HD is just hype...

LancelotSA said:
IAs for HD, I'm sure it looks very pretty but at the end of the day you are seeing exactly the same movie that I am in SD. You are watching exactly the same sports event. You don't see anything more, of consequence, than I do. Maybe a few more blades of grass but they don't really effect the outcome of the match ;)
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Then I suggest you sell your new plasma and get a cheap 2nd hand B&W TV. :p
 
I went and bought myself a 50" lcd hd ready. I could not see the difference in the full hd and hd ready using hd pvr. I asked the sales man to set the two up next t each other, running two hd pvr instead of two using hdmi cables and whole toot. when all was connected i asked him if he could see any diffrence. (LG full hd and LG hd ready) He laughed and said to be honest he cant see it as well. I saved myself a good R2500.00. I came home and plugged in my blueray and i must say it is amazing. So my point is full hd is not always the better option.
 
SiriS said:
Then I suggest you sell your new plasma and get a cheap 2nd hand B&W TV. :p
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The plasma is not full HD ;)

And even then it was stated that a new TV purchase was on the cards as the old TV was 15+years old, so it was either that or a 72cm CRT. Not much choice when I got the plasma for R6000. But nice attempt at "catching me out" ;)

If I was taken in by hype I would have settled for the full HD LCDs the salesmen kept trying to force on me.

EDIT : Oh, and on numerous occasions I have stated that 700Mb Xvid versions of movies do me just fine! I have no need to see actors pores! ;)
 
Interesting thread.

I get "blown away" by HD because AV is my thing. If it wasn't, I wouldn't be. Horses for courses. I would however love to know more about you system pimpassdaddy, not in the least because there is no such thing as a 50" Sony LED. maybe you meant a 52"? or a 46"?

More importantly what material are you using to compare? If you are basing your findings on HD rips streamed from your mede8er, that would certainly explain a lot. What audio system are you using? What kind of blu-ray player and AVR do you have?

If you base your remarks on dvd's and blu-rays watched, which ones were they? There are a lot of things that can impact how one experiences the difference between a Full HD rig and a proper tuned in upscaled and calibrated SD rig. Information is would be nice :)
 
hunter30 said:
I went and bought myself a 50" lcd hd ready. I could not see the difference in the full hd and hd ready using hd pvr. I asked the sales man to set the two up next t each other, running two hd pvr instead of two using hdmi cables and whole toot. when all was connected i asked him if he could see any diffrence. (LG full hd and LG hd ready) He laughed and said to be honest he cant see it as well. I saved myself a good R2500.00. I came home and plugged in my blueray and i must say it is amazing. So my point is full hd is not always the better option.
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HD ready is normally 1280x720 or 1366x768 resolution panels. As DSTV HD is broadcast in 720p HD (1280x720) resolution, I'm not surprised you couldn't see the difference.
 
dotVIBE said:
If you base your remarks on dvd's and blu-rays watched, which ones were they? There are a lot of things that can impact how one experiences the difference between a Full HD rig and a proper tuned in upscaled and calibrated SD rig. Information is would be nice :)
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I think the fact that this question gets asked pretty much proves the point. If you are spending that much on a system (full HD TV, blu ray etc) you'd expect the difference to be noticeable no matter the movie and yet I am aware of a website that reviews how good different Blurays are when it comes to the full HD experience.
 
LancelotSA said:
The plasma is not full HD ;)

And even then it was stated that a new TV purchase was on the cards as the old TV was 15+years old, so it was either that or a 72cm CRT. Not much choice when I got the plasma for R6000. But nice attempt at "catching me out" ;)

If I was taken in by hype I would have settled for the full HD LCDs the salesmen kept trying to force on me.

EDIT : Oh, and on numerous occasions I have stated that 700Mb Xvid versions of movies do me just fine! I have no need to see actors pores! ;)
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OK, it was meant in jest, but for the record -

LancelotSA said:
As for HD, I'm sure it looks very pretty but at the end of the day you are seeing exactly the same movie that I am in SD.
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You referred to HD vs SD (both 720p and 1080p, as you know, are HD)

LancelotSA said:
You are watching exactly the same sports event. You don't see anything more, of consequence, than I do. Maybe a few more blades of grass but they don't really effect the outcome of the match
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Why not the 72cm CRT then? Aren't they much cheaper - and you still "see the same match"?


As an aside, may I suggest you try the 1.5Gb Divx/Xvid encoded movies vs the 700Mb ones - they really are substantially better, the combination of better frame rates and 5.1 surround sound. I also have a 720P plasma.
 
hunter30 said:
I went and bought myself a 50" lcd hd ready. I could not see the difference in the full hd and hd ready using hd pvr. I asked the sales man to set the two up next t each other, running two hd pvr instead of two using hdmi cables and whole toot. when all was connected i asked him if he could see any diffrence. (LG full hd and LG hd ready) He laughed and said to be honest he cant see it as well. I saved myself a good R2500.00. I came home and plugged in my blueray and i must say it is amazing. So my point is full hd is not always the better option.
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But with HD PVR the output is only HD Ready resolution anyway. So you haven't really seen Full HD content on both.
 
pimpassdaddy said:
OK, I've been slowly thinking about the money I've spent to be "HD" compliant, and "up to date" technologically...

It's all just hype honestly... Sure, HD is clear, but I really don't see what the big deal is.

I even rushed to get a Mede8er so I could download the latest HD content...

BIG DEAL!!!!:D

I don't know bout the rest of you guys...
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Same thing as ordinary car or the latest sports car... ordinary wife of a supermodel... they both do the same thing anyway. BIG DEAL!!!! :D
 
LancelotSA said:
I think the fact that this question gets asked pretty much proves the point. If you are spending that much on a system (full HD TV, blu ray etc) you'd expect the difference to be noticeable no matter the movie and yet I am aware of a website that reviews how good different Blurays are when it comes to the full HD experience.
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Actually, you think completely wrong.

The fact is that these days many of the older movies are subject to studio upscaling and re-releasing in blu-ray format. You can go out and buy just about anything in blu-ray now, I myself have Predator and Aliens. They are great movies, but the fact remains that they were not shot in digital 1080p or 4k cameras, or even imax cameras like some of the new movies. These movies on a nice screen compares with a good digitally upscaled dvd, say something like Gladiator run through the Reon scaler of one of the nicer Onkyo AVR's.

However, when you go plonk a proper blu-ray into a proper drive, like Avatar or Up, into a nice oppo BDP with the full DTS-HD MA soundtrack on a decent pair of 5.1 speakers (not your crappy R5000.00 sony's) on a proper 1080p 50" + screen, then suddenly you get it. there is a MASSIVE difference.
 
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SiriS said:
OK, it was meant in jest, but for the record
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I realised that but I am also sure there was just a little bit of a dig taking place at the same time.

You referred to HD vs SD (both 720p and 1080p, as you know, are HD)
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Not 100% certain what you are trying to say here but I am referring to me watching standard definition TV (as in normal DSTV) compared to you watching high definition TV (as in HD DSTV) and the fact that we are still seeing the same program... I'm fully aware that both 720p and 1080p are HD but I do not have an HD PVR. In fact not even DSTV as I am not caught up in the hype. It was "hyped" to me in another thread but it just makes little sense to me.

Why not the 72cm CRT then? Aren't they much cheaper - and you still "see the same match"?
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72cm at around R2000 versus 106cm for R6000. Throw in the smaller footprint. The prettier appearance and it made far more sense. Buying something prettier and bigger does not equate to the HD hype that is being discussed here. Especially when the TV bought was about R3000 cheaper than usual. That is more bargain hunting than caught up in hype ;)


As an aside, may I suggest you try the 1.5Gb Divx/Xvid encoded movies vs the 700Mb ones - they really are substantially better, the combination of better frame rates and 5.1 surround sound. I also have a 720P plasma.
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My decision is usually based on the "supplier". If they feel a movie is worth it then it is often split into "two disks". Avatar was on "3 disks". The decision on what format to get is also dictated by my 384k line speed. Again I feel no need to expend more just to watch something in HD ;)
 
dotVIBE said:
Actually, you think completely wrong.

The fact is that these days many of the older movies are subject to studio upscaling and re-releasing in blu-ray format. You can go out and buy just about anything in blu-ray now, I myself have Predator and Aliens. They are great movies, but the fact remains that they were not shot in digital 1080p or 4k cameras, or even imax cameras like some of the new movies. These movies on a nice screen compares with a good digitally upscaled dvd, say something like Gladiator run through the Reon scaler of one of the nicer Onkyo AVR's.

However, when you go plonk a proper blu-ray into a proper drive, like Avatar or Up, into a nice oppo BDP with the full DTS-HD MA soundtrack on a decent pair of 5.1 speakers (not your crappy R5000.00 sony's) on a proper 1080p 50" + screen, then suddenly you get it. there is a MASSIVE difference.
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Um ,well it is me thinking so it can't actually be wrong. :)

And the rest of your post just proves what we have been saying further! It is all just to impress the neighbours at the moment. Until all movies are made to benefit fully you are paying for something that is not giving you as much as I would want. And it is not just old movies... I have read reviews on many a new bluray that show disappointment by the reviewer!

And if I really want that experience for a movie I'll fork out R30 (or whatever it costs) and go and see it at IMAX, or even in 3D! No need to get caught up in the hype at home! ;)

EDIT : Ok, I am being a little argumentative for the sake of it here so I will add that for some people (enthusiasts like yourself for instance) HD would be a necessity but for many a man on the street it is just not necessary at the moment and that is where the hype comes in. You would not be caught up in the hype as you know what you are talking about and would make an informed decision.
 
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pimpassdaddy said:
OK, I've been slowly thinking about the money I've spent to be "HD" compliant, and "up to date" technologically...

It's all just hype honestly... Sure, HD is clear, but I really don't see what the big deal is.

I even rushed to get a Mede8er so I could download the latest HD content...

BIG DEAL!!!!:D

I don't know bout the rest of you guys...
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You are doing it wrong. :p LOL

Epic Fail
 
LancelotSA, I'm fully aware of your reputation on this forum for being argumentative for the sake of it and derailing topics to the detriment of the rest of us who try to be helpful and informative. You've now managed to make this thread about you and your opinions. I've seen it happen too many times to get caught up in it.

Adios.
 
dotVIBE said:
LancelotSA, I'm fully aware of your reputation on this forum for being argumentative for the sake of it and derailing topics to the detriment of the rest of us who try to be helpful and informative. You've now managed to make this thread about you and your opinions. I've seen it happen too many times to get caught up in it.

Adios.
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Now you just being silly but yeah adious! Tell me if the plot on your HD movies differs from my SD versions! I want to know what I am missing :rolleyes:
 
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LancelotSA said:
I realised that but I am also sure there was just a little bit of a dig taking place at the same time.
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A little one yes, to be honest. ;):)

<snip>
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ok...

My decision is usually based on the "supplier". If they feel a movie is worth it then it is often split into "two disks". Avatar was on "3 disks". The decision on what format to get is also dictated by my 384k line speed. Again I feel no need to expend more just to watch something in HD ;)
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I referred to xvid, so it's typically still SD. What I was saying is that a 1.5Gb movie of average length typically includes 300-350Mb additional audio (5.1) and the rest is used for better [-]frame rate[/-] sorry, actually bit rate. Still SD, but overall worth the bigger download, especially for fast moving scenes. I've yet to encounter a hmmm...supplier...that doesn't offer 1.5Gb to 2.25Gb rips. 700Mb is obviously just a legacy of the CD format size.

To repeat a point I made earlier, although I typically watch movies in SD (Xvid encoded) I did watch Avatar in 720P and it was mind-blowing!
 
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