Picture quality - UHF vs streaming app

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alasta

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#3336602 28-Jan-2025 14:10

I live in a townhouse complex with 97 units and as far as I am aware noone has felt the need to install a UHF aerial.

Personally I just use Apple TV+ and ThreeNow through streaming. The picture quality of the former looks great to me, and I'm not too worried about the latter as I mainly just use it to watch reality TV.

Groucho

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#3336604 28-Jan-2025 14:14

RunningMan:

Aucklandjafa: Don’t know where you’re getting a 3-4 min delay. Last time I was at the stadium, I got my app going, out of pure curiosity, and it was 30-40 seconds max. Hardly an issue if you’re at home.

Respectfully that is just as bad. It is totally an issue if you want to watch in partnership with another device/source. Most major sporting events provide some sort of online timer / scorecard / timing monitor (as applicable to each sport) that is far easier to read and more informative than stuff scrolling across the bottom of the screen.

If that monitor is even 30s ahead of the video stream you're watching, it takes every surprise away before it happens. Motorsport is a good example with a live timing monitor that is continually updated with a row of info for each driver, split times, best times etc -it's far more and far better info than any linear broadcast could every provide by itself (so a good supplement) but if that flashes up yellow because there's been some mishap it takes away the enjoyment of watching. Same thing if you know the final score to a rugby game that could go either way 30s before it finishes.

The sport promoters are trying to make a more immersive and interesting experience by having this extra info available but it is completely undermined and instead detracts from the experience if the broadcaster doesn't actually let you watch it live.

I was at the Melbourne F1 a few years ago. I noticed all the "live" onsite video screens from memory had ~20 second delay. Could it be intensional so footage of a major crash can be cut so drivers receiving critical/fatal injuries isn't broadcast and live streamed to the world? I had heard talkback radio used to have a similar delay so a call could be dropped if sweary or offensive before it hit the air but don't know if that's still a thing.

Groucho

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#3336608 28-Jan-2025 14:27

DjShadow:

I've noticed a lot of the new town-houses going up around me do not have UHF Antennas or Satellite Dishes installed, I've just assumed anyone moving into those places would use Freeview Streaming and/or Sky Pod

It could be they don't automatically install one unless specifically requested on new builds so they don't inadvertently compromise weather tightness? Had a friend who had a house built a few years ago and there was a drama getting fibre installed. Part way through the build, Chorus had an initial scope meeting who said they'd just drill through the cladding. The builder stepped in saying it would compromise the weather tightness (and final code of compliance) so they rigged up a conduit before the cladding went up.

Rikkitic

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#3336611 28-Jan-2025 14:52

Oblivian:

There's not really a when. It still does. Streams are all stereo.

That wasn't my experience when my antenna was still working. I used to regularly check and there was almost never anything in surround sound. There was in the earlier days but it seemed to virtually disappear over time.

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richms

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#3336616 28-Jan-2025 15:35

DjShadow:

I've noticed a lot of the new town-houses going up around me do not have UHF Antennas or Satellite Dishes installed, I've just assumed anyone moving into those places would use Freeview Streaming and/or Sky Pod

Or they are putting in a MATV distribution to keep the place looking nicer.

Richard rich.ms

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#3336658 28-Jan-2025 17:00

Groucho:

DjShadow:

I've noticed a lot of the new town-houses going up around me do not have UHF Antennas or Satellite Dishes installed, I've just assumed anyone moving into those places would use Freeview Streaming and/or Sky Pod

It could be they don't automatically install one unless specifically requested on new builds so they don't inadvertently compromise weather tightness? Had a friend who had a house built a few years ago and there was a drama getting fibre installed. Part way through the build, Chorus had an initial scope meeting who said they'd just drill through the cladding. The builder stepped in saying it would compromise the weather tightness (and final code of compliance) so they rigged up a conduit before the cladding went up.

My new build (completed last year, although planning began in 2020 approx) had a UHF antenna installed and cabled to all 3 rooms (lounge and 2x bedrooms) without us specifically asking for it -- it was just done as port of their standard build. No weather tightness issues (although to be fair as it was done by an electrician contracted by the builders they'd probably sorted this out beforehand). YMMV.

But I suspect on budget builds it's probally omitted to save on costs perhaps.

Not surprised about the satellite though, I suspect most of the satellite dishes installed have been done post-build by SKY or via a indepedent contractor for Freeview. Don't think it is usual for it to be done as part of a new build.

farcus

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#3336717 28-Jan-2025 18:13

first thing I did when moving into the property I am in now about a year ago was remove the satellite dish and uhf aerial and cut out all the cabling.
I don't care that the streaming pic quality is slightly worse than the UHF broadcast (but better than the sat broadcast). I didn't want ugly satellite dishes and aerials messing the aesthetics of my property. Pretty much the only content I watch from freeview providers is a few shows on TVNZ+. Not as good quality as Netflix - but good enough to still enjoy.

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Rentakill

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#3336735 28-Jan-2025 20:00

This just seems silly to me and not based on any real world experience. Yes, UHF is better quality than streaming. No argument there. But the difference is not like comparing HDMI to VCR. Streaming quality is perfectly acceptable and far, far better than VCR (to use an example). Those who sniff at streaming quality today would have been blown away by it just a few years ago. There is more than a little pretentiousness involved here.

Not everyone can receive OTA and the image can break up in marginal reception areas. Streaming is an excellent fall back for this. Someone playing a special effects blockbuster on a 100 inch screen might notice a few pixels or streaks but in most cases there is nothing at all wrong with streaming quality, except for those who think there is. And those who think there is should not be trying to watch special effects blockbusters on TV anyway. That is what Blu-Ray disks are for.

A $30 Android box works fine for this and thanks to the IPTV streams of @Apsattv and others, it is very easy to stream all of the channels that any antenna can pick up and many, many more. I stream all of my channels as a matter of choice and they work just fine. Quality is excellent on a 50 inch screen at less than 10 feet and so is zapping. And the choice of channels is infinitely greater than the paltry NZ Freeview offering.

Of course there is nothing wrong with UHF but to try to maintain that a dozen boring reality channels are preferable to hundreds of international ones is simply silly. And it doesn’t take any data or require a lot of maintenance and it is not at all difficult to set up, except maybe to those who think it is.

Streaming is simple, and it just works.

Real World Experience.

Comparing HDMI to VCR ??????

I'm located in the Eastern Bay of Plenty where we have no Official DTT Service. I was lucky to find a Pocket of Signal from a Transmitter (Te Aroha) 2 hours up the Road.

My Levels are just on Threshold 32dbuv - which coupled with a Reasonably Stable Masthead Amp distributes fine throughout our house to a number of Sets.

On Demand, I have Fiber 1000 at the Door which is Networked through to my Sets using a Gigabit Cable connection and I'd say Its ok, but i wouldn't rely on it and call it Awesome. Id say its just ok.

Real World Huh !!

Apsattv

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#3336809 28-Jan-2025 22:22

alasta:

I live in a townhouse complex with 97 units and as far as I am aware noone has felt the need to install a UHF aerial.

Personally I just use Apple TV+ and ThreeNow through streaming. The picture quality of the former looks great to me, and I'm not too worried about the latter as I mainly just use it to watch reality TV.

They may have a distribution setup. With the UHF antenna hidden Inside the actual roof.

Apsattv

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#3336813 28-Jan-2025 22:30

With my own recent build. The stock house plan just has a bare minimum in terms of tv outlets etc they were all optional or adjustable like most things. I went with a traditional tv outlet in each room. With a Hills distribution box in the garage for satellite and UHF, with a small UHF antenna on the roof. Sky installed a normal 60cm next to it and all they had to do was plug it into the distribution box as the cables were all pre run inside the roof.

Where i went overboard was a 2 garage cabinets to hold my networking gear. I have 4 to 6 ethernet jacks in every room, fed back to 2 24 port switches..

Freeview UHF just works I don't see any downsides to having it for what costs...especially with all the cricket they have been showing on Duke.

Rikkitic

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#3336870 29-Jan-2025 09:00

I don't have any problem with UHF. It is fine for those who can get it. I just object to those who act like watching 480i is like having nails driven into their eyes. It was fine for a whole generation of viewers and it is acceptable now when nothing better is available. People need to get over themselves.

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Oblivian

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#3336876 29-Jan-2025 09:26

The previous generation had devices based on light rays being shot at a curved glass that bled and low resolution source.

Not a digital 1:1 pixel mapping matching the medium it's recorded and supplied on.

Incomparable.

Rentakill

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#3337044 29-Jan-2025 17:59

Apsattv:

With my own recent build. The stock house plan just has a bare minimum in terms of tv outlets etc they were all optional or adjustable like most things. I went with a traditional tv outlet in each room. With a Hills distribution box in the garage for satellite and UHF, with a small UHF antenna on the roof. Sky installed a normal 60cm next to it and all they had to do was plug it into the distribution box as the cables were all pre run inside the roof.

Where i went overboard was a 2 garage cabinets to hold my networking gear. I have 4 to 6 ethernet jacks in every room, fed back to 2 24 port switches..

Freeview UHF just works I don't see any downsides to having it for what costs...especially with all the cricket they have been showing on Duke.

Nice one Craig.

I usually run Two RG6 Cables to each Room... Which covers DTT / Sat and any other Modulated Tv or FM Antenna Signals which come from a Central Location for Easy Patching.

Main Tv Room Areas i would usually run the same - but with a bit of Redundancy... Possibly two more feeds.. For Modulator Backfeed and Unplanned Extra RF Signals.

Networking - I'd do one Ethernet in each room and Multiple behind each Major AV or Office locations.

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