TV & Home Theater

[irish76]

Just bought the Samsung LN46 LCD TV -1080p/120hz. . I have Fios and hooked up my box via HDMI, but when I press info on the remote while watching TV 1080i/60hz appears.  So I am not getting the full picture benefit.  Can anyone explain this?  Thanks

[DarkWingDUCK]

cable/Fios/satellite only output 1080i signals and cant do full 1080p, that is reserved for blu ray.

as far as the 60Hz the TV is displaying, that is normal.  there is no such thing as 120Hz, as the TV basically inteprolates an extra 60 frames that never existed in the first place.  Your tv is still generating these extra frames even though your tv says 60Hz.  It is the processing in the internals of the set doing this, TV screens themselves can only show 60 frames per second.

basically, your tv is fine and you are getting the best performance out of it currently possible.

[irish76]

Excellent, I thought it might be Fios.  Thanks

[consagra]

What DWD said is exactly right.  I have Fios and the cable box itself may be set at 720p or 1080i (broadcasts aren't in 1080p).  The Samsung TV will display the signal it's receiving from the box (1080i/60Hz or 720p/60Hz).  There's nothing wrong with your TV at all.  If you have BluRay, it will likely show 1080p on the TV from the source.  But it will likely still show 60Hz because that's the output, then your TV converts to 120Hz by adding frames.  I don't have a BluRay to confirm, but the Samsung display is based on the source, not the TV's ability.

[mai]

then why do they(samsung) quote and advertize as 120Hz in the market and confuse the customers..

[consagra]

@mai:  All signals in the US are broadcast at 60Hz.  The TV will convert it to 120Hz by interpolating.

[mai]

ok..i agree that the signals in the us are broadcast as 60hz,so the TV suppose to convert it to 120Hz and should display as 120Hz...if it is displaying 60hz means that TV is not convertiing to 120Hz??

[consagra]

It's taking the 60Hz signal and "converting" it to 120Hz.  The TV will only tell you that it's receiving a 60Hz signal even though it is still converting it.

[DarkWingDUCK]

theres no such thing as 120Hz is why, the proper terminology is the Tvs are 60Hz that can throw in an extra 60 frames to give the illusion of seeing 120 frames per second.

[Entropy]

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consagra wrote:

It's taking the 60Hz signal and "converting" it to 120Hz.  The TV will only tell you that it's receiving a 60Hz signal even though it is still converting it.

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The only cases where a TV actually *receives* a 120Hz signal are the new 3D TVs, where the right and left eye images are alternated.

In all other cases, the TV is attempting to create "something from nothing" by guessing at what is between those 60Hz frames.

120Hz is 95%+ marketing gimmickry.  However, most 120Hz TVs do have other improved specs (contrast ratio, viewing angle, brightness) compared to their 60Hz brethren.  It's just a lot easier to market a short three-digit number.