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[Odoul]

I've never been a huge tech-head. Just a normal medium/large screen. Use the cables that come in the box. I'm always hearing how great HDTV looks. The thing is the I've only seen it a few times in person and it must have been setup wrong at the store or they played the wrong video.

Is HDTV noticably more advanced? What's the best chain to check one out to see what it can really do?

I don't even know why I'm asking I won't be able to afford one for at least 3 years. If there's ever a riot I'm looting it(100% serious).

 

[Dilbert]

If you ever saw it, you'd understand.

 

[Incognito]

If you ever saw it, you'd understand.

Agreed 100%. It's simply astonishing. I can never watch a sports telecast in analog in again. Hell, you can see the pimple on the fan in the 6th row at an NBA game it's that crisp and clear. The sound is awesome, too. So far, the best NBA arena suited for HD would have to be the Dallas Mavericks. The camera is amazingly close and it literally feels as if you're there.

Law & Order is absolutely beautiful, too. :lol

 

[teh_pwn]

Do yourself a favor and don't find out until you're ready to buy.

 

[btrboyev]

Big difference.

 

[TheDuce22]

Its so crisp and clear it almost feels like its 3d. Its like looking through an open window.

 

[karasu]

I have a standard 32 inch television, but COX has a couple of HD stations and when I turn to them I am blown away.It must look 20 times better on a real HDTV.

 

[ChrisReid]

What's the best chain to check one out to see what it can really do?

There's no store with decent showroom display.

 

[bobble]

HDTV is much better than my actual eyesight.

 

[Mike Works]

Do yourself a favor and don't find out until you're ready to buy.

No kidding. My dad treated himself to a 48 inch plasma set a little under a year ago. I didn't watch it until the superbowl.

It's so, so hard to watch sports on my normal 27" crt now.

 

[mj1108]

I get HD channels on mine and going between the standard broadcast channels and HD broadcast channels is like fucking night and day. When you see the difference, you'll understand.

 

[Poody]

the grass in the super bowl games is the realest as it gets on Hi Def.. Sometimes HDTV stations are only subpar compared to analog but when it is broadcasted in true 16:9 then its really crisp. You can see the little drops of sweat rolling down Kobe's face.

 

[Keyser Soze]

This thread makes the European in me cry

 

[Chrono]

Is there anywhere online where I can see pics of console (or pc) games running at different resolutions?

Also: would you notice the difference if you play/see something that's meant for HD but on SD? I mean there shouldn't be any difference since you can only see the detail on HD right?

 

[golem]

Is there anywhere online where I can see pics of console (or pc) games running at different resolutions?

i guess you missed yesterday's idiotic topic winnar
http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=51806

Also: would you notice the difference if you play/see something that's meant for HD but on SD? I mean there shouldn't be any difference since you can only see the detail on HD right?

If the HD channel is broadcasting SD stuff, it will still look alot better because you're getting the pure digital 480i/p recording, instead of something that has been converted to analog and shot over the airwaves. If you're watching a SD channel, it may l ook worse because many HDtvs are not so good at converting SD to HD well.

 

[isamu]

how long until all dvds are in HD?

 

[android]

Can someone please tell me how the "simulcast in HD" shows work. Are they being shown in HD on another HD only channel at the same time or are both signals coming through with HDtv picking up one signal and the standard tv picking up another?

 

[Drexon]

I'm crying here too. :´´´´´´( No HDTV and no early game releases makes Drex a something something.

Isamu> Do your homework. Det är kampen mellan blu-ray och HD-DVD som håller på nu som kommer skapa "DVD-skivor" i HDTV-upplösning.

 

[golem]

how long until all dvds are in HD?

HD DVD should be out this winter, with a pretty decent lineup of titles. Blu Ray sometime next year (round PS3 launch i assume)

Can someone please tell me how the "simulcast in HD" shows work. Are they being shown in HD on another HD only channel at the same time or are both signals coming through with HDtv picking up one signal and the standard tv picking up another?

HD Channels are seperate from normal ones... say you have channel 7 in LA. Your HD recevier usually will map the main HD channel for 7 to 7-1 (automatically), and there is the possiblity of more sub channels such as 7-2 (constant news broadcast here) and 7-3 (a live doppler radar)

 

[Cooper]

Is HDTV noticably more advanced?

Not much I can add to this thread, other than another "Hell yeah" comment. We showed some friends an HD football game last season. Like golem mentioned, the HD and SD broadcasts are on seperate channels. So we had the game on the HD channel, and we then switched to the SD channel to demonstrate the difference. One of our guests immediately screamed "Ack, my eyes! I need glasses!"

Plus, with the wide screen offered by HD, you can see gems on the edge of the screen that you'd miss on the SD broadcast, like this:

 

[borghe]

is broadcast HDTV insanely better than DVD? No. it is better and at many time noticeably better, but the best DVD will look preceptually close to your average HDTV broadcast.

is broadcast HDTV insanely better than broadcast TV? ummm. yeah, and by a hell of a lot. no comparison.

is pre-recorded HDTV better than all of the above? again, yeah, and by a hell of a lot.

 

[DCX]

Yes...yes it is.

DCX

 

[Mr Gump]

HDTV is akin to:

While SDTV is akin to:

Now you tell me which one you prefer?

Spoiler

never seen hdtv

 

[AB 101]

When you see a HD set running HD programming, you will want one.

Its like crack.

 

[Phoenix]

If you're asking this question, you've never actually seen HDTV. The difference is night and day.

 

[Space Age Playboy]

If you really over-scrutinize the picture, then yeah there's a big difference. I just casually watch TV and don't give a shit either way. I was just watching my uncle's giant HDTV and it looked beautiful and high-res, but I can go back to my regular TV just fine, without the drop in quality crossing my mind at all.

 

[wandering goat]

Yes, it is very noticeable. Things look very sharp on them. Going back to regular TV makes it look muddy in comparison. Watching DVDs on HDTVs gives your incredible clarity and sharpness that normal TVs don't even come close to matching, and DVDs aren't even really HD.

Anyway, while HDTV supporters are here, I was wondering if anyone in the know could tell me if this tv looks good or not? I don't want to go above this price range right now and CRTs are a must for regular broadcasts and gaming. I like it because it does 720p which similarly priced Sonys don't.

 

[Manics]

I've got an HDTV and I found the lack of programming in HD to be disappointing. With the hockey lockout, there were no hockey games in HD so I was stuck with watching the HDTV preview channel (which looked beautiful by the way) but how many times can I watch the MuchMusic video awards in HD?

I cancelled the rogers digital box when my 6 month free HD ran out. I might get it again when and if hockey comes back this fall.

 

[chinch]

I've never been a huge tech-head. Just a normal medium/large screen. Use the cables that come in the box. I'm always hearing how great HDTV looks. The thing is the I've only seen it a few times in person and it must have been setup wrong at the store or they played the wrong video.

Is HDTV noticably more advanced? What's the best chain to check one out to see what it can really do?

I don't even know why I'm asking I won't be able to afford one for at least 3 years. If there's ever a riot I'm looting it(100% serious).

even on a 24" tv if you're half blind.... ITS MUCH, MUCH, MUCH BETTER.

the WIDESCREEN aspect ration of HD broadcasting makes it MUCH, MUCH, MUCH BETTER than SD... especially nowadays with most everything available HD and/or at least widescreen (ie. current DVDs).

 

[Malleymal]

its like trying to explain color to a man that was born blind..... you have to see it yourself...

 

[mrklaw]

is broadcast HDTV insanely better than DVD? No. it is better and at many time noticeably better, but the best DVD will look preceptually close to your average HDTV broadcast.

is broadcast HDTV insanely better than broadcast TV? ummm. yeah, and by a hell of a lot. no comparison.

is pre-recorded HDTV better than all of the above? again, yeah, and by a hell of a lot.

Is broadcast HDTV in Europe better than broadcast TV in Europe? Probably, but not by as much as in the US, as digital PAL broadcasts are already less noisy and higher res.


BTW, don't forget we Europeans should be getting HD in 2006. Probably in time for the world cup in full HD.

 

[Fragamemnon]

The difference in sports is breathtaking, as others have mentioned. HDTV feeds of sporting events make SDTV feeds look *very* dated. You know when they show 1970-1980s footage on TV and then switch back to live coverage? Yeah, it's that drastic of an upgrade with HD.

Television and movies are similar-not AS much a jump, but the upgrade is still really large.

 

[Fuzzy]

The difference in sports is breathtaking, as others have mentioned. HDTV feeds of sporting events make SDTV feeds look *very* dated. You know when they show 1970-1980s footage on TV and then switch back to live coverage? Yeah, it's that drastic of an upgrade with HD.

My cousin isn't a fan of MLB but every time I go to his house and a game is on he's watching it.

 

[milanbaros]

Will us Brits notcie so much of a difference? Don't we already have a higher definition picture compared to the US. American normal tv must look like crap.

 

[ImNotLikeThem]

Will us Brits notcie so much of a difference? Don't we already have a higher definition picture compared to the US. American normal tv must look like crap.

The problem is that they are still determining a PAL standard right now. There IS no PAL HDTV as of yet, at least as far a standard like ATSC is concerned. I would imagine though, that the PAL HD signal would not be as different from ATSC as PAL is from NTSC though. Jesus thats a lot of acronyms....

 

[mrklaw]

The problem is that they are still determining a PAL standard right now. There IS no PAL HDTV as of yet, at least as far a standard like ATSC is concerned. I would imagine though, that the PAL HD signal would not be as different from ATSC as PAL is from NTSC though. Jesus thats a lot of acronyms....

There may not be a PAL broadcast standard, but there is a PAL HDTV standard.

for a set to be badged "HD Ready", it has to support 720p 50/60Hz, 1080i 50/60Hz. and be at least 1280x720 pixels native resolution (or higher) Effectivly a 720p set that can support 1080i.

 

[Baron Aloha]

I've looked at dozens of sets at different stores and I swear I can't tell a difference. I mean I guess it looks a little better but for me its barely noticable.

 

[pestul]

I've looked at dozens of sets at different stores and I swear I can't tell a difference. I mean I guess it looks a little better but for me its barely noticable.

Likewise.. I've walked around stores looking a TVs playing the same dvd and I don't find the picture to be 'that' much different. This is coming from a guy who would scrutinize image quality a lot.

 

[Malleymal]

you will not notice that much of a difference when it comes to movies and all, but if you get PBSHD, or a sporting event its amazing....

Sport games look like Video games because they are so colorful, and the turf or grass looks like your are on the field... News reporters and actors hate being on live HDTV because it also gives more detail to their faces and you can see wrinkles and blemishes easier.... its great live.

 

[DJ_Tet]

you will not notice that much of a difference when it comes to movies and all, but if you get PBSHD, or a sporting event its amazing....

Sport games look like Video games because they are so colorful, and the turf or grass looks like your are on the field... News reporters and actors hate being on live HDTV because it also gives more detail to their faces and you can see wrinkles and blemishes easier.... its great live.

That was the big kicker for me. Chris Berman looks OLD in HD lol.

 

[Prine]

Will us Brits notcie so much of a difference? Don't we already have a higher definition picture compared to the US. American normal tv must look like crap.

Hell yeah, just walk into any John Lewis or Currys store, its like night and day. I've got one on the way as we speak.

The HDTVs in our section always draws in a huge crowd

 

[Cooper]

I've looked at dozens of sets at different stores and I swear I can't tell a difference. I mean I guess it looks a little better but for me its barely noticable.

Unfortunately, stores are the worst place to evaluate HDTV, especially if it's not a high end store. I was looking at HDTVs in Best Buy a few years ago, and the one I was looking at had a really lousy picture. After tinkering with the settings, I looked at the connections in the back, and found my answer - the TV was connected to a DVD player with an RF adaptor!

Many stores show DVDs, rather than HD. Often, the connections are split 20+ ways, the TVs use either out-of-the-box settings, or whatever a customer set them to while mucking around. The lighting is much brighter than it would be in your house, the material's aspect ratio is often incorrectly set, and narrow store aisles often force you to look at the screen from 3 feet or closer. In short, you almost never see what an HDTV can really look like in a store.

Likewise.. I've walked around stores looking a TVs playing the same dvd and I don't find the picture to be 'that' much different.

DVDs aren't HD. They look good, but they don't have the night and day difference that a real HD signal does. When I watch a CSI DVD, it doesn't look nearly as good as the CSI HD broadcast.

 

[pestul]

Unfortunately, stores are the worst place to evaluate HDTV, especially if it's not a high end store. I was looking at HDTVs in Best Buy a few years ago, and the one I was looking at had a really lousy picture. After tinkering with the settings, I looked at the connections in the back, and found my answer - the TV was connected to a DVD player with an RF adaptor!

Many stores show DVDs, rather than HD. Often, the connections are split 20+ ways, the TVs use either out-of-the-box settings, or whatever a customer set them to while mucking around. The lighting is much brighter than it would be in your house, the material's aspect ratio is often incorrectly set, and narrow store aisles often force you to look at the screen from 3 feet or closer. In short, you almost never see what an HDTV can really look like in a store.



DVDs aren't HD. They look good, but they don't have the night and day difference that a real HD signal does. When I watch a CSI DVD, it doesn't look nearly as good as the CSI HD broadcast.

Nice.. I guess the new HD movie format can't come soon enough for most of you guys then.

 

[Cooper]

I'm not sure how well this will show up online, but using my advanced capture equipment (a 4 megapixel digital camera, whee!), I took a shot of the SD and HD broadcast of the fourth NBA finals game.

HD

SD

The HD broadcast is extremely clear. I can see the weaving of the net, the shot and game clock are crystal clear, I can read "Spalding" on the backboard lever and the colors are bright and vivid. The SD broadcast, on the other hand, just seems to have a layer of haze covering everything. My source for the HD broadcast is KABC over the air, and the SD one is from DirecTV (mmm, isn't "digital quality" lovely).

Nice.. I guess the new HD movie format can't come soon enough for most of you guys then.

I would love to have an HD DVD format, but I really hope the concept isn't prematurely killed by a format war.

 

[DJ_Tet]

When watching sports in HD, if you know someone in the first five rows at the game, you'll recognize them.

 

[vatstep]

It's a big enough difference for me that I don't really watch standard programs anymore. I bought my new TV a few weeks ago and I've been missing shows that I would've normally been watching, but I don't really care. I'm addicted to PBS-HD and Discovery-HD. The INHD channels are nice too, and in Boston we get just about every Red Sox game in HD also (which look incredible, much better than the HD games on ESPN or other channels), which is WELL worth the cost of a good TV.