HDTV picture quality

[carguyg35]

I have noticed when I am watching sports in HD the picture looks pixilated around anything moving quickly across the screen. I think it has to do with broadcast and not the TV. I don’t notice it when the PS3 is the signal provider (blu ray or games). I was wondering if you guys run into the same issue and could shed some light on the problem. I have time warner cable with the HD package. The TV is an older Samsung LCD.

[theDreamer]

Ok, we have a few possibilities here and without knowing somethings I will just write. First what type of TV (brand and model) and what provider do you use?
Next, a quick lesson:
~Television through broadcast providers is not the "best" HD quality, they are usually supplying you with 1080i (think of it as about equal to 720P).
~Your television can also play a role, if you are using a standard 1080P 60hz you can get blurry movements in fast action scenes. This can happen in both movies and sporting events, though most of the time in the sporting events because of the quick moving cameras and zoom in on players running very quickly or cars moving fast.

There are other little things that can contribute to a blurry or pixel scene, but the two listed are the main causes. Best way to fix them, well you cannot really fix your provider so you then have to buy a 1080P television which does 120hz.

[Division]

I agree with Dreamer,

two big things come to mind -

The TV and the source.

Most all cable providers are compressing their signals to get more channels on older congested backbones. They use different compression methods, and use the power of the almighty cable box to uncompress and display the signals. FIOS is said to have some of the best picture quality around (having switched from cable, I happen to agree) with OTA a distant second, cable/satelite rounding out third.

As far as the TV is concerned, older (typically larger) LCD's have difficulty displaying "fast action motion". They simply can't change the dots of color fast enough to keep up. Newer technologies, (sony's motion flow, and the other 120hz technologies) are trying to make up for the LCD's sluggishness, but can usually result in a completely different looking picture. (again IMO) Motion flow makes everything look fake, like an afternoon soap opera.

How is your cable box currently hooked to your TV? Are you using an HDMI cable?

PS: I thought I'd throw in that I've pretty much spent as much time into perfecting my home theater (within my budget) as possible. Currently running Martin Logan gear with a Pioneer Elite Plasma.

[carguyg35]

My tv is 1080p but it doesn't have the 120 or even 240hz like the new ones have. Plus the PS3 is connected via HDMI but the cable box is connected via a component cable. But I thought there wasn’t much of a difference between the two. Anyway being an average guy I am always checking out electronics and when I am looking around at best buy at the new LCDs with 120hz they don’t really seem much better. When sports is on I still see the pixilated look around the fast moving objects. I am thinking the compression that the cable company uses is mostly to blame here. So "division" you are saying verizon fios has better picture quality? You saw a reduction in the pixilation?

[theDreamer]

With Verizon & Uverse, they have upgraded the lines also, one reason it is only in limited areas. So instead of them trying to use dated cables, they have laid their own fiber which allows for better quality or even more channels at once.

[BanningZ]

Originally Posted by carguyg35

My tv is 1080p but it doesn't have the 120 or even 240hz like the new ones have. Plus the PS3 is connected via HDMI but the cable box is connected via a component cable. But I thought there wasn’t much of a difference between the two. Anyway being an average guy I am always checking out electronics and when I am looking around at best buy at the new LCDs with 120hz they don’t really seem much better. When sports is on I still see the pixilated look around the fast moving objects. I am thinking the compression that the cable company uses is mostly to blame here. So "division" you are saying verizon fios has better picture quality? You saw a reduction in the pixilation?

Bingo

Frame rate is huge with high speed action like watching a football game. This with also make a difference with picture saturation with the black being BLACK as opposed to shadowy or Grey.


Edit: Funny coincidence, the Dish Network guy was here this morning and we got new HD receivers with larger Hard
Drives and new remotes. Just so happens we got into a conversation regarding frame rate and the new 240hz Sony Bravias.

[Division]

Originally Posted by carguyg35

My tv is 1080p but it doesn't have the 120 or even 240hz like the new ones have. Plus the PS3 is connected via HDMI but the cable box is connected via a component cable. But I thought there wasn’t much of a difference between the two. Anyway being an average guy I am always checking out electronics and when I am looking around at best buy at the new LCDs with 120hz they don’t really seem much better. When sports is on I still see the pixilated look around the fast moving objects. I am thinking the compression that the cable company uses is mostly to blame here. So "division" you are saying verizon fios has better picture quality? You saw a reduction in the pixilation?

Remember, you are only as strong as your weakest link. If you are happy with the way your TV displays with the PS3 as the source, then your TV is not the weakest link. If the same TV that looks good w/ a PS3, looks horrible with cable as the source, than I think its a safe bet that your cable is the weakest link. This was exactly the scenario I was in, and after upgrading to Fios I saw a dramatic (in my terms, normal people would call it noticeable) increase in picture quality between the two. You could try upgrading to a HDMI cable (which being a digital signal as opposed to the analog signal used in component cables) - this could remove any issues (interference, cable quality) your component cables are causing.


As far as the newer TV's are concerned, LCD's will always be trying to make up for their response time, the newer technologies, 120,240 hz, motion flow, etc are all bandaids trying to make a cheaper technology perform better. Its cheaper keep the LCD factories turning out cheaper LCD panels and just invest in the technology to make them perform better... exactly what Sony/Samsung are doing today. A good friend of mine just got a brand new 7 series Samsung TV- that my 2 year old TV outperforms. As long as you have to compensate for an "always on" backlight (LEDs are coming close to making this a non issue) and a static refresh rate, you'll continue to be searching for perfection.

[kdo2milger]

Originally Posted by carguyg35

I have noticed when I am watching sports in HD the picture looks pixilated around anything moving quickly across the screen. I think it has to do with broadcast and not the TV. I don’t notice it when the PS3 is the signal provider (blu ray or games). I was wondering if you guys run into the same issue and could shed some light on the problem. I have time warner cable with the HD package. The TV is an older Samsung LCD.

i have dish network and they only broadcast in 1080i...even though my lcd is capable of 1080p it will only broadcast hd from dish in 1080i due to their system limitations...

not sure if thats the case for you, but that can have a slight affect on things like sports or other fast moving scenes...

[bigaudiofanat]

It is most likely the broadcast or the cable company. We have a 6 year old sony HD tv with sat HD hooked up with no problems and no pixiling.