Sky HD thread

johnnyboy · Fri 23 Jun, 2006 20.25

I'm posting this on MP247 for the time being as I am banned for a week from TVF.

I got Sky HD a couple of weeks ago, and wanted to know if anyone else has it and what they think.

I'm slightly underwhelmed by the whole thing, and I am convinced it is some sort of plan to make everyone buy massive televisions.

I bought a 50" Samsung plasma in readiness for the HD. Standard definition looks absolutely awful on it, and HD just looks like an SD picture on a 32" set.

It is very clear and you do see colours and depths you notice, but it's not as great as everyone reckoned it was.

Independence Day on HD was a let-down, 24 is so-so, the football is good but it gets very jerky when the camera pans around at speed.

The only outstanding thing that I have seen is the Planet Earth trailers on BBC HD - particularly a bit when it goes over a waterfall.

I wish I'd kept my old 32" and just upgraded to Sky+.

The JB verdict - don't spend your money on it.

Gavin Scott · Fri 23 Jun, 2006 20.32

I was checking it out in John Lewis yesterday when I was out laptop shopping with my sister.

The large plasmas on display were well set up with lots of nice stock footage reels playing.

I want it. I'm prepared to be moderately let down.

How much for the screen jb?

tvmercia · Fri 23 Jun, 2006 20.56

johnnyboy wrote:I'm posting this on MP247 for the time being as I am banned for a week from TVF.

i'm surprised if they banned you for your signature. i used this sig:

a while ago without the mods even batting an eye lid. i wouldn't consider bum cheeks to be offensive nudity. how very victorian.

as for HD, i have seen demos at work and have to say they weren't compelling enough to make me want to splash out just yet.

johnnyboy · Sat 24 Jun, 2006 13.13

Gavin Scott wrote:The large plasmas on display were well set up with lots of nice stock footage reels playing.

I want it. I'm prepared to be moderately let down.

How much for the screen jb?

The large plasma/LCD/rear-light screens do look very impressive.

However, once you get past 40 or 42", there is severe degradation on some of the channels on Sky, for example. Unless a channel is being broadcast in the highest bitrate, it looks like an unanti-alises gif most of the time.

You know red-button prompts on Sky, for example? The edges look very jagged on them.

On HD, these problems are all solved, pretty much.

I got a Samsung 50" rear projection telly for £1450 from Dixons/Curries. It is a beautiful piece of kit, and very good for that price imo, but it is probably way too large for my bedroom.

johnnyboy · Sat 24 Jun, 2006 13.14

tvmercia wrote:i'm surprised if they banned you for your signature. i used this sig:

a while ago without the mods even batting an eye lid. i wouldn't consider bum cheeks to be offensive nudity. how very victorian.

as for HD, i have seen demos at work and have to say they weren't compelling enough to make me want to splash out just yet.

I remember that actually! Didn't you have that sig way back in 2003 or 2004?

I think I was actually banned for the gentle and affectionate ribbing of one of the other place's members.

Pretty sure it was Charlie who did it, but could be wrong. He also banned my signature at the same time but I haven't been given a reason for it yet.

marksi · Sat 24 Jun, 2006 14.00

Some HD stuff can look great, but in a normal domestic set up it just allows the picture on an LCD/Plasma to look as good as a standard definition picture on a 32" CRT.

I'll not be moved from CRT for a while yet.

nidave · Sun 25 Jun, 2006 11.36

I was in Tesco of all places on Tuesday. (One of the HUGE soon to be 2 story Extrad) and they had a lot of HD TV's on display and to my supprise they actuly had a very good HD source showing. (Was a Philips Demo video) in strad of the usual bad quality analogue BBC1 they seem to use in Comet etc. I have to say this is the first time I had ever seen a proper HD source and it was amazing, the colours were crisp and bright and the detial was fantastic.

I was comparing a Toshiba and a JVC HD LCD to a smaller screen SOny LCD and I have to say the picture on the sony was crap. The colours were not quite right and the text was blurred.

This is my experance with alot of Sony TV's at the moment, they image quality leavs alot to be desired.

marksi · Sun 25 Jun, 2006 12.39

Most Sony stuff is stupidly overpriced for what you get these days. JVC impresses me, as does LG. Panasonic is ok, but I don't rate it just as much as I have done in the past.

cdd · Mon 26 Jun, 2006 10.51

marksi wrote:Most Sony stuff is stupidly overpriced for what you get these days. JVC impresses me, as does LG. Panasonic is ok, but I don't rate it just as much as I have done in the past.

Sony have a nasty habit of buying other companies' technology (LiteON ,for example, for their DVD players) and slapping their own label on it, and doubling the price. My favourite "Superinflated-price-sony-product" has to be their AV cables (which you can buy in Sony shops) whose prices are about 10x what is reasonable! It's a scam funded by people for whom technology is simply another fashion accessory!