Apple »

Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

February 20, 2012 – 12:39 pm | 3 Comments

Tiny Diggers has just been released on the iPad and soon the Mac computer. Here’s the details on this fun, educational game from TouchTilt Games.
Tiny Diggers Delivers Learning With Construction Trucks For Kids on the …

Read the full story »
Home » Industry, Technology

The Big Question: HDTV

Submitted by on October 10, 2006 – 7:58 pm5 Comments

tvtvtvtvtv.jpgAlong with this new generation of game consoles comes a new generation of televisions. Now, I know that HDTVs aren’t brand new but they seem finally capable of breaking into the mainstream sometime soon due to price reductions. This leaves me wondering if it is time that I pick one up or wait a little longer. Since I don’t have an HDTV I hope the responses to this article can be a learning tool for myself and any gamer wondering if they should purchase an HDTV for themselves and this new generation of consoles.

First off, do you think that HDTVs are as important to this generation of consoles (at least for the PS3 and 360) as they are being made out to be and that with an HDTV your gaming experience (not the way the game looks but your overall experience) is improved and better than it would be on a SDTV?

If having an HDTV does indeed enhance your gaming experience, do you think it is worth spending the extra change to pick one up?

How about the “true” HD deal. The entire 1080p being real HDTV while 720p is lacking. Do you think that if one were to decide to pick up an HDTV that it would be wise of them to spend some more money to pick up “true” HDTV?

Also, what kind of HDTV do you think is the best for someone to get: LCD, plasma, CRT, projectors (not really a TV), or rear projection televisions? Please feel free to include your personal thoughts about HDTVs or any experiences with them that you would like to share.

  • Brandon

    Hey Matt.

    You know I have had an HDTV since April of this year, and so far it’s certainly helped my gaming experience look a lot better.

    The 360 is requiring all games to support some sort of HD and so will the PS3 if I’m not mistaken. So it’s not like it’s not going to be utilized.

    But, do I think it’s necessary for gamers to get one? No. Not yet at least. I played my 360 on a SDTV from launch night until April of this year and you can still tell of the difference of the graphics and you can still tell and say, “These graphics kick ass.”

    But there was one problem I encountered while playing my 360 on a SDTV. In some games, such as NBA Live 06 and I’m pretty sure of 07, too. The font of the score and time is really small and you can hardly see it on SD. But on HD it’s all good.

    Bottom line, if you have the money it certainly can help your setup. Haha. But I don’t think everyone needs to rush out to get one yet. Hell, the consoles are expensive enough!

  • Subnet6

    I mostly agree with Brandon, and I will add my own personal experience.

    I currently have an HDTV in my basement where I watch most of my TV and I game. I bought the HDTV about a year ago when nice units finally got down to $500. That was my threshold of pain so to speak.
    Anyway, a friend of mine bought one at about the same time. I love mine, he hates his. The question is a matter of content. I bought my HDTV and its standard format. Meaning 4:3. It is not widescreen. I made this decision after much painstaking thought and research. My issue is content. Most of what I watch is in 4:3 rather than widescreen. My experience has shown me that if you watch 4:3 on widescreen it is either cropped or stretched. Both look pretty bad. So whats the point of buying an expensive TV if the majority of the content will actually look worse.
    Anyway, since most of my content is 4:3 and will be for a couple years, I went with a 4:3 Set. My friend was convince widescreen was the way to go and now he is pretty unhappy because when he watched most TV shows, its stretched and looks bad. If most of the content you watch on TV is widescreen/letterboxed, then you will be better off getting a widescreen.

    Also, to think about, my friend bought a plasma for his gaming setup. They told him Plasmas no longer suffer from burn in, but after about a year and a half he is starting to get some burn in. Also, Plasmas lose their brightness over time so if you plan to watch it in a well lit/sunny room, a plasma may not be the right choice.

    Personally, if you don’t have space issues, I still prefer tube TV’s because the picture is just better IMO. Also, they cost less. But they are damn heavy.

    Also, LCD TV’s usually have a “native” resolution. Pictures in the native resolution will look very good while picture not in the native resolution will suffer some blurring. Tube TV’s do not have this issue.

    I could go on about this all day, but I’ll stop here. :)

  • Jonah

    I purchased a smaller LCD capable of 720p and I love mine. I currently have it boxed up because of moving and such so I am currently playing on a SDTV. All I can say is, I miss my HD. After playing on an HDTV and everything being crisp and stuff it sucks to downgrade. It seems as if everything is blurry, and in games like Battlefield 2 and GRAW on the 360, it is harder to find the enemies out in the distance because of the lower resolution. So, I say yes, an HDTV is worth it. I am personally an LCD fan, there is nothing that a plasma offers to me that I want. CRT is old and usually only puts out 1080i. I suggest, personally, something that is 720p, but I am looking to upgrade to a 1080p (hopefully sooner than later) for gaming and movies. If you want a flat panel wait and see if Toshiba or whoever will finally release there SED tv. It is supposed to be really sweet. If a projection type is your thing look into an LCOS. I like to sit up closer to tvs when playing games and I have found that LCOS tvs do not turn black as quickly as other projection types when you get close.

  • Nathan

    My professional opinion is that HD technology didn’t come soon enough but it’s also got a little more to go before it’s good enough for the general consumer.

    Let me debunk the myths first. 1080p is no better than anything else. There is not one piece of media in public circulation that is truly in 1080p. The only thing done in true 1080p are PS3 games. I was at TGS to see how 1080p stacks up. It doesn’t. Trust me 720p and 1080i look no different. However unless something is made in 1080p it won’t look any better on your TV. All HD television broadcasts are generally in 720p. I don’t see that changing any time soon. Most 360 games are developed like a PC game, as we know with PC the higher the resolution the better without reguard to p or i. So 1080p really won’t look any different than 1080i on a video game from what I know on the subject. 1080p Sonic on PS3 didn’t look any better than 1080i sonic on 360 at TGS.

    I have a 50″ Samsung DLP. I love it. The resolution quality is spectacular compared to SD. This technology is a little late though. It should be much further along than it is. I wouldn’t recommend buying one just yet, but yet I would recommend buying one. You really have to decide for yourself on when to buy. As far as what, don’t go for the 1080p unless it really doesn’t cost much more.

  • http://notawesome.wordpress.com notawesome

    Let me start by saying that I haven’t researched this in depth for some time.

    The one thing I mostly recently learned through a friend’s purchase was that for video games, LCDs are still the way to go (vs. plasma). Burn in still happens with life bars and other static elements standard in games, apparently. Subnet6′s comments above seem to confirm this.

    I was less inclined to believe this when my friend first reported it, since it came from a Best Buy employee. But still waiting nevertheless for more price drops, improved technology, and time to research everything.