Doh, i stand corrected
Have posted i couldnt see difference in SD - HD Just tried the tennis/ serve/ net shots, and it is alot clearer in HD.
Viewing distance on either SD or HD Doesnt make any difference to the picture.

Dam, grass looks better when they are sat down for a break, doh i think im getting HD bug

Havent spotted it before as didnt have same shot on same program on both channels long enough to spot the difference.

Dam, going have to pay sky the extra to turn it on now, thanks guys

Oh and ps, it is a new panny plasma.

So although you and others appear to be bewildered by the fact that because my TV handles SD very well and therefore the step up to HD isn't as pronounced, you now concede that it may not actually be the case that I need to go to spec savers, rather it may be because we have different TV's?

Ok. I just did it properly rather than relying on a sense of "I'm sure it's better".

Normal viewing distance is about 10' or a few feet more at the other end of the settee. Toggling between tennis on SD & HD there's a clear difference, of the nature that I've been trying to get across.

Move to the back of the living room and sit in the corner, it turns out to be about 16' from screen to head, roughly. Toggling between the two there's still a clear difference. The detail on the shirt logos is more apparent, the Rolex clock looks sharper, the scoreboard digits are much more clearly defined. Most clearly of all though the motion blur that turns the grass to a green mush on SD isn't present on HD, at 16', 10' or 3'6.

Sneer and deny it all you like, but HD is better, and that difference doesn't disappear at the quite small distances (12') that some would have us believe.

I think this has already been covered, but normally HD downscaled would/should look far better than SD upscaled, but a certain Nigel seems to think your TV can't show HD that well so the difference might be negligible. I have no experience with your TV so I don't know.

But it would appear that it upscales and displays SD very well, far better than mine and too a level that you are happy with so I really don't see the problem, enjoy it.

But that doesn't mean that SD is comparable to HD on most larger HD ready or Full HD TV's, HD should look a lot better and from any reasonable distance. (not just the silly newspaper test distance) So as HD doesn't shine on your TV it is understandable that SpecSavers might be mentioned or even an upgrade to a more modern TV.

It well may be the case. However, you have to accept that we don't all have the same TV's or have them set up the same. In fact there are far to many variables to be prescriptive.

Well given I usually keep a TV for around 15 years and this one is only 5 years old there's a way to go yet.

I'm not bewildered that your TV has good scaling, I'm finding it hard to believe the level of detail you say your TV presents when showing SD, your description could be easily taken for HD resolution, which technically speaking is not possible. I too have very good upscaling, but it doesn't give HD presentations.

I have seen some setups where the user has compromised their HD viewing simply because of picture settings, some have even been watching through scart. I've seen controls set so high you'd need sunglasses to watch, so it's entirely possible to wreck a HD picture by an incorrectly adjusted TV. So with this on mind it's also entirely possible to have a TV adjusted in such away the differences between SD and HD are closer in appearance.

I accept what you say. However, as said much earlier in this thread, I had mine professionally calibrated. I'm not saying my SD PQ is better than the HD or that I can't see some difference, as I can. What I say is that because the TV does a good job with SD, taken in conjunction with the distance I view the TV from the difference isn't significant enough for me to go to the bother of selecting the HD variant. Simple as that really.

Right, so now we're all agreed that HD offers a better PQ than SD. Finally.

I'm not sure I've ever said different. For me it is how much better is it and viewing distances. Come on keep up.

Again it's one of those some TVs have better upscaler then others mine is really poor so I can clearly tell the difference on my hd ready screen.

An interesting thread.

I usually watch my 42" LCD Panasonic from around 8ft. Somehow I'm just not comfortable viewing any closer. The improvement that HD brings is still very obvious on most types of programme.

Mind you, even at 12ft away the difference is clear to see. But I do have (with specs) perfect vision.

Some people are not fussy though. At a friend's house last night, we were watching BBC 1 rather than the HD version. But as he views via scart I guess any improvement would be marginal.

I recorded Seasick Steve at Glastonburyy on BBC4 earlier this evening and watched it a short while go. PQ was excellent but tbh it could have been shot on a 1978 hand-held with comet tails and smears for all I care, SSS is brilliant in any definition, H, S or Crap.

By coincidence soon after my recording finished BBC2HD showed a clip from the same set. Whoah - qu'elle difference sur la mere. <<? Me neither.

HD wins, again. Even when the content should override the quality, when presented with the same thing in two defs there's a clear winner.

I listened to SSS on BBC4 and on the clip on BBC2HD. As is my want for music I switched the AV amp to 5 channel stereo so sound-wise no difference. PQ difference not noticable. Saw the stray threads on the patch on his jeans just as clearly.

Two different technologies though. We have two LCD TV's besides the Plasma and the picture delivery is a totally different experience.

I've absolutey no idea who you are talking about.

Indeed so - but I wasn't comparing LCD with Plasma. Just HD with SD on my particular TV.

Off topic, the 5.1 sound on Wimbledon programmes is lovely. It really does feel like sitting with spectators all around you.

Wasting licence fee payers money on an elitist sport then shoving it down the viewers throats and basically scrapping the schedules? I don't think so.

Agree.
With things like iplayer, catchup, red button etc it should mainly be on those, we arnt all intrested in tennis

Maybe the bbc should get ther own sports channel, after all they have a dedicated news channel

This issue was featured on POV the other week - there was the usual condescending answer from a senior BBC exec or 'god' as they liked to be known as. When asked why they had to switch from BBC2 to BBC1 just because a match was reaching its climax/overrunning this was the reply. BBC is our flagship channel and as such it's only proper that the viewer should be treated to the best from the BBC (or something akin to this). Do the BBC think the viewer incapable of either switching channels or actually staying on the channel they are watching?

The BBC should scrap Wimbledon. Just like it did with Prem football, cricket, rugby, F1 and all the other elitist sports. Then we can all enjoy moaning about how good things used to be.

While I hate tennis, I personally very much enjoyed watching the F1 qualifying and Moto GP live today and all in HD (not that you care) and all while others were watching various tennis matches.

I think the BBC deserve a medal!

I actually don't mind the tennis myself, but couldn't get my head round why on Friday the tennis (Murrey game) had started on BBC1 which then moved over to BBC2 while the news was on and then as it overrun went back to BBC 1 and the BBC1 schedule moved to BBC2 until the match finished.
Instead of all the faffing around, why didnt they just leave the tennis on BBC 2 all along.
And just to keep this post on topic, the tennis did look much better on HD than it did on SD

Some people just aren't happy unless they're moaning.

We've had a busy day watching the BBC in HD too, recorded all the Moto GP on Red Button HD this morning. Watched the important bits of F1 qualifing, then watched the Laura Robson match (not normally a tennis fan but don't mind supporting Brits at Wimbledon). Finally got round to watching the MotoGP race with our Cal and now I'm watching a load of geriatrics at Glastonbury.

But then you also have to appreciate that for millions of viewers that sort of schedule is their idea of a bad day out. Speaking personally I would rather have my teeth out than endure all that. Why should the schedules be totally disrupted for all of that? BBC should have a dedicated sports channel now the country is fully digital and give the rest of us a break - in SD of course.

Not forgetting our Scott in the Moto2 race.