We Need Better HDTV Picture Quality!
Having spent most of this month in Greece, Turkey and Egypt, I had little in the way of Internet access and therefore did not have much opportunity to keep up with what was going on in the HD world here in the US. Since I have returned, I have been able to catch up reading a few of the sites and magazines devoted to HD. A few items caught my eye and I thought I would comment about them briefly here.
The first was Howard Stringer’s comments about how the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray format war was a stalemate. Coming from the CEO of Sony, I thought that this was quite an admission. Frankly, it was nice to see someone comment truthfully about the state of the format war rather than endless PR spin wars which are getting awfully tedious from representatives of both sides. How many times have we heard the BDA claim that the war was won, despite ample evidence that it hasn’t. Does Blu-Ray have the edge? Of course they do, due to the PS3 which is driving their disc sales edge. However, assuming the accuracy of the recent press release by the HD camp (which is always a leap of faith) that sales of over 750,000 HD-DVD devices have been sold to date, it will be hard pressed for the studios to ignore that install base. IMHO, once that figure hits 1 million, HD-DVD will be here to stay and both formats will live peacefully(?) side by side until both are eventually wiped out by HD downloads in a few years. Mr. Stringer should be applauded for his candor.
The second was that the new Blu-Ray player from Panasonic totally dropped internal decoding of the new audio codecs. Unlike the two prior models from Panasonic, the new unit will only pass PCM through the multichannel analog audio outputs. Therefore, If you have a receiver or processor that does not have HDMI inputs and 1.3 HDMI inputs at that, you will not be able to enjoy Dolby DIgital Plus, TrueHD or DTS HD MA and will be limited to regular Dolby Digital or DTS through the digital outputs of the player. If the Blu-Ray disc is encoded with PCM, great. If not, you are SOL.
IMHO, this is a real step backwards by Panasonic. While it undoubtedly drops the cost of the unit so that it can be sold cheaper, it robs the player of a very valuable feature for us HT enthusiasts out there as there are quite a few Blu-Ray releases now without a multichannel PCM track, (Spider-Man 1 and 2 for example as well as the wonderful Legends of Jazz Showcase which has an awesome Dolby TrueHD track.)
Not being able to access that track would greatly diminish my enjoyment of that release. It is a further shame given how great the analog outputs sound on the Panasonic units. Panasonic did a great job implementing their analog outputs and it is much easier to get great sound from the Panny than my Toshiba HD-DVD player. They both sound great but the Toshiba took a lot longer to get right. Therefore, unless you have a receiver or processor that can take the new codecs via HDMI and you are looking for a Panasonic BD player, look into getting the older unit.
IMHO, this is a real step backwards by Panasonic. While it undoubtedly drops the cost of the unit so that it can be sold cheaper, it robs the player of a very valuable feature for us HT enthusiasts out there as there are quite a few Blu-Ray releases now without a multichannel PCM track, (Spider-Man 1 and 2 for example as well as the wonderful Legends of Jazz Showcase which has an awesome Dolby TrueHD track.)
Not being able to access that track would greatly diminish my enjoyment of that release. It is a further shame given how great the analog outputs sound on the Panasonic units. Panasonic did a great job implementing their analog outputs and it is much easier to get great sound from the Panny than my Toshiba HD-DVD player. They both sound great but the Toshiba took a lot longer to get right. Therefore, unless you have a receiver or processor that can take the new codecs via HDMI and you are looking for a Panasonic BD player, look into getting the older unit.
The final issue I would like to comment on involves a great article by Charles Wood over at the current issue of Widescreen Review about the current state of the transmission of HD content OTA and as well as by cable and DBS. I completely agree with his assessment that we may have already seen the best HD via these mediums that we will ever see. Hard to believe but true and it is an issue that I have noticed myself. The reasons? Reduced bandwidth and bit rate. The culprits are many. You have issues related to the effects of multicasting on OTA stations that I have already commented on in previous posts that significantly degrade PQ. You also have issues with the DBS and cable providers reducing both bandwidth and bit rate of a signal to be able to squeeze more channels onto their systems.
Even worse are the actual content providers who are now reducing their bit rates at the request of the DBS and cable providers to enable them to add more HD to their systems. This robs those of us with FiOS which can handle full bit rate signals from seeing what HD can really do. Take a look for example at HGTV-HD, which is sending out a reduced bit rate signal to all providers. Every time the image on the screen moves, the image is reduced to a series of jumping pixels and looks awful. Our PQ is being ruined by an appeal to the lowest common denominator namely cable companies asking for a reduced bit rate signal. Shame on them. The content providers should be able to do so only if they will offer a full bit rate signal for those cable providers that want it, to give the consumer a real choice as to where they receive their content. Believe me, the improvement in PQ is very noticeable.
As of now, the best PQ with that looking through the window effect is very rare these days and is mostly seen on CBS and HDNet which send out full bit rate signals. It really shows. Just take a look at the recent HD-DVD and Blu-Ray releases of Galapagos and compare them to the showings of the same material (albeit with a different narrator) over at National Geographic HD. The difference is remarkable. The only way to resolve this issue is to complain to all sides. If you are not happy with your PQ, tell your cable company or DBS provider. Contact the content providers as well and let them know that yes, we are watching and see what they are doing. Unless we complain, they will keep doing what they are doing, namely screwing up our HD experience. If you are happy with the state of HD on you system, you may need your eyes checked.
For more high-def news and views, please click: TVPredictions.com
Even worse are the actual content providers who are now reducing their bit rates at the request of the DBS and cable providers to enable them to add more HD to their systems. This robs those of us with FiOS which can handle full bit rate signals from seeing what HD can really do. Take a look for example at HGTV-HD, which is sending out a reduced bit rate signal to all providers. Every time the image on the screen moves, the image is reduced to a series of jumping pixels and looks awful. Our PQ is being ruined by an appeal to the lowest common denominator namely cable companies asking for a reduced bit rate signal. Shame on them. The content providers should be able to do so only if they will offer a full bit rate signal for those cable providers that want it, to give the consumer a real choice as to where they receive their content. Believe me, the improvement in PQ is very noticeable.
As of now, the best PQ with that looking through the window effect is very rare these days and is mostly seen on CBS and HDNet which send out full bit rate signals. It really shows. Just take a look at the recent HD-DVD and Blu-Ray releases of Galapagos and compare them to the showings of the same material (albeit with a different narrator) over at National Geographic HD. The difference is remarkable. The only way to resolve this issue is to complain to all sides. If you are not happy with your PQ, tell your cable company or DBS provider. Contact the content providers as well and let them know that yes, we are watching and see what they are doing. Unless we complain, they will keep doing what they are doing, namely screwing up our HD experience. If you are happy with the state of HD on you system, you may need your eyes checked.
For more high-def news and views, please click: TVPredictions.com
10 Comments:
I'm kind of surprised you didn't mention that most of the HD-DVD players people are buying don't support 1080p.
Baff what does your blu fan boy comment have to do with the article? Was the author going through the features of the HD DVD players? I understand the personal insult you get when your lovely blu world is highlighted to lack really necessary features, but please get a hold of yourself, just swallow it.
Actually, I think its great that he points out the audio flaw in the new Panasonic Blu-Ray player. I may own a Blu-Ray player, but that won't stop me from buying an HD-DVD player if they should get the upper hand in the war.
The article is titled "We Need Better HDTV Picture Quality!", so I think my comment completely relevant.
Perhaps you should look at your own comments to see what you have added to dialogue.
I've been complaining about this ever since I plopped down money on the DTV HD package a few years ago. I knew there wasn't much content, but those images in the store (demos at full bit rate) had me reaching for the old credit card. I bought the highest rated 50" plasma screen of the time and upgraded to HD satellite. The loop of Monday Night Football was incredible. Imagine how terrible I felt almost $3000 later when I tuned into Monday Night Football for the first time. The image was better than non-HD, but nowhere near the demo in the store. I immediatley blamed my television and had it professionally calibrated. While this helped me get more accurate color and a more vibrant picture, it didn't fix the problem of pixelation.
The problem is that not enough people know better. They think that if something is broadcast at high resolution 1080i that they are getting the sharpest picture available. I'd take full rate 720p over reduced 1080i any day of the week. I'm breaking down and purchasing a PS3. I'm not happy that the format war isn't over, but I can no longer waste the capabilities of my television.
As for Baff's commnet, this issue is well known and not new and frankly, a red herring. If you do not have a 1080p set, no issue at all. Even if you do, no issue at all as all digital sets are progressive anyway. With a 1080i signal, they capture each successive field and display them together. The net result is a 1080p image, the same as if the player outputted 1080p. In one case, the player outputs 1080p in the other, the set does it. The End result is the same, unless your set has a lousy scaler. It is amazing more people don't realize this.
HD DVD PLAYERS ARE NOT ALL 1080P BLU RAY ARE SO GET A LIFE TO ALL THAT HATE
Ahh, seems I was mistaken. Sorry for the confusion.
I did a search around and see that it was discussed a lot last year, but in all my HD reading this year I didn't come across it.
Leading into Black Friday, someone on some website (don't remember which) was warning people about the 1080i HD-DVD players. I just assumed they knew what they were talking about.
You should remember though that there are a lot of new people entering the HD world every day. What is old to you is new to them.
NBC should be ashamed of the picture quality of the Sunday Night Football.
While the commentators in the studio look good, NBC's broadcast of the game is a pixilated mess of smears and trails, in stark contrast to CBS, FOX and ESPN NFL broadcasts.
The NFL should demand that NBC use real HD cameras and real HD broadcast equipment for the NFL's Sunday Night, flagship game.
the only problem i have is that with the increased cost of prodution of blu ray there is only one place that it can be offset and that is the consumer and this will happen if blu becomes dominant am i right
Blu ray has the clear momentum right now.
And it's only a matter of time till Hi Def becomes a necessity to the average joe and that will drive a winner within a year or two. If it was to happing this winter for example; Blu Ray would win easily.
However it might not happen till next year or later but it's already too late for any other formats to compete here including downloadable. That leaves Blu ray looking very likely to win sometime down the road.
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