HD TV ?

[cliffy]

I am asking this question on behalf of my dad. He is a big fan of this site....but never has posted.

My parents recently bought a 42 inch Sony Flat screen HD, LCD tv. They live on a lake and got the HD Direct TV service....but I have noticed a couple of things.

The digital channels and HD channels look awesome!!! Its the local channels, in our case from the Fargo/Moorhead area, that look crummy. They look worse then my 10 year old TV. Fuzzy and appear out of focus.

Is this just the way it is? Or do they have to by the top of the line Direct TV service to get all these channels in digital? Any information would be great. THanks.

Cliffy.

[Whoaru99]

Unfortunately, what you are seeing is pretty normal. Standard definition analog channels usually look pretty crappy on pretty much all HDTVs.

Sometimes it helps to show those channels in their native format (4:3) instead of stretching them to fill the 16:9 widescreen.

[Zzapp]

Cliffy,

I agree with the response above and can add that with LCD monitors there is an issue called "latency". This is just a fancy way of saying that sometimes the picture changes faster than the liquid chrystal can keep up. I'm not certain, but would think that regular broadcast quality signals would show this more than HD signals just due to the lower quality of the original image.

TJ

[Bobby Bass]

If you are watching HI def in 1080I your eyes will need time to adjust back to a 480 picture. Another reason why the picture looks great in hi-def (cuz it is) and then so poor. I was told the best thing is to walk away from the set for a few minutes and when you return the picture will not look as bad. You will get use to it but Hi-def is so much nicer. I watch a 90" hi def projection screen and switching channels to watch football games is like day and night.

[cliffy]

Thanks for the info. Its sorta a bad deal to spend all that money on such a big and fancy tv...and not get a very good picture on local channels...for Sunday football..etc. I agree the HD channels are awesome...well worth the money..but some of the things my parents like to watch are found on the local channels.

I also notice when surfing the channels is that there are multiples of each. For example, there will be a local channel 11 (nbc) and then channel 12 will be NBC-DT...but it say that we don’t have access to #12. I am assuming #12 is the same as #11 but in a digital signal. Does anyone own a Direct TV set-up and understand what I am talking about?

[Jimmy from Cottage Grove]

I have a lcd I can't agree more about your eyes adjusting to it. When I first purchased it, I didn't have the hd box yet. I couldn't believe how good dvd's looked when I watched them. Once I got the true high def box, I got so used to the incredible images. That when I watch dvds now, I think they look terrible. I actually am annoyed when I have to watch something that isn't broadcast in high def.

[luckey]

Cliffy,

I assume they have an HD satalite reciever. How are they picking up the local channels? Antenna? If so, do they run the antenna directly to the tv or through the satalite box? I don't know about Fargo, but in the cities most local channels are digital including many HD broadcasts.

Also, you didn't indicate if the tv is 720 or 1080? Normally you can set the input to 1080 and let the tv decode to 720 but sometimes you get a better picture setting the sat box to out put 720 (match your tv)

[cliffy]

Yes, they have the Direct TV HD satalite reciever....and the TV is 1080. I am just assuming the local channels are also being sent thru the satalite reciver...but I am not sure...I will have to ask. Thanks for the info.