Home audio & video: HDTV's and non high def picture
HDTV still using an analog signal? Maybe that's the problem
by fuelmagic - 1/19/08 12:57 AM In reply to: HDTV by larrym64When I bought my first HDTV 2 years ago I had to change the input sources to make standard def TV look good. Don't use RF cable (the coaxial antenna cable) from your cable box, satellite box or DVD player. They carry analog audio and video mixed together and don't have the capacity to properly fill your HDTV screen. Use the SVHS output or if you have one an RGB output plus separate audio to bring life to standard def programs. My Samsung DLP TV is much more watchable with the standard def stuff than the old tube TV was. It just needs more signal than the old ones, that's all. The digital televisions are really computers, aren't they? Garbage in, garbage out.
the simple answer
by froasier - 1/19/08 1:10 AM In reply to: HDTV by larrym64It depends mainly on the quality of scaling/image processing in the TV. I'm not sure which specific TVs have good scaling, but that's what you have to look for.
I would also suggest getting something other than broadcast TV to make use of your HD display; computer (directly connected or with networked media receiver), upconverting DVD player, HD-DVD/BD player, or game system.
If you just care about watching TV and/or you're satisfied with SD for now, you might as well just wait--TVs will only get better and cheaper.
HDTV and regular broadcasts
by abcharlie - 1/19/08 12:25 PM In reply to: HDTV by larrym64It sounds like most of the people replying work for the TV makers, the way they try to justify garbage. In HDTV should not make regular broadcasts look like crap.
It is only if the manufacturers got lazy and did not bother to optimize the display for regular def. Yes, they have to work a bit harder, or extra noise will creep into the regular signal. But that is a matter of putting in a tiny bit of extra effort to clean up the regular signal for display on the high def screen.
A regular def. TV averages the signal to the TV screen which gets rid of the noise the HDTV makers are putting in. Now most may be too lazy, especially when they have a hoard of people who justify their incompetence, and it also persuades people to go out and buy cable/satellite, so making them this way may be done on purpose.
Ie, you are right, that there is no reason whatsoever that your signal should look worse on the HDTV, and returning it is the only way that manufacturers are going to have their feet held to the fire, and become competent at their jobs.
Unfortunately I do not have any suggestions as to competent manufacturers.
HD TVs and feeding with standard broadcast
by dia1943 - 1/19/08 12:28 AM In reply to: HDTV's and non high def picture by larrym64I am in the UK and Take Sky Satellite HD and PAL 625 line transmissions. I have owned a Pioneer PDP 506XDE (50") for over two years and it gives superb quality pictures from normal transmissions and even better using HD. It's the best piece of kit that I've ever owned.
HDTV & non HD picture
by anniemcd59 - 1/19/08 7:23 AM In reply to: HDTV's and non high def picture by larrym64I agree some non-HD pictures are worse than others. It depends on the set as someone else posted, some decode better than others. I have Comcast with a motorola box.You could try to get into the settings menu. 1.shut off box.2.press and hold menu button, a screen will pop up. 3. change setting from 480i to 480p. That may help alittle.
Hope it helps..
HDTV's and non high def picture
by sparky134 - 1/19/08 7:24 AM In reply to: HDTV's and non high def picture by larrym64you are right in most cases, you might try a hitachi brand, some of them up convert any signal they recieve to 1080i. I am not where mine is, so the model #is not at my dispoal right now, but i bought a 50" plasma (hitachi)and havent recived my hi def equipment from dish network yet( i have just been to busy to get it done) so I watch sd programing right now and the picture is fine
Problems
by Dr. Planarian - 1/19/08 7:26 AM In reply to: HDTV's and non high def picture by larrym64First of all, do not confuse digital v. analog with HD v. standard definition. HD signals are all digital, but standard def signals can be either digital or analog. It is ANALOG SIGNALS that will go away next year; some (if not most) TV will still be at standard definition after the switchover.
Secondly, I notice that you had a Sony in the W3000 series. My TV, a KDL52XBR4, is somewhat similar. I too was horribly disappointed in its SD performance out of the box until I discovered that its default settings were not optimal for viewing SD pictures. A simple tweak to the defaults of the DRC mode and palette settings, including turning DRC mode completely off (it comes preset to Mode 1) GREATLY improved (I mean a really HUGE improvement!) the quality of the picture for standard definition programming without adversely affecting the HD picture quality from any source at any resolution. Also, turning all motion enhancement off brought about an improvement, but not as great as the DRC thing.
(I do not know for sure that the W series sets have these adjustments. I'm glad my set does, though).
I also use "Full Pixel" in my display resolution settings.
I also have my home theater system, audio and video from all sources, fed via HDMI cables through an Onkyo receiver that upconverts everything to some extent. I must say, though, that my Sony BDP-S300 Blu-Ray player does an absolutely FABULOUS job upconverting standard definition DVDs (I also have a Toshiba HD-A30 HD-DVD player that does an OK job upconverting but nowhere nearly as smooth as the Sony).
Please understand, however, that because your screen is so much larger and sharper you notice shortcomings in standard definition broadcasting far more emphatically than you do on a smaller-screen standard definition set, or on the usually blurry SD projection sets. You are not actually getting a worse picture, just a much bigger one where the lower resolution is much more apparent, PARTICULARLY when compared to 1080i signals from the HD Theater stations (or the magnificent 1080p pictures from Hi-Def disks) and whatnot.
New stuff often makes content designed for the old stuff less satisfactory, simply because the new stuff is so much better and it suffers from the comparison. What're you gonna do?
Didn't realize this was such a significant problem
by Rollbar - 1/19/08 10:23 AM In reply to: Problems by Dr. PlanarianThe A3000 does a pretty good job with SD and though it's obvious when we are watching a SD signal, it's just not all that bad.
Gary
HDTV and non high def content
by larrym64 - 1/19/08 6:29 PM In reply to: Problems by Dr. PlanarianDr. Planarian thanks for the suggestions. I am leaning towards the 46" XBR4. I realize it is not the TV but the signal. The other TV I returned 3 years ago was for the same reason was the sony 34xbr tube set. At the time I did not know about calibration and the other adjusments that could be made. I am not looking for the picture on SD to be perfect just watchable so I don't get a headache. I plan on watching as much HD as possible but not everything is HD yet. I have also found that all HD is not equal. Another question I have is what is anyone's experience with verizon FIOS, just curious as it is now available in my area. After almost ten years with DISH I had a very bad experience with them and now am a cablevision customer with no longterm commitment.
Analog SD on an HD Display
by hoopitup2000 - 1/19/08 1:54 PM In reply to: HDTV's and non high def picture by larrym64If you are using Analog Cable TV, the snow that is more than likely in the signal will look much worse, because your HD set has to convert "EVERYTHING" it receives into digital.(DIGITAL SNOW REALLY LOOKS BAD!) Your only choices are to:
1. Sit furthur from the set(1 or 2 feet can make a huge difference)
2. Buy a smaller screen size.
3. Switch to satellite, or fiber optic cable TV if available(NO SNOW)
There's still no substitute for true HD, but it's still a waiting game for that great picture on every channel.
Also, this is why a SD TV looks better
by Dan Filice - 1/19/08 2:15 PM In reply to: Analog SD on an HD Display by hoopitup2000A SD TV is 640X480 pixels, so a standard-def broadcast signal will match this resolution and look good. A new HDTV will either be 1366X768 or 1980X1080, so when the HDTV displays a standard-def signal, it needs to fill in the missing image information with something. This is where some TVs do a better job than others when handling the resolution change. But, the quality of an SD signal also depends on the broadcast system (cable or satellite) as this can had terrible compression artifacts to the image. This is separate from how the TV handles the conversion process.
Also, and this is BIG, a lot depends on how you have your TV settings adjusted. As Dr. Planarian notes, he changed the settings on his Sony and got a much better SD image. I would venture to say that many people take their new TV out of the box, plug it in, then complain when things don't look stellar. People need to read the TV manual first before they turn their new TV on.
Local broadcast in large US metropolitan area
by TOBYTWO - 1/19/08 4:00 PM In reply to: HDTV's and non high def picture by larrym64In regard to HD reception, I didn't notice this in any post.
In LA area of the US, HD can be recvd. for free with a UHF antenna on channels 2.1 thru 69.1. This includes all major networks, Local Networks, as well as paid/subscribed free public broadcast on channels 28.1 and 50.1 from transmitters in Santa Barbara to San Diego.
A HDTV has the tuner, mine has two, you must install a UHF antenna with appropriate Cable (rg-6, i think) to the tv to rcv. the signal.
I get a beautiful picture on my 1080p 62in monitor. I use Directv for addtional 70 channels in HD. I never watch any program in standard broadcast anymore. I also record each program and then I can zip through the commercials.
Enjoy HD, it will only get better, Toby
MY HDTV RECENT ADVENTURE , MAY HELP YOU??
by LOWRIDENPAN - 1/21/08 9:45 PM In reply to: HDTV's and non high def picture by larrym64FOR ABOUT THE LAST 1 OR MAYBE 1 AND HALF YEARS I HAVE HAD A 44IN. PANASONIC LCD,ON THIS SET ALMOST EVERY KIND OF PICTURE LOOKED REALLY GOOD AND OF COURSE ALL HD WAS UNBELIEVEABLE I EVEN HAD MY PC CONNECTED TO IT!! NOW MY SON IS A BIT OLDER SO I THOUGHT TIME FOR A BIGGER SET AND THE OLD 44 IN. WAS LIKE NEW SO HE GLADLY SWIPED IT FROM ME AND NOW IT'S AN X-BOX TV ANY WAY I BOUGHT A 50 IN. SONY BRAVIA THIS SET WAS SUPPOSED TO BE TO NEW TECH FOR THEM AS FOR THE INTERNALS, I GOT IT HOME AND THE PICTURE WAS CRAP ON HD ON ANY SOURCE ,THE COLOR DIDN'T WANT TO ADJUST RIGHT SO FOR A WEEK ALMOST TWO EVERY DAY I WAS CONSTANTLY TRYING TO GET THIS SONY SET UP BUT THE TV BEAT ME I GAVE UP CAUSE I NEVER HAD THAT HARD OF A TIME WITH ANY TV ,SO I WENT TO A FRIEND AT ANOTHER STORE GOT A BIGGER BADER AND BETTER TV AND DEAL FOR THAT MATTER. I NOW HAVE THE NEW PANASONIC 61 IN.LCD FOR A BIT LESS THAN THE SONY BUT THE PICTURE HD AND NON HD ARE BACK TO BEAUTIFUL AGAIN ,I SHOULD HAVE NEVER LEFT PANASONIC AS I HAVE THE BEST LUCK WITH THERE SETS.PEOPLE ONLY MY OPINION ,EVERYONE LIKES DIFFERENT BRANDS FOR MANY DIFFERENT REASONS ,BUT YOU HAVE TO TEST THEM FOR YOUR SELF, THANKS FOR MY RAVINGS T.F.
Digital TV - is it better?
by fishandgrapes - 1/22/08 8:23 AM In reply to: HDTV's and non high def picture by larrym64Well, I'm holding off hi-def for a while until I see how far the broadcasters will trade quality against the number of channels squeezed into expensive spectrum. It's been taken too far with DAB radio, which can sound awful.
At the moment, a good analogue picture in UK on 625 lines is in the opinion of more than just me, superior to the digital terrestrial version. Analogue might sometimes have background snow, but it does not suffer from the weird grainy quality of digital: fast moving pictures with a lot of detail, such as team sport, can look as though there's a swarm of bees buzzing about anything that moves. Sometimes facial features move out of sync with the owner's heads, and there's a kind of overlay like bathroom glass. Yes... my 625 signal is perfect, I can see the mast! At the moment the hi-def digital sets in the shops look really good, but when the scramble for channels starts, what then?
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