Question about Picture Quality - 1080p LCD TV

[ritmo]

I have a 32" 1080p Samsung TV. No matter how i adjust the settings the picture quality when viewing Freeview is rather poor - sort of pixelated/blurry. Picture from BlueRay/PS3 signal is great. The picture quality is also fine when i watch TV via the DVD Recorder (DVDR set to output 1080p).

Why is the pic quality better if the signal goes to TV via the DVDR ? I would expect the opposite. Does the DVDR have a better upscaler than the TV ?

[PJ S]

Sounds like the DVDR has a better processing algorithm/deinterlacing than the Samsung, or just a better tuner - I've never liked Samsung TVs showing SD.
It may even be a combo of the two - try watching Freeview on the DVDR input, and see if it still looks better than the Samsung's.

[ritmo]

PJ S said:

...try watching Freeview on the DVDR input...

sorry for being thick but how do i do that ?

[PJ S]

Just switch the TV to its input, and turn on DVDR, selecting BBC1 (which generally has good quality broadcasts).
If the DVDR has a Live/Monitor button on the remote, you'll need to press it to change from the default (presumed) which is playback of recordings.
If it doesn't, then it should show automatically or once you've escaped out of the recordings list.

[HellDiver]

It'll just be a crappy Freeview tuner in the TV. The no-name Mirai 42" 1080p LCD we have has woeful Freeview quality, not to mention the unusable TV guide and various other horrid software bugs in the Freeview.

Freeview looks fine through both the ancient Sagem PVR (via SCART) and the Sony DVD Recorder (which upscales to 1080p).


On the other hand, the Toshiba 32" LCD in the bedroom has beautiful Freeview picture, both coming off the same antenna.

Edited by HellDiver on Wednesday 5th January 19:09

[ritmo]

i don't understand why they would put a crap tuner in the tv seeing that its primary purpose is to receive a signal & turn it into a picture. anyway watching via the dvdr gives a good picture.

[HellDiver]

ritmo said:

i don't understand why they would put a crap tuner in the tv seeing that its primary purpose is to receive a signal & turn it into a picture.

Why do car manufacturers put crap engines in cars, seeing it's primary purpose is to make the car go?

Same thing - TVs like cars are built as cheaply as possible for maximum profit. If Woo Po Fung Company makes a TV tuner module for 36p and Sony Corp makes a better tuner module for 67p, and Mirai are making a TV that sells at £400 compared to a similar Panasonic at £800, which do you think Mirai are going to use?