[opendtv] Re: "we'll forever be stuck with by going ATSC"
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2005 10:16:31 -0500
At 1:02 PM +1300 1/13/05, Barry Wilkins wrote:
>But I see that the consumer just will not get any dramatic benefit from
>for example HD DVD versus SD DVD on anything of 36'' or below legacy
>scanning based "TVs". They may notice a difference on small LCDs but the
>reality is the value of HD will not be realized without a large screen,
>i.e. 42" and above.
Exactly!
Standard DVD will look fantastic on these panels. And SDTV from cable
or broadcast sources will look much better than it did on an
interlaced CRT.
>
>Already even without HD input I get a very cinema like experience with a
>42" plasma viewed at a distance of 3M. This gives me a slightly smaller
>field of view than I would get at an actual cinema sitting mid way back.
>I am absolutely sure the image quality (perceived) is at least as good
>as I have experienced in local cinemas.
I agree completely. One need look no further than the success of DVD
to understand the success of HD home theater. But HD sports broadcast
are now becoming a factor here in the U.S. I expect more HD sets to
be sold in the next two weeks than in the months leading up to
Christmas. Comcast has crews working overtime to install HD cable
service in the Philadelphia area.
>
> I observe that there is a good deal of variability in the precision of
>focus adjustment adhered to in (local) cinemas and the sound
>systems/quality do not typically impress me. Therefore it is easy, in my
>own lounge, to have a far more satisfactory experience overall than in a
>local cinema.
The sound is typically better than the pictures here. Focus is only
part of the problem, and a good projectionist will deal with it. But
there is not much that can be done about the jitter that occurs as
the film moves through the gates of the projector. Studies I have
seen indicate that this can seriously reduce the delivered resolution
as the position of subsequent frames dances around.
Electronic projection is rock solid (assuming a good film transfer),
resulting in a significant improvement in delivered resolution.
>
>No extraneous noise from other people, privacy, being able to stop the
>show at will etc, etc, compensates very well for the lack of an enormous
>screen.
These are all major appeals of home theater systems.
>
>The only time I notice a distraction from the cinema experience on DVD
>is when artefacts occur and this depending on the quality of source
>material.
Yup. MPEG-2 has it's limits.
>
>So what about HD and broadcasting? If it is free like terrestrial
>broadcasting here, it would not impress me in the least. The pressure is
>on to constantly interject the desired material with commercials which
>are always set at a blaringly loud average sound level (compared to the
>desired material) that just results in infuriation and no recognition of
>the actual item trying to be marketed.
Bingo!
This is the major reason that broadcasters now attract less than 40%
of the U.S. TV audience when ratings are measured across all day
parts. They still draw somewhat larger audience during prime time,
but you still must deal with the interruptions. We tend to put up
with the commercials during live broadcasts, especially sports, but
otherwise, the upscale market mostly avoids this stuff.
>If on the other hand HD broadcast is via subscription I may take notice
>but only if it were a reasonable price and the material shown had any
>added value that exceeded that which could be obtained on HD DVD.
>Obviously for sport minded people this is a must and I am aware that
>this would constitute a large portion of the ATSC adherents in the USA.
Correct. DBS gained traction among sports nuts first.
Regards
Craig
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