SD - Standard Definition on your HDTV

[HD Library]

I have received numerous e-mails from the forum concerning poor picture quality when using k-band satellite - mini dish. This can also include cable. HDTV and DVD always looks great.


SD, or NTSC, was designed for a maximum picture size of 19" using interlaced scanning. Making it larger will not improve matters. Regardless of size the interlace system also helped to hide things and create a false impression of sharpness due to the visible "void" between lines. Because of this the exact same perfect quality signal will always look a little softer on an HDTV in comparison.

HDTV's are real TV's. They really work the way a TV is supposed to. This is truly a remarkable feat for consumers. This is also something manufacturers dread. A real TV will also show everything that is wrong which only leads to complaints from customers. Don't blame it all on your TV but it can probably take a small bit of credit. Most of the problems will be from your provider. Mini dish satellite SD is some of the worst video available. It is highly compressed and that is why it looks bad. Digital cable can also be compressed and often times is guilty of doing the same thing to their signal. Analog cable is full bandwidth but many companies are not keeping their delivery systems maintained or home owners do not have it distributed properly. Broadcast TV, if you can get a clean signal is quite good, DVD quality when it all works right. C-band satellite, the big dish, is the king of SD/NTSC DVD video quality - possibly better.

Some have noted with k-band satellite that using the 480P or S-video output instead of the 1080I for SD content improved the picture. While it shouldn't there are underlying reasons why it could be perceived that way. I recommend you try it and see for yourself what you prefer knowing that with other products component is always better than S-video or composite video output.

As far as the TV goes it has an internal line doubler or scaler so you can use NTSC signals because these have to be converted to the native scan rate of the display. Most are not the greatest and this is another way for the picture to look bad. They can degrade an image by introducing artifacts. An artifact is anything that has been removed or added to the original image. The whole discussion to this point has been all about artifacts. Videophiles should always budget in an external scaler in the event you are unhappy with the TV's. What kind of scaler you need will depend on your viewing habits, distance, sources, the scan rate(s) of your display and most importantly your knowledge of what an artifact free image even looks like. Most people, and many in the professional community as well unfortunately, have great difficulty with this and are perceiving artifacts as a normal part of the image. The DVDO Iscan II, Pro and new/current Ultra have received praise for native 480P displays (I still have my Pro for back up). Using a DVD recorder that supports 480P can also be used as an external scaler. If you have a native 1080I only display then these devices will not get you past the internal scaler. For this I use the Lumagen Vision. This scaler has many features that are of benefit beyond just scaling an NTS or DVD source. If you are sitting close to the display using 1080I/540P will reduce scan line visibility. For more information about scalers I recommend you get with a dealer that will educate you on what the scaler can do for your image and also install it for accurate performance in your system.

A final issue is how the customer controls are setup. This can introduce artifacts as well. For more information...

ISF and HAA - The Expression of Art using Science

Richard Fisher