High Definition Television

o1s1n · 09-01-2012 11:10PM

HD can feck off - 4:3 scanline CRT in RGB for the win!

rednik · 09-01-2012 11:11PM

On a proper set up, sport, documentaries and films are superb. I had my projector calibrated several months ago and I watched and chatted away to the guy who did it. I couldn't believe how far the projector was off from the factory settings. Everything set up in shops is set up so falsely to attract punters but when you see it done right it is truly brilliant.

matchthis · 09-01-2012 11:12PM

Got a large 3d led Samsung recently and new I would like it, but was fairly blown away. I find the animated movies better in 3d. The dark night was like watching the movie for the first time. The make up on the joker, all that fine detail I missed the first time. Had to watch batman begins after it, even herself agreed and that is saying something.

Gaming in full hd is also a huge step up as I can make out targets that are far away. 3d gaming does take some getting used too

09-01-2012 11:14PM

HD is brilliant if done properly. That is, if the TV is calibrated properly (no picture optimisations enabled, sharpness off, brightness and contrast set correctly) and the source material is using a decent enough bit rate for it (Sky usually do, the BBC do not). Blu-ray can look fantastic.

dubtom · 09-01-2012 11:16PM

Only got a HD tv at christmas. According to the sales man the only real HD is blueray,sky or whoever don't have the bandwidth to broadcast full HD, though I must admit to being impressed with the picture quality on a mates who has a HD service,although I did think the close up of faces had a strange effect on them,too sharp or something, I'm not sure what it was really,they looked too clear if that makes sense. It is something I consider paying for though,if only for nature programs etc.

Super-Rush · 09-01-2012 11:17PM

HD was the only way to watch Frozen Planet.

Saying that, you should try watching Corrie on ITV HD.

Seeing everyone of Deidre Barlow's wrinkles in stunning HD is truely a sight to behold.

namloc1980 · 09-01-2012 11:18PM

Sport and documentaries are pretty spectacular in HD. Anyone I know who watched BBC's Frozen Planet in HD was simply blown away!

If I have to watch a match in standard definition it just looks like a big out of focus mess.

mickdw · 09-01-2012 11:19PM

I wouldnt pay for hd pack but its reasonably good. very noticeable when moving back to standard def. SD in annoying to watch after it.

krudler · 09-01-2012 11:20PM

o1s1n wrote: »

HD can feck off - 4:3 scanline CRT in RGB for the win!

retro gaming should be in no other form

09-01-2012 11:23PM

dubtom wrote: »

Only got a HD tv at christmas. According to the sales man the only real HD is blueray,sky or whoever don't have the bandwidth to broadcast full HD, though I must admit to being impressed with the picture quality on a mates who has a HD service,although I did think the close up of faces had a strange effect on them,too sharp or something, I'm not sure what it was really,they looked too clear if that makes sense. It is something I consider paying for though,if only for nature programs etc.

Mostly true, Blu-ray can use anything up to 40Mb/s for the video. Broadcast HD started out around half that, but the BBC are only using about 9-12Mb/s now. RTÉ Two HD is about the same. Sky still use higher rates than that as far as I know.

steve9859 · 09-01-2012 11:24PM

Great for nature, animation, sport and games.

Crap for movies. I don't want my movies to look real - like a bunch of actors on a set. I want them to look like movies!

gizmo · 09-01-2012 11:30PM

Biggins wrote: »

Also VERY important is the quality of your HDMI cabling!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3y3QoFnqZc

One of the many many articles on why can be found here.

(Unless you were kidding in which case I'd recommend adding a disclaimer so people don't go out and buy Monster cables or other such rubbish.

)

Amber Lamps · 09-01-2012 11:33PM

I agree with the OP. I've had blu-ray for a couple of years and have loved it, the clarity is amazing.But over the christmas in different houses watching HD Tv I really didn't like it. As someone said everything seems to move fast in an indefinable way. Anyone I mentioned it to said they didn't know what I was on about. Whatever about nature programs and stuff it only seems to happen with tv shows and movies shown in HD. Tried to change the ratio a couple of times but they weren't my TV's and could have had a better shot at it given time, and anyway like I said no one else could see what I was on about and thought I was going mad.

InTheTrees · 09-01-2012 11:37PM

We got a HDtv about two years ago and dont watch low res tv anymore.

We get about fifty HD channels here in the US as opposed to about 200 non-HD.

Tea_Bag · 09-01-2012 11:37PM

Biggins wrote: »

Also VERY important is the quality of your HDMI cabling!

Biggins, this is the first time i think you've ever been completely wrong.

HDMI cables are all identical under ~10m long. i paid €1.50 for mine, and my friend paid €49.99.

we both get our 1010000111100 at the other end. if you need scientific proof ill link you to some articles when I'm not on my mobile.

09-01-2012 11:37PM

Amber Lamps wrote: »

As someone said everything seems to move fast in an indefinable way. Anyone I mentioned it to said they didn't know what I was on about.

Could it be that they have 100Hz or higher TVs? I remember thinking this when seeing a Sony 100Hz TV in action.

Johro · 09-01-2012 11:39PM

starbelgrade wrote: »

I'd say it'd work well for the likes of those, but most of the stuff I saw looked worse than standard definition. I suppose it'd be cool enough if you could switch from one to the other with the remote.

Yeah I have the old standard definition telly with a twenty-something inch screen and it does me fine, in fact the picture is clearer and sharper than most LCD or LED tv's I've seen, and that includes HDTV. I've looked at different tv's a while ago when I considered buying a flatscreen, but when in the shop I noticed that with a lot of them, if you're not right in front of the tv and looking at it sideways on you'll see f#ck-all, it's like when you have your laptop screen at the wrong angle and it just looks vague and dark. I also found that especially on the bigger screens the pixels are exaggerated and it looks grainy to me, though I believe that's not as bad on the plasma screens. Overall though, you'd have to spend a fair bit (big plasma screen and HD box) to get the real benefit, and I don't consider it a massive improvement over what I have already.
The only thing that made me consider a flat screen (and if you were buying one you might as well buy HD) anyway was the fact that just about everything is shown in widescreen format these days and because of that subtitles and film credits and such tend to run off the screen sometimes, which does annoy the hell out of me. But for now, this old philips is grand.
Also, people get all over excited about their super duper HD 3D widescreen plasma whatever the f#ck setup, but we're still watching shite programs.
It's HD crap, but still crap.:D

byte · 09-01-2012 11:44PM

It's also worth noting that on some of the HD channels on Sky, not all programming is HD.

There is an option somewhere in Settings menu, where you can choose to Highlight all HD programmes, so that, when browsing the EPG, the HD progs are yellow, SD are white. Dave HD, BBC One HD, ITV1 HD are some that spring to mind with some non-HD programmes.

Voodoomelon · 09-01-2012 11:44PM

OP, you're mixing up high definition imagery with a badly set up TV.
HD refers to the resolution of the image, nothing more. Its typically the TVs settings that create the effect of which you speak.

For 1080p, things like Motion effects and refresh rate on the TV can create a fake "soap opera" or "camcorder" effect. It may be necessary to fiddle with your settings, literally for each HD piece you're watching, or have pre-set templates you can apply.

These effects are less noticeable with 720p and often retains the "film" like qualities of movies. Most people can't tell the difference between 720 and 1080 anyways, that is on an average sized screen.

Biggins · 09-01-2012 11:45PM

Tea_Bag wrote: »

Biggins, this is the first time i think you've ever been completely wrong.

HDMI cables are all identical under ~10m long. i paid €1.50 for mine, and my friend paid €49.99.

we both get our 1010000111100 at the other end. if you need scientific proof ill link you to some articles when I'm not on my mobile.

I'll take your word of it.
All I can say is that I've seen HDTV's connected up to exact same HD disk players, laid out beside each other in a shop display. the monitors were also the same.
The only difference between the player and the HD TV's was the quality in HDMI cabling.
It was a set-up to demonstrate how important cabling was - and the difference was very clear.

09-01-2012 11:47PM

Biggins wrote: »

I'll take your word of it.
Al I can say is that I've seen HDTV's connected up to exact same HD disk players, laid out beside each other in a shop display. the monitors were also the same.
The only difference between the player and the HD TV's was the quality in HDMI cabling.
It was a set-up to demonstrate how important cabling was - and the difference was very clear.

Those setups are often rigged. Monster once showed one, comparing composite to component, without mentioning that in the description. They simply said their cable was better.

Voodoomelon · 09-01-2012 11:48PM

The could've been running a lower quality clip or had the settings changed around a bit to demonstrate a difference that isn't there.

starbelgrade · 09-01-2012 11:48PM

Biggins wrote: »

I'll take your word of it.
Al I can say is that I've seen HDTV's connected up to exact same HD disk players, laid out beside each other in a shop display. the monitors were also the same.
The only difference between the player and the HD TV's was the quality in HDMI cabling.
It was a set-up to demonstrate how important cabling was - and the difference was very clear.

It wouldn't surprise me if they fiddled with the set up in some way just to sell expensive cables... the guys in music shops do the same thing all the time & I know from years of playing music that the cheap cables often out perform and outlast the more expensive ones.

Biggins · 09-01-2012 11:52PM

starbelgrade wrote: »

It wouldn't surprise me if they fiddled with the set up in some way just to sell expensive cables... the guys in music shops do the same thing all the time & I know from years of playing music that the cheap cables often out perform and outlast the more expensive ones.

Possible. All possible.
Better people than I might be able to confirm your knowledge.
(The store was a huge Dixons by the way)

Freddie59 · 09-01-2012 11:53PM

starbelgrade wrote: »

I was in a mate's house over the Christmas & he was boasting about his new HD Sky box and how brilliant everything looked on it. I was staying the night so ended up watching quite a bit of HD TV... to me, it looked bloody awful - admittedly, the football looked good, but it made everything look hyper-real and over digitalised. It even made The Bourne Identity look like a dodgy made for TV movie.

But the worst was an ad I saw for new HD versions of classic 60s movies... here, you had glorious films that were painstakingly shot on real film absolutely destroyed by some idiot who thought that digitising some of the most beautiful photography in cinematic history was a good idea.

I nearly put my foot through the high definition screen and by the time I went to bed, my head hurt & my heart had sunk... all I wanted to know was why... why? Why?!?!!!

So, what's your opinion on HD, or have you even seen any HD TV yet? I have and the future looks grim.

Starting to convert my (small amount of) Blu-rays to a media player for convenience. Films not originally made in HD have a weird look about them alright. Have it from UPC but very rarely use it. As someone else said, it's at its best on Nature programmes.

starbelgrade · 09-01-2012 11:55PM

Biggins wrote: »

Possible. All possible.
Better people than I might be able to confirm your knowledge.
(The store was a huge Dixons by the way)

Maybe one of the TVs was on the Job Bridge scheme.

Biggins · 09-01-2012 11:56PM

I find now that I can't watch a film that contains special effects now unless its in HD.

Serenity, the film is unreal in true full HD.

I also have noticed the difference between HD LED TV's and other non-LED types.
Someone remarked on the refresh rate too. I have noticed this.
My parents have a HD TV with a much lower refresh rate (than mine) and you can see what referred to as 'ghost imaging'.

TPD · 10-01-2012 12:06AM

Biggins wrote: »

Possible. All possible.
Better people than I might be able to confirm your knowledge.
(The store was a huge Dixons by the way)

http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/23/monster-hdmi-difference-scam-still-kickin-in-frys-electronic/

The HDMI cable debate has been going a while. Above is one store which is running a not so obvious scam, to the average consumer. Been going more than a year apparently.

HDMI quality choice should be based on length and how much you're going to move it about. I have a 2m, crappy $5 cable hooked up from my pc to my tv, and the picture quality is perfect. If I was going to be moving it about often, I'd have bought a more robust one.

That aside, I think much of the hate towards HD comes from interpolation - blending of two frames to make a third, in-between frame, to fill up the tv's refresh rate. Makes everything look very cheap.

Toby Take a Bow · 10-01-2012 12:14AM

Voodoomelon wrote: »

For 1080p, things like Motion effects and refresh rate on the TV can create a fake "soap opera" or "camcorder" effect. It may be necessary to fiddle with your settings, literally for each HD piece you're watching, or have pre-set templates you can apply.

These effects are less noticeable with 720p and often retains the "film" like qualities of movies. Most people can't tell the difference between 720 and 1080 anyways, that is on an average sized screen.

Any of the HD tvs I've seen (in my da's house mainly) have had that effect. It kind of put me off the whole thing (not that I could afford one at the moment anyway) but maybe it's just cos it was set up incorrectly?

Sounds kind of annoying to adjust the settings for every HD film you're watching though.

gcgirl · 10-01-2012 12:18AM

Eamon Dunphy and Johnny Giles in HD I'm scared that's all I'll say

High Definition Television

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