In the market for a tv for the first time in like a decade--help please

[roughdraft_zero]

Wasn't sure if this should go here or the "HD Talk" forum. If it's out of place just move it please.

Anyway.

Haven't really paid much attention to technology and what's goin on now. I hear little things and have brief experiences with things at friends' houses and such, but I'm considering actually making my own investment, so I wanna be smart about it.

I know most all about the whole 120hz/240hz/"600hz" craze and all that stuff, but one of the newer things I've only heard about and haven't actually witnessed or done much productive research on is 24p. What it is (for anybody reading who doesn't know) is a feature/playback mode that actually displays a film, usually one that was actually shot on film, at its native framerate of 24 frames per second. This sounds like the greatest thing ever to me if it's done well, and the closest thing to owning a film projector and projection screen that I'll ever come close to affording anytime soon lol. So first of all...is it done well? lol

I've seen it with different handles besides the 24p though, like TrueMotion, CineMotion, etc. (honestly, I don't specifically remember those tags, that's just my memory cranking those out as best it can), but the part where I'm unclear and get thrown for a loop is that I've seen it mentioned on the packaging for Blu-Ray discs, a feature of Blu-Ray players, and a feature of HDTVs. So, what I'm wondering is...do you actually have to have a 24p Blu-Ray disc...and a 24p-enabled Blu-Ray player...and a 24p-enabled HDTV to watch movies like that? Or does one or two of them replicate the function properly?



And I guess also, are there version of Blu-Ray movie discs that are released differently; some as 24p and some as not, that may or may not be identical otherwise? Any recommendations on sets to get by the way? I'm probably looking for something in the 46-50" area.

[Spiky]

Most film BDs are encoded as 1080p24. Some TVs can play this back directly, I think that is what you are looking for. And Yes is the answer to the one question, you need a disc, player, and TV that are all capable to do real 24p. It shouldn't be that difficult to do this, anymore. 2 years ago was a different story.

I don't think there are multiple versions of the same movie in different formats, but you can probably find a few BDs that are some other native res, esp those that were shot on HD video (60fps) and displayed that way in theaters, too.

But there is a marketing issue that could confuse:
Some of those brand name functions are actually attempts to make HDTV video (which is 720p60 or 1080i60) more filmlike by forcing into some form of 24p mode. Most people that care about picture quality hate it, and turn them off, they'd rather have native display of a show, whether 60fps or 24fps. You'd have to see it to decide yourself.

We are all plasma junkies here. Buy a 50" 1080p Panasonic plasma. You know you want to.

[clckworang]

There have been lots of threads about this, including one just a few posts down from yours titled "Should HD picture look almost like Live TV?" That thread has a couple of decent links for you to look at. Overall, I would say that you won't find too many fans of motion interpolation here.

Just go to Best Buy, and chances are good that you will find a TV displaying in this way so you can decide whether it's something you like.

As for separate 24p Blu-ray releases, no. You've got Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray, but there are no other types of different Blu-ray releases.

[roughdraft_zero]

In response to the first post: no, I'm definitely not planning/wanting to watch HDTV programming or some HD/60fps movie with this setting. I'd actually want to watch older classics like that. Like, if I could actually put on a ZBlu-Ray for The Thing or Pulp Fiction and have it look as close to as it did when it was theaters that's what I want to accomplish when possible. I'm not trying to watch a Sunday Night Football game in HD with a 24p feature. That sounds like it'd be just as bad if not worse than watching a 24fps film with the 120HZ interpolation feature on making every second look like a still that was shot on video.

And yeah I've always preferred plasma, too. But for me LCD's gotten better so really it's gonna come down to this feature being available (and others obviously) and the price. On a budget. In fact, moving into a new place and probably gonna have to hold off on having a television at all for a month or more.

There have been lots of threads about this, including one just a few posts down from yours titled "Should HD picture look almost like Live TV?" That thread has a couple of decent links for you to look at. Overall, I would say that you won't find too many fans of motion interpolation here.

Just go to Best Buy, and chances are good that you will find a TV displaying in this way so you can decide whether it's something you like.

As for separate 24p Blu-ray releases, no. You've got Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray, but there are no other types of different Blu-ray releases.

I kinda thought this would be considered the opposite of frame interpolation, since everything would be displayed in its exact native source, no? Like I said, I'm mostly pretty hip to the 120+Hz business but otherwise largely out of the loop, so am I misinterpreting what the feature/playback option truly is? Or does it just go back to that initial question of "Is it done well?"?

I will check that other thread out now, as well. Thanks.

[Spiky]

Yep, you may be misinterpreting. Most of these processes alter the framerate, which is not what you want.

I realized I said something backwards, too. It's altering film material to fit the TV's native fps rate, not altering HD-video material to 24p. Dyslexia.