New TV, HD question

Originally Posted by Savio Du Funk

Yeah, on 5HD

Just 'cos it's on an HD channel, it doesn't mean it's HD. 5HD is just a mirror of 5, if they don't have the content in HD it won't be HD, maybe upscaled though.

Of course, the Gadget Show might actually be in HD these days

Edit, seems it's still filmed in SD.

Originally Posted by Screwdriver

Well that's a full 1080P panel so you can view HD if it's set up correctly. For me, the difference is night and day between SD and HD (42 inch Viera Plasma) so either you're sitting too far away or it's not getting HD from the Sky box. The big difference will be stuff like football where there's a lot of detail and Freeview is pretty hopeless. HD football should be incredibly sharp and detailed. Personally I would always go for 42 inch as an absolute minimum. The set isn't really that much bigger and forget all the nonsense about optimum viewing distance and room size; closer is better. With a 32 inch screen, you probably need to be no more than 2 metres away to be able to resolve the difference.

Screwd.

That. My Viera Plasma is the same. HD is magnificent. Chances are that although you have the source and the screen one is not providing the other with the right level of input. Go to the screen/input settings menu and make sure that the 1080p is selected.

IIRC Sky HD is only transmitted in 720p so arguing the toss over 5HD being in 1080 or not is a bit pointless. The difference between SD and 720HD is not huge to be fair. As was said before, try a decent new Blu Ray (like District 9 for example) and compare it with a standard definition broadcast. If you still don't see the difference I would suggest giving the telly away and settling down with a good book. In large print.

Originally Posted by Loz

IIRC Sky HD is only transmitted in 720p so arguing the toss over 5HD being in 1080 or not is a bit pointless.

No, Sky HD has always been either 720p or 1080i. I'd say most are in 1080 given what my TV flashes up whenever it changes to an HD channel.

Originally Posted by Loz

The difference between SD and 720HD is not huge to be fair.

Well, it's more than twice the resolution but I know what you mean.



I reckon the problem is entirely likely down to watching a non-HD programme, despite it being on an HD channel.

There's a setting on the Sky plus box that you can turn on that shows you whether the program was filmed in HD or is just normal being broadcast on an HD channel. Changes the colour of the programmes on the planner. Also as above, buy the best HDMI cable you can, ensure your TV settings are setup properly for HD - refresh rates etc. Mine is night and day on my Philips 40" tv, and you should also be able to notice that on the non HD channels that have HD variants, the picture is somewhat dumbed down to entice you to watch the HD channel.

Originally Posted by Londongal76

There's a setting on the Sky plus box that you can turn on that shows you whether the program was filmed in HD or is just normal being broadcast on an HD channel. Changes the colour of the programmes on the planner.

The info box about a programme will always tell you whether it's HD too.

Originally Posted by Londongal76

Also as above, buy the best HDMI cable you can

Hmmmmm. Or don't bother

Originally Posted by Londongal76

Also as above, buy the best HDMI cable you can

Buy the cheapest HDMI v1.4 you can find. Typically, you'll need to use eBay to get the right spec. I recently had to bury a few cables in a wall to mount an HDTV and the latest version is 1.4 or 1.4a if you insist.

The DVB-T encoding for HDTV in this country has embedded error correction as part of the MPEG stream so any lost or undifferentiated bits of data can be reconstructed. Unlike audio where poor quality cable can affect digital transmission by overworking the DAC, a video signal is far less likely to literally display any fault. Typically you might see a few sparklies in the picture for a really bad cable or one which is too long, much more than that and the transmission will simply fail completely. To spend a fortune on HDMI cable is a waste of money though in such a subjective environment, the feel good factor does actually help.

Screwd.

Also, it's worth taking time to set up the telly properly, taking time to know what all the options do. It takes me a good few weeks of changing settings until I'm fully happy with the picture on the tellies I've had.

This is a nice basic guide that has been around a while:

Lyris Lite :: Quick and Dirty TV Setup

Originally Posted by McNab

Also, it's worth taking time to set up the telly properly, taking time to know what all the options do. It takes me a good few weeks of changing settings until I'm fully happy with the picture on the tellies I've had.

This is a nice basic guide that has been around a while:

Lyris Lite :: Quick and Dirty TV Setup

That's a decent guide and not far off what I do myself.

S.