Best picture from Sky SD on LCD TV

[admin_exported]

Hi,

From the sounds of it a fairly regular kind of query...

I recently bought a Samsung LE37R87BDX HD Ready LCD and got Sky +. I'm not very impressed with the picture and I'm guessing it'll be a combination of three things:

1. Cheapo SCART lead
2. Settings on the TV
3. Upscaling limitations of the TV from an RGB SCART source

I've played with the settings a bit, set Sky+ to RGB, used RGB SCART input on telly, bought a Philex 26481H SCART cable. Waiting for the cable to arrive, so hopefully should see an improvement.

I have considered buying an upscaling DVD recorder with HDMI, since I a have a naff DVD player anyway and would like to free up space on the Sky+ box, but how likely is the upscaling on the DVDR to be better than the TV, if my budget is £200?

Can there be a better way of connecting my set-up?

Can anyone help me with the TV’s picture settings? I have read Dominic Dawes’s advice post, but still not convinced I’ve got it right, particularly with the set-specific processing features.

I’m sure the picture could be a bit sharper and motion isn’t particularly smooth. I’m basically looking to make the most of my set-up without forking out a fortune…

Any help greatly appreciated!

 

[Anonymous]

I'd imagine you'll notice a big difference when you use a decent RGB Scart, i certainly did - i'm using a QED video only jobbie, can't remember the model.

I set my TV picture and sound using a Setup & utilities DVD, very useful indeed. It's called "The Ultimate DVD Platinum" and worth picking up it or something similar IMO. Once i used that i tweaked a little to get it to my liking, i felt it left the sub a bit overpowering in some scenes/music.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, will keep an eye out for it.

I've received my SCART lead, except it's not a dedicated video only one. I can't say I've really noticed much of a difference. I guess you should expect to notice the difference once everything else is set just right.

I know I shouldn't expect a perfect picture when feeding a Sky SD signal into a 37" HD Ready set, but surely my edges shouldn't be pixelated to a point where it distracts me from the programme!

 

[D.J.KRIME]

When I was using a Sky SD box on My Samsung 59"" HD plasma via a QED RGB video only scart the picture was fine, maybe the pixelation you are getting is either down to you settings on the set or a differnce between a LCD and a Plasma as my set is much bigger than your and I had very little picture issues.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply DJ Krime. I would have thought it might be because it was a plasma, as I've heard they have generally have a better picture on larger screen sizes.

If anyone can contradict that though, I'd love to hear further suggestions.

Anyone know how much of a difference an RGB video only SCART makes? I've seen on Wikipedia (search 'SCART') that you can make a SCART one-directional SCART by pushing one of the pins in. Is it worth it/advisable?