I'm considering upgrading to HD in Iffy Towers.
Currently have an early Sky+ box and an old Samsung LCD telly which is supposedly 'HD ready', but the picture quality is average.
To do the job properly will mean a new telly as well as a Sky HD box.
Leaving aside equipment choice for the moment, will HD be a significant improvement?
|
Entirely depends on the size of your screen and the distance you sit from it, this has been discussed ad nauseum on here, but getting that bit out of the way, on the whole YES.
The proviso is that the source material has to be good enough*, but for example the current Attenborough series Frozen Planet looks stunning in HD. As did todays GP - as the light faded and the track lights came on, the cars looked stunning.
*far too much SD or badly upscaled crap shown.
|
|
Do you have HD spec eyes, Iffy?
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sat 12 Nov 11 at 14:45
|
I can spot a wrong 'un at 20 paces, so I think my eyes will be up to it.
|
|
Well worth it. It often amazes me, especially as Zero says in programmes such a Frozen Planet. Well worth the money.
|
|
I'd get the Sky+ box and see how that looks with the current TV on decent broadcast HD (not much of that around anyway). I suspect that to see much difference between 720p (which your current TV probably is) and 1080p (full HD) you'd need to use Blu-Ray as the source material.
|
|
We have the Sky+ HD box but no HD subscription. So we only get the free to air HD channels like BBC, ITV, etc. But we don't bother with them to be honest. I'm sure with the right programme you'd notice a difference but for most programmes I'm not sure you think 'wow that's so much better'.
|
|
I'm the same Rob, I pay them a few quid a month to keep the recording feature going - I watched selected programmes in HD, documentaries mainly. Corros is too gruesome in HD - some of the actors look awful.
|
|
Rather than pay Sky extra for a recording facility - if you don't subscribe for pay channels - you could get a Humax Foxsat HDR for about £200.
|
|
There's no aerial here and it would be a right pain to get one installed - very strong digi signal here though, might be worth a punt later on.
|
I read somewhere that HD was no good to you if you had any vision problems. Like the two Robs, we rarely bother.
I had occasion to ring Virgin Media cos my plus box seemed to be showing less free space on the recordings than we should have had.
The first thing he asked me was had I been recording in HD as it takes up four times the space.
It resolved itself later on.
Ted
|
All BBC new programmes are now in HD, even children's ones. Both their own productions and bought in stuff.
|
|
Anyone know what the next marketing ploy will be after LED, HD, 3D, and interweb TVs?
|
|
Super HD....Smelly vision, and 2 way TV ( as per Orwell's Big Brother...)
|
"Anyone know what the next marketing ploy will be after LED, HD, 3D, and interweb TVs?"
Did hear that they were looking into decent programs but I fear its just a rumour.
|
Anyone know what the next marketing ploy
Someone somewhere will remember that well produced, well filmed, well researched programmes are the future.
|
|
One of the annual institutions now the RBL Festival of Remembrance - in HD of course.
|
Thanks for the replies.
Seems to me HD is becoming the new standard, so we will all get it one day.
Easy to criticise as a marketing ploy, but I'm grateful for previous marketing ploys such as making 405 lines into 625 lines, colour, big screens, and multi-channel transmission.
Programme quality is important, but comparing it to music, there's no doubt I enjoy my favourite CDs more on a decent hi-fi system than on a boom box.
|
3D is set makers thing - to sell sets... Wimbledon 3D kit was provided by Sony
An ex-colleague at the BBC I talk to from time to time has tried a 3D set. He was reasonably impressed initially but doubts you'd want to watch for more than an hour.
3D will come - eventually, but red/green experimental films were made in the 50's, nearly 60 years ago and it never amounted to anything.
|
>> One of the annual institutions now the RBL Festival of Remembrance - in HD of
>> course.
Not the same without Raymond Baxter.
|
...update...
Looks like I'm going to find out what HD is all about.
I've ordered a Sky+HD box at a one-off cost of £60, and an extra tenner a month for the HD package.
The sign-up offer includes a £100 Marks and Spencer voucher which will come in handy for some new threads for my return to work.
To get the best out of the new box, I will need a new telly, but at £500+, that can wait.
The old box had a tiny hard drive, so the extra recording capacity for all definitions will come in handy.
A few of the non-premium movie channels wouldn't come up on it and a few recordings were jerky.
Not worth paying to fix, but the deal includes a new dish if needed, so everything should now work properly.
If I read the terms correctly, it looks like I can keep the old box.
Is it any good to me - or anybody else?
|
|
see what they fetch on Ebay, should give you a clue of its worth.
|
>>
>>
>> To get the best out of the new box, I will need a new telly,
>> but at £500+, that can wait.
>>
I got one of these delivered on Friday morning (after ordering at 8pm Thursday) -
www.ebuyer.com/268847-f-h-37-lcd-tv-full-hd-1080p-fh-37lmjuh
Brilliant for the money.
|
I am very poorly sighted and we have Sky HD and there is a huge difference with HD.
Not quite as marked between the difference between VHS and DVD but close, IMHO.
Sky is getting expensive, so I am considering the Humax Free Sat HD.
Does anyone know if it will work with a Sky dish?
|
I've got a Humax Foxsat (Freesat) HD box zippo and am well pleased with it, you can even go into the menu to receive non Freesat channels, I've even managed to record George Harrison on bbc 2 last night using a Freeview DVD recorder connected to the Freesat box,
This is a site I've used for the info & advice~www.radioandtelly.co.uk/humaxfoxsat.html#channels
|
>>
>> Does anyone know if it will work with a Sky dish?
>>
Yes, it will work with a Sky dish (you're receiving the same signals from the same satellites), although, unless you want recording facilities, a sky box without an active subscription will give a similar channel selection to a Freesat box anyway.
Last edited by: spamcan61 on Sun 13 Nov 11 at 11:27
|
>> Yes, it will work with a Sky dish (you're receiving the same signals from the
>> same satellites), although, unless you want recording facilities, a sky box without an active subscription
>> will give a similar channel selection to a Freesat box anyway.
Quite a bit missing on "free" sky that is on Freesat.
|
>> Does anyone know if it will work with a Sky dish?
Yes it will, just plug it into your sky dish cable.
|
...I got one of these delivered on Friday morning (after ordering at 8pm Thursday)...
Thanks, Robin - I could stretch the budget to have one of those straight away.
Is the sound OK?
I'm not expecting hi-fi from any flat screen.
My brother's new Panasonic is fine, but I don't want to buy a telly that's really tinny.
|
>>
>>
>> Is the sound OK?
>>
>> I'm not expecting hi-fi from any flat screen.
>>
It sounds ok to me anyway. As you say it isn't Hi Fi quality but it certainly isn't offensive on the ear. The only downside is there is no on/off switch on the set and as my Skybox, DVD and TV run from a 4 gang socket buried behind the cabinet I've run the TV from a switched trailing socket so I can get it off standby.
I'm not disappointed as I suppose they have to cut corners somewhere to keep the price down.
Last edited by: Robin Regal on Sun 13 Nov 11 at 12:01
|
...I suppose they have to cut corners somewhere to keep the price down...
I expect there would be little noticeable difference in the picture and sound quality of your telly and my 'dream' purchase:
tinyurl.com/cvlj75y
My new Sky package includes 3D and I fancy a dabble.
|
No HD tuner (not an issue if using Sky or Virgin), a 40 inch Sony 1080p set for 330 notes:-
tinyurl.com/d6rm6d9
|
I bought HD from Sky for 12 months as the £10 a month extra (i.e £120) was cheaper than buying a new PVR in one go - interest free loan!
As for the HD content - not worth it IMO. If you only have the basic Sky package HD offers not much more than you already have. I cancelled in the 12th month.
Besides it goes against the grain paying Sky £21 a month to watch some channels and then paying them another £10 a month to watch some of those in HD, and not all of that is proper HD content anyway.
|
I'm now in a position to answer 'yes' to my question.
Taking advantage of being stuck in the house to oversee deliveries and installation, I now have one of these:
www.amazon.co.uk/LG-42LW450U-42-inch-Widescreen-Freeview/dp/B004ZC3JP2/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_t_3
And a Sky+ HD box.
Still early days, but I'm impressed with HD, particularly on films and football, which is most of my viewing.
The telly is also 3D - passive, so lightweight glasses.
Some watchable 3D content on Sky, including a documentary on the Rolls Royce factory at Goodwood.
And who wouldn't want Kylie bouncing around their living room? There's a 3D film of her 2011 tour.
Not so fussed about 3D football.
Disney Pixar's Cars 2 is being shown in 3D, but since that's pay-yet-again to view, I've not indulged.
It will probably crop up 'free' in a few months.
Remains to be seen if 3D fully catches on, but there's no extra charge for it from Sky, and a decent non-3D telly is as much as I paid for the LG.
HD is the worthwhile innovation.
|
>>HD is the worthwhile innovation<<
+1 ... Nice telly and v/good reviews, I would never con-sider 3D though if I had to blimming wear special glasses, lightweight or otherwise.
|
...I would never con-sider 3D though if I had to blimming wear special glasses, lightweight or otherwise...
Some health concerns, too.
It might be a back covering exercise, but every time you fire up 3D on the LG there's a warning about not watching for long periods, stop if you get a headache, etc.
|
The same TV is £575 at Pixmania (PCWorld/Dixons/Curry's group: DSG Retail).
Found by the Firefox add-on "Invisible Hand".
|
...The same TV is £575 at Pixmania...
Thanks Rog, I'll buy another as a spare.
For what it's worth, the telly was £579 when I bought it from Amazon.
I also got free Amazon Prime delivery - Pixmania is quoting £29.
When I was browsing for a few days before placing the order I noticed the price went up and down a bit.
|
|
Amazon does that. it varies it price, sometimes several times a day, I assume to do with popularity and currency swings. They have fiendishly complex and clever pricing algorithms.
|
>> Amazon does that. it varies it price, sometimes several times a day
The wife noticed this recently when she bought a microwave on-line. She ended up paying around 15% less than the advertised price a couple of weeks earlier.
|
Limited viewing is probably OK, but too much is too much, like sex/alcohol/fags/bacon sarnies,
Moderation is the key.
|
|
Cobblers, you cant have too many bacon sarnies or sex.
|
|
Tell that to Michael Douglas.
|
|
He doesent do bacon sarnies.
|
I see the BBC is broadcasting the final of Strictly tonight in 3D.
I've not watched the series, but I might have a three-dimensional dabble in the interests of research.
www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/strictlycomedancing/2011/12/the-strictly-final-live-in-3d.shtml
|
>> BBC is broadcasting the final of Strictly tonight in 3D.
>> might have a three-dimensional dabble in the interests of research.
Having avoided this programme religiously (along with a number of others) I might suffer some sort of health crisis if Bruce Forsyth came at me out of the screen, let alone some flailing old babe in an unsuitable dress partnered by a chubby pomaded popinjay dressed as a matador or field marshal...
|
Or indeed clogs with ice-grips partnered with M&S chinos. Sort of Last of the Summer Wine homage. Nora Batty in sequined ruched down stockings and a sparkly hairnet.
:-)
|
>> I see the BBC is broadcasting the final of Strictly tonight in 3D.
>>
>> I've not watched the series, but I might have a three-dimensional dabble in the interests
>> of research.
>>
Mind that Chelsee doesn't have your eye out with her chesticles! ;-)
|
Strictly Come Dancing would be watchable if they let them take a knife onto the floor and set about each other.
I'm banished to the kitchen tonight in front of a TV with a screen the size of a postage stamp because Mrs RR objects to my critical analysis (or what she calls non-stop whining) of the programme.
|
|
That Richard Hammond thing's on. The Irish bird's worth a watch.
|
|
We must be blood brothers Robin.
|
>> Mind that Chelsee doesn't have your eye out with her chesticles! ;-)
She IS a funny looking girl - vertically challenged, short muscly legs, big bum, big (false) chest , a sort of sponge puddingy face - altogether wrong for a dancer, but I am told she isn't too bad at it.
(I have glimpsed the program, but mostly I sit at the dining table using the laptop with my back firmly to the TV when that program + ALL the soaps are on)
Dross TV, milked to its utmost by having a shrieking 40 year old girly person yapping on about it every night on BBC2. That presenter looks like an Old English sheepdog, but without the charm.
Bah Humbug!
|
>> +1 ... Nice telly and v/good reviews, I would never con-sider 3D though if I
>> had to blimming wear special glasses, lightweight or otherwise.
>>
I was looking at a Toshiba TV a couple of weeks ago, the glasses were 80€ a pop Very impressive and was very tempted. When I researched it found Toshiba are trialing non-goggles 3D TV.
Needs some work from the early reviews but 3D TV without glasses is on its way.
tinyurl.com/cxpcjnd
Last edited by: gmac on Sat 17 Dec 11 at 18:27
|
|
No - it was better without Raymond Baxter!
Last edited by: Roger on Sat 17 Dec 11 at 18:55
|
I ploughed through the final final programme which reminded me why I don't watch Strictly.
Dancing to me is like sex, great for those doing it, but not a spectator sport.
Most striking feature was host Tess Daly, who is a fine three-dimensional figure of a woman.
One person who lacks any dimension at all is Bruce Forsyth.
Fans of the show told me he's been struggling, but it was sad to witness the former top compere reduced to reading woodenly from an autocue.
If he's still anything like the consumate professional he once was, Bruce will realise his performances are not up to scratch and it's time to go.
Last edited by: Iffy on Sun 18 Dec 11 at 08:25
|
|
How effective was the 3D ?
|
Is it just me or would anyone else feel there might be something slightly disturbing about finding oneself voluntarily sitting alone on one's sofa watching the the most forward positioned moving parts of dancers in 3D while wearing strange plastic glasses?
:-)
Last edited by: Humph D'Bout on Sun 18 Dec 11 at 08:59
|
>> Is it just me or would anyone else feel there might be something slightly disturbing
>> about finding oneself voluntarily sitting alone on one's sofa watching the the most forward positioned
>> moving parts of dancers in 3D while wearing strange plastic glasses?
>>
>>
>> :-)
>>
I suspect the only issue is "sitting alone".
IME distaff side seem more interested in it than me: they watch it and I get the occasional eyefull when I look up from book/internet.
|
>> One person who lacks any dimension at all
Leave Brucie alone, he's a national treasure...
|
...Leave Brucie alone, he's a national treasure...
And should now be buried.
As regards the 3D, the highlights of previous shows segments were not in 3D which was a bit disconcerting.
The live sections were, and I would rate the experience as superior to watching the programme on ordinary telly.
Having said that, the people in some of the shots had a cardboard cut out effect, which I read elsewhere is something to do with the technical production of the programme.
The 3D effect was less exaggerated in general than some of the programmes on Sky, which is another technical/artistic choice made by the producers.
My understanding is an effective camera shot in 2D may not work in 3D, so producing a live programme to be broadcast in both formats is a challenge.
|
HD is definately worth it ...
... if the TV is 32" or greater, then it comes down to the viewing distance, a 60" HD TV gives no better a picture than a 32", because both are 1920×1080, though the 60" is more acceptable from a greater distance.
We have a 37" Sony TV with built in HD Freeview tuner and it is the ideal size, perhaps 40" would be fine though no bigger and ours is a good size lounge.
Furthermore Blueray movies are excellent and our Sony Blueray player does a great job at upscaling DVDs so they are better than SD, likewise our Sony h/d recorder upscales so a recorded SD programme is better than the original.
|
|
Upscaling is usually superbly effective, but it can give some weird effects. With our Sony PS3, it occasionally causes a brightly lit face in a dim scene to 'swim' like a reflection in gently moving water. Can't tell when it's going to happen, and it doesn't last long, but it's certainly peculiar when it does.
|
Anyone just watched the Prof Brian Cox lecture on Beeb 2 ? Proper telly that was !
You could go through life believing you're not entirely thick until you see this guy on form. Didn't understand all of it by any means but at least anyone who watched it will now have a basic concept of what "quantum theory" actually means. Of course I'd heard the term before but had no real understanding of what it meant other than "clever stuff". Now, if nothing else, I realise it's actually, "really clever stuff" !
Brilliant. Recommended.
|
|
Just going to post I was watching Take That on HD and how superb the picture and sound quality is. Dumbed down after Humph's post or what ?!
|
Don't beat yourself up too much, at least you were on topic !
:-)
"Diamonds the size of planets"...phew !
|
Pah, you might as well have been watching Bill and Ben in HD Humph, you understood that just as much.
Now me, I have been *really* educating myself.
Just been watching Cowboys and Aliens in HD. I am so much better informed now.
|
|
Slipped out to let the dogs out for a run around the garden. Came back to see Robbie Wiliams prancing about - realized he looks even more ugly in HD. **** !
|
Went to that Take That gig, actually at the Millenium Stadium, same tour, twas good.
|
Nobody told me Robbie Williams was on.
That's why I couldn't find the Telly pages or the remote last night:(
Pat
|
>> to see Robbie Wiliams prancing about - realised he looks even more ugly in HD.
Best avoid 5th Gear in HD then, just in case VBH appears on screen ;)
|
"Diamonds the size of planets"...phew !
All I need to do is to work out how to get it here! Get rid of your de Beers shares now?
|
>> One person who lacks any dimension at all is Bruce Forsyth.
>>
>> Fans of the show told me he's been struggling, but it was sad to witness
>> the former top compere reduced to reading woodenly from an autocue.
>>
>> If he's still anything like the consumate professional he once was, Bruce will realise his
>> performances are not up to scratch and it's time to go.
Bruce is as sharp as a tack. The boss and her friend have been in the audience twice (connections on the programme) . Bruce does the warm up and is superb, bantering, singing, dancing, and taking a turn with a random volunteer - I've seen the DVD. Blame the director/scriptwriters. Left to his own devices he is still a complete entertainer.
|
Is HD worth it? - Zero
