tv advice for total numpty

virgin_moneysaver

my god - what have I done !

I assume HD ready means digital - there was a lot of terminology you lot used that I just haven't got a clue

we are on cable tv with virgin - NO GAMESTATIONS to be attached - & a recordable dvd player instead of the one we got that only plays dvds

this is why I keep putting off replacing the TV thats on the blink - I just don't know what I'm supposed to buy

mymatebob

Betamax now there was a quality product - still got a fully functioning machine.

And variations of it are still used by many broadcasters.

For what it is worth I would not touch Samsung with a bargepole.

In our family we have three between us, all bought separately, and IMHO mistakenly.
The one I have is good with an HD DVD signal but but for "normal" broadcasts it is really poor.

[Deleted User]

Here we go:

1) HD Ready means that the tv can accept signals in 720p/1080i/1080p which Blueray, PS3, Xbox360, Sky HD and Virgin V+ can all output. Digital refers to Freeview, Sky TV and Virgin Media.

2) As you're only using this for viewing tv, unless you upgrade to Sky HD or V+ then you're more than likely going to be disapointed with the picture quality compared to what you have got at the moment. If you an afford V+ or Sky HD then you'll enjoy the tv a lot more.

mymatebob

Digital is word that many people bandy about and no little about sadly.

HD ready means it is capable of displaying HD pictures which are only available from a digital source.

You can currently get HD broadcasts from Freesat, Cable and Sky and will in the future get them on Freeview.

EDIT - beat me too it be_alright

Marty_J

virgin_moneysaver wrote: »

my god - what have I done !

I assume HD ready means digital - there was a lot of terminology you lot used that I just haven't got a clue

we are on cable tv with virgin - NO GAMESTATIONS to be attached - & a recordable dvd player instead of the one we got that only plays dvds

this is why I keep putting off replacing the TV thats on the blink - I just don't know what I'm supposed to buy

HD means "High Definition"; an HD picture will have a higher resolution than a standard picture, and thus give a much clearer, sharper image. Virgin have HD services, though I think you might need a new box to access them.

Marty_J

mymatebob wrote: »

Betamax now there was a quality product - still got a fully functioning machine.

And variations of it are still used by many broadcasters.

For what it is worth I would not touch Samsung with a bargepole.

In our family we have three between us, all bought separately, and IMHO mistakenly.
The one I have is good with an HD DVD signal but but for "normal" broadcasts it is really poor.

We have a Samsung in the living room, and the picture is pretty bad with just standard Sky. Looks good with the PS3 running into it though. My grandmother recently got herself a Samsung, and she just uses Freeview but gets a much better picture than we do.

The cynic in me sometimes thinks that Sky is making its standard picture worse to encourage everyone to go HD.

[Deleted User]

Marty_J wrote: »

We have a Samsung in the living room, and the picture is pretty bad with just standard Sky. Looks good with the PS3 running into it though. My grandmother recently got herself a Samsung, and she uses Freeview but gets a much better picture than we do.

Have you got your Sky box to output in RGB mode? Have you turned off any of the picture enhancers and kept your sharpeness setting to a minimum? They can cause more artifacting and degrade the picture quality. Also making sure you're colours are set up properly too can really affect the quality, since out of the box they're over saturated.

Get this when it's back in stock and you'll probably notice quite a difference!

virgin_moneysaver

be_alright wrote: »

Here we go:

1) HD Ready means that the tv can accept signals in 720p/1080i/1080p which Blueray, PS3, Xbox360, Sky HD and Virgin V+ can all output. Digital refers to Freeview, Sky TV and Virgin Media.

2) As you're only using this for viewing tv, unless you upgrade to Sky HD or V+ then you're more than likely going to be disapointed with the picture quality compared to what you have got at the moment. If you an afford V+ or Sky HD then you'll enjoy the tv a lot more.

what is V& ? - we will not get sky for various reasons - I don't want a rusty dish on my house - we don't want numerous channels as the TV is only on for a few hours weekday evenings & a bit more on weekends - the eldest is off to uni next year & taking his xbox 360 with him (I hope!)

BUT - I still want a decent picture - can I get this V& thingy thru virgin

the other reason I don't want another provider in running wires is that the NTL engineer who was sent to install our tv/broadband/ telephone line spent a long time with my hubby who was rewiring the house at the time ( we had just moved) & the endgineer run all the cable wires under the electric trunking so i have no cables surface mounted, its all hidden

[Deleted User]

virgin_moneysaver wrote: »

what is V& ? - we will not get sky for various reasons - I don't want a rusty dish on my house - we don't want numerous channels as the TV is only on for a few hours weekday evenings & a bit more on weekends - the eldest is off to uni next year & taking his xbox 360 with him (I hope!)

BUT - I still want a decent picture - can I get this V& thingy thru virgin

the other reason I don't want another provider in running wires is that the NTL engineer who was sent to install our tv/broadband/ telephone line spent a long time with my hubby who was rewiring the house at the time ( we had just moved) & the endgineer run all the cable wires under the electric trunking so i have no cables surface mounted, its all hidden

V+ is the HD offering from Virgin Media. You can get it, depending how long you've been a customer of virgin and your payment record you might be able ot negotiate a discount on the install which is either £75 or £150. It uses the same cable and it's just a new box that they come in and install. It's a recorder too with three tuners in so you can watch one channel and be recording two other programs as the same time to watch at a later date.

Marty_J

be_alright wrote: »

Have you got your Sky box to output in RGB mode? Have you turned off any of the picture enhancers and kept your sharpeness setting to a minimum? They can cause more artifacting and degrade the picture quality. Also making sure you're colours are set up properly too can really affect the quality, since out of the box they're over saturated.

Get this when it's back in stock and you'll probably notice quite a difference!

Thanks, I'll definitely have to invest in one of them.

TBH, I'd like a new TV anyway!