HDMI adaptor?

Kimberley

My TV is HD ready. I have it connected to an HDMI DVD but I also want to get a HDMI freeview box but the TV has only one HDMI slot.

I have looked on Google but there are loads of choices and i'm unsure on what is the correct adaptor that I need. Can you help?

Inactive

Well Freeview isn't broadcast in HD, so I would just connect it via Scart Lead, assuming that it doesn't have Freeview built in.

Kimberley

Inactive wrote: »

Well Freeview isn't broadcast in HD, so I would just connect it via Scart Lead, assuming that it doesn't have Freeview built in.

It will do though eventually. I did have freeview built in but one day the freeview stopped working in my TV and I can't get it back so I had to get a freeview box but now I want to upgrade to a HDMI one but I suppose I can wait until freeview has HD channels.

yorkshire-lad

if you purchase a HD freeview box, you can get BBC HD and C4 HD i certainly know of,its just that the normal channels BBC1,BBC2,ITV etc are still in SD.

but the switchover will be starting soon.

to the OP, this is something what you should look at...

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=220674

EDIT: Just remembered that C4 HD is encrypted content and can only be had on Sky

Kimberley

Thank you Yorkshire lad for that link

How does the HD channels work then, like do you have to go into a different setting to watch the HD channels to the the normal SD ones or can you just tell by the picture quality?

Fifer

yorkshire-lad wrote: »

if you purchase a HD freeview box, you can get BBC HD and C4 HD i certainly know of,its just that the normal channels BBC1,BBC2,ITV etc are still in SD.

There is no such thing as a Freeview HD box, nor is there any such thing as Freeview HD yet. Any box you buy today will not recieve Freeview HD channels if and when they launch.

Kimberley

Fifer wrote: »

There is no such thing as a Freeview HD box, nor is there any such thing as Freeview HD yet. Any box you buy today will not recieve Freeview HD channels if and when they launch.

So how comes you can get HDMI freeview boxes then or is that just for better picture quality?

weegie.geek

yorkshire-lad wrote: »

if you purchase a HD freeview box, you can get BBC HD and C4 HD i certainly know of,its just that the normal channels BBC1,BBC2,ITV etc are still in SD.

An HD freesat box, not a freeview one.

Kimberley wrote: »

It will do though eventually.

So they say, but when/if they get it on freeview (and where are they going to find the spectrum? They're already cramming channels on there, the bitrates of some of the less mainstream channels are terrible) it'll almost certainly be mpeg4, which your current box can't decode, so it'll be new box time. The trial of BBCHD from the Crystal Palace transmitter was mpeg4, as are the BBCHD/ITVHD offerings on SKY. Not sure about the SKY branded HD channels, but I'm guessing they're mpeg4 too. mpeg4's the way forward since it gives much higher quality for a given bitrate than mpeg2, so I'm positive that freeview will go for mpeg4, given the limited bandwidth they've got to play with. Even then, you're looking at the equivalent of 6+ of the current channels for one mpeg4 HD channel...

I did have freeview built in but one day the freeview stopped working in my TV and I can't get it back so I had to get a freeview box but now I want to upgrade to a HDMI one but I suppose I can wait until freeview has HD channels.

Using an HDMI freeview box will mean the box will upscale the picture before sending it to the TV, as opposed to the TV taking the analogue picture via scart and upscaling it. In theory the picture should be better via HDMI (especially since there's no analogue step) but it all depends on the quality of the upscaler on the freeview box I guess.

Kimberley wrote: »

So how comes you can get HDMI freeview boxes then or is that just for better picture quality?

You posted this while I was typing. Answered above.

Kimberley

I get it now thank you.

Fifer

Just adding to weegie.geek's post, although an HDMI Freeview box upscales the image before it is sent to the TV, the TV will also upscale a signal supplied by SCART (and will also upscale the signal from the TV's internal Freeview tuner) so it fits the screen of the TV (which has more lines than an SD signal provides). So if the TV's internal upscaler is better than the one in the HDMI Freeview box, the HDMI Freeview box provides no advantage.

I suspect your best option is to find out why your TV's built-in Freeview isn't working. Are you sure it's broken and not just finger trouble?

Kimberley

Fifer wrote: »

I suspect your best option is to find out why your TV's built-in Freeview isn't working. Are you sure it's broken and not just finger trouble?

I don't know, i've tried doing a new channel search but it doesn't seem to work, the page is just blank