How do I know if HD is working?

jcw00 · 02-01-2010, 19:14

I had the V+ installed 3 weeks ago with SD TV, and I then purchased a HD TV last week, but I can't see any difference between SD and HD broadcasts.

The V+ and TV are connected via HDMI cable (scart cable removed)
Changed the output on the V+ to HDEF (tried both 720p & 1080i)
V+ front displays HDTV

How can I tell if my V+ box or TV is faulty?

spiderplant · 02-01-2010, 19:51

I'm going to take a stab that neither is faulty. What size TV do you have and how far away do you sit?

And are you sure the programmes you are watching are native HD, not upscaled? Try the HD On Demand.

jcw00 · 02-01-2010, 20:09

The TV is 22in. and we sit around 7 feet away.

I flicked between Doctor Who on BBC1 and BBC HD, I'm assuming this was proper HD.
However haven't tried any HD on Demand - Will try later.

SnoopZ · 02-01-2010, 20:37

It would be far harder to notice the difference on a 22in TV, if you had a 37in you would see the difference is like night and day. Also sitting 7ft away is a very very long way away for such a small screen, so it's not surprising you can't see the difference.

jcw00 · 02-01-2010, 20:44

Makes no difference even if you are much closer to the TV.
I would expect to at least some difference between SD and HD.

SnoopZ · 02-01-2010, 20:47

It's down to the screen size, for example if you press the HOME button for the guide on the V+ it puts up a tiny picture of whats on TV, now on my 40in Sony that picture looks fantastic on SD compared to what the full size 40in picture looks like.

jcw00 · 02-01-2010, 20:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnoopZ

It's down to the screen size, for example if you press the HOME button for the guide on the V+ it puts up a tiny picture of whats on TV, now on my 40in Sony that picture looks fantastic on SD compared to what the full size 40in picture looks like.

So if you need a very large screen to see the difference, why sell TV's with HD that are less than 40in?
It's like a car have a sixth gear, but going no faster than 5th gear?

Bulky · 02-01-2010, 21:06

have you set the output correctly on the tv ? , cycle through av1,av2 etc till you get to hdmi, some tv's do not automatically go to it , only thing i can think of , you would still notice the difference on a 22"tv

SnoopZ · 02-01-2010, 21:08

Probably a sales gimmick but your TV can probably be used as a PC monitor too which would be in HD.

What you have to remember is that with the V+ the SD picture is upscaled so that will make it look closer to HD too and the screen size again will make it hard to notice the difference.

jcw00 · 03-01-2010, 13:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by bulkylad

have you set the output correctly on the tv ? , cycle through av1,av2 etc till you get to hdmi, some tv's do not automatically go to it , only thing i can think of , you would still notice the difference on a 22"tv

Yes, HDMI is selected and have removed the scart cable from the V+ and TV

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnoopZ

What you have to remember is that with the V+ the SD picture is upscaled so that will make it look closer to HD too and the screen size again will make it hard to notice the difference.

Didn't know that SD is upscaled, so probably explains why picture doesn't look too different. However have noticed the picture is brighter than using the scart cable on SD.

Cablefan · 03-01-2010, 15:13

HD is a tad over rated in my humble opinion. The V+ box does an excellent job of upscaling SD.

Arthurgray50@blu · 03-01-2010, 15:45

I have often asked myself the same question on this, I have a 32in HD tv, and l cannot tell the difference either, l have been to Comet and Curry's and have seen it there, and you can tell the difference, BUT you can't at home, maybe there is a tech problem with Vm, we don't do we.

TheDon · 03-01-2010, 15:49

The difference you see in Comet and Currys is always SD over composite, vs HD over HDMI. There is a WORLD of difference between them, composite is extremely noisey.

At home you're seeing upscaled SD over HDMI, vs HD over HDMI, which isn't noisey, and as such there's a much smaller difference.

Even SD over RGB scart on a TV with a decent upscaler isn't really that much of a difference.

Essentially the store demonstrations show you absolute worst case against absolute best case.

Joedm45 · 03-01-2010, 16:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcw00

I had the V+ installed 3 weeks ago with SD TV, and I then purchased a HD TV last week, but I can't see any difference between SD and HD broadcasts.

Do you have the make and model number to hand? As far as I know there are very few 22" full HD (1080p) TV's out there.

The problem these days is every TV seems to say HD ready on the box but this terminology is too vague

devilincarnate · 03-01-2010, 16:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arthurgray50@blu

I have often asked myself the same question on this, I have a 32in HD tv, and l cannot tell the difference either, l have been to Comet and Curry's and have seen it there, and you can tell the difference, BUT you can't at home, maybe there is a tech problem with Vm, we don't do we.

When you get a new hd / hd ready tv and you get it home it says store demo / home viewing when you set up the tv and that is why you notice the difference on the tv !