[deans6571]

Hi people ...! This is my 1st post on these forums....!

I have recently switched from my Philips 28'' CRT tv to a new Samsung 32'' HD tv. I have to say that - the difference in picture quality when playing my Xbox 360 on it - is truly stunning......!

However - when I watch my Virgin cable ( Virgin's standard cable box & NOT the V+ HD one!!) on my new tv, the quality of the picture doesn't seem to be that great.....

Don't get me wrong - it IS better than my old tv - its just that on the Samsung tv, the picture seems to be a little pixelated at times. This is most noticable if there is a close up shot of somebody's face for example - you can see slight pixels....

Also - there appears to be slight ghosting of some fast moving images on the screen i.e. if there is a shot of someone or something moving fast from left to right - you'll see a very slightly delayed ghost of the image ......

Its hard to explain but do you know what I mean...?!

Is this normal when viewing standard definition broadcasts on a High Definition TV.......?!!!

[smcicr]

hey, welcome to the forums.

you don't say which samsung you have but general rules of thumb would be:

1. make sure the tv is configured to best display the content (see here: http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=513376) I have a sammy panel too (R87 model) and I found the setup tips on that link made a lot of improvement to the picture.

my panel will allow different settings for different inputs so while it sounds like the 360 is how you like it, maybe the tv input needs some tweaking?

2. make sure the connections between the virgin box and the tv are in the optimal places - ie: i'm assuming it's a scart connection - you may have only one scart socket on both devices that will supply RGB connectivity - make sure these are being used.

3. check that the virgin box is set to output the best quality it can - someone else may be more help here as I have sky but there may be an option on the virgin box to output different quality of signal.

there may or may not be a benefit in buying a better quality scart lead (depending on what you have) but i'd definitely check the above first.

hope that helps.

[shippd]

I've just bought a Panasonic 42" plasma to replace a 32" Philips Pixel Plus CRT, and initially the picture quality from the inbuilt Freeview tuner and external Freeview PVRs was a little disappointing, watching from approx. 10'.

Then I reinstated our Virgin TV service by going for the V+ box available for £75 installation. What a difference ! Not only do we get HD but the V+ does a very good job of upscaling SD channels over HDMI - visibly better than Freeview internal tuner or via Scart.

So in your particular situation I would strongly recommend the V+ option.

[deans6571]

.....hey - thanks for the help! I will check my TV settings using the info on that link you provided.

If I upgrade my Virgin Cable box to the V+ model - are all the channels broadcast in HD or is it only a select few..?

[Nigel Goodwin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by deans6571

If I upgrade my Virgin Cable box to the V+ model - are all the channels broadcast in HD or is it only a select few..?

There are essentially NONE - only BBC HD is available on VM, they don't have any bandwidth for HD. The only other HD is available as VOD.

[smcicr]

There is pretty limited HD content on VM but the benefit PQ wise is that the SD channels get an upscale - not to HD levels - but most people tend to agree that it's a definite and noticeable improvement over 'normal, non upscaled SD'.

And obviously you get the added bonus of a machine that offers recording capabilities etc as well

[goomba]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

There are essentially NONE

You hit an N by mistake.