I've just watched a download of the BBC series Coast taken off iPlayer in HD and the picture is fantastic, problem was my laptop had a problem playing back the picture smoothly and it was more like watching a series of 2-3sec still pictures! I used a 10.5" blackscreen Sony subnotebook to view the programme and am most impressed with the HD.
So................................ as a person who doesn't have a TV in the house (and haven't owned a TV since 1980) I have some questions:
a) Is HD transmitted over the normal terrestrial TV networks yet or would I have to subscribe to say Sky to get it?
b) What is the best TV for viewing HD transmissions - LCD or Plasma (although the sony blackscreen system on my laptop is pretty good for viewing it)
c) If HD isn't broadcast normally when is it supposed to be starting? 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
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Certain freeview channels broadcast in HD, but most on Sky which you need a subscription ,

They reckon LCD are the best, But think i remember reading somewhere that they are bringing out a better version of LCD, would need to check back on My Stuff subscription mags... or check their site out www.mystuff.tv.

Answer to c/ is anyones guess

The is freesat HD built into my panasonic plasma TV via a satalite dish (extra cable needs to be run from a sky dish)

I get BBC HD which is things like coast and a few other stuff and occasionally ITV do a program which you need to press the red button to watch

IMO I don't think it's worth it and I am thinking of going SKY HD to get a few more channels like Discovery HD which does documentries and more interesting programs than the normal channels

I definatly wouldn't go buy a TV, licence, SKY HD on the back if what's on them at the moment

Save your money and give it a few more years and watch what's on iplayer

Tim,

I have the Sky HD box, and the difference in picture quality is amazing. Sports, Films and particular documentaries like Coast, Planet Earth, and other Nature based etc, are quite captivating.

I have a Plasma and LCD TVs, in my opinion the Plasma is better - but it is much bigger. My understanding was Plasmas were better for viewing Sport, Films etc and LCDs are better for game playing - PS3 etc. Due to colour depth and screen refresh rates.

But to be honest the technology moves so fast now, this could be changing. Until recently you couldn't get an LCD any bigger than 40", but now they are producing 50"+. In Video Conferencing setups, with 50" to 60", screens I have only ever seen Plasmas used.

One measure for both, is contrast ratio - the higher the better. Measured in the 10,000s to 1 ratio. Also the best screens are the ones that produce the deepest black pixels, paradoxically the deeper the black the better the colour generation.

Also Plasmas are like Range Rovers, much heavier (more difficult to hang on a wall) and use much more power than LCDs.

And to further confuse matters LED TVs are now available, as they're in their infancy very expensive in comparison.

But in summary, as NPinks said, if you haven't had a TV in the house for so long, then I'd stick without.
Currently Sky transmit approx 10x the volume of HD programmes than either Freesat or Virgin.

To have Sky HD, you would need the dish, box (currently £50) and a monthly subscription of £60 to get all the HD channels. For Freesat you need a dish, Freesat tv or a seperate box. For Virgin you would need to be in their coverage area as it's cable and a subscription.

Tim in Scotland wrote:

So................................ as a person who doesn't have a TV in the house (and haven't owned a TV since 1980)

So how many threatening letters and visits have you had from the exhtortionists at the tv licence people then??




Rmemeber in the Sunday Post the guy out on the west coast somewhere that couldnt physically receive ANY terrestrial telly so had to get it through Sky and they told him he needed a licence to view BBC anyway even though he was paying for it through Sky????? Think it ended in a court case but cant remember the outcome. Current, M135i in Estoril Blue with more extras than the cast of Ben Hur.

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Nick I have to have a TV licence to watch iPlayer and the other online channels. I can assure you that I spent 26 years being subjected to 3 monthly inspections of my house without notice checking that I had no TV hidden away somewhere from the BBC licensing thieves (aka The TV Licensing Authority, which isn't an "Authority" with statutory powers like they make out, but a company set up by the BBC to collect the license fee) Their visits to my house stopped when my neighbour across the road (who is a policeman) spotted this guyser trying to peer in through my house windows and threatened him with arrest for loitering with intent if he didn't scarper.

iSlider and Nick - cheers for the re-assurance that TV is still as awful as when I did have a set. I can watch most things I want to see on iPlayer or the ITV equivalent................................. but these days I'm seriously into Radio 4 (I can even listen to the 3rd repeat of the Archers and hear something new in it!). Sounds like downloading programmes in HD from iplayer in the wee small hours of the night and then watching them on either my Sony Vaio notebook or Sony Vaio entertainment system (combo PC and home cinema/TV(if I had an antenna!) is my best compromise then as both have the Sony Black Screen TFT screens 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Pioneer Kuros plasma is the best in 42" or 50". Speak to Kaine he's the forum expert. TDV6 - gone
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HD is impressive, but not worth buying into the kit for imho....  

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shmoogle wrote:

HD is impressive, but not worth buying into the kit for imho....

Got it and yes it's good.......that is when I remember to select the HD channels

It's a shame that the sky HD box dosen't automatically select HD when a program you want to view is available in both. TDV6 - gone
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Audi Q5 3.0 Tdi Sline wef 6/11/10

You only need a TV licence to watch LIVE programmes streamed over the web: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/200..._tv_1.html

So watching last night's Coast right now doesn't require a licence

You might find that your laptop's completely gummed up with rubbish which is why it won't play the HD content properly, my laptop wouldn't play standard iPlayer stuff properly until I reformatted and reinstalled everything

Having said that, a 10.5" sub notebook is likely to have a low power graphics chip so may not be able to handle HD smoothly anyway. Like this site? Buy some RRSPORT goodies to show your support!

Tim,

with the additional hundred or so channels now available, TV is actually worse than when you last had a TV.

You wouldn't beleive the rubbish on the majority of channels. Some of the Documentary channels and BBC Four you would probably find interesting.

If you are going to watch through a laptop or PC entertainment system, you may want to think about a TV card for the laptop.

You would have access to further channels without having to buy a seperate box.

Like this one

And ITV have just proved my feelings that freesat HD is a waste of time

They ain't bothering showing Harry Potter in HD

What's the reason they do this?? Money is my guess

Not knowing about HDTV, does stuff not need to be filmed in HD before being broadcast in HD?  

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Most movies are shot in HD, and i could buy a Harry Potter Bluray disc so i would presume it was shot in HD or atleast been remastered to be HD

They can upscale a normaly filmed movie to HD, electronically were is puts in the extra lines in the picture to give a near HD quality movie or TV show. This is what happens if you have a DVD player that says it can upscale to HD quality when watching a normal DVD.

I hear this is what quite a few Sky HD channels do.

Theres a History HD channel on sky and they are advertising World War II in HD at the moment and they obviously didn't have Box Brownie HD cameras back then

npinks wrote:

Theres a History HD channel on sky and they are advertising World War II in HD at the moment and they obviously didn't have Box Brownie HD cameras back then