[kmkkid]

Hi,

Just a quick question.

I purchased a new LG 50" HD Plasma - 1080p (great deal! $1100).

First of all - will my computer be able to drive an HD plasma this big without lag?

What cables will I need? I know it has a PC VGA port S-video, and 3 HDMI ports. ( I assume a miniDVI-HMDI cable?)

Will the resolution work without things being all pixelated/fuzzy, it's 1920x1080? Also can I use the plasma as the main screen? or only extended desktop?

I'd really like to be able to play some HD movies from my computer to a true HD screen

Thanks for any info you guys can provide!

[CharlesS]

The video card should have no trouble handling it - 1920x1080 is a smaller resolution than my 24" display has, and it's worked great with machines much older than your iMac. I imagine you'd want to go with a mini-DVI to HDMI cable. I expect that the resolution will look just the way it's supposed to for movies, since you're using the resolution the plasma is intended to use. For normal computer stuff, though, the UI elements are going to be huge since you're using a smaller resolution than most 24" monitors use, on a 50" screen.

[Eriamjh]

I didn't know the original CD imac supported HDMI out. Or is HDMI something that DVI supports?

[kmkkid]

Originally Posted by Eriamjh 

I didn't know the original CD imac supported HDMI out. Or is HDMI something that DVI supports?

It has a miniDVI port. I'd assume an HD signal would transfer from DVI to HDMI. Even if there isn't a direct miniDVI to HDMI cable, I could do miniDVI to DVI, DVI to HDMI, from what I've read on the internets anyways.

[Simon]

The video signal on HDMI is basically the same as on DVI. The MiniDVI on your iMac is just a physically smaller version of regular DVI. So if you get a MiniDVI->HDMI cable you should experience no quality degradation at all.

If you have trouble getting the right resolution on the plasma, check out an app like SwitchResX first.

[kmkkid]

Well, I got my TV.

Haven't tried hooking up my computer yet, but I must say my analog cable looks hideous.

I'm going to rent an HD box and see if I can live with just 30 or so 'HD channels' with probably 20% HD content each

I'm not impressed to say the least.

Dvd's also look hideous.

This TV might just be going back.


Any suggestions for a better experience? Perhaps I should have done more research before entering the realm of HD.

Oh btw, if I rent an HD box (Rogers) will my current cable need to be upgraded to a digital subscription, or will the box make it digital? It says it includes 20 free HD channels.

:|

[P]

Generally both analog and digital channels are sent in the same cable (there's bandwidth to spare...) and you just get the digital ones if you have a digital box. That can make a huge difference compared to analog, but even then it's not going to be up to DVD quality. IME, analog TV can look hideous but DVDs always look awesome. If DVDs look bad to you, consider returning the TV, but first check the cable you use to connect it to the TV. HDMI or DVI is best (common on modern upconverting players), VGA or component (three RCA plugs, red, blue and green) is second, S-video is third and composite (single yellow RCA plug) is worst.

[Eriamjh]

A big TV may make crappy content look crappier.

Warning: Most content is still crappy and not true HD.