HDTV Forum

I have a Panasonic TH-58PZ800U plasma that's hooked up to Verizon Fios. During motion scenes I get artifacts. especially during pan shots. If i were to play the same scene via DVD, it's clear as a bell and there's no problem. I've looked into this for a long time and Fios is saying the problem is with the suppliers (CBS, ABC, HBO, etc) that are only supplying the source at 720 dpi. Does this sound right? I've watched other TV's with other cable provider's and while I see the same problems, they seem to be more clear in my TV. My TV does seen to be sharper than the others.
Panasonic is now touting a 600hz sub-field for cleaner sports motion (mine is 480hz). I thought that was only a problem with LCD's.
This is driving me crazy. If it is an inferior picture from the source, why isn't anyone saying anything about it?
Any ideas?

Thanks,
SCott

Because the source is in 720p, that should not cause the motion artifacts. In fact, motion artifacts are reduced at 720p instead of 1080i. That is why ESPN broadcasts in 720p.

Compression also causes motion artifacts and other problems. Compression happens everywhere in the pipeline. The following two articles explain the difference between 720p and 1080i and the problem with compression.

viewtopic.php?t=11191
http://www.highdefinitionblog.com/?page_id=101

One thing which may help is to make sure you are watching in a normal mode rather then the default bright mode. I have seen image artifacts when the image is to bright. Here are some other things to check.

1. Do you get motion artifacts on all the channels or just some channels? This will help determine if it is a source problem.

2. Do you get it on all programs with motion or just some programs? Make sure you are watching HD content. Just because it is on an HD channel doesn't mean it is HD content. I have noticed that the quality varies drastically on the same channel.

3. Do you get motion artifacts when viewing over the air? Typically, over the air gives you the best quality due to less compression. However, I do not know how well it compares to FIOS. If you don't get motion artifacts when viewing over the air than you know it is how FIOS is handling the signal.

4. How is the FIOS box configured? Is it configured to pass on the format or does it convert it to 1080i or 720p all the time? Try each of the different modes to see which one works the best.

David

Gotta love these arguments over quality with your provider...

Cable is notorious for compression artifacts. About the only way you can know for sure and also shove the results in their face is hope that you can receive one or more local stations for direct comparison. Be aware that even your local is not HD perfect but I would not be surprised if you found the cable version has more artifacts.

There are two kinds of motion artifacts - one is related to frame rate, 60 versus 30 frames. This one is for the performance user to detect and appreciate. For most folks that one goes right over their head. ESPN uses 720p because it supports 60 frame content which is great for sports.

Based on that the motion artifacts you are experiencing have everything to do with compression and as you noted pans are the worst. That's because pans require full bandwidth since everything on the screen is constantly changing, a common problem.

Bear in mind that proving your case is unlikely to change anything from your provider. Satellite can suffer from this same problem.

What you and I and others can see (the minority) most folks do not for a variety of reasons and providers will compress as much as the majority will allow.

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