The_Rev Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 I've never subscribed to any kind of TV, I have been perfectly happy with Freeview since it came out but I have had a HDTV for more than five years and other than videogames and the occasional Blu Ray it has been strictly standard definition content on the damn thing. I was really quite pleased to find out that since the digital switchover you can get Freeview HD for the price of a set top box, and those set top boxes start at about £30. I just picked up the entry level I-CAN Easy HD box for £34.99 from Maplin (classy joint!) and I am really impressed by it. I've got Wimbledon on BBC HD as I write this and the picture quality is superb. You can get the box for £28.99 on Play.com but I paid the extra because I wanted to pick it up today and I wanted an easier time returning the thing if it turned out to be a piece of shit. It's great though, I just wish I had picked it up at the start of Euro 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LancsVillan Posted June 26, 2012 Moderator Share Posted June 26, 2012 BBC are sticking red button to HD for Olympics too, channel 304 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted June 26, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted June 26, 2012 I got a question for you kids, especially seeing as the boxes are now so cheap (good spot Nays) How would HD content show up on an old CRT? It's just that a mate of mine is looking to replace a recently deceased FV box, but has an old CRT. I'm wondering whether it's worth getting one of the above boxes, for future proofing if nothing else... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted June 26, 2012 Moderator Share Posted June 26, 2012 Old CRTs don't have HDMI connectors, so you'd be using the SCART connector (assuming the box has one), and it would be Standard Def. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted June 26, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted June 26, 2012 Yeah, that one's got SCART and aerial out. Would display at all? Would the HD be noticeable I wonder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chindie Posted June 26, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted June 26, 2012 If it has a scart socket, it'll display on a scart equipped TV. But the HD will not be noticeable, it'll just be like any other normal Freeview broadcast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted June 26, 2012 Moderator Share Posted June 26, 2012 It'll be Standard Definition. SCART is an analogue connector, and the TV is not capable of the resolution required for HD. The picture should be fine, though and you'll be future proof, and he'll be able to watch the extra channels (though they only show the same content, pretty much). But why bother? he won't gain anything he hasn't got. Wait a bit, and get a HD box when he gets and HD telly. Things may be cheaper, or better by then, or maybe he'll want a recorder as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leviramsey Posted June 26, 2012 VT Supporter Share Posted June 26, 2012 There could be a slight improvement in quality viewing an HD broadcast on an SD TV as opposed to viewing an SD broadcast on an SD TV. A couple of years ago, while at my mom's place for Thanksgiving, I noticed that the HD picture looked better than the SD feed, but not that much better. So I checked the settings on the DirecTV box and saw that it was only configured to output SD (480i). Enabling 720p and 1080i output on the box really improved things. The reason is the lossy MPEG codecs. For the SD channels in the original configuration, this resulted in artifacts that were being passed straight through to the TV (480i input -> 480i output). In the case of watching an HD channel in the original configuration (IIRC, it was a Fox game when I noticed this), it was taking a 720p input stream, decoding it (with the artifacts that entails) and then downscaling (and interlacing...) it to 480i: the downscaling eliminates a certain amount of visible artifacting, so the result was a picture with fewer artifacts, thus marginally better. The same basic state of affairs (though the downscale is from 1080i to 576i; this should eliminate even more artifacting) applies in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted July 4, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted July 4, 2016 (edited) Bringing this thread back to life! I shall be cancelling my sky subscription next month and replacing it with a decent internet connection and a Freeview HD+ box. The only Sky TV I really watch these days is the odd thing on Sky Atlantic, and that can all be... acquired. Any recommendations? I had my eye on something like this Edit: also looking into "YouView" which seems like a decent option as well. Any advice on that appreciated also. Edited July 4, 2016 by Stevo985 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tegis Posted July 4, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted July 4, 2016 2 hours ago, Stevo985 said: Any recommendations? If I understand it correctly, Freeview is a DVB-T service. Don't you have such a tuner built in your TV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted July 4, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted July 4, 2016 1 hour ago, Tegis said: If I understand it correctly, Freeview is a DVB-T service. Don't you have such a tuner built in your TV? I have Freeview built into my TV, but not Freeview HD and not a recording/smart TV capability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tegis Posted July 5, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted July 5, 2016 Ah, as you were then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 If you already have the satellite infrastructure in place just switch the cables to your TV and use Freesat. (Pending the TV'S capabilities) failing that make sure your next TV has built in Freesat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 13 hours ago, Stevo985 said: Bringing this thread back to life! I shall be cancelling my sky subscription next month and replacing it with a decent internet connection and a Freeview HD+ box. The only Sky TV I really watch these days is the odd thing on Sky Atlantic, and that can all be... acquired. Any recommendations? I had my eye on something like this Edit: also looking into "YouView" which seems like a decent option as well. Any advice on that appreciated also. Good on you stevo, im thinking to leave sky too as they are getting too expensive for my liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted July 5, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted July 5, 2016 yep, I thought about doing that deal that Kingman suggests but I genuinely never watch Sky anymore. I'd be having it for the sake of it. I'd rather spend money on a really good internet connection and just have freeview. Makes way more sense. Anyway, after a bit more research I may go for the "youView" option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blandy Posted July 5, 2016 Moderator Share Posted July 5, 2016 15 hours ago, Stevo985 said: ...Bringing this thread back to life! I shall be cancelling my sky subscription next month and replacing it with a decent internet connection and a Freeview HD+ box. The only Sky TV I really watch these days is the odd thing on Sky Atlantic, and that can all be... acquired. Any recommendations?.. The thing I did (it was a while ago) was to phone up Sky to cancel my TV and internet and say I didn't want it any more (I really didn't). I then negotiated with Sky to get a deal which gave me no Sky TV subscription, fast broadband, and line rental and keep the functionality of the Sky box - so basically I had no need then to go and buy a new digibox for 150 quid or whatever they cost. I kept all the series link, remote record, stuff and just get the free to air channels (including the HD ones). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted July 5, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted July 5, 2016 6 minutes ago, blandy said: The thing I did (it was a while ago) was to phone up Sky to cancel my TV and internet and say I didn't want it any more (I really didn't). I then negotiated with Sky to get a deal which gave me no Sky TV subscription, fast broadband, and line rental and keep the functionality of the Sky box - so basically I had no need then to go and buy a new digibox for 150 quid or whatever they cost. I kept all the series link, remote record, stuff and just get the free to air channels (including the HD ones). Interesting, I hadn't considered that at all. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demitri_C Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 How you intending to watch Villa games @Stevo985 just out of curosity? Do you go pub or stream or other method? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stevo985 Posted July 5, 2016 VT Supporter Share Posted July 5, 2016 Season ticket for home games and stream/pub any others that are available. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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