UHF Freeview - how to improve picture?

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42 posts

Geek

#291702 21-Jan-2010 07:59

OK. RCA is currently in the composite ports, but both DVD player and TV have component ports. Do I need a different cable for that?

As for the display, what I meant was that I think I prefer the picture on an old CRT TV that just shows analog rather than and LCD that supposedly shows 'clearer' digital. The analog broadcasts look just as bad as the digital ones on my new TV.

The whole reason I got a new TV is because my old CRT started emitting a very annoying high-pitched whine that was getting steadily worse recently.

I really don't see what all the fuss is about with HD and LCD TVs.

sbiddle

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#291704 21-Jan-2010 08:14

pukunui: OK. RCA is currently in the composite ports, but both DVD player and TV have component ports. Do I need a different cable for that?

As for the display, what I meant was that I think I prefer the picture on an old CRT TV that just shows analog rather than and LCD that supposedly shows 'clearer' digital. The analog broadcasts look just as bad as the digital ones on my new TV.

The whole reason I got a new TV is because my old CRT started emitting a very annoying high-pitched whine that was getting steadily worse recently.

I really don't see what all the fuss is about with HD and LCD TVs.

The quality of Freeview|HD broadcasts are vastly superior to analogue. Analogue can easily suffer from ghosting which is impossible on digital, it's also 4:3 rather than 16:9 widescreen.

Changing your cabling won't make any difference - if you had signal strength issues you'd be suffering from pixelisation.

I'm at a loss as to why you think Freeview|HD isn't impressive. I certainly think it is and apart from people who dislike aspects of the Freeview satellite service because of the lower bitrates you are actually the first person I've ever come across who hasn't been impressed by Freeview|HD!

pukunui

42 posts

Geek

#291706 21-Jan-2010 08:28

I'm just not seeing it. Yes, it's different but I wouldn't necessarily say it's better. I never had a problem with ghosting on my CRT TV. The image was always as clear as you could get it (unless it was TV1 with its crap reception).

But with my new LCD TV, most pictures look like they've been blown up too big in order to fill the screen, so I get the ghosting that comes from trying to turn a 72dpi jpeg into a 300dpi jpeg.

Watching MiB last night, it was awful seeing blurry auras around the people as they moved sometimes or the clipping when Jay moved too fast for the TV to keep up with. The menu screen looked awful too - definitely like a jpeg that had been blown up too large.

For the record, the TV display looked fine in the shop and they weren't just playing some carefully chosen thing. It was on a Freeview HD channel (I don't remember which one, though).

Also, my girls are watching a Barbie DVD right now and it looks fine, but then it's 100% pure CGI. Plus it's a lot newer than MiB.

When I was fiddling around last night, Lost was on TV2 and it looked all right. So I can understand that with the TV broadcasts, a lot of it depends on the program and the broadcaster, etc.

Were you saying I shouldn't bother switching to component RCA rather than composite RCA? Or not bother trying to plug the UHF directly into the TV?

wallop

367 posts

Ultimate Geek

#291719 21-Jan-2010 09:01

Personally I think the problem is with your tv not the freeview broadcast/signal. To my eyes LCD's always suffer from jitter/lag. That's why I prefer plasma.

pukunui

42 posts

Geek

#291721 21-Jan-2010 09:07

I can't afford a plasma. I'm sure it's nicer but it's not an option.

Spyware

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#291725 21-Jan-2010 09:10

No program listing for Men in Black that I could find. So you were watching off DVD via composite??, you also realise DVDs are standard definition. Either change to component or buy a bluray player and connect via HDMI.

Lost is actually an HD program, surprise surprise, TVNZ downscale from 1080i60 distribution to 720p50. Most everything else is upscaled as broadcasters haven't invested in HD programs or the equipment upgrades. Unless programs are advertised as HD then they are NOT. TVNZ will hopefully upgrade to 720p playout this year (H.264 stream is 720p though containing upsampled 576 line content most of the time), delayed since 2008 I think.

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pukunui

42 posts

Geek

#291730 21-Jan-2010 09:20

Yes, I was watching Men In Black on DVD. And my DVD player is hooked up via regular composite RCA.
So it IS worth getting a component cable? Where's the best place to get one? Dick Smiths? JB Hi-Fi?

That's interesting. That makes sense though - if Lost is real HD and is downscaled, it'll still look good, but if everything else is getting upscaled, then that'll be why it looks not so great. I really don't see how upscaling is supposed to work. You can't upscale still images. Why would it work with moving images?

I don't think I can afford a bluray player (or a gaming console with bluray/HD capabilities). Plus the DVD/VCR combo I've got is a special region-free one that lets me play all my American DVDs without any trouble as well as the ones I've bought since I moved here.

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butlerboy

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#291732 21-Jan-2010 09:26

pukunui: I can't afford a plasma. I'm sure it's nicer but it's not an option.

you'll find that plasma tv's are generally cheaper than lcd tvs. you can usually pick up a 42" panasonic plasma with built in freeviewhd for about $1200-$1400 from the likes of harvey norman.

pukunui

42 posts

Geek

#291735 21-Jan-2010 09:28

Oh. Well, I didn't know that. It's too late now. I got this 37" LG LCD TV from Harvey Norman on 24 month interest free financing. I have to admit I didn't even look at the plasmas. I thought they were all ridiculously expensive.

Plus we have limited space. Even the 37" is a bit big for the space we've got in our lounge.

butlerboy

457 posts

Ultimate Geek

#291738 21-Jan-2010 09:31

definitly ditch the composite cables. component is the minimum quality you'd want to connect your dvd player to your tv with.(asuming your dvd player has component output???) you may also have to change the settings in your dvd player menu to change the picture from 576i(interlaced) to 576p(progressive scan).

butlerboy

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Ultimate Geek

#291740 21-Jan-2010 09:34

pukunui: Oh. Well, I didn't know that. It's too late now. I got this 37" LG LCD TV from Harvey Norman on 24 month interest free financing. I have to admit I didn't even look at the plasmas. I thought they were all ridiculously expensive.

Plus we have limited space. Even the 37" is a bit big for the space we've got in our lounge.

fair enough. once you get it all set up correctly you'll be amazed by the quality of the picture.
i had to go buy a blu-ray player after i got a freeviewhd receiver as the freeview picture was so much better than that of the dvd.

wellygary

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Uber Geek

#291742 21-Jan-2010 09:35

What does the Freeview HD Demo Channel look like on your set ??

pukunui

42 posts

Geek

#291747 21-Jan-2010 09:41

BUTLER: OK, I'll get a component cable. My DVD has component out and the TV has component in, so that's not a problem. I'll see if I can change the DVD settings to progressive.

I don't want to have to buy a bluray player but we'll see. Does running the UHF signal through my DVD player make a difference? I'm not sure it would since I can watch TV even if the DVD player is off. I think the reason I ran it through the DVD is so I could record shows on the VCR (yeah, old school, I know).

WELLYGARY: I'm not sure what the demo channel is but the Freeview HD Guide picture looks great (but it's quite small - only taking up the upper right corner of the TV - which is probably why) no matter what channel is showing in the guide. That's why I'm getting the sense that the blurriness and stuff has to do with the picture being blown up to fill my 37" 16:9 screen or something.

pukunui

42 posts

Geek

#291751 21-Jan-2010 09:47

OK. I don't seem to be able to change my DVD player's output to progressive. Not through the menu anyway. But I put it on TV3 through the DVD player and then switched back to the TV and it definitely looked better on the TV.

I'm going to go out and get a component cable later today. Maybe I'll try putting MiB back in to see if it's any different.

sbiddle

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#291755 21-Jan-2010 09:50

Composite output from your DVD player is the cause - composite is a very low quality signal by todays standards. It's biggest fault is dot crawl which is very noticeable on modern larger screens.

You don't necessarily need to change the output to progressive, providing you've got component cables your TV is capable of doing the deinterlacing itself.

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