Hd Tv

Wig

So loads of people now have "HD ready" TVs but no HD TV (transmitted programs) to watch. I noticed a BBC promo channel on sky called "BBC HD preview" or summting like that. But the channel wasn't free to air !!! grrrr!

Is it possible to get pre-recorded dvds in HD format? If so please name an example. I mean normal dvds not bluray or HDVD.

I'd like to see the difference on the TV picture, though I'm not gonna hold my breath because the picture on this particular TV is not very good anyway.

Blacksheep1979

if you're using a crt you won't notice the difference between hd and normal dvds

magic_pants

BBC HD is free to air. But it is MPEG4 compressed so you need a suitable decoder to view it. One such device is the Sky HD box but there are others. However to view teh SkyHD channels you will need the Sky HD box.

"Is it possible to get pre-recorded dvds in HD format?"

Afraid not. A normal DVD just cannot hold enough data to render an HD movie. But you can view HD samples on your PC as there are plenty of sites from where you can download trailers from.

"I'd like to see the difference on the TV picture"

Gonna be tough without an HD panel but, as I mentioned, you can see HD in action on your PC.

nearlyrich

I work in the industry so I have seen lots of HD footage over the last few months, I have also seen a dvd that is half and half and the comparitive clarity is phenonmenal. I had to chuckle the other day I was in a Tesco store and this know all type chap was pontificating about how good the HD TV was compared to the ordinary one, I didn't have the heart to tell him that ITV1 isn't recorded in HD yet LOL.

magic_pants

"I didn't have the heart to tell him that ITV1 isn't recorded in HD yet LOL"


Hmmm..that's not strictly true I'm afraid. ITVHD is available on the Telewest TVDrive platform as a trial. It's not available on the Sky platform however.

Wig

magic_pants wrote:

BBC HD is free to air. But it is MPEG4 compressed so you need a suitable decoder to view it. One such device is the Sky HD box but there are others. However to view teh SkyHD channels you will need the Sky HD box.

Ok so a normal (old) sky box is no good then.. it just gives a blue screen saying not subscribed to this channel (I think)

"Is it possible to get pre-recorded dvds in HD format?"

Afraid not. A normal DVD just cannot hold enough data to render an HD movie. But you can view HD samples on your PC as there are plenty of sites from where you can download trailers from.

A dvd holds I think 4.7Gb this may not be enough for a full length HD film, but how about 30 mins? One of the replies says he has seen an industry sample dvd. The question now is.... Are there any commercially available sample discs... Another question is would you need a different dvd player to play a HD recorded dvd? Presumably these online sample HD can be downloaded and burned to DVD would the normal dvd player play them? And what about a dvd recorder...would that record HD TV signals assuming they started transmitting tommorrow could the dvd recorders cope? Or would we all need to buy new dvd recorders....disregarding the fact that the record capacity of the normal dvd would be reduced...i.e. the record time may be reduced to 30 mins, but would it be able to receive and record an HD signal for 30 mins?

"I'd like to see the difference on the TV picture"

Gonna be tough without an HD panel but, as I mentioned, you can see HD in action on your PC.

It is an "HD ready" TV

Sobraon

Lots of info on HD at http://www.avforums.com/forums/index.php . Including details of HD DVD & BlueRay players and HD DVDs

Wig

BUMP, Can anyone answer my last post in this thread?

moob_2

Wig, I'm pretty sure it's possible to have a sample of hd on a regular dvd disc, otherwise how do stores such as comet etc show hddvd on their sets, and have been for some time, long before blueray etc were released.

I think you can get hd mp4 files over the bit torrent system that will allow you to view what hdtv can be like.

I've heard many negative comments about the quality of Sky hdtv, and am therefore waiting for the technology to improve, both on the broadcasting and hardware front, before I buy a set.

To nearlyrich:

Perhaps the guy was comparing a £1.3k hdtv to a £300 crt - I'd imagine picture depth/contrast/quality would be better regardless of source?

magic_pants

Wig wrote:

It is an "HD ready" TV

Well does it have a DVI in? If it does and your PC has DVI out then you can feed the TV from your PC..job done!

magic_pants

gizmoleeds wrote:

There is a moral to the story - if you don't understand the new technology you're buying, you almost certainly don't need it.

I'd agree with that to a point as there is a lot of misunerstanding and nonsense put around about HD. I've had SkyHD from back in the beginning of June and I have to say that, for th emost part, it is outstanding. OK it's let down a bit by lack of content at times but, for £10 a month I think it's pretty good. BBCHD is, as one would expect, just jaw dropping when viewing Planet Earth, Deep Blue etc... and Last Night of the Proms at th eweekend was incredible! The footy is excellent on Sky Sports HD and when movies are done right they are superb. That said, not all HD is the same! Some of the older movies don't seem to transfer well (perhaps the source material isn't of good enough quality) but all-in-all I'm very pleased with it. teething issues are always going to happen with new technology but, in my humble opinion, it was worth it just for the World Cup!