 sets when combined with 1080 sources. Most sets on the market today must rescale all inputs. For me the answer is not whether to overscan OR 1:1 map. Rather give the consumer the option to choose to switch it ON or OFF! My two cents worth.

Hey MLXXX, I couldn't agree more!!!!!!!

Hi all, I'm new to this forum and have spent several nights reviewing many post on topics that have been of interest to me. I have found that there is a huge wealth of information on this site. However, there is one topic that I am still having problems with and would appreciate any feedback. I have noted that many people are of the view that 1:1 pixel mapping of source to display is the ultimate in achieving the most accurate representation of the source (regardless of the acquisition and compression processes which are usually outside the "consumers" control). I have also long held the above view and have eargerly awaited the arrival of 1920 x 1080 equipment with HDMI and DVI inputs - which I thought would automatically achieve this 1:1 mapping on 1080 sources. To my horror I have learn't from other posts that most displays actually use overscan on these digital inputs and therefore rescaling. The result being a less than perfect mapping of the pixels on the display. It seems to have created a huge problem especially for those contemplating using a HTPC where the text is particularly affected. From my limited knowledge it appears that legacy analog video sources require overscan to eliminate the image defects at the edges. However, it is very unclear why anyone would want overscan on the digital inputs. Further, there seems to be a lot of debate as to how best to deal with this as it apperas that overscan cannot be switched off on most sets. The HTPC community seemed to have circumvented overscan by very finicky adjustments to the video card and drivers. However, it appears to me that they are simply nullifying the internal scaling of the TV. While this seems to produce good results, I suspect that it would not be as good as not having any scaling whatso ever. My question therefore is why not completely eliminate overscan on the digital inputs and simply mask or switch off the outer pixels on user request if required (SMPTE 274M defines 1920x1080 to have a clean aperture of 1888x1062 according to one post I read). This way the source signal does not need any scaling and if any defects are present at the edges then they can be hidden. This would work with both PC's (no masking mode) without any perculiar driver settings and would also work with HDTV content. Of course scaling will still be required for non naitive resolutions on the digital inputs and overscan will be required for all analogue sources. But surely there must be a way to eliminate it when feeding in the displays naitive resolution via digital inputs. Any comments on the above would be greatly appreciated. Fred