X205-S9349 - Only 1080i ?

Hi guys ,
I'm considering to buy next week a Toshiba X205-S9349 laptop for different engineering applications , graphics , few games but also for playing High Definitions movies to my 1080p LCD through its HDMI port .
Regarding this last issue I have 2 questions :

1.Why in the X205-S9349 specifications appears that it supports only 1080i resolution ? What about 1080p ? Is it or is it not supported ?

2.Regarding the changing of the resolution from display's native - 1440X900 to LCD's (1920X1080) . How it is done when I connect the notebook to the LCD ? Should I change the resolution of the video card/display through its properties or it is done automatically ?


Thanks in advance !

 

Save your pennis for a couple months and get the S9359 version and i'm sure its supported as i can output in it but my HD-TV can only go up to 1080i but it would go up to 1080p if i had it. When going to the display settings after hooking up to TV through the HDMI port it will dsplay the TV as a second monitor in which case you have the choice to set the resolution from here you can also choose for the TV to be the main monitor and change its position in relationship to the laptops monitor. PS the S9359 version has a resolution of 1680x1050 and can do native 720p HD as well as otput 1080p to an HD display whether it be TV or monitor.

 

Yes I do but I still don't understand why not to make a 1080p resolution available through its HDMI port .

 

Sonickid101 ,
The 9359 one has the same resolution according to Toshiba - Up to 1080i (ONLY) and it is not a such big surprise since both models are using the same video card .

 

Hmm the NVidia site says the 8700M can delivers upto 1080i/1080p depending the the output and tv capability.
Probably the HDMI port is not capable of 1080p output...
How about output via wireless-n??

 

The HDMI port should be capable to transsfer 1080p if something stops it to do it , and it looks like there is "something" that stops it according with the "product tour" in the link below :

http://www.toshibadirect.com/td/b2c/cmod.to?coid=-33936

 

Lets try to find an answer to this question by composing it in an other way :
Does anyone know about any Notebook which supports the highest resolution of 1080p through the HDMI port ?

 

I asked this same question a week or two ago.

Here's the quick answer:

The product tour refers to using the notebook's LCD display, from what I was told.

S9349 = 1440x900
S9359 = 1680x1050

Neither of those are capable of displaying the full 1080p which is 1920x1080 (we'll leave out the 16:9 vs 16:10 minor discrepancy). It will display the 1080p movie but "downrezzed" to the LCD's native resolution. Since the display is not natively 1080p, it can't be marketed or listed as 1080p. This does NOT mean that it cannot output 1080p over HDMI. Both models, from what I've been told from end users of both models, are able to put out 1080p over HDMI to an external display that is capable of 1080p (TV, projector, 1920x1080 monitor, etc). HDMI in itself is clearly capable of it and the graphics cards are the same (8700M). The resolution capabilties on external displays is more or less dependent upon the graphics card's capabilities and the 8700M is clearly capable of 1080p over HDMI and 1920x1080 over VGA (and therefore DVI by way of a $10 HDMI/DVI adapter), although HD-DVDs in particular over VGA I expect would not work due to HDCP requirements (this part I'm not sure of...depends on the HD-DVD drive and how locked down it is).


Here's the long answer:

1080i vs 1080p -

Both are 1920x1080. The only difference between 1080i and 1080p is that 1080p is progressive meaning all 1080 lines are being displayed every frame. This is mostly only useful or noticeable when watching fast action such as sports. The motion is smoother. Resolution or image quality is the same, just smoother while there's a lot of movement.

LCD panels are progressive meaning all lines or resolution display at all times which means any signal being sent to the LCD screen that is higher or lower than it's native resolution (1680x1050 for the S9359 and 1440x900 for the S9349) is being "upconverted" or "downrezzed" to that native resolution. For instance, if you're playing a 1080p (1920x1080) HD DVD on your S9359 notebook's 1680x1050 LCD screen, the HD DVD is being downrezzed from 1920x1080 to 1680x1050. Since 1920x1080 won't fit in either 1680x1050 or 1440x900, neither are capable of displaying the full 1080p. The only place you're going to see the full 1080p on screen is on an external 1080p display.

That being said, on a relatively small screen such as 17", you'd be hard pressed to tell a difference between 1920x1080 vs 1680x1050 because of how tightly the pixels are packed in relation to screen size. It will look beautiful either way. The real benefit of 1920x1080 over 1680x1050, 1440x900 or even 720p (1280x720) is for larger displays.

Completely confused yet?

 

Smooth317 ,
Thanks a lot for your answer .
Unfortunatelly , I think that you're wrong . Please check first the link that I posted above from Toshiba's site and take a look what the note says ( I'm posting also a screenshot of it and marked in red the relevant part ) .
They are telling us that the HDMI interface supports resolutions up to 1080i .
It does not reffer to the resolution of the screen but the resolution of the "HDMI output interface" .
From this reason I am worry that it means that this pretty notebook is not able to pass through its HDMI output any 1080p signals because it will be downsampled to 1080i .
I cannot realize why a $2300 laptip which is supplied with one of the best video cards available , has a HD-DVD drive ( and as we know most of the HD-DVD movies has a 1080p resolution and not 1080i) and has a HDMI output is limited in its resolution ...

Any ideeas what is wrong here ?

 

i think the answer lies in toshiba's hd dvd drive. if you look at their standalone HDDVD players, only the higher end models support full 1080P output via HDMI. The entry level models only support 1080i. Now, I imagine this is the reason why the X205 only outputs at 1080i. The difference between 1080i and 1080p are not that noticeable on smaller screens (really need 40" above) so I dont know if its much of an issue. Who knows? Vast majority of screens dont support 1080p natively, and those that do cost a lot more.

If you happen to have a massive HDTV, then I recommend u buy a standalone player.

 

That very well could be the case and Toshiba's demo certainly specifically states it. That being said, I don't own one (waiting on the 8800M version), so I'm just going off of what others have posted. Here's the post that led me to believe 1920x1080 was possible over HDMI, although it doesn't specifically mention watching HD-DVDs over the HDMI. Someone else confirmed the same on the S9349 but I'm having trouble finding that exact post now.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2402411#post2402411

The post is from Sonic about half way down, #66.

 

Smooth317 ,
Both 1080i and 1080p has the same resolution of 1920X1080 and from this reason the both are called "1080".
I think that all of us agree that 1080p is the highest resolution and quality possible .
All the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray movies on the market today have a 1080p resolution . Check for example Amazon's site .
It means that if you put a such media on your HD-DVD player or you'll play it from the Toshiba's laptop Hard Drive through the HDMI output , you won't be able to see it in its highest quality possible which is 1080p but only 1080i , even you own a $5000 1080p 50'' LCD TV.
It makes me angry since I would like to use this laptop also for watching this kind of movies on my 1080p resolution LCD TV .

The big question here is if there are any laptops on the market these days built with an HDMI output and are able to pass a 1080p resolution through it ?
OK , we know now that Toshiba cannot do it and it is limited to 1080i . What about other models ? I've searched the web a lot but I still cannot find any laptop model that clearely supports 1080p .

 

IlanD,

All The New Sony VAIO FZ-Series from 14" to 17" are capable of output of Full HD 1080p!

Yap probably should ask toshiba to write a firmware update to patch it up to 1080p, not 1080i...

 

It's a little odd to me and somewhat confusing that the card and the player are capable of 1920x1080 and the notebook's display is obviously progressive, but it can't put out 1920x1080 progressive over the HDMI? Doesn't make sense at all.

 

Well, this may very well be a limitation of the drive. My 9349 has the TS-L802A drive, which is the same as what they put in the Qosmio-G35-AV650. Note that the Qosmio-G35-AV650 had the same issue, and it was a more expensive unit.

http://pcworld.about.com/od/notebooks/Toshiba-Qosmio-G35-AV650.htm

I wonder if this is fixable with a firmware update for the drive?

But as someone earlier stated, unless you have a large screen HDTV (as in 40 inch +) and a very anal eye the viewable difference between 1080i and 1080p is kind of mice nuts in most cases. That kind of precision is best left to a top end external drive (ie: no feature compromises in the interest of a commercial off the shelf bundled laptop).

Besides, consumer laptops like the X205 family are a series of feature compromises in order to fit a sizable market segment at an attractive price and are not the best platforms for trying to min/max the last little bit of performance out of each feature. If you are a min/maxer and want 102% out of each feature, a stock laptop off the shelf isn't the best choice. That's what custom orders are for, and you usually pay the price as well.

Personally, I am quite happy with all the features running at 95% out of the box at a very attractive price ($1700 at Costco) without any need for twinkage. I can live with 5-7% off of max here and there, though at some point after others have blazed the trail limits on overclocking the 8700 inside, I'll take a swag at that to get some more poopage for the newer games and get some more FPS.

Of course, your desired results are your desired results, so they may vary from mine.

 

planet ,
Can you please post a link of the Sony - FZ product or any other product where you see mentioned the word "1080p" ?
In the product tour Sony of Sony-FZ are describing it as in the picture below and the 1080p is not mentioned at all .

In their Data Sheet we'll find it :
"With pristine Full 1080 HD resolution and stunning clarity, Blu-ray Disc®
technology is an impressive new way to enjoy your entertainment. Blu-ray
Disc® also enjoys the most extensive industry support as it is backed by
more than 85% of consumer electronics companies, seven of the biggest
movie studios, the world's two largest music labels, plus PLAYSTATION® 3
and leading game companies."

OK - that is something that we already know that the Blu-Ray Disc technology has a Full HD resolution .
It still does not mean that this technology is transported as 1080p through their HDMI output .

So , if you know if Sony or any other Laptop manufacturer mention that he is able to transport High Definition contents through HDMI and keep the 1080p resolution , I'll be glad to know where it is mentioned .

 

Full HD means 1080p.
Try this for Sony Vaio:
http://www.cnet.com.au/laptops/laptops/0,239035649,339280603,00.htm

Also, Toshiba's own G45 (or G40 in official Toshiba-AU press release) is also capable of full 1080p HDMI output:
http://www.eclipsemagazine.com/4473/toshiba_out_mainstream_notebook_computers_hd_
http://www.isd.toshiba.com.au/71/li...TOID=89843&contentType=EDITORIAL&LISTYPE=True

 

WOW - that's interesting :

“Toshiba prides itself on making products that are relevant and
useful for everyone,” said Jeff Barney, vice president of marketing, Digital
Products Division, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. “With playback of
up to 1080i across a wide range of our Satellite notebooks and up to 1080p
among our Qosmio notebooks, users can begin to build a high-end home
entertainment center upon the foundation of Toshiba’s first-class multimedia
technology.”

I cannot see why and how Toshiba may limit the output resolution through HDMI of a file that plays from its Hard Drive and not from HD-DVD . The NVidia 8700 card is capable to pass through its HDMI output up to 1080p , so why to limit it ?

I would like to ask you guys if you know any 17'' laptop with a Santa Rosa CPU , 2G RAM , 5400 rpm Dual Hard Drives or 7200 rpm , 8600/8700 video card with an HDMI output which delivers for sure 1080p and it costs around $1700-$1800 . I'll consider any it over this Toshiba model since I am not a gamer , I don't need the HD-DVD drive but I REALLY need a high end laptop for graphics and video editing + playing 1080p files from its hard drive through HDMI to a LCD TV .
So , I'll be glad if you'll be able to advise on any other models avaialble with these features .

Thanks

NB : Take a look on this link . Also the Quosmio G35 which has a 1920X1080 and supports 1080p screen resolution has an HDMI port that supply ONLY 1080i . WHYYYYY ?!?!??!
http://www.crn.com/hardware/192500880