How Do I Setup My HDTV?
HDTV is a big improvement over the CRT TVs of the past. But, you don’t get a great picture right out of the box. There are some things you should know first.
The Essentials.
To see in high-definition, you need…
- a High Definition TV,
- a High Definition Receiver, and
- High Definition Programming.
Each involves lots of elements that determine the image, performance, and enjoyment you get from an HDTV. To find the solution that works best for you, it is important to understand how each impacts the use of your HDTV in the setting you plan to use it (living room, computer, gaming, movies, bedroom, etc.).
High Definition TV Settings.
There are many options for an HDTV. There is DLP, projector lamps, plasma, and LCD. In almost every case, the TV you get will not be adjusted properly for the setting you plan to use it. This means you will need to calibrate it.
Brightness and Contrast.
Changing brightness controls black levels.
Changing contrast controls white levels.
If you adjust these correctly, colors become more vibrant.
Brightness that is too bright, results in colors that can look washed out or faded.
Contrast that is incorrect results in an unrealistic picture or one that looks blurry.
Lighting.
Brightness and contrast depend on the lighting in your room. This becomes a problem for rooms that are exposed to natural light in the daytime and artifical light at night. Cloudy days, sunny days, and rainy days affect the display of an HDTV in a room that is exposed to natural light. Keep this in mind when calibrating your TV.
It is best if you can control light levels in the room where the HDTV is watched. This makes it much easier to find a setting that works for as many conditions as possible.
Games, Movies, TV, and PC.
For gaming consoles, settings may be different than for blu-ray movies. Or, TV soap operas may not be optimized for the same settings as an HD movie on the Discovery channel. If you don’t want to continually change your TV settings, determine how you are most likely to use the TV and adjust settings accordingly.
Aspect Ratio.
The aspect ratio determines the image dimensions displayed on the screen. HDTVs (if they are any good) let you adjust the aspect ratio.
If you change the default aspect ratio, it will “Stretch” the picture. This can make the screen image look fatter or longer than it should. Whether changing this setting improves the screen image depends on what you are watching
Pixel Mapping.
The sharpest pictures use 1:1 Pixel mapping. Standard resolution video may shrink so it’s only a tiny video on your large screen. Your TV uses only a fraction of the resolution (480i) your TV delivers (1080i).
Gaming.
1:1 pixel mapping with a xbox 360 on a 1080p HDTV displays a smaller image than the tv screen delivers. However, it is larger than standard tv video (480i), since it’s 720p. This produces a very crisp, clear picture.
For HDTVs with a 1366×768 resolution, using the 1:1 feature, don’t be surprised if Xbox 360 gaming, 720p movies, and 720p TV look better with it than without it.
Issues.
Without 1:1 pixel mapping, you may get over- or under-scanning. Regular cable TV may not support this. However, a 1080p input from a PS3 or PC will support 1:1 pixel mapping.
When using your HDTV as a computer monitor, 1:1 pixel mapping is very important, even crucial.
Overscan and Underscan.
Over or underscan is when the PC screen doesn’t fit the HDTV screen because it’s too big or too small to fit.
Video cards resize on an 8×12 pattern. If your HDTV is 1280×720, divide 1280 by 8, and 720 by 12. HDTVs that divide “Evenly” work best as PC monitors, including with HDMI.
Those HDTVs at 1366×768 and using HDMI have a lot of trouble as PC monitors. Since 1366 does not divide by 8 evenly, text looks ugly, or you have over or underscan.
High Definition Receiver.
The type of cable you use with your HDTV from the receiver matters.
Best to Worst cables to use from the receiver to your HDTV.
(1 is best)
- (1) HDMI, or DVI
- (2) vga
- (3) Component
- (4) S-Video
- (5) Composite
- (6) Coaxial
When you use the worst connector with your HDTV, video quality suffers.
VGA could cause banding on LCD HDTVs. This rates VGA below dvi. The larger the lcd monitor the more likely you see problems with VGA (compared to DVI).
High Definition Programming.
When viewing standard definition video on a HDTV, you need to scale the video to fit the monitor.
Standard Definition vs. High-Definition.
Consider someone wearing shoes that are 3 sizes too big. The shoes slide off their feet and are difficult to wear. For a person with bigger feet, they fit much better.
Standard definition on a HDTV is like the person wearing shoes 3 sizes too big. HD Channels are the person with the bigger feet. The picture looks much better when viewing HD channels on a HDTV than standard definition ever will.
Some argue that brightness on a CRT looks better than LCD HDTV. So, for a standard definition signal, colors look better on the CRT.
Don’t expect regular TV to look great on a HDTV. These TVs are designed for high definition content, not regular TV channels.
Upscalers.
To get a better standard definition picture on your HDTV, consider an upscaler. Upscalers increase the resolution for regular TV or DVDs. The main benefit of this is the deinterlacing quality.
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