DSTV HD vs SD comparison pics

I popped into Makro today, and they had two Sony 40" 1080p LCD TVs both connected to an HD PVR, showing MNET HD (channel 170). One was connected via SD (component I think), and the other was displaying the HD picture via HDMI.

I was surprised that there wasn't a huge difference in picture quality - in still shots, the HD was definitely clearer, but not to the extent that I was hoping. Strangely, out of focus parts of scenes (like backgrounds) were actually terrible on the HD picture... they weren't smooth - they were very digital looking and flickering! I watched for a while a kept noticing the very digitized/flickering out of focus shots that looked fine on the SD picture. The in-focus bits were definitely better in HD, but not as impressive as the pics posted in this thread.

Maybe that Sony LCD does a poor job of upscaling the 720p to its native 1080p?

Anyone else noticed this?
 
Must be a bad TV.

I've tried the same - Channel 170 via HDMI and analogue ont he same tv and there is a huge difference. Have never experienced any flickering.

Could have something to do with the upscaling because it's trying to create pixels that don't exist.
 
I do not think that it is a Sony problem. On my Samsung I also get a jumpy background problem when I change the HD PVR to a setting other than 720. Something screwy with the upscaling.

There is however a vast difference in picture quality.
 
ernstn said:
I do not think that it is a Sony problem. On my Samsung I also get a jumpy background problem when I change the HD PVR to a setting other than 720. Something screwy with the upscaling.

There is however a vast difference in picture quality.
Click to expand...

Hmmm... Interesting - maybe their setup was rubbish?

Anyone know if it is possible to output an SD image via component and HD (720p) image via HDMI at the same time?
 
yup, you can output picture from both connections at the same time. Remember in your comparisons that you are comparing the HD stream on both SD and HD. The HD stream is already a quality stream as apposed to the MPEG2 streams on the other channels, so SD is looking at its best. You should see +-20% improvement between the same HD stream on a SD set and a HD set from the same manufacturer.
 
Maybe this is not the right thread to ask, but then please point me in the right direction.
First of all, I am technically disadvantaged,so please bear with me.

I saw HD broadcasts in the States last year and the image quality is something we do not know in SA,so here are my questions;

1 Will you need a wide screen (expensive) tv to view HD.
2 When will it be freely available here (DSTV & SABC)
3 Why do people buy a R20,000 TV and cannot see that the image they are viewing is squashed, or does not want to admit it.
4 I presume HD images will be normal (ie not squashed)

Thanks for reading!

Etienne.
 
1. Yes
2. So far there's only one channel of HD available, and no timeline for the introduction of more.
3 & 4. The R 20 000 TV has an adjustment to allow 4:3 format (normal TV) images to be displayed correctly, this does however introduce pillarboxing (black bars on the sides of the screen) in a similar way that 16:9 format (widescreen - but not cinema wide) images introduces letterboxing (black bars top and bottom).
 
1)Yes, you will need a TV capable of displaying at least 720p.
2)It's already available on DSTV channel 170
3)They can see that the image via normal broadcast is squashed, some choose to set their TV's to 4:3 with black bars on the sides. A TV is also used for watching DVD/Bluray, gaming, etc
4)Yes
 
Etienne du Plessis said:
Maybe this is not the right thread to ask, but then please point me in the right direction.
First of all, I am technically disadvantaged,so please bear with me.

I saw HD broadcasts in the States last year and the image quality is something we do not know in SA,so here are my questions;

1 Will you need a wide screen (expensive) tv to view HD.
2 When will it be freely available here (DSTV & SABC)
3 Why do people buy a R20,000 TV and cannot see that the image they are viewing is squashed, or does not want to admit it.
4 I presume HD images will be normal (ie not squashed)

Thanks for reading!

Etienne.
Click to expand...

1. Yes. Depending on your room size, you should sit within 3.5 screen heights of your TV to appreciate HD. If you sit too far, HD and SD become similar
and even the same. So when buying a TV, keep this rule in mind and for the love of goodness, don't listen to the misinformed salesmen in stores.
2. Here now, only one channel and in 1280by720. Blurays are also here but the selection in SA stores is pathetic and SA is lumped with Region B (Europe)
which means we get a lousy selection of BluRays. The best releases and widest selection is in Region A (US and Japan) although some of these disks
are actually region free. At this moment, all BluRay players available in SA
including the PS3, are Region Locked to B.
3. Depends on the aspect ratio of the signal. For HD, its always widescreen,
ie 16:9, because HD is either 1920by1080 or 1280by720 (DSTV).
4. Yes, since all HD sets are 16:9 aspect.
 
greg_SA said:
Hmmm... Interesting - maybe their setup was rubbish?

Anyone know if it is possible to output an SD image via component and HD (720p) image via HDMI at the same time?
Click to expand...

Probably not. However its possible to output 720p and 1080p via component,
as long as the ICT is not set to ON.
 
Wow!.....Thanks guys for the swift answers and especially to PeterCH.

So it looks as if I can still happily carry on with my 72cm LG flatron for a couple of years. (and start saving for that huge monster)

Cheers!
 
PeterCH said:
Probably not. However its possible to output 720p and 1080p via component,
as long as the ICT is not set to ON.
Click to expand...
iirc it is actually possible with the HD decoder.
 
Etienne du Plessis said:
Wow!.....Thanks guys for the swift answers and especially to PeterCH.

So it looks as if I can still happily carry on with my 72cm LG flatron for a couple of years. (and start saving for that huge monster)

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Thanks. Yes, as the tech matures you'll be able to get a bigger set with better contrast - for HD - BIG - is key. You could buy a 24 inch HP monitor
right now and sit close to the screen to get the cinema (full visual field
view) or you need to buy a really expensive set (depending on your room size) - possibly even a 60inch if you have a big TV room (if you want
that full HD effect ie home cinema).
 
More pics please!!

This is the only place on the net where I've seen decent pics of DStv HD. Can someone please up some pics of MNET HD?
 
Well I was in a store yesterday. Sore for first time HDTV's in real life. All I can say is wow, it looks fantastic.

Although the price is well a bit high at the moment.

Although when I saw Mnet HD compared to a Blueray movie, MNET HD looked like s#it
 
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