High Definition!

[Si Hunt]

We've gone High Definition - well we always had the means, it just took me about a year to get help setting it up.

Anyway, it seems like a bit of an anti-climax at the moment. Apparently it's different if you have Sky, but we have Virgin and the only thing you can get is BBC HD, which has just a few programmes on each night. There are no HD programmes available from any other channel.

I'm sure it'll all change, but it seems to be taking a while...

Or does anyone know of any major developments planned for this year?

Si.

[Lissa]

Virgin has some - not much - HD content in the video-on-demand section. It has a couple of good documentaries (Attenborough's "Blue Planet" and a few episodes of "The Universe") which are bright enough and colourful enough to show what HD can do.

Virgin have announced that "four linear" HD channels will be coming early in 2009 which most people assume will be Channel 4 HD and ITV HD plus something from History/Discover/Nat Geo. Negotiations are ongoing with Sky about their many and various channels.

The truth is that Virgin don't have the capacity for a full HD service yet because they still have their analogue TV service. That's being phased out soon which will open up a lot more capacity. That plus either Sky letting Virgin have HD to placate OFCOM or OFCOM ordering Sky to let Virgin have HD should mean we get more of the high definition in the future.

BBC HD is - apparently - not representative of what HD can do as it is squeezed in and not given the benefit of a true HD bitrate. Personally, I can only see the difference when football is on as that moves so quickly that SD digital broadcasts lose a lot of detail.

[Simon R]

I think it's made the picture worse on the non HD channels. They all look a bit grainy now and where as before it was all set up so that if you put the V-Box on it would flick onto the AV channel with the V-box "on" and now you have to faff with changing channel and it's all too much!

[SiHart]

Everyone's eyes are twinkly in HD.

Si xx

[Lissa]

If you're watching regular TV through your V+ box using a high-definition lead then everything should look slightly better than it did before. The V+ upscales to a degree. Nothing spectacular but better than through a SCART.

[Captain Tancredi]

Everyone's eyes are twinkly in HD.

Either that or it's your new medication...

HD is one of those things which sounds nice and I'll probably do eventually- I just can't justify to myself the expense of a new television set to replace one which works perfectly well. I've just bought a holiday for £400 and change!

[Pip Madeley]

HD is one of those things which sounds nice and I'll probably do eventually- I just can't justify to myself the expense of a new television set to replace one which works perfectly well.

Same here. Even the prospect of new Who in HD isn't enough to make me purchase.

[Si Hunt]

We didn't purchase HD especially - we badly needed a new TV anyway (well, our definition of "badly" is probably an insult to the homeless, but basically we realised that it was stupid not to spend a relatively small amount of money on something we used for 3 hours every day - and my Mum and dead Uncle bribed us into getting one) and HD came when we got a V+ box.

Lissa, thanks that was the answer I wanted, you confirmed what I suspected (I found the Blue Planet episodes, and the HD IS shown off suitably - they do look amazing) and I'm pleased to hear there are more channels planned. Everyone just seems a bit vague about when its happening - on the one hand, your news is good, on the other there is nothing "official" on-line about it, so it seems unlikely to me they are going to make that "early 2009" date as it's already February. Likewise, the chap who set up the HD said there was a "roll out next month" of more channels but again, it seems unlikely with nothing on the official website.

The news about the capacity issue makes sense, so that's good, on the other hand it's going to take over 5 years, I reckon, to get everyone migrated to digital, so that doesn't bode well for the immediate future of our HD. I think the conclusion is that, for once, we're just a little ahead of the current trend and we're just going to be patient for it to appear gradually. We don't exactly pay for the HD service directly, so it's not like we're paying for something that doesn't exist yet, and when it does we'll be ready.

I think it's made the picture worse on the non HD channels.

I really don't know, I'm not very good at telling things like this, especially as we can't switch it back and forth and contrast the difference. He DID switch everything from using the old SCART lead to using an HD cable as Lissa noted, but then she reckons that would make it better quality? So it might just be your imagination? I honestly don't know. I think we suffer to a certain extent now we have a bigger telly as everything looks worse quality, but if HD is on the way that's only going to improve with time.

Si.

[Perry Vale]

I've just moved house, and being out of contract with Sky HD, did consider swapping over to Virgin for higher speed broadband as well as tv. But the lack of HD channels on Virgin made it a no go for me, with Sky having 30+ HD channels now, having recently added Sci-Fi Channel & MTV. I'd really miss watching 24 & BSG in HD, as well as the soon to return Fringe on Sky1.

Another reason I love the HD channels is that it transmits in the correct picture ratio, unlike all the other channels on Sky where you get stretched 16:9 on most things.

[Si Hunt]

Perhaps we should swap over the Sky? Trouble is we get a discount as we have internet and phone with Virgin as well.

Si.

[SiHart]

You can have your internet and phone with Sky too you know, for a discount, not that we do because I can't be bothered to change it all over.

Si xx

[Matthew T]

I just got a High-Def TV but it's useless for broadcast TV as I'm on a portable aerial and I can't even pick up any free-view channels.

Blu-rays through the PS3 look amazing though.

[Simon R]

I do miss old style Ceefax and Teletext on these fancy pants HD and digital things.

[Jeff]

I'm still watching an early to mid 90's era Sanyo TV. :

[Lissa]

The news about the capacity issue makes sense, so that's good, on the other hand it's going to take over 5 years, I reckon, to get everyone migrated to digital, so that doesn't bode well for the immediate future of our HD.

They started shutting down the analogue service last year and some places do mention a target of getting it all done by the end of 2009. They only had 200,000 analogue customers to begin with.

[shada pavlova]

Hark at all you people going on about fancy-pants "high definition" and the like. Spare a thought for those of us who haven't even got colour television yet!

[Si Hunt]

They only had 200,000 analogue customers to begin with.

Surely everyone started off as an analogue customer?

Si.

[Andrew Curnow]

Hark at all you people going on about fancy-pants "high definition" and the like. Spare a thought for those of us who haven't even got colour television yet!

Have you woken up in 1973?

[Larry]

Virgin have announced that "four linear" HD channels will be coming early in 2009 which most people assume will be Channel 4 HD and ITV HD plus something from History/Discover/Nat Geo. Negotiations are ongoing with Sky about their many and various channels.

.

and even their HD channel is a bit of a con - unlike the BBCHD, Channel 4 HD quite a lot of what they show are not HD programms.

I bought my Sony Bravia HD ready tv about a year ago and to get the best out of it decided to upgrade my SKY+ to an HD box - I have to say despite what they say I find it very difficult to see much of a difference with films or ordinary programms filmed in HD. Watching football or Rugby on the SKY hd channels the pictute is certainly sharper and more defined certainly when compared to setanta. But the best programms to watch to get the best benefits out of HD are the nature programms - but in truth I've never really known or been able to decide what the best settings are for my tv to get the best picture.

[Larry]

Perhaps we should swap over the Sky?

Si.

well I pay £60 per month for my SkyHD - I don't have broadand included in that deal - but it breaks down to roughly £50 for the SKY plus an extra £10 for the HD service. £60 dose sound a lot but when you break it down to around £2 per day it'snot that bad.

Having said that they also do what they call "Variety Packs" there are 4 packs (Sky sports and movies are not included) which they do from £16 p/m for one pack or £20 p/m for all 4.

[SiHart]

It depends really on whta packages you want. We only pay half of that for our Sky HD because we don't bother with Sports or Movies and not even all the other packages they offer (I think we have the HD channel packages, entertainment and music) so it's not so bad really.

The range of HD channels is rather good even without the movies and the sport.

Si xx

[Larry]

It depends really on whta packages you want. We only pay half of that for our Sky HD because we don't bother with Sports or Movies and not even all the other packages they offer (I think we have the HD channel packages, entertainment and music) so it's not so bad really.

The range of HD channels is rather good even without the movies and the sport.

Si xx

well it's a pitty you can't chose the channels you want I hardly ever watch the movies and there are many channels on the entertainment that I'm paying for and never watch. Given the choice i'd be more then happy with just Sports, the knowledge package, Sky 1, Watch , Gold and Alabi. and get rid of the rest.

[SiHart]

You can choose not to have the Movie channels Larry. We did.

Si xx

[Perry Vale]

and even their HD channel is a bit of a con - unlike the BBCHD, Channel 4 HD quite a lot of what they show are not HD programms.

I bought my Sony Bravia HD ready tv about a year ago and to get the best out of it decided to upgrade my SKY+ to an HD box - I have to say despite what they say I find it very difficult to see much of a difference with films or ordinary programms filmed in HD. Watching football or Rugby on the SKY hd channels the pictute is certainly sharper and more defined certainly when compared to setanta. But the best programms to watch to get the best benefits out of HD are the nature programms - but in truth I've never really known or been able to decide what the best settings are for my tv to get the best picture.

Larry, you must have something wrong with your setup? I've got a 32" Sony Bravia & Sky HD, and the difference between SD & HD is very noticeable to me. What size screen do you have?

[Larry]

Larry, you must have something wrong with your setup? I've got a 32" Sony Bravia & Sky HD, and the difference between SD & HD is very noticeable to me. What size screen do you have?

have never really watched anything on the SD channels but when I have watched the animation films on the HD movie channels there is a noticable difference .


but I usualy have my screen size on wide - with settings of


target - all
picture mode - vivid
back light - max
contrast - 66
brightness - 40
colour 85
colour temp - cool
sharp - max.


I'm not sure if these are the correct settings to get the best quality picture and annoyongly there is nothing in the user manual to advise you but I did find a web site that gave the best settings for the Sony Bravia and they were saying you should have your picture mode at Cinema. and all the other settings were pretty low aswell.