new 4K TV and SD feed on Virgin Media
Discussion
Looking for some wisdom from the informed folks of PH.
I have V Media as my provider and although they have many HD channels, we still like to watch a few programs that are on their SD channels. The SD channels look fine on my current set (32" Panny) but this is too small for the room so I'd like to go to 50/55".
I need to decide whether to get a 4K set (majority of new sets are 4K) or stick to 1080 HD.
My worry is that SD upscaled all the way to 4k will look very poor - especially on a large screen.
Do any of you folks watch SD on a large screen? How does it look? Would love to get your feedback.
Thanks
I have V Media as my provider and although they have many HD channels, we still like to watch a few programs that are on their SD channels. The SD channels look fine on my current set (32" Panny) but this is too small for the room so I'd like to go to 50/55".
I need to decide whether to get a 4K set (majority of new sets are 4K) or stick to 1080 HD.
My worry is that SD upscaled all the way to 4k will look very poor - especially on a large screen.
Do any of you folks watch SD on a large screen? How does it look? Would love to get your feedback.
Thanks
Go to somewhere like John Lewis and see if one of the kind people can feed an SD signal into one of their 4K models. Then make up your own mind if the picture is OK for you. They are usually very helpful, not on direct commission and usually know all the products they sell.
I must say that on my 32" Panasonic 1080 set some of the SD channels can be rubbish but others can look almost as good as the HD channels.
I must say that on my 32" Panasonic 1080 set some of the SD channels can be rubbish but others can look almost as good as the HD channels.
As a virgin customer using a 4k TV I would say that the it comes down to the stb its self on a TiVo its very good I sometimes forget weather I'm on the standard channel or a had channel it can be that close. Some channels you can notice it on but that tends to be the program that's the cause of this rather than anything else.
RumbleTumble said:
My worry is that SD upscaled all the way to 4k will look very poor - especially on a large screen.
It's not the fact that it's upscaled to 4K, but the fact that it's very large.We've got a 65 inch, and due to the shape of our room, view relative close at around 8 - 10 feet.
SD is watchable, but of course HD is always preferable, and you can certainly tell the difference.
What makes a difference is the processing of the set. We've got a reasonably top of the range Samsung, and the output looks pretty realistic in SD in terms of movement.
SD actually looks better on the 4k 65 inch than it did on the 59 inch 1080p that it replaced.
I just got a 55" Panasonic 4K TV, within about an hour I'd upgraded to Sky HD over the basic package we had, SD didn't look great at all (although very watchable).
The difference with native 4K content and HD stuff though is incredible, I wasn't sold on 4K one bit before I bought the Panasonic but honestly, you will be very impressed.
The difference with native 4K content and HD stuff though is incredible, I wasn't sold on 4K one bit before I bought the Panasonic but honestly, you will be very impressed.
LeoSayer said:
The reason SD channels (at least on Sky) look rubbish is because they compress the hell out of them.
The larger the screen, the more evidence of this you can see.
Yes, the HD is still compressed as well.The larger the screen, the more evidence of this you can see.
What makes the difference is the processing of the TV which smooths out the blockiness of the picture.
In general, the newer the TV/projector and the faster processing speed will improve this greatly.
Dark scenes on my old plasma were virtually unwatchable, even in HD, on the new TV and projector, the problem all but disappears.
Thanks for all the replies.
One thing I hadn't realised (but makes sense when I think about it) is that the Tivo /V+ box will upscale the SD signal to HD, not the TV. I guess the TV will then take that HD signal and further upscale to 4K?
I did ask at John Lewis to view their 4K sets with an SD feed and the kindly showed me - and it looked really very poor. However that may have been a function of their Sky box / terrestial SD feed (not sure which they had) and therefore I won't really be able to assess until I get the chosen TV home and try it on VM.
One thing I hadn't realised (but makes sense when I think about it) is that the Tivo /V+ box will upscale the SD signal to HD, not the TV. I guess the TV will then take that HD signal and further upscale to 4K?
I did ask at John Lewis to view their 4K sets with an SD feed and the kindly showed me - and it looked really very poor. However that may have been a function of their Sky box / terrestial SD feed (not sure which they had) and therefore I won't really be able to assess until I get the chosen TV home and try it on VM.
RumbleTumble said:
I did ask at John Lewis to view their 4K sets with an SD feed and the kindly showed me - and it looked really very poor. However that may have been a function of their Sky box / terrestial SD feed (not sure which they had) and therefore I won't really be able to assess until I get the chosen TV home and try it on VM.
As mentioned it doesn't really make much difference whether you're looking at a 4K/HD screen, the more important thing is viewing distance and type of SD material. Was your JL test representative of your viewing distance and content? What SD stuff are you likely to look at?Gassing Station | Home Cinema & Hi-Fi | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff