Using LCD TVs in an analogue broadcast area

Rob Southampton · 10-10-2008, 08:52

I'm shortly moving to St Helena in the South Atlantic for a couple of years. Our old TV has just died and we were about to buy a Panasonic TX-26LXD7. Cable & Wireless who run the telecommunications/TV services on the island have told us that as modern LCD TVs are designed for digital transmission they have found them to be problematic with analogue transmission.

Not expecting anyone to know what transmission is like on St Helena, but would it depend on what type of LCD TV you had? If it has an analogue tuner as well as a digital one should it be OK, or is there a general problem with LCD TVs broadcasting analogue transmission.

Any advice much appreciated. Cheers.

soulboy77 · 10-10-2008, 09:18

I can only say that I have never had a problem with analogue reception on a LCD TV but then I don't know the quality of the C&W re-broadcast on UHF in St. Helena. This link gives some information on the service.

Nigel Goodwin · 10-10-2008, 10:19

It will work fine, LCD's are in use all over the UK in the many areas with no Freeview coverage - however, analogue does look considerably poorer than digital on an LCD.

Rob Southampton · 10-10-2008, 10:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin

It will work fine, LCD's are in use all over the UK in the many areas with no Freeview coverage - however, analogue does look considerably poorer than digital on an LCD.

But does analogue look better on a CRT TV than an LCD one?

soulboy77 · 10-10-2008, 10:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Southampton

But does analogue look better on a CRT TV than an LCD one?

Yes it does.

Nigel Goodwin · 10-10-2008, 10:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Southampton

But does analogue look better on a CRT TV than an LCD one?

Yes it usually does, the far sharper picture on an LCD shows the defects in the PAL encoding far more than a CRT does. However, some LCD's still look better than top CRT's, but digital (either terrestrial or satellite, via RGB) removes all the PAL and analogue problems.

Orbitalzone · 10-10-2008, 19:13

Luckily it looks like St Helena uses 'PAL I' so hopefully a UK spec tv analogue tuner will receive local broadcasts.

David (2) · 10-10-2008, 20:47

As long as the "digital LCD tv" also contains an analogue decoder (all but 2 models do I understand), there's no reason why it cant pick up UK UHF analogue channels.

Like with anything else on these lines, what you get quality wise will depend on how good the analogue signal reception is at a given location (in part variable by how good the aerial/aerial wires/plugs+sockets are).

I have not seen too much in the way analogue on LCD screens, but it vairies depending on how each tv uses the signal and scales it. Some do it better than others. My Sony LCD doesnt do a very good job with our snowy analogue Ch5 picture (it looks more snowy than it really is), whereas on the small LCD (Grundig) downstairs, the same channel on the same aerial looks very good, sort of 9/10. I recently visited a nearby town which 99% of the population are getting a signal from a small relay transmitter (no Ch5/no freeview until 2010), and in their little Sony shop (yes, they have one), the Sony LCD's were doing quite a bad job overall at displaying their analogue channels.

Dave

Nigel Goodwin · 10-10-2008, 21:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by David (2)

I recently visited a nearby town which 99% of the population are getting a signal from a small relay transmitter (no Ch5/no freeview until 2010), and in their little Sony shop (yes, they have one), the Sony LCD's were doing quite a bad job overall at displaying their analogue channels.

That's why you don't have LCD's or Plasma's on display showing analogue signals

We use all satellite (mixture of HD and SD), and DVD (again mixture of Blu Ray and DVD) - but local analogue pictures are rubbish anyway (main local transmitter on the wrong channels - political change, don't ask!).

There are loads of areas in the UK with zero Freeview and no CH5 - good for Sky and Freesat though.

10-10-2008, 08:52	#1
Rob Southampton Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 2	Using LCD TVs in an analogue broadcast area I'm shortly moving to St Helena in the South Atlantic for a couple of years. Our old TV has just died and we were about to buy a Panasonic TX-26LXD7. Cable & Wireless who run the telecommunications/TV services on the island have told us that as modern LCD TVs are designed for digital transmission they have found them to be problematic with analogue transmission. Not expecting anyone to know what transmission is like on St Helena, but would it depend on what type of LCD TV you had? If it has an analogue tuner as well as a digital one should it be OK, or is there a general problem with LCD TVs broadcasting analogue transmission. Any advice much appreciated. Cheers.

10-10-2008, 09:18	#2
soulboy77 Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Herts Posts: 17,005	I can only say that I have never had a problem with analogue reception on a LCD TV but then I don't know the quality of the C&W re-broadcast on UHF in St. Helena. This link gives some information on the service.

10-10-2008, 10:19	#3
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	It will work fine, LCD's are in use all over the UK in the many areas with no Freeview coverage - however, analogue does look considerably poorer than digital on an LCD.

10-10-2008, 10:41	#4
Rob Southampton Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 2	Quote: Originally Posted by Nigel Goodwin It will work fine, LCD's are in use all over the UK in the many areas with no Freeview coverage - however, analogue does look considerably poorer than digital on an LCD. But does analogue look better on a CRT TV than an LCD one?

10-10-2008, 10:42	#5
soulboy77 Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Herts Posts: 17,005	Quote: Originally Posted by Rob Southampton But does analogue look better on a CRT TV than an LCD one? Yes it does.

10-10-2008, 10:47	#6
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	Quote: Originally Posted by Rob Southampton But does analogue look better on a CRT TV than an LCD one? Yes it usually does, the far sharper picture on an LCD shows the defects in the PAL encoding far more than a CRT does. However, some LCD's still look better than top CRT's, but digital (either terrestrial or satellite, via RGB) removes all the PAL and analogue problems.

10-10-2008, 19:13	#7
Orbitalzone Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Sussex Posts: 12,173	Luckily it looks like St Helena uses 'PAL I' so hopefully a UK spec tv analogue tuner will receive local broadcasts.

10-10-2008, 20:47	#8
David (2) Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: S.West England. Posts: 18,037	As long as the "digital LCD tv" also contains an analogue decoder (all but 2 models do I understand), there's no reason why it cant pick up UK UHF analogue channels. Like with anything else on these lines, what you get quality wise will depend on how good the analogue signal reception is at a given location (in part variable by how good the aerial/aerial wires/plugs+sockets are). I have not seen too much in the way analogue on LCD screens, but it vairies depending on how each tv uses the signal and scales it. Some do it better than others. My Sony LCD doesnt do a very good job with our snowy analogue Ch5 picture (it looks more snowy than it really is), whereas on the small LCD (Grundig) downstairs, the same channel on the same aerial looks very good, sort of 9/10. I recently visited a nearby town which 99% of the population are getting a signal from a small relay transmitter (no Ch5/no freeview until 2010), and in their little Sony shop (yes, they have one), the Sony LCD's were doing quite a bad job overall at displaying their analogue channels. Dave

10-10-2008, 21:23	#9
Nigel Goodwin Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: North Derbyshire Posts: 41,789	Quote: Originally Posted by David (2) I recently visited a nearby town which 99% of the population are getting a signal from a small relay transmitter (no Ch5/no freeview until 2010), and in their little Sony shop (yes, they have one), the Sony LCD's were doing quite a bad job overall at displaying their analogue channels. That's why you don't have LCD's or Plasma's on display showing analogue signals We use all satellite (mixture of HD and SD), and DVD (again mixture of Blu Ray and DVD) - but local analogue pictures are rubbish anyway (main local transmitter on the wrong channels - political change, don't ask!). There are loads of areas in the UK with zero Freeview and no CH5 - good for Sky and Freesat though.

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Using LCD TVs in an analogue broadcast area