HD via PC

[evzy]

Can someone explain this to save me trying to find the answer via teh web..

Noting HD TV's run at 720/1080 and 1440 it seems, if I downloaded something in HD format would I be able to see the difference in quality if I watched it on my monitor then on my normal non HD TV? Reason I ask is I have a decent Sony TV and whenever I check out HD sets in stores I have not been that impressed as yet...so want to check it out in the comfort of my own home and compare it against my TV etc.

Second part - if that would work then TV shows that are available in HD to download - usually 800mb or so for a 40min show - is that compressed so its not HD truly ? Seen a HD DVD to download at 27gb so 800mb seems a bit small..

Whats the best way to test if the above is not going to be true HD quality - and how would I view HD files on a PC?

Thanks in advance for any answers

 

[smurkin]

Aye, running 1080p from a pc is a common way to feed a HD set (I'm not sure you'll find a 1440 set for love nor money). I'm not sure your Sony will accept 1080p through its vga (assuming it has one) ...you might require a DV to HDMI lead and to route the sound separately. You might also need powerstrip to force your graphics card to display 1080p at the correct frequency.

Would you see the difference SD v HD - definitely, but viewing distance is critical - for a 40 inch screen viewing from about 7 - 10 feet should be optimal.

I'm not sure there is a lot of HD content out there to download - there may be some DivX you can grab. If you find anything good, let me know

 

[smurkin]

/edit...just re-read - ah...you dont have a HD tv - ok....unless your monitor is 40 inches wide I cant see the point in your experiment - its going to be very difficult to make any comparison - part of the point with HD is that when crt tvs get big, because they dont have enough lines, the PQ suffers.

tbh, HD in stores tends to be rubbish. The sets and sources are almost always badly set up. I've only ever seen a really good demo once and that was with a HD player and a plsma set in Lewis'. HD when it is good is best likened to looking through a window. Also there are HD panels and there are HD panels. You could try comparing your top line Sony crt SD with the new Sony Bravias (say the X) HD - the difference should be night and day.

 

[Yaka]

Second part - if that would work then TV shows that are available in HD to download - usually 800mb or so for a 40min show - is that compressed so its not HD truly ? Seen a HD DVD to download at 27gb so 800mb seems a bit small..



Thanks in advance for any answers

you are talking about HR (as in hig res) rips made from 720p tranmissions these are not HD merely just off better pic quality with ac3 sound. they look better than than various normal rips but are no where close to proper hd shit

 

[Whipped]

As Yaka said. The TV rips that are about from HD sources are usually one of two things.

There will be a 650-700MB file that is encoded with your usual Divx/Xvid encoders and includes AC3 5.1 sound. The video source is encoded from a 720p HD source, which means a bigger picture on your PC monitor.

There are also 1GB+ files that are encoded using the H2.64(?) codec, that appears to be the best for encoding 1080p HD transmissions. Again, on a PC monitor, you will simply notice a larger picture.

However, because these files have come from higher resolution HD signals it is still possible to notice the difference between them.

A good comparision would be to get the bog standard 350 MB version of an epsidoe of heroes and then get the 750 or 1GB versions and see how much clearer it looks.

It's basically the same as changing your desktop resolution up or down one level. You know how crap/good that can make your desktop look.

 

[cHodAX]

Most American HD television is broadcast in 720p or 1080i so those 1gb TV rips are very close to the quality of the original broadcast. 1080p is pretty much reserved for optical media playback because of the bandwidth requirements.