Popular Mechanics: Fix your HDTV picture
by Matt Burns 
posted Jul 5th 2006 at 12:34PM
High-def can give you one of two things. One - an amazing breathtaking image or two - a really poppy picture. HDTV's can be harder to get a good picture from a normal TV if you deviate from the factory presets. many people will turn up the brightness and sharpness to give them a picture that really 'pops' but in turn killing their picture. Most image problems can be diagnosed back to a bad source like basic cable or the TV's setting are just plain off. Popular Mechanics has the best layout of common HDTV image issues we have ever seen. They took an image of Jack Bauer from 24, picked at all the problematic spots and tell you how to fix 'em.
Even if you are the best calibrator in town, you might want to check out this PM article.
[via Digg]
Filed under: DIY
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ben Mishoe @ Jul 5th 2006 1:27PM
Wow, they chose a good one.
I watch a fair amount of HD and - though I love the show - 24 is some of the worst PQ I have ever seen for a primetime broadcast. There is so much macroblocking and compression...I wish FOX would sit down and give us 24 with the PQ of LOST or DHD Theater...
GhostDoggy @ Jul 5th 2006 5:49PM
Ben, is this because of Fox in general, or your local Fox affiliate? There is a big difference, there, because I have had the argument with my local CBS affiliate relating to the same issues.
Also, I get similar problems from DirecTV when trying to watch some regular MPEG-2 HD on HDnet/Movies, etc., but then again I know how D* operates (e.g. HDlite).
Ben Mishoe @ Jul 6th 2006 7:36AM
I thought I read here or heard on the Podcast that Fox doesn't have true hi-def, but instead has some really good upconverters or something like that.
I'm sorry for the vagueness of that statement, but hopefully someone can fill in the details for me.
In either case, my understanding based on what I had heard was that the problem was with Fox and not my affiliate.
Ben Drawbaugh @ Jul 6th 2006 7:55AM
Ben,
You got it half right, Fox has HD, but like you said they also have what they call "Fox Widescreen" which is basicly EDTV. Sometimes when people think they are watching HD on Fox they don't realize they are watching Fox Widescreen, for example on the show Cops.
Ben Mishoe @ Jul 6th 2006 8:09AM
So I guess that means either:
1) 24 is a show that is broadcast from Fox in Fox Widescreen
2) it's recorded in true hi-def but my affiliate is compressing it more
Part of me wants to believe it's #2 since I can't imagine Fox would not record their most popular show in hi-def...
Ben Drawbaugh @ Jul 6th 2006 9:01AM
24 is definitly HD, but it doesn't look that great compared to shows like Lost. There is a good chance that your local station is compressing it, especially if they have sub channels. Fox distributs their HD like no other network and all Fox stations should have similair bit rates. If you have a ATSC tuner for your PC you can do a capture of their signal to compare it. It may also be your cable company that is compressing it further, it seems most cable companies do that now, but not all.
Ben Mishoe @ Jul 6th 2006 11:39AM
You know, this kind of brings up a good point...in the same sense that some HDTV manufacturers have false advertising by calling their 1024x720 resolution HD, I think that content providers should be subject to some of the same requirements (they may already be...I don't know for sure but it doesn't seem like it).
I mean, you can call something HD because you recorded it or sent it to the affiliates in atleast 1280x720, but if there's so much compression that it doesn't even meet DVD quality standards, then what's the point of all that resolution?
In other words, I think technically you could have a terrible picture that meets resolution standards (as I've heard of some of the conversions onto HD-DVD/BD have been), but I don't really consider that HD.