Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Q
I have had a VM VIP package over the past two years or so which came with a V+ box but I have only recently inherited an HD TV.
Having connected it up, using an HDMI Cable and set the V+ up to 1080 wide and Hi Def HDMI format I sat back looking at my Sony Bravia TV expecting to be amazed by the quality of the image.
I have to confess that I am barely able to tell the difference with the free HD channels compared with the SD equivalent (on say ESPN). I see the V+ box claiming that it is outputting HDTV but it looks much the same.
So is my Sony TV not really displaying HD or is the box not really outputting it? Or am I not that observant? Or is HD just a hyped up service that is not much difference? It certainly does not encourage me to pay for Sky HD!
Any suggestions?
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I think HD is heavily oversold, as with many things. The viewing set-up in most homes (and by 'most', I mean the majority of TV-viewing households in the UK, not the tiny minority who are interested enough in their set-up to join a forum like this and post about it) is such that the TV screen is too small, and the set is too far away from the sofa, for most people to easily tell the difference between a decent SD stream like BBC1 and the same programme being simulcast on BBC-HD.
We installed Freesat-HD in my in-laws holiday flat this summer and spent a fortnight being thoroughly underwhelmed with it. I mean, it did look nice, but not nice enough to make me want to rush out and buy my own kit when we got home.
I have seen HD on a mahoosive screen in a friend's front room so I'm well aware of the improvement the technology is capable of delivering. However in many cases the practical application of it is such that the experience is just a little disappointing.