It's True: Many "1080p" HDTVs Sold in 2005 and 2006 Do Not Accept 1080p Inputs

Beginning in 2005, display manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony, JVC, Toshiba and Mitsubishi began selling -- and touting -- new "1080p" High-Definition TVs. According to their manufacturers, these new LCD, DLP and plasma sets -- with a horizontal resolution of 1920 dots across by 1080 vertical lines (i.e. 1920x1080 pixels) -- produced the smoothest, clearest picture possible.

1080p HDTVs were hyped in marketing materials as "True High-Definition" or "Full High-Definition" by manufacturers, who stated that not only did 1080p HDTVs provide a great picture today, but would insure compatibility with future 1080p devices such as Sony's PS3, Blu-Ray players and HD-DVDs.

However, unbeknownst to many consumers, these "1080p" HDTVs are unable to accept the 1080p signals from any device, including Sony's PS3, Blu-Ray players and HD-DVDs.

Technology

A TV is "1080" as long as it has 1920 x 1080 resolution. All TV technologies -- except CRTs -- can only display images progressively. Therefore, all non-CRT TVs (DLP, LCoS, Plasma, SXRD and LCD) that have 1920 x 1080 resolution must, by definition, display in 1080p. Because of this fact, it is important to distinguish between transmission and display when talking about 1080p. While all modern displays that have 1920 x 1080 resolution must display the images progressively, the displays may only accept transmission in 1080i. Therefore, you can have a 1080p display that only accepts 1080i transmission (and deinterlaces to 1080p) or a 1080p display that can accept a 1080i transmission (and deinterlaces) as well as a 1080p transmission (which can be displayed natively).

The problem -- which the HDTV manufacturers never bothered to explain -- is that, if you try to plug a 1080p output to the 1080i input of a 1080p display, you will get no image.

All 1080p displays can only display images progressively (each resolution line has to be displayed at the same time) and because of this they all have to deinterlace interlaced transmissions before displaying. The deinterlacing can be done correctly (by weaving the 1080 lines together) or incorrectly by taking 540 of the lines and just doubling them. The technology for the latter method (called bobing) is cheaper but you are also throwing away half of the resolution. The use of bobing for interlacing on those 1080p displays which only have 1080i inputs may amount to false advertising.
 

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High Definition Televisions (HDTVs) have become a popular new purchase; however, some people do not realize that some of the 1080p HDTVs have a defect because they are not compatible with all 1080p devices.
 

1080p HDTV Fraud Legal Help

If you purchased a "1080p" HDTV in 2005 or 2006, and would like to speak to an attorney about your experience please click the link below to send your complaint to a lawyer to evaluate your claim at no cost or obligation.
Last updated on May-8-07