Not impressed with HD TV

[armyslowrdr]

Something sounds not right at all.
The good guys and gals at avsforums or hometheaterforums should be able to help.
There really IS a night and day difference with a properly set up system.

Well maybe not; never mind, I missed the part about you not caring about anything except the message being conveyed and in your opinion the quality of the presentation does nothing to help that along.

Therein lies the problem. There ISN'T a night/day difference, in my estimation there's maybe about 20% better picture which is my complaint. It just seems like a whole bunch of effort/cost to get such a marginal improvement in picure quality.

Nope, no external sound system, just what's built-in to the TV. We had a 5.1 surround sound system a few years back and it crapped out within the warranty period. We felt it wasn't worth the effort to get it fixed under the warranty so we never bothered with it.

So much of this is hype as far as I'm concerned. If watching a movie or TV show, once you get absorbed in the story, things like picture quality and sound fade into the background and become unimportant.

 

[strollin]

Something sounds not right at all.
The good guys and gals at avsforums or hometheaterforums should be able to help.
There really IS a night and day difference with a properly set up system.

Well maybe not; never mind, I missed the part about you not caring about anything except the message being conveyed and in your opinion the quality of the presentation does nothing to help that along.

Therein lies the problem. There ISN'T a night/day difference, in my estimation there's maybe about 20% better picture which is my complaint. It just seems like a whole bunch of effort/cost to get such a marginal improvement in picure quality.

Nope, no external sound system, just what's built-in to the TV. We had a 5.1 surround sound system a few years back and it crapped out within the warranty period. We felt it wasn't worth the effort to get it fixed under the warranty so we never bothered with it.

So much of this is hype as far as I'm concerned. If watching a movie or TV show, once you get absorbed in the story, things like picture quality and sound fade into the background and become unimportant.

I think it really boils down to the fact that MY definition of "night & day difference" and others definition of "night & day difference" don't jive. I can see a difference, it's just not that great and has nothing to do with system setup.

 

[MoInSTL]

Something sounds not right at all.
The good guys and gals at avsforums or hometheaterforums should be able to help.
There really IS a night and day difference with a properly set up system.

Well maybe not; never mind, I missed the part about you not caring about anything except the message being conveyed and in your opinion the quality of the presentation does nothing to help that along.

I agree about the PQ of a system properly set up and I agree about AVS Forum. I have been a member there since 2001. Tons of information on just about every make & model out there, upcoming models and helpful folks. There are local threads for most cities and areas and they are especially helpful.

For others reading this thread, Blue Jean Cable is highly recommended for reasonably priced cables as the OP mentioned paying a high price.

To the poster who mentioned plasmas and flesh tones, it's actually better blacks that improve the overall picture quality. I have a 50" Samsung DLP and had my set professionally calibrated. The HD PQ is stunning. I did a lot of research and at the time LCDs just didn't have very good blacks and had a hard time with fast motion blur. At the same time, plasmas, although improved, are still subject to burn-in which was out in terms of gaming and the channels who run constant, fixed network bugs in the corner. I had lots of burn-in on a Mitsubishi rear screen projection and didn't want to deal with that again.

Most sets are shipped in "torch mode". The brightness is set too high. A study was done and consumers always chose the brightest sets. That does not equal a better picture. At least turn the brightness down while new for at least the first 100 hours if it's plasma or DLP. IMO, I would still recommend renting, borrowing or buying a calibration disk as it's time well spent and once it's done, it's done and the result is a much better PQ.

 

[Kirsch]

Sorry, gonna have to disagree with you there. I can't stand watching non-HD channels anymore. I obviously put up with it since my cable company only offers 40 or so HD channels out of the 100+ we get, but if I can I always watch in HD.

As an example, my friend was over and he was watching ESPN the other day on the non-HD channel, I switched it to the HD channel and he was blown away.

We have a 55" 1080P Sony HDTV.

 

[bigmck]

Sorry, gonna have to disagree with you there. I can't stand watching non-HD channels anymore. I obviously put up with it since my cable company only offers 40 or so HD channels out of the 100+ we get, but if I can I always watch in HD.

As an example, my friend was over and he was watching ESPN the other day on the non-HD channel, I switched it to the HD channel and he was blown away.

We have a 55" 1080P Sony HDTV.

I agree with you completely == When the Dish Network first started offering HD shows, my TV was connected to my HD receiver with RCA Cables. A couple years later I got a HD DVR receiver and there was a port for a HDMI cable. When I made the switch to HDMI, there was a definate boost in the quality of picture. The cable used makes a big difference in the quality of picture.

 

[strollin]

Regarding the ripoff of HDMI cables, here's an excerpt from Blue Jeans Cable
(link posted by MoInSTL):

HDMI is a digital video/audio signal format which, since its introduction just a few years ago, has taken the home theater world by storm. An HDMI cable consists primarily of a set of shielded twisted pairs which carry video data, together with embedded audio, at extremely high bitrates. While analog component video cable is, in practice, every bit as good a method of delivering video to displays as HDMI cable, the content-providing industries have strongly supported HDMI because it provides a platform for the implementation of HDCP (High Definition Content Protection) to prevent consumers from having complete access to the contents of high-definition digital recordings.

 

[MoInSTL]

Strollin, did you notice how reasonable the prices are? If you were talked into some Monster cable or paid $40-$50, you may want to get one from them & return the overpriced one. I just use the 6' HDMI cable that came with my Directv DVR.

 

[MoInSTL]

I agree with you completely == When the Dish Network first started offering HD shows, my TV was connected to my HD receiver with RCA Cables. A couple years later I got a HD DVR receiver and there was a port for a HDMI cable. When I made the switch to HDMI, there was a definate boost in the quality of picture. The cable used makes a big difference in the quality of picture.

Actually component cables are just as good as HDMI cables. I am using them on a older second TV that does not have an HDMI port. Some early HDMI models had handshake issues and many at that time switched to component cables. I don't believe HD can run on composite (RCA) cables.

 

[strollin]

Nope, I spent too many years as a tech to let anybody talk me into paying a ridiculous amount for cables! The prices at Blue Jeans are more reasonable but still high for something as basic as a cable, IMHO.

 

[pparks1]

Don't get me started on the utterly ridiculous prices charged for an HDMI cable!

Never, ever, ever purchase your audio video cables at retail stores. This is their biggest markup and money making item.

I would order the cables from HDMI Cable, Home Theater Accessories, HDMI Products, Cables, Adapters, Video/Audio Switch, Networking, USB, Firewire, Printer Toner, and more!.

A 5ft premium HDMI cable is $6.55 For only $5.39 each when QTY 50+ purchased - 5FT 24AWG CL2 High Speed HDMI Cable w/ Net Jacket - Black | Premium 24AWG HDMI High Speed Certified Male to Male Cables

Therein lies the problem. There ISN'T a night/day difference, in my estimation there's maybe about 20% better picture which is my complaint. It just seems like a whole bunch of effort/cost to get such a marginal improvement in picure quality.

There really should be a very noticeable difference between watching the same show broadcast in SD versus HD...as long as the show itself is actually being broadcast in HDTV. For example, if I watch Monday Night Football or Jay Leno on plain ole channel 4 and 7...it looks like crap. if I watch it instead on 204 or 207, it looks fantastic. I cannot believe what I am seeing is what you would quantify as a 20% improvement.

If you are saying that SD on your new TV only looks 20% better than SD looked on your old TV...then I would say....I wouldn't expect anything different.

I really hardly watch anything these days if it's not broadcast in HDTV...there is that much of a difference. If you aren't seeing that big of a difference, something is wrong.

 

[strollin]

pparks1, thanks for the link to Monoprice.com, I ordered a couple of the 5ft cables from them as their prices seem reasonable.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I agree that HD has a better picture but disgree that it is a huge difference. If it was just my TV I was dissatisfied with then I might agree with those saying it was a setup problem or even the quality of my TV but even when I see the top end TVs in the viewing rooms at the stores (which supposedly should be showing HD TV at its best) I don't think the improvement in PQ is worth all of the hoopla.

Last night I was watching the new show "Hawaii 5-O" in HD on the new HD TV. About midway during the show, I went to the bedroom to finish watching the show in bed before going to sleep. I watched the show in SD for about 10 minutes before it even dawned on me that I was now watching in SD instead of HD. I studied the picture very carefully trying to discover if there was anything I was missing by watching in SD vs HD and couldn't come up with anything. I guess I'm easily pleased as I didn't feel deprived at all watching the show in SD.

 

[apollodominion]

i was looking at JB HIFI catalog today and saw a SAMSUNG 3DHDTV 200HZ 50" for $1499 (Darwin Australia)

 

[bigmck]

i was looking at JB HIFI catalog today and saw a SAMSUNG 3DHDTV 200HZ 50" for $1499 (Darwin Australia)

Has anyone here seen a 3D TV? I was just curious what it was like. Do you need to wear glasses? Can you watch it without glasses in 2D? Thanks,

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Typically people purchase much too large a screen for their space. It's the keep up or one up the Jones thing. You must be the proper distance away from your given screen as well as the control of ambient light is critical !

 

[bigmck]

Typically people purchase much too large a screen for their space. It's the keep up or one up the Jones thing. You must be the proper distance away from your given screen as well as the control of ambient light is critical !

You don't have to be very far away. I have a 65" screen and about 12 feet is fine for viewing. Before I bought it I viewed several different sizes in the store and practiced sitting different distances so I would make sure the distance was right for my home.

 

[pparks1]

Typically people purchase much too large a screen for their space. It's the keep up or one up the Jones thing. You must be the proper distance away from your given screen as well as the control of ambient light is critical !

You don't have to be very far away. I have a 65" screen and about 12 feet is fine for viewing. Before I bought it I viewed several different sizes in the store and practiced sitting different distances so I would make sure the distance was right for my home.

Some friends of mine bought a 65" Toshiba 1080P DLP a few years ago and they can only get about 8 feet away from it.

They asked me to help them set it up as it didn't look any where near as good as my 50" Panasonic Plasma 720P looked at my house. I went outside of their house and looked through their front window (from about 12 feet back) and told them that it looked outstanding from there. It's simply too big for the room and they cannot back away far enough from it for it to look it's best.

 

[strollin]

These latest posts are really supporting my idea that HD TV is not worth the hoopla. People insist you have to have good source material, use good cables, calibrate TV, check distance & ambient light as well as have an expensive sound system. Just to watch TV? You have to be kidding me. I never had to worry about ANY of that stuff with SD.

 

[smarteyeball]

Has anyone here seen a 3D TV? I was just curious what it was like. Do you need to wear glasses? Can you watch it without glasses in 2D? Thanks,

Yep. I have a 58" plasma 3D Samsung - personally I'm not all that impressed with 3D so far. Still feels a bit 'gimmicky' atm. However I bought the set for it's 2D capabilities, not 3D so I'm not too fussed about it.

You do need glasses for 3D (all first gen sets do) - but not for 2D viewing.

There are a couple of 2ND gen 'Glassless' TV's in the works. It's hard to say whether this is still just a fad again, or whether it's tech that's here to stay.

There's more support this time, but still not enough to make it mainstream yet.

People insist you have to have good source material, use good cables, calibrate TV, check distance & ambient light as well as have an expensive sound system. Just to watch TV? You have to be kidding me. I never had to worry about ANY of that stuff with SD.

Unfortunately the days of simply plugging in and watching are over. However, once it's all 'set up', it's fine.

To get the 'most' out of it you do need to tick all the boxes, but in reality it's not imperative to do so.

I calibrated my TV with my eyes to a PQ that I'm happy with, I sit where I want and often just use the TV's speakers instead of turning on my receiver.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Folks these tv's are all about the blacks. Plasma's have always had those deep dark, pitch blacks and the colors just jump. LCD's which I have one are good but normally not as good they do offer higher brightness which helps them in lighter rooms. LED's and 3D's I can't speak from any experience but believe me it's all about the blacks. Plasma's also seem to have a wet screen, very nice straight on not as good off angle LCD's don't suffer as much off angle but normally don't have that gloss wet screen look.

 

[bigmck]

These latest posts are really supporting my idea that HD TV is not worth the hoopla. People insist you have to have good source material, use good cables, calibrate TV, check distance & ambient light as well as have an expensive sound system. Just to watch TV? You have to be kidding me. I never had to worry about ANY of that stuff with SD.

It just depends what is important to a person. TV is not important to you but I spend a lot of time in front of it. When I purchased it, I paid $80 for a first class surge protector. I wanted to protect my investment. With a $200 SD, you don't need that sort of thing.