Sky HD Installation This Weekend - Should I be excited??

slumped

Hi All

Have Sky HD being installed this weekend - should I be excited or have I just wasted €449?

What should I be saying to the "Sky Engineers" that come out?

I assume I should re-connect the phone line?

Advice appreciated.

Ta

S

talkingclock

slumped wrote:

should I be excited or have I just wasted €449?

I suppose the program quality doesn't change together with the picture quality. So it's up to you to be excited.

I wouldn't...

watty

You need a 1080 line native resolution > 37" TV or its a waste. Such a tv makes the SkyHD box look like small change.
BBC HD via other channels, about 3 programs a day.

mustang68

It worries me that you don't have a longer paragraph describing how you spent many many hours choosing a TV that is HD (and not just "HD ready") .

For me I must have gone to 6 TV shops and asked them to demo HD content, some of the sets looked rubbish and I finally settled on a great set. Watty is right, the cost of the Sky HD is small change to the cost of the TV that can display it correctly.

cauliflower69

The quality is fantastic especially if your like me and like to watch discovery HD well worth the few extra quid shame there aren't more HD channels.

Rippy

cauliflower69 wrote:

The quality is fantastic especially if your like me and like to watch discovery HD well worth the few extra quid shame there aren't more HD channels.

Glad you like it. What TV are you watching it on ?

slumped

Hi

I bought this:

SAMSUNG 32i HD READY LCD TV
1366X768 HD PANEL
8000:1 CONTRAST RATIO
WIDE COLOUR ENHANCER
MOVIES AND GAMES MODE
SWIVEL STAND

a few months ago and decided to go HD

S

ixtlan

watty wrote:

You need a 1080 line native resolution > 37" TV or its a waste. Such a tv makes the SkyHD box look like small change.
BBC HD via other channels, about 3 programs a day.

There is a lot of discussion on the web that at sizes under 46/50" and viewing distances over 8/9 ft, most people cannot distinguish the difference between a 1080 line TV and a HDready one, 768 lines.

I agree that a 1080 TV is "better", but as an armchair critic still waiting to buy the "perfect" TV, if people ask me for advice then I have to say that 768 lines is probably "good enough". I've kept putting off my purchase as prices have come down and specs have gone up.

I was looking at the Sony W2000, too many reports of screen clouding... moved briefly to the Samsung F71... then the Samsung M86/7 (which is now plagued by software issues that would annoy the perfectionist in me), and now am considering the new Sony D3000 which while only 768 is getting great reviews (all 40")...

Since I'm still not going to buy for a few more months, I'll probably have moved on again by then. I was planning to get HD and TV before September, but with Lost and BSG not returning until the new year, it's encouraged me to wait...

32" though is too small for HD... unless you are sitting very very close.

Ix.

Hody

I would not waste my money on a 1080i if you can have 1080p now, that means you have real HD instead of interpolated HD. DID or Powercity are selling new Samsungs that have this new specification (Full HD).

My question is now, just the other way around. If I´d own such a 1080p Full-HD Telly, would you advise me to go with Sky HD, or would you it´s not worth the addtional costs (receiver) compared to Sky+

mustang68

Hody wrote:

I would not waste my money on a 1080i if you can have 1080p now, that means you have real HD instead of interpolated HD

No one actually broadcasts in 1080p.
1080i is part of the HDTV specs, so it is "real HD"
If you do go out and buy a HDDVD or Blu ray player unless you sitting less then two meters from your 42" TV or have a greater then 60" TV you really won't notice (the THX specs are a good guide to distances from TVs)


Now that said, I've never seen a 1080i source on on TV compared to a 1080p source on another TV with the same specifications and player.

Hody

Well, in my opinion its a waste to buy old technology (1080i) when I can get the latest (1080p) for not much more money.

On the other side, a higher resolution comes in handy if using a PC on the Telly and some German FTA channcels are already broadcasting in HD. Was really suprised to see SAT1.HD on all the TVs at Peats. Walking in and thought, damn who the hell is talking German here...lol

ixtlan

Hody wrote:

If I´d own such a 1080p Full-HD Telly, would you advise me to go with Sky HD, or would you it´s not worth the addtional costs (receiver) compared to Sky+

I can just offer my personal opinion.

I have a 32" CRT. I had decided that there was no point in me getting a bigger TV until I was ready and able to get HD. Already with a 32" at 8ft I can see compression artefacts on various channels (eg Sky one). A 40" TV would be much worse. If the Standard Definition picture were good enough a 40" TV would work well, but SD picture quality is very poor on many channels.

So personally I think HD is necessary if you are getting a 37"+ TV. Whether a 1080TV is necessary is another question. 1080 is better, but 768 is almost as good. Most people won't notice the difference at 37-40". Sorry, I do seem to keep repeating this...

Ix.

Hody

Was using whatever was in the rented houses we were living in, from 26" Philipps to 32" Beko - all CRTs. I am planning on buying a Telly now, as there will be none in the new house. Was looking either for a 37" or a 40" Samsung LCD, but not decided yet. It also depends on how close we will sit to the telly. If the telly is kinda close to the couch, then a bit smaller is better. Its of course also a money issue - and still the question if the view HD programs are worth the money for a sky HD box.

Ranicand

slumped wrote:

Hi All

Have Sky HD being installed this weekend - should I be excited or have I just wasted €449?

What should I be saying to the "Sky Engineers" that come out?

I assume I should re-connect the phone line?

Advice appreciated.

Ta

S

Hard to say

yayamark

i dont agree. i think €449 is expensive just to get in installed and the extra add on for paying for the hd channell

Skys selection of HD channels at the moment is pathetic.

why dont they have better selection of channels, are there plans to add more.

Is the installation cost going to come down

If sky improves their package they might entice me!

spockety

Hody wrote:

Well, in my opinion its a waste to buy old technology (1080i) when I can get the latest (1080p) for not much more money.

On the other side, a higher resolution comes in handy if using a PC on the Telly and some German FTA channcels are already broadcasting in HD. Was really suprised to see SAT1.HD on all the TVs at Peats. Walking in and thought, damn who the hell is talking German here...lol

I've never seen a native 1080i (that doesn't do 1080p) TV... can you even buy them?

Yes all of those 1366x768 tv's will process 1080i signals, but they're still resampling the image down from it's native 1920x1080 to 1366x768.

What's worse about those 'native' 720p tv's is that they're not native at all, and they actually upscale 1280x720 to 1366x768, meaning you don't get 1:1 pixel mapping on your image! :eek: :eek: :eek:

Best of no world!

Hody

Well, the new models have 1080p so the maximal resolution is 1920 x 1080 which means there is no down-sampling - so you won´t lose any quality on interpolation.

spockety

Well I wouldn't be surprised to see a few "1080p" tv's coming on the market with a native line resolution of 1366x768. "This TV can handle FULL HD signals!", etc. ;(

The ability to process 1080p signals, and the ability to display them at full resolution are two different things. Just as it is with 1080i.

I get what you're saying, but the way you're saying it looks to me to be a symptom of the confusion that exists around the "HD Ready" market. Poor suckers parting with large wedges of cash and they don't even know what they've really bought.


Edit: As I was saying!

http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/07/12/panasonic-updating-lcd-line-th-32lx65-and-th-26lx65/

Hody

spockety wrote:

Well I wouldn't be surprised to see a few "1080p" tv's coming on the market with a native line resolution of 1366x768. "This TV can handle FULL HD signals!", etc. ;(

The ability to process 1080p signals, and the ability to display them at full resolution are two different things. Just as it is with 1080i.

I get what you're saying, but the way you're saying it looks to me to be a symptom of the confusion that exists around the "HD Ready" market. Poor suckers parting with large wedges of cash and they don't even know what they've really bought.


Edit: As I was saying!

http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/07/12/panasonic-updating-lcd-line-th-32lx65-and-th-26lx65/

Arrrgh mate, dont edit posts while people are answering already :eek:

You are right, there is confusion. Most people just go for the HD-ready symbol on the tellies in the store and think they will be fine. 1080p resolution on affordable LCDs is available since a very short time.

I was in DID and Powercity and about to buy a Samsung when I went back home to check the Samsung page and stambled about the new "M" series.
I can´t imagine how upset I would have been, if I would have bought "old technology" when I could have got the latest for just 300 or 400 Euro more.
I am saying just, because a telly is something you will have for some years, 5-10 years at least, so I think buying junk is the wrong decision here.

In general there is a big difference on picture quality, brightness, contrast, viewing angle and sound. The tellies in the stores are never feed by neither the same nor a suitable digital source and the standard factory settings of a LCD TV are never the ones the will give you the best results.

spockety

We are pretty much in agreement on everything.

If people get upset after they buy something, it's because they didn't really do their research. These people usually are the type who will walk into Dixons, and walk out with a TV in a trolley and a Dixons 5 year warranty that cost half the price of the TV on top of it!

So to future proof yourself, or make sure you're getting something decent, you want a native 1920x1080 display for sure. Especially if you're gonna hook up a PC/media_centre to it etc.

But I have a horrible feeling that if you thought the marketing drivel around "HD Ready" was bad, a lot of people will be banging their heads off desks when the ads start appearing for "FULL HD, PS3/BLURAY READY" tv's that can process 1080p but resample down to 1366x768. UGH!!

Hody

Well my experience is that service and expert advice is not always on offer at most retail stores - so you will have to make your homework in order to get what you want. I have spent hours reading reviews, tests and consumer opions on different brands and models.

All I have learned is there is no jack of all trades device and every telly has its up- and downsides. There is no such thing as the best overall telly, but there is the TV that will suit best for your needs, depending if you just want to watch TV, if you watch loads of DVDs, have a Xbox or what resolution the graphic card in his PC supports - and if this TV model has a fast enough reaction time to match with this. And then there a some brands that are very much recommend for watching TV or DVDs even in high resolutions but suck with PCs. Samsung and LG have the fame of being best for consoles and PCs, while Samsung, Sony and Lowe have the fame of having the best picture, best colours - but Samsung has the worst sound also.

I am getting into details and as everybody can see, buying a LCD television is as complicated as choosing the right house. God bless the Dixon customers you mentioned before, buy something, dont think about it anymore and be happy like that :rolleyes:

spockety

LCD? Load of c**p

Sony KDS55A2000 :eek:

Hody

spockety wrote:

LCD? Load of c**p

Sony KDS55A2000 :eek:

nice one, but I guess I go for a Samsung, because of the gaming...

watty

The Girls at Tesco checkout are paid the same as Retail Instore Advisors and probably know more.

Hody

watty wrote:

The Girls at Tesco checkout are paid the same as Retail Instore Advisors and probably know more.

DIY store, Electronics, computer parts you name it, whatever you are looking for, you will not always get a good advice in stores, that´s just how it is.

spockety

Hody wrote:

nice one, but I guess I go for a Samsung, because of the gaming...

*ahem*

What, the Sony's 2.5ms response time not good enough for ya?

Hody

spockety wrote:

*ahem*

What, the Sony's 2.5ms response time not good enough for ya?

It´s great, perfect even - but I have fallen in love with the SAMSUNG
LE40M87BDXXEU since a long time - but maybe I change my mind...

spockety

Hody wrote:

It´s great, perfect even - but I have fallen in love with the SAMSUNG
LE40M87BDXXEU since a long time - but maybe I change my mind...

Change your mind all you want, they don't sell them any more!

uncle_sam_ie

Sky sent me a letter for an offer on Sky HD(€299) because, I'm a so called loyal customer. Their installing it this coming monday just time for Wimbledon on BBC HD.
I've got a plasma Pioneer 42'' PDP-427OXD that's does not out put at 1080, but down scales to 768. Are you say Sky HD is a waste on my tele?

byte

No, you should see a very noticeable difference between SD that you currently have and HD when you get SkyHD installed.

SkyHD does not broadcast in 1080p anyway. It uses 1080i or 720p

uncle_sam_ie

byte wrote:

No, you should see a very noticeable difference between SD that you currently have and HD when you get SkyHD installed.

SkyHD does not broadcast in 1080p anyway. It uses 1080i or 720p

The picture on the Pioneer is really good when watching a DVD though a progressive scan (576i)set up. Sky HD should be better right?

byte

uncle_sam_ie wrote:

The picture on the Pioneer is really good when watching a DVD though a progressive scan (576i)set up. Sky HD should be better right?

Yes.

uncle_sam_ie

Thanks,

I just could not afford a 1080 when bought the Pioneer. I've been very happy with the tele so far though. I'll give a full review on monday and let you know if SkyHD was worth it.:)