Not impressed by new TV - 100Hz & virtual dolby

londonman81 · 26 March 2005 at 1:53PM

Hi all,

I've just taken delivery of a new Philips widescreen 28inch TV with 100Hz and Virtual Dolby.

I was very keen on having the 100Hz feature as I had been told it would make the picture much easier on the eye and smoother - with less flickering.

But having watched several hours of various channels on it I have to say I'm very disappointed with the picture quality of 100Hz.

For a start the picture is not as sharp as on a conventional 50Hz screen, and also there is no noticable difference in flicker between a normal 50Hz screen and this 100Hz one.

I have also noticed that when watching sports e.g football, tennis , cricket etc the ball is very hard to pick out as it seems to ghost as it moves around the screen.....looks almost like 'American TV' if you get what I mean i.e not sharp and crisp.

I cannot see how the 100Hz technology is any better than 50Hz..... do manufacturers think people are stupid enough not to believe their eyes?

In the shops the TV reception is always poor so its not possible to judge there.

Also - is the Virtual Dolby Sound supposed to work on all programs? I watch mainly Sky and the Vitrual Dolby never seems to kick in..... i once heard that Dolby is not available on Sky yet - if so then what is the point of having advanced sounds technology?!

Can someone please give some comment on their experience with 100Hz and Virtual Dolby technology?

Thanks

aliasojo · 26 March 2005 at 2:05PM

There's nothing worse than being disappointed with a new purchase, especially an expensive one!

Our old tv was a 50Hz one and we replaced it with a Sony 100 Hz widescreen about 7 months ago. I have to say there is a big difference and my picture is pin !!!!!! sharp when we view through the Sky box. In fact sometimes the progs look as if they are in 3D! It's not great through the normal loft ariel, but that obviously not a problem with the tv, just the rubbishy signal we get here.

I'm afraid I definately think the 100Hz is a big improvement but I can't really answer your Dolby query. Our tv has different Dolby sound settings which OH tends to play with and I'm never very sure what setting we're on!

Altarf · 26 March 2005 at 2:16PM

Both are marketing gimicks.

To quote from What Video & Widescreen TV - "100Hz was developed to double the refresh rate of the picture, removing the flicker. But 100Hz can result in some nasty side effects if not implemented correctly, such as smearing behind movement, pixelisation and softness."

Sky's broadcasts do contain the necessary information for Dolby, but with "Virtual Dolby" you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between it and Nicam Stereo.

You are correct about the reception in most stores, the one notable exception being John Lewis (and they give a free 5 year warranty and they are cheaper than any other bricks and mortar shop).

londonman81 · 26 March 2005 at 2:20PM

Altarf wrote:

Both are marketing gimicks.

To quote from What Video & Widescreen TV - "100Hz was developed to double the refresh rate of the picture, removing the flicker. But 100Hz can result in some nasty side effects if not implemented correctly, such as smearing behind movement, pixelisation and softness."

Sky's broadcasts do contain the necessary information for Dolby, but with "Virtual Dolby" you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between it and Nicam Stereo.

You are correct about the reception in most stores, the one notable exception being John Lewis (and they give a free 5 year warranty and they are cheaper than any other bricks and mortar shop).

Thanks for that quote Altarf - I definately see a more 'smudged' picture on the 100Hz screen. As when the picture is fast moving e.g sports, then its even more evident.

I cannot see how 100 Hz is any clearer - its far too soft, ghosts more easily, and loses all sharpness.

I'm one very disappointed customer.

As for Virtual Dolby - it hasnt even switched on yet on any of the shows.....why?! Ive checked the setttings.

P.S Another annoying thing about this Philips is that it doesn't show an on screen volume scale when adjusting the volume...this is old school technology which i took for granted on my old tellies....instead u have to watch the infra red thing flash and listen out for the volume change....most annoying!

Joe_Bloggs · 26 March 2005 at 2:24PM

Perhaps a better test for your TV would be from a DVD. Live sports on digital channels tend to have rushed mpeg encoding that tends to blur fast moving objects. DVDs often have better pictures and AC3 sound tracks that may excercise the AV capabilities of your TV. 50Hz Flicker gets worse the bigger the screen. At 28 inch you may be at the threshold of where it makes little but some difference in material.

In my ignorant opinion speakers in a TV are likely to have inferior sound than seperate speakers on stands. You don't need virtual dolby in a TV if you have an Audio/Visual amp that can do the same job or decode the real thing via an SPDIF connection. A TV should be just about the picture. It is a disgrace that most TV showrooms do not provide suitable material to see which TV has the best picture. Alas many people choose there TV on looks/design etc rather than the quality of the picture ! I'm pretty sure that others will have more to say
J_B.

Altarf · 26 March 2005 at 2:27PM

londonman81 wrote:

As for Virtual DOlby - it hasnt even switched on yet....Sky have some work to do ........

Well I have a Dolby Pro-logic TV and that works fine with Sky.

londonman81 · 26 March 2005 at 2:34PM

Joe_Bloggs wrote:

Alas many people choose there TV on looks/design etc rather than the quality of the picture ! I'm pretty sure that others will have more to say
J_B.

I definately agree with this and even set out with the intention of avoiding this trap - I wanted to suss out the exact picture quality of each TV bu in a showroom it is impossible!

I even thought of buying both of the last 2 canddiate TV's I had in mind - set them up at home side by side, and return the one I didn't like.

It's a very rare purchase - as TV's last much longer than computers and even cars sometimes... so it's vital to get what fits right in the exact spot in the living room, and yet the support from shops, manufacturers in helping customers make the right choice is appalling......

P.S I know that Dolby Pro Logic works but I dont have room for that in my small living room

I'm sure I've had more help in deciding which sandwich to buy at lunchtime than a TV....and I'm sure more people give more thought to which pizza to order than to their TV purchase..!

Wake up people!

aliasojo · 26 March 2005 at 2:42PM

Altarf wrote:

But 100Hz can result in some nasty side effects if not implemented correctly, such as smearing behind movement, pixelisation and softness."

When they say 'if not implemented correctly' do they mean during manufacture?

If so, perhaps it does have something to do with make? My sister has a newish Samsung, which although being a decent enough tv, is nowhere near the picture quality of my Sony.

As mentioned before, the 100Hz picture on the Samsung is softer and less defined.

We spent weeks before deciding which make/model to buy, we visited so many showrooms and review websites that I was seeing tvs in my sleep!

londonman81 · 26 March 2005 at 2:47PM

aliasojo wrote:

When they say 'if not implemented correctly' do they mean during manufacture?

If so, perhaps it does have something to do with make? My sister has a newish Samsung, which although being a decent enough tv, is nowhere near the picture quality of my Sony.

As mentioned before, the 100Hz picture on the Samsung is softer and less defined.

We spent weeks before deciding which make/model to buy, we visited so many showrooms and review websites that I was seeing tvs in my sleep!

The other final 100 Hz candidate I had was a Samsung - but the picture quality was terrible even compared with a normal 50Hz.. so I didn't touch it.

So those of you thinking of taking up that ebuyer offer at the moment should beware!

It looks like a good spec on paper but there is no substitute for doing some more research and USING YOUR EYES!

lellie · 26 March 2005 at 2:53PM

i find alot of the newer tvs have such awful picture quality compared to 10 years ago. all of the digital computerised crap seems to make them shocking. if you go to asda or something, look at their line of tvs the best picture always seems to be the cheaper models with none of the crap added!!!

Party_Animal · 26 March 2005 at 2:54PM

I've got the Sony 100HZ with a separate surround sound. Great picture but see what you mean about ghosting. I watch a lot of footie ( so I'm told) and I tend to watch in widescreen which makes all the players look like Wayne Rooney but other settings don't let you see the time lapse etc.
Surround sound works great with cable and video but is much quieter on DVD where you need to turn it up loud. Does anyone know why? BTW I'm not talking about copies.
Sorry to hijack thread but it is connected.

Not impressed by new TV - 100Hz & virtual dolby

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