We Are Pulling The Plug......Finally ATSC Box

[mattl]

I know space can be a premium in NCY, but a 32" might prove to be too small.  If you take into account the wider screen and you watch SD content it might be the equivalent of an old 25" set.  My cousin has a small apartment and I found a nice 39" set for her, she bought it on my recommendations, and when I showed her the 32" she was considering she was shocked at just how small it was.

 

If you wall mount and are concerned about viewing angles be aware that LCD/LED sets have poor off angle picture quality, they have a narrow sweet spot once beyond that the colors get washed out and image gets gray.  Plasma is fine off angle.  Owning 2 plasmas, an LCD and a mammoth 38" wide screen CRT the LCD comes in third in the viewing angle race. 

 

I also HATE the soap opera effect many LCDs have, it can be tamed, and some people actually like it, but it's very off putting for me.  Another very big pet peeve for me would be folks who have to fill their screens no mater what.  If a show or movie is in 4:3 format as many old movies are they should be displayed that way NOT stretched to fill all they screen.  People seem to think if they paid for a wide screen it should be filled - short, wide faces are not normal, please do not stretch...

 

Rant off.

 

[whirlcool]

Soap opera effect? Please describe. I have never heard of that one before.

 

[davetranter]

Other side of the 'pond'

We have recently been 'forced' to go digital here in the U.K., as the government decided that it would 'stimulate the economy' if everyone had to buy new T.V.s, DVD recorders, satellite boxes, etc.

I am lucky in that I don't own any T.V. apparatus at all, getting all my information and entertainment from the Radio and Internet.

When I am out visiting, however, I see quite a lot of television and, quite frankly, I am dismayed. As Kb0nes says (reply#36) if the signal is good, all is well. If the signal is weak, then sound dropouts and 'freezing' are commonplace.

Even with a 'good' signal, 'lip-synch' seldom occurs, to a degree where I find it difficult to watch the shows. I assume that sound and vision data are sent in different 'packets', and processed separately. Mis-synchronisation by half-a-second or more is not uncommon, and extrememly annoying!! :-(

We have been entirely UHF here since the 1980s, so we are used to the 'line of sight' issues, and have many local repeater transmitters, but things are much worse with digital signals than ever they were with analogue (yes, U.K. spelling again!!). The 'technology' simply isn't up to the mark yet, but is being foisted upon the public by companies and/or governments greedily wanting to cram more channels into the same bandwidth.

Comments??

All best

Dave T

 

[tolivac]

I beleive the "Soap Opra" effects are those with bright billious pictures,hard focus and overly bright colors.Often this mode is used when the TV is in a store being demenstrated-to give the illusion to the buyer the TV has the "brightest" picture of other sets.When you get the set home-go to the setup menu and select "Cinema""Movies" or "Smooth" settings for a less billious picture.On a cinema forum some have reported some movies are shot that way with modern digital cinematography cameras-some of the Holloywood folks like those horrible pictures.If you have a plasma or CRT projector set run that way-it is hard on the plasma or CRT tubes-works them harder-and can burn phosphors.At least with film cameras and projection you didn't have that problem!!

 

[mattl]

No, SOE is frame interpolation. Due to the limits of LCD tech the sets produce an "extra"image based on a previous frame. The effect is to make everything look like that flat videotape look of old soap operas. Seeing a 1940's moivie that looks like it was shot on tape is awful...

 

[DADoES]

 
My Panasonic plasma is on the cusp of 11 years old (9/28/2002), running along nicely.

Amazingly, I've never had to refill the plasma, it hasn't leaked out! 

 

[kb0nes]

I find the "Motion Flow" induced artifacts quite annoying as well (Soap Opera Effect). The Samsung 8000 series I was considering exhibits it horribly when the frame interpolation is on. Couple that with many sets being set to too cold of a color temp and the look is unnatural to me.

I describe it as an almost "3D" look that seems very hard and cold. Seeing a nature show on PBS that looks a bit like the movie Avatar kinda sums it up.I have described it as a picture that is "too good" but unnatural in appearance. Luckily it can be entirely eliminated with changing the settings. For the most part I see all the enhanced motion tricks the makers program into the TV's as just a gimmick to sell sets. Clearly 240hz is better then 120hz which is better then 60hz. Its like the ludicrous megapixel race in digital cameras, people that don't know better can be conned out of their money with the empty promise of more... even if it is generally meaningless.

I have watched both LCD's and Plasma sets and the LCD have come a long way in meeting the other technology. Viewing angle issues and contrast issues have improved for the LCD's so Plasma has largely lost those advantages. LCD's have always been brighter so if you plan to view in a normally lit room they may be better. There is no doubt a Plasma set looks great in a darkened room and they may still have some advantages for fast motion. The LCD's look great to my eye and I just can't live with the other issues with the Plasma displays.

 

[sudsmaster]

I've located a web site where I can view episodes of shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad for free. Don't even have to buy the DVD's any more.

The resolution is a bit low (I have a relatively low speed internet connection) but it's good enough to follow the series.

I was also able to catch up on three seasons of Downton Abbey this way.