Follow-up questions to HDTV thread

[Penguinfan]

Well it's been here two days that I didn't have the flu and I still haven't got to mess around with the DVR but I have some questions about the HD reception:

1. HOW THE HELL DID WE LIVE WITHOUT THIS??

Seriously the picture is unbelievable, beyond expectation. I mean it looked good in the store, but in your house where the old tv was (now referred to as the ole piece of shit) it is absolutly incredible!

2. Does anyone have ESPN HD and if so why is the side cropped off sometimes, I find it a bit annoying, but I can live with it. I was told when they have something that is not in HD that the sides have to be cropped and you just tune to regular ESPN to get the wide view again, but even the cropped picture seems a zillion times better.

3. I now get two versions of each of my broadcast channels (ABC, NBC, ETC..) and the same story holds true, amazingly better picture but the sides are cropped off?????? Still better than the old broadcast.

4. I could swear even the sound is better on the HD broadcasts, is that true or is the lack of oxygen getting to me.

I can't wait till the weekend to watch football on this thing!!!!!

 

[Palmetto Pimp]

1. If your TV is on factory settings it will look even better when calibrated(color, brightness settings changed to where they should be)
2.Nothing is cropped...thats how a HD monitor displays SD....you are not missing any of the picture....your TV or your DVR should be able to stretch the picture to fill your screen. HD is always wide screen.
3. Watch the digital channel...but stretch unless in HD
4. Digital audio is better than analog audio..same as video.

 

[Penguinfan]

I no longer have an option to set the screen size (4:3, widescreen, superwide, etc..) is that normal? The signal is setup to bring everything through a channel called CVI and it will not let me change the aspect ratio. If I click to another cahnnel I can, but not this one.

 

[hogman14]

2&3: Not all programs are broadcast in HD. Most of your local news, and pre 8pm junk on the networks are not in HD. Do this, wait til you see the ESPN bottom line, and make sure you see a game that says on "espn, and espnhd" they make it pretty clear when they're gonna be broadcasting in HD. liek njs25K said, hd should always be broadcast in widescreen. Some TVS won't even let you change the view if you are in a true HDTV, ie. you can't change anything, no matter what Screen mode you select, as HD will "lock on", this is true with mitsubishi's i know for a fact. likewise, some espn's are going to be cropped, i.e the reg shows, pti, etc...certainly that picture is better than standard cable, since, depending on your resolution, the hdtv feed is at 1080i....honestly doesn't sound like you're optimizing your HD experience, only reason i say that is because i had thought i had hd down, only to realize that there were a couple things that needed to be tweaked....after i figured it out, and put on monday night football, my friends almost had to carry me out of the room. good luck!
audio should be much better, as you're running a component audio feed...

 

[hogman14]

I no longer have an option to set the screen size (4:3, widescreen, superwide, etc..) is that normal? The signal is setup to bring everything through a channel called CVI and it will not let me change the aspect ratio. If I click to another cahnnel I can, but not this one.

p/f
what brand tv you running? phillips?

 

[Penguinfan]

p/f
what brand tv you running? phillips?

Yes it is, no idea of the model number though.

 

[hogman14]

Try this:

Hook it up in the back to your AV5 jacks. there is a rear input that above in small letters says video 2fn, 1080i/480p. there are 5 slots, 3 for your component video, 2 for audio....plug those in from your cable boxes to the according colors, whatever, then when you turn on the tv, and select, go to AV5, only there will you get a true digital cable feed, that will be able to hand the compression that HD is capable of...you may need to look at your cable box, if you are running comcast, i can give you the specs...

gl!

 

[Penguinfan]

I have Armstorng cable, but I think they are just a local re-seller of Comcast. The reason I think that is because you have the option to switch to Comcast around here if you want to and I know people that have and all that happens is they give you a different box, but the signal comes from the same exact wiring. I will definatly try what you suggest though, thanks. Sounds like you have some experience with this stuff, really appreciate the advice.

 

[hogman14]

Yeah, that AV5 is the only jack on the TV that can handle the true HD picture...very poor communication by Phillips via their manuals that make reference to this. The CVI refers to component video input, and is good for DVD players...if you notice next to the AV5 is the AV4, which has an HDMI hookup, which will be the future of dvds, etc, however it's just a video hookup, as the audio is broadcast separately...there are a few DVD players on the market that have 1080i/480p "uplink" which will optimize DVD performance. I use the CVI for the DVD player....

Tweaking the cable box...
Make sure your TV is on, and turn off the cable box. On the front it should say menu, hit that button, and a User Settings menu should pop up, and you can use your 4 arrows to control...TV Type should be set to 16:9, the YPbPr output should be set to 1080i, and the 4:3 override should be set to 480I...hit menu again, and turn on the cable box....and my grossly vague explanation...tv size, obviously, since you are running a widescreen television, the YPbPr, is the Component video hookup, and setting it to 1080i allows the optimal viewing (which is 1080 interlaced) in terms of compression, and how you view the picture..in other words, more pixels = better clarity, in essence just like a digital camera, the higher the megapixels, the better....and in the 4:3 override, that allows the 480i to broadcast when the tv is in 4:3 mode (if you notice on regular cable, if you set the tv mode to 4:3, the quality will be better a little, as this is a constant complaint, w/hdtvs, the standard cable looks like garbage) FOX, ABC/ESPN run their sports in 720p, or 720 progressive, which is actually a better looking picture, as you can see the video 2wice as faster...not referring to speed, but frames/second...enough w/the technical garbage, but fox often says "broadcasting in 720p, the high definition standard", they mean business...you'll notice the difference between cbsHD, and the other networks...you need not change the YPbPr output, when watching fox or espn to 720p, as the "output" will default to whatever the HD is broadcast in.

How will you know that you are watching an HD Broadcast (on ur phillips)? the "WIDESCREEN" mode should now be the optimal viewing size.

I hope this helps you out, I've done quite a bit of research on this, so fire away w/any more ?'s, but you should notice a BIG diff.

gl.

 

[Penguinfan]

Right now I have ESPN HD on and the picture is flat out amazing, when they are taliking in the studio the picture fills the screen, when they go to someone via satelitte the sides (where it would be cropped on non-HD) are filled in with some red filler, I assume ESPN is doing this for some reason. The "bottom line" ticker fills the whole screen reguardless so I think this is more a feature of the broadcast than the TV, at least in this instance.

 

[hogman14]

:clap:

The filler are the sidebars, as they don't have HD cameras on their satellite locations. The sidebars should say "HD" on both sides....Most stations just use black bars, or white bars...

 

[Penguinfan]

So I got one right so far huh, LOL.

This is like moving from 8-track to CD's, I still can't get over how good the picture is.

I found the place on the back of the TV you were talking about, currently it has my HD Xbox connection in it and I will mess with that tomorrow for sure. The Xbox looks incredible as well though.

 

[hogman14]

Brother, if you have any free time tonite, just switch them around, you'll be floored.
j.

 

[Penguinfan]

Hogman, two points

1. I switched the cables and it looks pretty much the same as before only I get the recption on AV 4 instead of CVI, don't have an AV5 option that I can see.

2. After watching stuff in HD do you REALLY pick out the flaws in standard definition broadcast or am I just being paranoid? Sitting here watching the standard cable with the kids and wondering if something is wrong with the cable, swith over to the HD channel and all is well again. Strange. They better start broadcasting more stuff in HD, still can't wait for football, watched part of and NBA game last night and it was rediculous, you could actually see the expression on the players instead of these blobs moving and bumping around, great picture.

 

[hogman14]

1. Hmm, seems one of the options in the back should, as I stated earlier, a clearly marked video 2fn, 1080i/480p hookup...

2. you definitely do, as this is one of the knocks on HDTV, it does a poor job broadcasting regular cable. Hockey is king in HD, with basketball being pretty close, and i'd actually rank fb 3rd, but that's just my opinion...so you're not paranoid, it's a crappier signal, has a lot to do w/technical stuff, and the way the tube is meant to pump out such a crisp picture w/the HD telecast, that the standard cable can't reach, and therefore, the regular channels just fill in....has to do w/the frames/second, much lower w/standard cable, and like stated previous, frames/sec not meaning phsyical speed, but rather what you see on the screen.

 

[Penguinfan]

BROTHER, you are not kidding about NHL being king in HD, we get a channel called HDNET here that just pumps out various stuffing HD, concerts, old sports, movies, etc... They just had an NHL game on from last season and it was incredible. I hate to keep saying that, but it's the only thing that describes the picture.

Thanks for all you advice and input.