sky hd..... cant tell the difference

[gazingdown]

OP, what channel are you comparing? Remember to select the HD version of a given program, e.g. Sky1 HD, not Sky1.

Put on one of the proper HD channels broadcasting a proper HD program. Put on BBC1 when showing soemthing good (e.g. Wonders of the Universe or an Attenborough nature prog) then switch between BBC1 HD, BBC (on Sky), BBC (on freeview) and BBC analogue. If you really can't see the difference, get your eyesight checked!

There are a few picture quality "levels" and the step between them can seem smallish but the step between 2 is significant.
Analogue
Basic digital - low res feed (i.e. many channels appear blocky if they use low bandwidth, ITV 2/3/4 used to be poor)
Decent digital - good res feed (BBC were always good)
Upscaled SD (Virgin and Sky boxes upscale) - depending on original signal can look very good.
HD (720p) - Looks very good, esp on Sky where the broadcast is a good HD signal (BBC nature progs, Sky HD films and Sport, Sk1 HD etc.)
HD (1080p) - I don't think Sky/Virgin/freeviewHD/etc. broadcast this high resolution, it's mainly for Bluray players. Looks better than 720p but only really if you either have a large sscreen (50 inch upwards) or sit too close to TV such as 3 feet away from a 42 inch. See viewing angles pic someone else put up earlier.

Ultimately, the original signal/broadcast quality will dictate how much you can see the difference.

Once past the "does it actually look better" stage, it comes down to whether you actually appreciate the rise in pic quality. Some don't really care (fair enough) and happy with a lower res signal, some do.

Personally I'm into my music and have fairly decent kit and really appreciate the sound quality differences, whereas some people will be happy with with their all-in-one Currys hi-fi. That in itself is fine but they'd be talking bollocks if they said there was no/little difference in sound quality. OK, one might not appreciate the difference with a poorly produced wall-of-sound recording but the difference between a well produced record (e.g. latest Elbow CD or decent classical recordings) is night and day difference.

i.e. the more you are into something (football, cars, music, tv/films etc.) the more you appreciate the differences between the varying levels of quality, which ARE there. I'm not into rugby so wouldn't really appreciate the difference between a top team and a team 2/3 divisions below, that's not to say the difference in quality isn't there, it's just my ignorance of the sport means I don't appreciate the difference in quality.

 

[trueblue]

HD was an excellent idea in countries like the USA where the standard NTSC picture quality was lousy. People there notice a huge difference. In the UK, our PAL picture is decent anyway so unless you have a massive TV, there's really not much point.

 

[dannyboy]

cheers for all the help chaps . well it is definitely set up correctly as i can notice the difference between sky sports news sd and hd . the graphics and ticker are much clearer. i suppose i just thought it would be an amazing picture . the difference between say bbc1 sd and hd is barely noticeable though. mind you it was some food program so maybe i need to compare when they are showing wonders of the universe or something . we dont have movies or sports so i would say its definitely not worth it but then we didnt pay anything for it .

 

[gazingdown]

That's the other thing. For stuff like movies and sports (and nature/space) programmes, it's great imo. If I didn't watch those though, I'd be pretty unfussed by it.

For watching the news, sitcoms, soaps/dramas etc. I think it is wasted (in sense of paying more for it), as long as the normal def image is good, that's fine.

 

[Skint Gull]

Next time you watch any footy on ITV i GUARANTEE you that you will notice the difference between SD and HD. Gotta be honest though and say that unless you have the Movies and Sports i can't see the justification for a HD subscription

 

[dannyboy]

Next time you watch any footy on ITV i GUARANTEE you that you will notice the difference between SD and HD. Gotta be honest though and say that unless you have the Movies and Sports i can't see the justification for a HD subscription

its definitely not worth £10 a month unless you watch all the movies and sports.. this m and s £100 deal was pretty good though and we needed a new remote as the old one is knackered.

mind you i just had a mate round who said the picture on their bbc1 hd is much better than ours and weve got a better tv so i think i need to ring sky

 

[somerset]

just had sky hd installed and i dont know whats happened but there is hardly any difference at all if any . does it take a while for them to switch it on ? or have i got my settings wrong or something.

if anyone else is up for getting hd there is a good deal at the moment where if existing customers upgrade to hd you get a free box free installation and £100 worth of m & s vouchers . so it only costs you in real terms about £2 a month .

..are you blind,... or perhaps have a crap TV,.... get a decent LED, with a good quality HDMI cable,.... and bobs yer uncle,... sparkling clear,... a massive difference,.... I was once a sceptic too,... but would be without it now.

 

[Titanic]

HD is fantastic!! I could clearly see the joy on the West Ham fans faces as the second penalty went in!!!

 

[Cian]

..are you blind,... or perhaps have a crap TV,.... get a decent LED, with a good quality HDMI cable,.... and bobs yer uncle,... sparkling clear,... a massive difference,.... I was once a sceptic too,... but would be without it now.

Again, you DO NOT NEED anything other than the one that comes with the SkyHD box. HDMI cables cannot and do not affect image quality!!!

 

[Fungus]

HD is fantastic!! I could clearly see the joy on the West Ham fans faces as the second penalty went in!!!

This. Watch any game in HD, and you should easily be able to read stuff on the fans' flags (like "EDL Brighton Division").

Can anyone really not see the difference between an XBOX and a WII on a large HD TV?

 

[CheeseRolls]

Dannyboy there should be an info button for your Onkyo receiver that shows what the input signal format is from any particular source. What model is the Onkyo ?

 

[nwgull]

Again, you DO NOT NEED anything other than the one that comes with the SkyHD box. HDMI cables cannot and do not affect image quality!!!

This. With a digital signal there is no range in quality, it either works or it doesn't.

 

[Razi]

Just to clarify something that has been mentioned before in the thread, but not clearly. Although you might be watching an HD channel - it might actually not be a programme that has been broadcast in HD. By this, I mean that some programmes are on the HD channel but are actually SD programmes.

With your Sky Remote, press the "Services" button (which will take you to the Options menu), then browse to Customise, select Highlight Programmes Originated in HD and enable this.

You'll see all the HD channels will now appear in the TV Guide in Orange. All those in white are SD. Then it's clear to see which programmes, on an HD channel, are ACTUALLY being broadcast in HD.

 

[clapham_gull]

Does your printer print in higher resolution if you buy an expensive cable ?

.. of course it bloody doesn't.

 

[WATFORD zero]

Looks to me like the Emperor's New Clothes. One of the nice things about being old is that you can watch, buy, wear and say what you like without worrying what other people think.

 

[papajaff]

Looks to me like the Emperor's New Clothes. One of the nice things about being old is that you can watch, buy, wear and say what you like without worrying what other people think.

I think you look like an Orang Utan. And played like one.

(Sorry for hijacking this thread to insult my old mate)

 

[Dover]

I read this last night whilst at work, and wondered about a few items on here, especially from a couple of posters who I respect.

I have a LG 37 inch TV with a blu ray player and Sky HD. Now when I first installed the TV, already having the Sky HD box, I noticed a vast difference in quality. Mind you I had a £99 set from Asda, which was getting very tired, and I just set up the new TV with the scart cable only from the Sky box.

Then the DVD player was getting tired. I then looked at a direct replacement at Richer Sounds, and got onto the subject of blu ray. Now I thought that there would be no difference, and was a little peeved on splashing out for another cable. This time HDMI. Just playing DVDs the picture quality was amazing, and blew me and a mate away. Also trust me on this, the film in question, for the first trail was Carry On At Your Convenience, as we had just both watched it.

I then enquired about another electrical item at the local Currys in town a few days later, and looked at their TV's with Sky. As I said my picture quality was much better, but I was using a scart lead. The bloke in the shop was amazed that I had not even used the HDMI cable that came with the Sky kit, but insisted that the cable Sky provide was fairly poor quality, and he made a pretty wild statement that the one he would sell me would be far better. i took him up on his deal of a weeks wages, and yes he was right. So now my system runs on two quality HDMI cables, and I am chuffed to pieces with the quality of picture I now have, even on non HD channels.

For the cable argument I give you this. Replace the speaker cable you have now with doorbell wire. Tell me there will be no difference, and I will bet you a weeks wages there will be a notable difference.

 

[Titanic]

...For the cable argument I give you this. Replace the speaker cable you have now with doorbell wire. Tell me there will be no difference, and I will bet you a weeks wages.

Absolutely true. However, HDMI is a digital signal... and it is either 100% there or not at all.

If an HDMI cable is too long or damaged, you may get breakdown in the signal. If not, then it will be 100% as good as any other cable.

 

[Dover]

Absolutely true. However, HDMI is a digital signal... and it is either 100% there or not at all. If it works, it will be as good as any cable could possibly be.

If

So the signal from the electronic ignition system, witch these days is often digital, cannot be bettered with quality silicon HT leads?

 

[Titanic]

So the signal from the electronic ignition system, witch these days is often digital, cannot be bettered with quality silicon HT leads?

What does this have to do with HMDI cables?