What resolution is Full HD?

[paulneale]

Hi Dunc,

Just wondering if you can clear something up for me: What resolution is Full HD v/s HD or HD Ready? (For widescreen format, I mean.)


Thanks,
Paul.

[DMS]

Full HD (1080p) = 1920 x 1080 with progressive sc@n
HD (720p or 1080i)= between 1280 x 720 with progressive sc@n to 1920 x 1080 with interlaced sc@n
SD (480p) = 852 x 480 with progressive sc@n
SD (480i) = between 640 x 480 to 720 x 576 with interlaced sc@n - not widescreen

[edit] the content filters didn't like sc a n!

[paulneale]

Yeah, thanks DMS, that's what I thought too. Is that the official line from DABS?

There's a laptop being advertised as having a "15.5" Full HD LCD Display" but the specification small print says it's only 1366 x 768.


Sony VAIO EH2P0E/B
Quicklinx: 7R5ZI700

VAIO E series is equipped with a real wide display that delivers crisp, high contrast images. Its full HD lets you experience all the beauty of full HD video as well as high-resolution video games.

Email Advert:
Here's the mailshot link, with relevent text below...

Key Features
• 2nd Generation Intel
• Core™ i5 Processor
• 4GB RAM, 320GB HDD
• 15.5" Full HD LCD Display
• Intel HD Graphics 3000
• Windows 7 Home Premium
• Smart 3D Design

It's definitely not me being stupid is it? They are going out of their way to describe it as having a Full HD widescreen display, but then hiding the truth in the small print. I'm hoping the tech spec is wrong and it is really a Full HD 1920 x 1080 laptop, because that's what I wanted to buy!

Hmmm...

[DMS]

Definitely not you being stupid! I can't comment on what the offical Dabs line is but 1366 x 768 is not full HD, plain and simple. It only has about half the required number of pixels! What is strange, though, is that the text on the Dabs site will have simply been copied and pasted from whatever marketing material was sent through by Sony. In fact, if you Google "VAIO E series is equipped with a real wide display that delivers crisp, high contrast images. Its full HD lets you experience all the beauty of full HD video as well as high-resolution video games." it always comes up for this item. Which seems really odd. There may be a little loophole somewhere such as it being full HD capable if you connect it via HDMI to a suitable screen but I cannot see how the description could apply when using its built in one.

[2o2o]

These descriptions come from in this case Sony, you will find all retailers selling this laptop will say the same, and because it meets 720p standards it is Full HD as there is nothing governing the term "Full HD" only the term "HD". A lot of laptop manufacturers have been cheaping (I know it's not a word but I bet you know what I mean by it ) out on people recently and deciding 1366x768 is enough because it enables them to sell them as HD without having to pay an extra £10-15 for a 1080p display.

[DMS]

... except that looking through some of the marketing material brings up this:

"VAIO E Series is equipped with a 15.5 (39.37 cm), 16:9 Real Wide display that delivers crisp, high contrast images. Its Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixel array lets you experience all the beauty of Full HD video as well as high-resolution video games. Type of LCD display varies depending on model."

So they do seem to know the difference between HD and Full HD (or at least the generally accepted definitions) and there may be models within the E Series that are Full HD. So, perhaps, the marketing guff has been used incorrectly or not proof read!

[paulneale]

If you printed that on an in-store info sheet, the local Trading Standards officers would be all over it in a flash. Not to mention the queue of pished-off customers demanding their money back for being miss-sold / lied to ("...as described...").

To be honest, I find the whole thing below par for a respected, large organisation like Dabs (backed by BT, one of the richest Telcos in the world). Surely they can afford to pay enough product managers to deal with such issues?

(That's assuming they're not trying to deliberately mislead us?)

Well, Dabs: Are you? What's the score? Will I get a Full HD display with that laptop, or a sack of bogies to chew on?

[DMS]

I'm not sure how active the Dabs guys are on the forum at the moment so you are probably more likely to get a response by emailing csmanager@dabs.com.

This is at worst sloppy but I certainly wouldn't think there was any intention to mislead. It certainly looks like it is down to information supplied by Sony. Ultimately, Dabs will be reliant upon suppliers for ensuring that any product information is accurate. Perhaps this should have been picked up - it is a fairly obvious one in isolation - but there are thousands of products on the site meaning that this type of thing is easy to miss.

[paulneale]

Well, I suppose that's why the forums are dead. I hope Dabs rewards you guys for your loyalty and helping them out!

The only thing I disagree with is the idea that they might not think Full HD means 1080p. No serious retailer thinks 720p is Full HD!

I only posted the thread here because it's the 2nd or 3rd time a tempting sounding Sony laptop has been touted in the Spam, only to turn out not as described.

(Last time I did email them to point out the mistake, and was told it was because the VGA out supported Full HD, which, a part from being a terrible excuse, was completely missing the point.) I bet it's the same laptop!!!

If somebody Dabsy does ever turn up here, say hello from me. I'll go and see how much a 1920 x 1080 laptop is elsewhere, as the cheapest one I can verify in specification on here is a £1k MSI with loads of extra stuff I don't need.


Cheers for chipping in, much appreciated,
Paul.

P.S. I really hope it's not Full HD now, because it's too good to be true at that price, and I'm going to end up spending more somewhere else and will be annoyed with myself if it turns out it was 1920 x 1080 all along!

[DMS]

You could always identify the product you want and then ask Dabs whether they are able to supply it. For instance, if you want a Vaio, there are full HD models available at prices that are not too ridiculous. Just email duncsdeals@dabs.com the model number and see what happens. I've done that a couple of times (once for a router and also for an MSI 6950 Twin Frozr III) and stock appeared pretty swiftly.

And if you do that I'll be able to claim my commission (just kidding).