Does 60/120hz matter on a 42" LED HDTV?

[budmonster]

I purchased a LG 42" 1080p 60hz LED HDTV (42LN5300) from HHGREGG not to long ago and just had some questions.

-Is there a huge difference between the LG 42" 60hz and 120hz? I bought my 42" 60hz for $408, open box. I was going to return it for a "42 120hz for $449. Should I go through the hassle of returning it?

- What is all this talk about S-IPS, D, Y, etc. I'm confused on what all this means? What model should I be wanting to have? I have a 42" btw. Over at the AVS forum they mention it.

-When I turn my cable(fios) on my tv says 1080i 60hz at the top. Shouldn't it say 1080p? I had it on on several HD channels.

 

[haisaikat]

Get a 120 Hz if you are inclined for LEDs, the difference in picture will be noticeable in fast moving scenes like foot ball match (ball will not look a bit hazy). However since there is no source which can provide the TV 120Hz content (all common ones like D2H are at 60) so the TV will extrapolate additional 60 frames by some algorithm (some companies call it motionflow, etc) as a result of which we sometimes come across the "soap opera" effect in movies (look up in google or youtube).

Again one advantage of having a 120Hz tv is that normal movies are shot at 24 fps (exception some modern ones like Hobbit which are shot at 48 fps) and TV has to do a 3:2 pulldown (lookup google) to properly time the same frames within 60 intervals (some TVs have a True Cinema mode that can show videos at native 24 fps rate). But 120 Hz minimizes this since it is a direct multiple of 24.

As per your TV is showing 1080i since your source (D2H set top box) shows at 1080i and not 1080p.

 

[ranjeetrain]

Theoritically, it matters.

Practically, it depends.

Do you watch sports often? If you do, get a 120Hz one. Otherwise, not worth the trouble.

 

[budmonster]

Get a 120 Hz if you are inclined for LEDs, the difference in picture will be noticeable in fast moving scenes like foot ball match (ball will not look a bit hazy). However since there is no source which can provide the TV 120Hz content (all common ones like D2H are at 60) so the TV will extrapolate additional 60 frames by some algorithm (some companies call it motionflow, etc) as a result of which we sometimes come across the "soap opera" effect in movies (look up in google or youtube).

Again one advantage of having a 120Hz tv is that normal movies are shot at 24 fps (exception some modern ones like Hobbit which are shot at 48 fps) and TV has to do a 3:2 pulldown (lookup google) to properly time the same frames within 60 intervals (some TVs have a True Cinema mode that can show videos at native 24 fps rate). But 120 Hz minimizes this since it is a direct multiple of 24.

As per your TV is showing 1080i since your source (D2H set top box) shows at 1080i and not 1080p.

FYI, I returned the LN5300 and got the LN5700 Smart TV. Both TV's only support 1080i through HDMI. It supports 1080p only through component. My LG 50PN6500 Plasma supports 1080p through HDMI & component. I'm confused?

 

[budmonster]

Theoritically, it matters.

Practically, it depends.

Do you watch sports often? If you do, get a 120Hz one. Otherwise, not worth the trouble.

I ended up getting a 120hz TV. I got a LN5700 smart tv from LG. But I just found out that it doesn't even support 1080p even though it says right on the damn box. I'm so confused.

 

[asliarun]

I ended up getting a 120hz TV. I got a LN5700 smart tv from LG. But I just found out that it doesn't even support 1080p even though it says right on the damn box. I'm so confused.

It is your set top box and cable that is not transmitting 1080p, as ranjeet said earlier.

Try super HD from Netflix or a blu ray movie. Maybe red box has them?

 

[ranjeetrain]

I ended up getting a 120hz TV. I got a LN5700 smart tv from LG. But I just found out that it doesn't even support 1080p even though it says right on the damn box. I'm so confused.

Don't be confused. Arun is right. The final output will be what your cable box gives you (unless your TV natively converts everything into 1080p).

Besides, 1080i ain't that bad. The resolution is far more easily perceivable to the eye than the interlaced/progressive scanning. More importantly, if the original broadcast is analogue, it is more likely to be 29.97p / 59.94i. So regardless whether you have 1080i as the final display or 1080p, for human eyes it's not easy to perceive the difference.