Television Without Scanning?

[Electronic M]

I believe that FPs convert analog signals (when a digital input is not used) to a digital image then process it in the same way as a digital input....So if the synch detector of the analog to digital converter was lousy it might be possible for a flat panel to "loose synch".
Also on digital signals if the signal drops out temporarily and the screen gets pixelated/ moving scenery get distorted that is sort of like loosing synch. To help compress digital video signals parts of the image that remain unchanged for multiple frames are only sent once, and only the parts that move or change are sent thereafter. So if the signal is disrupted momentarily part of the motion/change data will be missing or wrong and cause the parts of the image that are changing from frame to frame to be out of synch (and or distorted) with the station. Because sometimes the change/motion data can be based on the previous frames motion/change data being received correctly the errors from the missing data can exacerbate them selves over several frames until the next COMPLETE frame is transmitted.

I think the pixels of a flat panel would disqualify it from being a direct incarnation of that system because, though FPs don't really have to use scanning, they are still splitting an image into pieces for transmission and reassembling them for reception/display.

[Jeffhs]

Thanks much for that explanation, Tom. I guess I have an awful lot to learn about digital TV, having grown up with NTSC analog CRT sets.

Your statement, however, that DTV pictures are separated into several pieces, transmitted, and then reassembled at the receiving end rang a bell in my head -- I probably read it somewhere online, in an article on DTV theory. I do know that DTV receivers rely heavily on computer technology, so that explanation makes sense. DTVs are about the only kinds of televisions that display a "Please Wait . . . " message for the first few seconds after they are first turned on (as my Insignia 19" FP does); that is probably to allow the set's microprocessor and other circuits to initialize before the picture appears.

BTW, I don't know if other brands of flat TVs do this, but my Insignia set will sometimes turn itself off and back on again within a second or so when I shut it off with my GE (Jasco Products) universal remote control. The set does not do this with its own remote. I checked Insignia's website, specifically the user community forum where owners post problems they are having with their sets. One of those posts did mention the turn-off problem when using universal remotes; the problem is caused by the remote actually sending two identical signals to the TV, to ensure that the set is turned off. However, since the remote IR (infrared) signal that turns the TV on is identical to the one that turns it off, the TV is actually getting two turn-on signals -- which is why it will switch on again after having been shut off with a universal controller. The solution is to point the remote away from the television as soon as the power button is pushed. This prevents the TV's remote sensor from receiving two power-off signals, and the set will power off and stay off.

This is a known problem with Insignia TVs, according to the website. I don't know why these sets only do this with universal remotes and not with the original; maybe slight differences in IR signals between universals and the set's own controller?

I would use my set's original remote 100 percent of the time if it were a universal remote, but it isn't. That is, it will operate the television, but not a VCR, DVD, cable box, etc. unless these devices are what are referred to in the TV's online manual as "HDMI-CEC" compatible. For this to work I'd need to connect my VCR and DVD to my FP TV via two HDMI cables, and the VCR and DVD would have to be HDMI-CEC compatible, which I am sure my VCR isn't -- it's far too old (manufactured by Panasonic in 2002). I'm not sure my DVD player meets the HDMI-CEC standard either; it may not, since it was made in 2005 by a Chinese electronics manufacturer (Changhong), which I had never heard of until I bought the unit to replace my CyberHome DVD three years later.