Have your say & ask the experts

hi,  my setup is v + box, onkyo 607,samsung 1080p 40 inch tv elac 5.1 surronds.  my problem is i cannot tell the difference between standard digital and hi def. v+ box set to 1080 wide thru hdmi cable +optical lead to onkyo for dolby 5.1 when broadcast.  sound is good, but hd is a disapointment,standard digital picture is very good i might add   does vergin only broadcast in 720p  is this the problem.i would like to hear from any one who can really tell the difference .                                                                 

I think it also depends how far away you sit. Just to see, watch something on BBC1 that is also being shown on BBC HD. Now from a distance they do look quite similar (suppose this is also down to the very good quality of the standard def picture) but up close you will see the difference.

The overriding factor for me is that whilst HiDef is better I dont think it is that much better than a quality Standard Def source. (From distance at least)

I think the issue here is that TVs have got a LOT better at handling SD sources. They have had to because not that long ago it was hard work viewing SD broadcasts but the latest processing is far more adept at reducing the noise in the picture and providing a decent quality picture.

There is a difference between SD and broadcast HD (in 720p/1080i) but the improvements in TVs have closed the gap a little. Blu-ray, on the other hand, at 1080p, remains considerably better.

roberto1234:

i would like to hear from any one who can really tell the difference .

I'm using a V+ box set to 1080i via a Yamaha Z7 (HDMI for picture & sound) through a Pioneer 50" plasma and I can see a big difference. I sit about 4.5m away from the TV and find not only are the HD pictures from the BBC HD, NatGeo HD, ESPN HD, etc. far sharper than the same SD broadcasts, the colour depth is also far superior.

Some broadcasts on HD channels will be SD which has been upscaled by the broadcaster and will therefore not be such a giant leap forward. But I think most of the broadcasts on the 3 channels mentioned above will be HD at source.

Hi,

I had the same debate with my wife about the quality of V+ as she couldn't see the difference on my at the time on my Sony 40" KDL40W2000. However as soon as you 'blow the picture' up, in my case on a 84" projector screen (via my Sanyo PLV-Z700) the differences are far more obvious hence the Pete can see the differences clearer on his 50" screen. Most agree  through various tests, the threshold for seeing the differences between SD and HD is on a 32inch screen and upwards so you are right on the early end of the scale of really seeing the benefits. Below 32inch the debate gets very contentious as the differences can sometimes be slight and not worth the premium in some cases.

Also it's worth noting the V+ also upscales SD pictures to the output you choose i.e. 720p or 1080i. Again as pointed out, your tv also has a scaler which means you can achieve much better SD picture quality. Using this theory, if your TV is 1080p and you output your V+ is set to 1080i your tv can upscale the picture further to P (progressive) standard giving you a clearer but smoother picture. Hence by doing this the differences between HD and SD via your V+ can sometimes marginal.

regards

As has been said, sometimes the differnce isn't graet as th HD footage isn't g reat either (or just upscaled).

The best HD picture I've seen yet on BBC HD is Last of the Summer Wine lol, not that I'm a regular view I might add. A truly sharp photographic picture on my Toshiba 46zf355 I watched some of it just to view the HD! I have seen other TVs show decent SD and HD channels only look a little clearer though.