INBOX: If you have a brand new high-definition-ready camcorder, you're going to want to display the pictures in all their glory. That means a HD-ready TV, writes Mike Butcher.
Here are some new HD LCD sets to pick from, but first a quick lesson in HD jargon. You'll see the phrase "1080p" bandied about against HD TV sets a lot. The number 1080 represents 1,080 lines of vertical resolution, while the letter p stands for progressive scan. In plain English this means the screen displays true or full high-definition TV.
You will also sometimes see "720p", another HD shorthand for the video resolution. Although both 720p video and 1080p video equate to pretty damn good pictures, the difference is that a 1080p picture may show more detail during a stationary shot, since a 1080p picture displays more lines.
The trade-off means it refreshes fractionally slower (not that you'd really notice) than one displaying 720p. But this is why some sports channels around the world have decided to broadcast in 720p since the action is faster than the average TV video. Got all that? Ok, back to the screens themselves.
Philips's new 42PF9731D 42in flat-screen (at €4,400) is HD-ready and features digital and analogue tuners, ambilight surround, and a host of other features. It is highly extensible and the number of settings will satisfy the most picky buyer.
Ambilight is clever in that it back-projects a pool of coloured light similar to the pitch on screen, making the image look a lot bigger than it is. There are plenty of connections, like a PC input, two USB sockets, a memory card reader and an ethernet link for streaming video from a PC.
Samsung's LE-40F71B is a good-looking, high-gloss black set (retailing at around €2,500) which is HD-ready and has a wide-viewing angle (handy for those smaller rooms). Why it only has an analogue tuner is a mystery, but it does go all out to try and display natural colour with its digital natural image engine. It may, however, be worth waiting for one with a digital tuner to come along.
Sharp's latest full-HD ready set is the LC-42XD1E (€2,700) and it's probably their best to date. Two HDMi inputs are handy, though one PC VGA input means you can't have a PC and a video source connected at the same time - not a loss to most.
It does, however, have a digital tuner, accepts full 1080p sources and its "truD" image-processing system produces great contrasting blacks without losing shading or details. The set also displays normal, standard definition better than the average HD screen, and better than many more expensive HD options.
