Kimiakane

Hello all...with all these threads about HD DVD (or Blu-ray), neither of which really get me very excited as I love the picture quality I have now, I have a query for you.

Right now there are many at this site which own HDTVs and obviously you collect DVDs or else you wouldn't be visiting and posting at this forum. So, in your opinion, what is it like to watch your collection on your HDTV?

chipmac

DVDs on my HDTV are much better on my HDTV than on a SDTV. I've got a larger screen, progressive output and less screen wasted by black bars than on an SDTV. However a true HDTV image is still better when it's in OAR so it's not zoomed in, not an upconverted version and not compressed to death. I suspect HD DVD will look even better than broadcast HD simply because of less compression.

Max Bottomtime

There wasn't a choice, but I love the way DVDs look on my HDTV compared to my old TV. I don't receive HDTV broadcasts.

Qui Gon Jim

Hello? HD DVD sub-forum anyone? Hello?

X

HD broadcast programs are as pure digital as DVDs.

Kimiakane

Do you mean that there is no difference in the picture quality of the two?

hifisapien

I am not sure this is true, I think that HD-DVD will be outputting the exact same bit rates/standards (1080i/720P) as HDTV broadcasts so there will not be any differences in compression.

sracer

Resolution (1080i/720p) is independent of bitrates. There is nothing inherent in the HD-DVD or HDTV broadcast specs that automatically makes one better than the other. It is entirely dependent upon how each is authored.

hifisapien

I didnt say resolution was dependent on bitrate. I said that there most likely will be no difference in the HD-DVD image vs the HDTV broadcast image because they most likely will have SAME bitrate. I thought the bitrate is part of the HDTV standards as well as the bitmapping of the pixels. No? Are you saying that all those HDTV monitors out there can accept HDTV signals via DVI HDMI input at bit rates higher than 1080i broadcast bit rates?

nightmaster

I'm very happy with the PQ of DVD on my HDTV, but then I haven't switched to HD broadcasting yet. I live in the sticks so I'm at the mercy of DirecTV at present. When they want to make the transition more inviting- IE, give me a good deal on the tuner and package- I'll make the switch then.

chipmac

No I'm saying that bit rate on a disc and compression ratio of broadcast HD are different. You can have very high bit rates of a signal that's compressed to shit so bit rate is only part of the equation. If you can compare HD through cable or sat to OTA broadcasts. The OTA is usually less compressed than what the cable and sat companies insist on doing to the signal. Cable and sat compress the signal more in order to cram as many channels as they can in their given bandwidth which causes loss in PQ. HD DVD won't need to compress as much as cable and sat and will look much better.

DavidH

HD-DVD or Blu Ray will look better than movie broadcasts as chipmac explained.

Right now, a good DVD on my 480P component player looks pretty close to a movie they may play on HD-HBO or HD-Showtime, for example.

I will tell you this though -- The Discovery Channel or 1080i live sports broadcasts look much better than the above. This is where you get the jaw-dropping "awe."

Mr. Salty

I don't think that's true. HD-DVD uses a Windows Media codec to compress bitrates down, so less space is needed to store the HD material. That's why so many people are interested in Blu Ray, which has less compression.

chipmac

The Windows Media codec is only one of the possible codecs that can be used. Studios are free to use any of the 3 or 4 codecs that have been approved for either HD DVD or Blu-Ray. The only real advantage a Blu- Ray disc has is more storage space compared to HD DVD discs.

Shagrath

I think DVDs look crystal clear on my HD. I don't have HD Cable, as I don't watch much TV at all, but from what I've seen at a friend's house, movies in HD aren't astonishingly better, just a little more 'crisp'. I've seen some of the Discovery Channel HD stuff as well, and while the picture is super-clean and the resolution is astounding, I just don't like the look of it. It looks almost too clean to me.

Admiral7

Too Clean??? I'll bet walking around in real life must be a real bitch for you then.

sracer

That has been my experiences too (re: PS DVD vs. HD cable). Though for me even The Discovery Channel HD is only marginally better than the best DVD image.

SteveJKo

DVD's look great on my HDTV. But HD programming looks even better!

sracer

It would be helpful to know if you have a progressive scan DVD player, if so, what make/model? Do you have it attached to your HDTV via component cables?

I think that there's going to be a wide variety of responses simply because of the equipment in use. (not to mention personal perceptions of quality).

JimRochester

Agreed. Regular programming, football, discovery HD all look amazing in HD. Of course the comparison is to regular cable which is horrible. The movies are very nice but not particularly superior to some of the better DVD titles.

chipmac

The difference is that most regular programming, sports and DiscoveryHD is shot on HD video where as movies are shot on film and post processed to have a certain look. The programming shot on video has more of a natural looking out the window look and most films do not. As I said broadcast HD movies from cable and sat have more compression than HD DVD or Blu-Ray will have and won't show as great a difference to SD DVD as the new HD formats will.

bboisvert

Exactly. And, whether or not the TV has been calibrated.

I'm amazed at the number of people that get $4000 plasma sets and then don't even bother to use a test pattern to even set bright/contrast/color/tint. Even just spending 20 minutes doing this is going to make a world of difference.

I love it when friends 'show off' their TVs and they look like crap.


That being said, I have a Momitsu V880D hooked up via a DVI->HDMI cable to a Toshiba 46H84. On a well-mastered DVD, the picture quality is amazing... basically identical to a mediocre HD presentation on, say, HBO-HD or something. But there is still obviously room for improvement and it doesn't compare to some of the better HD broadcasts out there.

tonyc3742

In my case, most DVDs look much better on my HDTV than on an analog TV. Obviously the quality of the source content makes a difference.
'Good' HDTV [like on HDNet] looks vastly better than DVD. But there's not a whole lot of content on the HD channels I'm interested in.

warcp

I have Charter HD cable, a Sony Progressive 5 disc (not sure #, but 2004 model) and a Sony Grand Wega 50" rear LCD. DVD hooked up component, Cable by DVI. The HD broadcasts are considerably better. Everytime they put on a movie I own on DVD I'll load up the DVD just to do a comparison and the differences are striking. I own a TV that as I understand it, doesn't really allow for a lot of tweaking and fine tuning, so the picture is exceptional either way, but maaaaan is the HDTV crisper. Don't think all the tweaking in the world would produce a better DVD than HD picture on my set.

SteveJKo

The player is a Sony DVP-NS975V. Yes, this prossive scan player is hooked up with component cables.

It has a wonderful picture, but I don't see why it's surprising that a HI-Def image is superior, after all, that's the purpose of HDTV.