[5hane]

Everyone is saying how great the iPad is, so I popped into my local Apple store to see what all the fuss is about, in the hope that I would be blown away enough to treat myself to the latest model.
It was all very clever even if it was only doing the same things that my iPhone does, but what I was most disappointed with was the picture quality.
I tuned into BBCi player and the quality of the video was terrible. I am sure it would be fine if I was watching uploaded content, but as for streaming, my 7 year old desktop PC’s monitor has a far better picture. I even tried other websites, but the video was equally as bad, even content that was supposedly HD.
For 450 smackers I would at least expect it to be clever enough to make streaming video look good.
Perhaps I was expecting too much for this apparently amazing device. Perhaps if it cost £100, I would give it a second look.

[TheBigM]

Originally Posted by 5hane

Everyone is saying how great the iPad is, so I popped into my local Apple store to see what all the fuss is about, in the hope that I would be blown away enough to treat myself to the latest model.
It was all very clever even if it was only doing the same things that my iPhone does, but what I was most disappointed with was the picture quality.
I tuned into BBCi player and the quality of the video was terrible. I am sure it would be fine if I was watching uploaded content, but as for streaming, my 7 year old desktop PC’s monitor has a far better picture. I even tried other websites, but the video was equally as bad, even content that was supposedly HD.
For 450 smackers I would at least expect it to be clever enough to make streaming video look good.
Perhaps I was expecting too much for this apparently amazing device. Perhaps if it cost £100, I would give it a second look.

It will look better on the iPad 2 (but text will look worse).

[whoever,hey]

Regarding your iPlayer quality issues, isn't this because the bandwidth wasn't good enough to stream HD content? iPlayer automatically feeds you the bandwidth the network can muster without stuttering.

So it would be fine at home, but crap on the wifi in the Store perhaps?

[5hane]

Hi guys.
Better on the iPad 2? Hmm I should have tried that one before I left the store.

The video wasn't stuttering, it just looked a bit rubbish... like a badly ripped VHS tape

[Pretinama]

Originally Posted by 5hane

Everyone is saying how great the iPad is, so I popped into my local Apple store to see what all the fuss is about, in the hope that I would be blown away enough to treat myself to the latest model.
It was all very clever even if it was only doing the same things that my iPhone does, but what I was most disappointed with was the picture quality.
I tuned into BBCi player and the quality of the video was terrible. I am sure it would be fine if I was watching uploaded content, but as for streaming, my 7 year old desktop PC’s monitor has a far better picture. I even tried other websites, but the video was equally as bad, even content that was supposedly HD.
For 450 smackers I would at least expect it to be clever enough to make streaming video look good.
Perhaps I was expecting too much for this apparently amazing device. Perhaps if it cost £100, I would give it a second look.

That's OK. You don't have to buy one. Though my iPad 2 seems to stream BBC iPlayer and other content very well; it seems just as capable as my Nexus 7. I suppose the advantage it has over your 7 year old desktop PC is speed and portability. But people value different things

[Adam Law]

In my eyes (and I should say I am a geek) an iPad isn't a desktop PC replacement, but it is a laptop replacement.

[5hane]

Originally Posted by Pretinama

That's OK. You don't have to buy one. Though my iPad 2 seems to stream BBC iPlayer and other content very well; it seems just as capable as my Nexus 7. I suppose the advantage it has over your 7 year old desktop PC is speed and portability. But people value different things

Yes I have been considering the Nexus 7. I'll try that in-store and see how the streaming compares to the iPad.

[5hane]

Originally Posted by Adam Law

In my eyes (and I should say I am a geek) an iPad isn't a desktop PC replacement, but it is a laptop replacement.

A laptop replacement with a wasted number of pixels as far as I have seen so far.

[whoever,hey]

Originally Posted by 5hane

The video wasn't stuttering, it just looked a bit rubbish... like a badly ripped VHS tape

Yes, you've totally misunderstood what i was trying to say.

iPlayer gives you the feed your bandwidth can cope with. Because the shop has a crap bandwidth, then it only gives you a crap quality feed, like a badly ripped VHS tape.

[psionic]

Originally Posted by 5hane

Yes I have been considering the Nexus 7. I'll try that in-store and see how the streaming compares to the iPad.

Unfortunately iPlayer won't work out of the box currently. The app should be updated fairly soon though.

[5hane]

Originally Posted by whoever,hey

Yes, you've totally misunderstood what i was trying to say.

iPlayer gives you the feed your bandwidth can cope with. Because the shop has a crap bandwidth, then it only gives you a crap quality feed, like a badly ripped VHS tape.

Oh OK, I assumed that low bandwidth would just make the image stutter.
If I do buy it, I can only hope my bandwidth is good at home.
I get mostly 3 bars (occasionally 2) on my iPhone at home, but of course the screen is too small to tell how good the picture will look on an iPad.
I have the Virgin-Media super-hub. Apparently its not great, but it is pushing out 30meg so hopefully better than what was going on in the shop.

[Voynich]

There must be better stuff than the iPlayer to test out! The iPlayer is pretty appalling on Android too. My Nexus 7 can handle 1080p without a blip but you wouldn't know it from the blocky mess that the BBC has released. Check out the Youtube HD trailers next time.

[5hane]

Originally Posted by Voynich

There must be better stuff than the iPlayer to test out! The iPlayer is pretty appalling on Android too. My Nexus 7 can handle 1080p without a blip but you wouldn't know it from the blocky mess that the BBC has released. Check out the Youtube HD trailers next time.

Yes I should have probably tried more than BBCi / ITV player and 4OD, but these are the channels I would want to be watching.

[psionic]

Originally Posted by Voynich

There must be better stuff than the iPlayer to test out! The iPlayer is pretty appalling on Android too. My Nexus 7 can handle 1080p without a blip but you wouldn't know it from the blocky mess that the BBC has released. Check out the Youtube HD trailers next time.

Mine only handles 720p

[IslandNiles]

Firstly, BBC iPlayer for iPhone and iPad doesn't support HD at the moment. So there's that.

It all depends on what you're streaming, where you're streaming it from, and your available bandwidth. Some stuff from Netflix looks absolutely fantastic, for example.

[Lushness]

Was just watching some of the new movie trailers on the iTunes app. The picture is bloody awesome!

[5hane]

Originally Posted by Lushness

Was just watching some of the new movie trailers on the iTunes app. The picture is bloody awesome!

Well I guess I can always watch trailers all the time then, rather than actually watching what I want to see on it.
It all sounds a bit limited.
Netflix just sounds like a place where im going to spend more money!
Anyway, if it is just a bandwidth issue in the shop, then hopefully it will look grand at home,otherwise they can refund me the money.

[whoever,hey]

Btw, I don't know it's just a bandwidth issue. It was merely a suggestion. But I know iPlayer does compensate for bandwidth for stutter.

[Lushness]

Originally Posted by 5hane

Well I guess I can always watch trailers all the time then, rather than actually watching what I want to see on it.
It all sounds a bit limited.
Netflix just sounds like a place where im going to spend more money!
Anyway, if it is just a bandwidth issue in the shop, then hopefully it will look grand at home,otherwise they can refund me the money.

Well you can do what you like, but I tend to watch films and/or TV shows and most of the time the picture quality is stunning.

[5hane]

I'll pop into Curry's next weekend and see what the streaming results are like compared to the Apple Store.

[IslandNiles]

Originally Posted by 5hane

Well I guess I can always watch trailers all the time then, rather than actually watching what I want to see on it.
It all sounds a bit limited.
Netflix just sounds like a place where im going to spend more money!
Anyway, if it is just a bandwidth issue in the shop, then hopefully it will look grand at home,otherwise they can refund me the money.

What do you mean when you say limited? What do you actually want to stream on it?

[5hane]

Originally Posted by IslandNiles

What do you mean when you say limited? What do you actually want to stream on it?

I thought it would be nice to catch up on terrestrial programs in bed: BBC / ITV / 4OD. Maybe its happier streaming paid for content.

[IslandNiles]

Originally Posted by 5hane

I thought it would be nice to catch up on terrestrial programs in bed: BBC / ITV / 4OD. Maybe its happier streaming paid for content.

They're limited by the quality of the streams that the various broadcasters provide. It's nothing to do with whether it's paid or not.

ITV catchup is poor on all platforms. 4OD is okay but not great. BBC iPlayer, as I said, doesn't have HD content yet for the iPad.

This isn't a limitation of the iPad though. Other than the Nexus 10, you won't find a better tablet screen.

[stud u like]

Originally Posted by 5hane

Hi guys.
Better on the iPad 2? Hmm I should have tried that one before I left the store.

The video wasn't stuttering, it just looked a bit rubbish... like a badly ripped VHS tape

I watch videos fine on my Ipad 2. The quality is really good.

[slick1two]

Try using tv catchup It does high quality streams. Also try some YouTube hd clips. My dad has an Ipad 3 and hd content looks really good on it. Don't use iplayer as a gauge to judge pic quality there are other video content providers to try. Do some research and then look up some other stuff.