Top Christmas Gifts #1 - #2

#1 - 1080P

$3000 - $6000

The hottest spec in HDTV today is 1080P and TVs right now capable of this resolution fetch a high price even for a digital television. 1080P is a video mode of digital TV that stands for 1080 vertical lines of resolution, the P means the vertical lines appear in progressive scan. 1080P/60 has long been the Holy Grail of HDTV because it is the 1920x1080 resolution and refresh-rate that matches the video resolution of your computer monitor. Frame rates in video are 60 frames per second since the days of NTSC and most ATSC standards as well, the new video mode 1080P is often called 1080P/60 but 60 frames per second is not the only frame rate presentation of 1080P. There are also 30 or 25 frame per second flavors of 1080P that reduce the required bandwidth in half.

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New HDTVs with native resolution of 1080P/60 have been arriving at retailers to great enthusiasm from the Home Theater community as a whole. When Sony released specs on its new PS3 it included the 1080P/60 video mode as one that it will be capable of outputting to your TV, and since the optimistic believe HD DVD and Blu-Ray (both capable of 1080P/60) are just around the corner only adds to the excitement. Consumers today are buying up new 1080P HDTVs hoping to future proof their investment believing theyll be able to input 1080P/60 video resolutions to their TV using their televisions HDMI port, the most advanced digital connection available today.

However HDMI is not designed to process the bandwidth required of a 1080P/60 video signal and therein lay the source of much industry and consumer confusion surrounding the new standard. ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) who develops new digital display standards for North America does not currently support a 1080P/60 standard. The maximum display resolution supported by the ATSC is 1080P/30 so any video mode your 1080P/60 television is capable accepting must be formatted to its native resolution. Popular speculation holds the ATSC accepting a 1080P/60 standard soon, leading many to believe buying a 1080P/60 set now guarantees their display will be relevant into the future.

If youre shopping for a new HDTV this holiday season beware of the following misinformation and over-optimism coming from the industry over this new standard.

Video broadcast standards: No ATSC standard yet exists for 1080P/60, and its too wide for the current Mpeg2 pipe of broadcast TV. In other words Cable and Satellite TV will not be sending 1080P images to your TV anytime soon, if ever.
They cant even do 720P yet. Instead most broadcasts take 1080i chopped in half to 540P then scaled to 720P. So were not even seeing real 720P yet.
HDMI Processing: Take a close look at the specs of your perspective 1080P HDTV purchase and make sure the HDMI port is capable of 1080P processing. HDMI isnt designed to do 1080P/60 at all and if your manufacturer says there is capable of it youre just taking their word for it with no ATSC standard. If sources for true 1080P/60 video finally start to surface current 1080P owners are in for disappointment.
PS3 1080P support. Sony announced the PS3 is to be capable of 1080P resolutions. But higher resolution has diminishing returns when its passed the point of flattening out the jaggies in vector graphics, also known as antialiasing. Liquid smooth moving objects are already achieved with 720P and compatible games consoles (IE Xbox360). Developers are unlikely to allocate more resources than necessary to texture memory, even if theyre writing a PS3 exclusive. So, dont hold your breath for a batch of 1080P games for the PS3.
The best thing about 1080P is the great deals to be had on 720P sets. Prices on existing technology drop like a rock when the next step becomes available and this Christmas season will see HD in more households than ever.

No doubt, someday all digital fixed pixel display devices will be made 1080P/60 and perfectly able to accept them, but not until we have an ATSC standard.

#2 - Windows XP Media Center

$500 - $2000

The wide price range for Windows Media Center is because of how its sold, only as an operating system to a specially built computer. A PC must meet the pre-requisites for Win MC which includes a TV tuner card capable of at least two channels. You can buy the operating system as an OEM from certain dealers if you build your own PC, but generally its sold as a multi-media PC or HTPC (Home Theater PC).

A Win MC machine gives you access to Personal Video Recorder features allowing you to record and store programs from TV, even HDTV on your computer hard-drive. Unlike a PVR you wont have limited storage, you can expand the available space by simply upgrading or adding hard drives. Todays Windows MC users have access to high definition movies using Windows Media High Definition Video (WMV), this standard in motion picture compression provides true 1080P video at 24 frames per second. Its the only available method for1080P sets with HDMI to receive video at its native resolution. The movies available in this standard are limited today but it is a taste of what Blu-Ray or HD-DVD will offer hopefully sometime next year.

Most Win MC machines include a box with a quiet fan and will look much like an audio component like HPs Z500 series. Also included will be a remote control that allows you to navigate the PCs menu systems. Media Center extenders (which the Xbox 360 will also be) are outlets for the media available on your Media Center able to playback media stored on the central server. With a router you can serve up every room in the house with a media extender to playback movies, music and more. With Media Center, Microsoft is leading the pack in the move to home entertainments digital age.