Digital TV quality

On Fri, 09 Dec 2005 05:12:53 +0000, Joerg wrote:

Hello Folks,

I just had the 'pleasure' to see digital cable at a neighbors house,
just because the TV happened to be on when we were there. The image was
'pixely' and kind of ok when viewed from the usual distance.

However, the real disappointment came during a car ad. The usual, a
sporty car driven around a race track. There were huge lags in the
movement and the rear of the car was gravely distorted. It looked as if
the data path was choking.

Is this what we are going to get once the analog channels are turned off?

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

I don't know about digital cable, but terrestrial broadcast HDTV looks
good. I have noticed a small but annoying amount of lag between audio and
video, but I hope that is just a problem with my tuner, and not a
fundamental flaw in the system.

--Mac

On Fri, 09 Dec 2005 20:01:47 +0000, Mac wrote:

On Fri, 09 Dec 2005 05:12:53 +0000, Joerg wrote:

Hello Folks,

I just had the 'pleasure' to see digital cable at a neighbors house,
just because the TV happened to be on when we were there. The image was
'pixely' and kind of ok when viewed from the usual distance.

However, the real disappointment came during a car ad. The usual, a
sporty car driven around a race track. There were huge lags in the
movement and the rear of the car was gravely distorted. It looked as if
the data path was choking.

Is this what we are going to get once the analog channels are turned off?

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

I don't know about digital cable, but terrestrial broadcast HDTV looks
good. I have noticed a small but annoying amount of lag between audio and
video, but I hope that is just a problem with my tuner, and not a
fundamental flaw in the system.

One of the local stations, KABC, channel 7, LA, CA, is so proud of their
"HD" sky-cam that they plug the HD every time they switch to the sky-cam
feed. It looks pretty much the same; but since I need 1.25 glasses just to
see the computer screen, and 2.0 to do the newspaper's crossword puzzle,
the resolution of my 17" TV isn't really an issue. ;-)

Cheers!
Rich

In article <pn8mf.24763$BZ5.22600@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com> ,
notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net says...

Hello Folks,

I just had the 'pleasure' to see digital cable at a neighbors house,
just because the TV happened to be on when we were there. The image was
'pixely' and kind of ok when viewed from the usual distance.

However, the real disappointment came during a car ad. The usual, a
sporty car driven around a race track. There were huge lags in the
movement and the rear of the car was gravely distorted. It looked as if
the data path was choking.

Is this what we are going to get once the analog channels are turned off?

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

Just because his set, and maybe even the feed, was "digital" the source

material is usually the weak link. I have a 42" HDTV with digital cable
and let me tell you, the Discovery HD Channel is beyond belief. They
use nothing but the best quality source material and I could see the
individual scales on the reef fish during one program. But you know the
old saying GIGO.

Jim

"john jardine" <john@jjdesigns.fsnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:dnc2qh$av3$1@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk...

Couldn't rent VHS videos any more, so 6 months ago had to buy a DVD
player.
Found DVD picture quality is even poorer than a VHS tape, yet the DVD
industry tells me their picture quality is better!.

There is something really wrong with how you have things hooked up. DVD will
give a picture about twice as sharp as VHS. See if the TV at least has a S
Video input. If so, use that.
Tam

Joerg wrote:

Hello Folks,

I just had the 'pleasure' to see digital cable at a neighbors house,
just because the TV happened to be on when we were there. The image was
'pixely' and kind of ok when viewed from the usual distance.

However, the real disappointment came during a car ad. The usual, a
sporty car driven around a race track. There were huge lags in the
movement and the rear of the car was gravely distorted. It looked as if
the data path was choking.

Is this what we are going to get once the analog channels are turned off?

It wasn't an LCD telly was it ? They're pretty crap even on an analogue
signal.

But yes, standards are all being reduced in order to provide us with 500+
channels of ****. Digital radio uses mp3 like compression too.

Graham

john jardine wrote:

Yes Indeed!.
In the UK we've about 4 years before the analogue transmissions are
switched off. Part of the process involves softening us up with a small
number of free-to-view digital channels.
Picture quality is noticeably inferior to that of an analogue transmission
yet I've never seen any complaints.

I've noticed that Freeview colour is significantly desaturated, I presume
to preserve bandwidth.

Does digital use the same luma/chroma system as analogue?

TCM

Hello Roger,

... I'd suspect first of all that the
original poster, is using the analog out on the DVD, at UHF, rather than
RGB signalling. I'd then further suspect that the DVD's output is tuned to
a frequency that is perhaps getting interference from channel 5 (a common
effect). ...

This wasn't DVD, it was the signal coming off the cable company's box.
Since those neighbors aren't technically inclined I believe it wasa
installed professionally.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

Hello Jim,

I'm just an "Expanded Basic" cable user, so I have no set-top boxes...
which I totally despise.

Cable w/o box? Meaning non-scrambled distribution? How do they prevent
'eavesdroppers'?

Tell me, Joerg, I'm guessing that digital cable is going to require
set-top boxes? Or will there be TV sets that can handle it directly?

AFAIK it does. Supposedly there are also TV sets that can receive
digital. But the only ones I have seen in the stores are "HDTV heady"
and I guess you'd have to hope that the modules for that will indeed
become available at resonable cost. I wouldn't buy.

Will analog booster amplifiers (Channel Plus now in use here)
distribute the signals? Or will new equipment be needed for this
function as well?

No idea, I never had cable or satellite. But I guess usually the deal is
you get the box for free and in return they'll want you to sign a
contract, to make sure you can't dump the service soon after that.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

Hello Graham,

It wasn't an LCD telly was it ? They're pretty crap even on an analogue
signal.

No, it was one with the biggest CRT there is. On analog it has a great
picture quality.

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

Most HDTV on-air channels operate in the UHF spectrum. So if the amplifier is rated for UHF then your ok. Technically ;D

Supposedly there will be converter boxes available, and/or new HD TV's will have a tuner built in, but I have yet to see any. They
might be waiting for the next generation of Mpeg decoders or dsp's to drop into their designs.

Cheers

"Jim Thompson" <To-Email-Use-The-Envelope-Icon@My-Web-Site.com> wrote in message news:fi6jp1hj11c6221midd7idna2i9pia3pr9@4ax.com...

On Fri, 09 Dec 2005 05:12:53 GMT, Joerg
notthisjoergsch@removethispacbell.net> wrote:

Hello Folks,

I just had the 'pleasure' to see digital cable at a neighbors house,
just because the TV happened to be on when we were there. The image was
'pixely' and kind of ok when viewed from the usual distance.

However, the real disappointment came during a car ad. The usual, a
sporty car driven around a race track. There were huge lags in the
movement and the rear of the car was gravely distorted. It looked as if
the data path was choking.

Is this what we are going to get once the analog channels are turned off?

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com

I'm just an "Expanded Basic" cable user, so I have no set-top boxes...
which I totally despise.

Tell me, Joerg, I'm guessing that digital cable is going to require
set-top boxes? Or will there be TV sets that can handle it directly?

Will analog booster amplifiers (Channel Plus now in use here)
distribute the signals? Or will new equipment be needed for this
function as well?

(Before anyone jumps on my case... except for the TV set in my office,
which I bought on 9/11, I don't own a TV set newer than 12 years old,
and there are 6 sets in the house... I'm not a big follower of
state-of-the-art consumer electronics... but I like old movies on DVD
:-)

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

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