Sky HD

[drummerman]

I take the risk of sounding daft but there are a few issues that I can't seem to solve with the Sky HD after an hour of fiddling with it;

On BBC broadcasts there's the red interactive logo in the top right hand corner. On freeview I can get rid of it by pressing the green button on the remote. Doesn't work with the Sky Box. Is there a way ?

Is it best to leave the Sky box on the 1080i setting? There seems to be a few channels which scale automatically but by doing so add black bars top/bottom. Again on my tv I choose full screen and the bars don't appear. Any way to do the same on SKY HD?

Thanks

 

[daveh75]

press the back up button to get rid of the red button thingy,

have you tried setting the sky box to auto, although that does seem to cause a delay when channel changing

 

[mattjax05]

daveh75:

press the back up button to get rid of the red button thingy,

have you tried setting the sky box to auto, although that does seem to cause a delay when channel changing

The delay should only occur when flicking between HD and SD and visa versa.

 

[drummerman]

Thanks daveh75 and mattjax05, I will try that.

regards

 

[Sorreltiger]

I think you'd be better off letting your Pioneer do the upscaling of SD, drummerman, so - yes - try the Sky box on Auto. ÿPersonally, I don't find the pause while the TV works out the new resolution that irritating.

 

[drummerman]

I will try that too. Thanks Sorreltiger.

regards

 

[drummerman]

I have now tried to set the Sky HD box to both 1080i and Auto respectively. It does not seem to make any difference to broadcast SD quality.

PQ in SD is visibly inferior to the built in free-view signal of my Kuro ie. noticeably softer and darker with more noise.

It was mentioned somewhere else that running a scart feed in addition to HDMI from the Sky Box to the TV will give better quality.

Has anyone tried that?

Also, would changing the HDMI lead that came bundled with the Sky box reap any benefits?

Thanks

 

[Gerrardasnails]

drummerman:
I have now tried to set the Sky HD box to both 1080i and Auto respectively. It does not seem to make any difference to broadcast SD quality.

PQ in SD is visibly inferior to the built in free-view signal of my Kuro ie. noticeably softer and darker with more noise.

It was mentioned somewhere else that running a scart feed in addition to HDMI from the Sky Box to the TV will give better quality.

Has anyone tried that?

Also, would changing the HDMI lead that came bundled with the Sky box reap any benefits?

Thanks

I don't understand how adding a scart lead would make any difference. Changing the hdmi cable might be worth trying. I'm surprised that the free view signal is better, especially as auto is letting the Kuro do the upscaling. A decent hdmi like the QED hdmi-P £20ish will at least give you peace of mind. If the picture doesn't improve then you know it's the Sky box. If it does improve, you can let everyone know that hdmi cables do make a difference!!

 

[Anonymous]

Changing your HDMI lead, for the one supplied by sky should make a big difference to the picture quality.

And definately find having it set to auto works best, it prevents the sky Hd box scaling, then the TV re-scaling to it's native resolution.

In terms of Freeview looking better, I read an artical recently in Home Cinema Choice mag, which shows the main channels watched and there resolutions on the two formats, and unbelievably, besides the HD and prime sky channels, the rest had much better resloution on the freeview format, especially ITV's channels.

So you are best sticking with freeview where you can. I try not to watch anything nowadays unless it's in HD, which is hard sometimes I know.

 

[digigriffin]

I understand that Sky broadcast at 1080i with Sky+HD, so setting to auto and the box would have to scale that for 576p?

So does setting to auto actually get the Sky+HD to scale?

I leave my Sk+HD set to 1080i.

Also in Picture Settings set "On-Screen Icon Timeout" to on, which will remove the red dot after 30 seconds automatically.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Also in Picture Settings set "On-Screen Icon Timeout" to on, which will remove the red dot after 30 seconds automatically.

Thanks for that - I will be changing mine tonight.

 

[drummerman]

markjaspi:
Changing your HDMI lead, for the one supplied by sky should make a big difference to the picture quality.

And definately find having it set to auto works best, it prevents the sky Hd box scaling, then the TV re-scaling to it's native resolution.

In terms of Freeview looking better, I read an artical recently in Home Cinema Choice mag, which shows the main channels watched and there resolutions on the two formats, and unbelievably, besides the HD and prime sky channels, the rest had much better resloution on the freeview format, especially ITV's channels.

So you are best sticking with freeview where you can. I try not to watch anything nowadays unless it's in HD, which is hard sometimes I know.

Thanks markjaspi

I got a QED HDMI-P here on loan and will try that tonight. My dealer leave their SKY HD on 1080i and having tried both options myself I can't see any difference, though the better cable might make a difference. I'll post my findings.

regards

 

[Gerrardasnails]

drummerman:markjaspi:
Changing your HDMI lead, for the one supplied by sky should make a big difference to the picture quality.

And definately find having it set to auto works best, it prevents the sky Hd box scaling, then the TV re-scaling to it's native resolution.

In terms of Freeview looking better, I read an artical recently in Home Cinema Choice mag, which shows the main channels watched and there resolutions on the two formats, and unbelievably, besides the HD and prime sky channels, the rest had much better resloution on the freeview format, especially ITV's channels.

So you are best sticking with freeview where you can. I try not to watch anything nowadays unless it's in HD, which is hard sometimes I know.

Thanks markjaspi

I got a QED HDMI-P here on loan and will try that tonight. My dealer leave their SKY HD on 1080i and having tried both options myself I can't see any difference, though the better cable might make a difference. I'll post my findings.

regards

I'm truly interested in your findings DM as I know that stereo is your real expertise and you will give an honest review of your findings.

 

[Anonymous]

My issues with Sky HD is the box is annoyingly noisy and sometimes the sound seems a few frames out of sync, especially on HD channels.

 

[drummerman]

The QED HDMI-P lead makes a difference. Less noise and more detail. It's not a huge gain but clearly worth it for 50quid considering the cost of the set/most sets.

I'll try the CHORD as suggested by the dealer next and make my mind up on which one.

regards

 

[Gerrardasnails]

drummerman:
The QED HDMI-P lead makes a difference. Less noise and more detail. It's not a huge gain but clearly worth it for 50quid considering the cost of the set/most sets.

I'll try the CHORD as suggested by the dealer next and make my mind up on which one.

regards

Good to hear! You can get the old QED HDMI-P for £20.

I wonder what the hdmi cable sceptics/Gadget show believers think of Drummerman's findings??!

 

[daveh75]

doesn't surprise me in the slightest tbh, sky freebie cables aren't always the best quality cables, and the way they're packaged sometimes cant help matters (i,e folded to the point of kinking to fit them in them bags)

 

[drummerman]

Gerrardasnails:drummerman:
The QED HDMI-P lead makes a difference. Less noise and more detail. It's not a huge gain but clearly worth it for 50quid considering the cost of the set/most sets.

I'll try the CHORD as suggested by the dealer next and make my mind up on which one.

regards

Good to hear! You can get the old QED HDMI-P for £20.

I wonder what the hdmi cable sceptics/Gadget show believers think of Drummerman's findings??!

Hi Gerrardasnails

I think it's actually easier to determine the benefits of say a better video connection over audio cabling. I think more people are visually orientated and recognize a good, more noise free, clearer picture quicker and easier than shifts in audio frequency such as achieved with different cables/interconnects, something which is mostly learned over years with exposure to a variety of different products. Then there's the issue of screen size. Any picture deficiencies are more obvious the larger the screen and whilst I personally probably draw the line with an HDMI lead before it reaches a 3 digit price tag (unless someone can show me different), if I were to use a projector or 60" panel I perhaps could be persuaded to pay more if the benefits are visible.

regards

 

[Gerrardasnails]

drummerman:Gerrardasnails:drummerman:
The QED HDMI-P lead makes a difference. Less noise and more detail. It's not a huge gain but clearly worth it for 50quid considering the cost of the set/most sets.

I'll try the CHORD as suggested by the dealer next and make my mind up on which one.

regards

Good to hear! You can get the old QED HDMI-P for £20.

I wonder what the hdmi cable sceptics/Gadget show believers think of Drummerman's findings??!

Hi Gerrardasnails

I think it's actually easier to determine the benefits of say a better video connection over audio cabling. I think more people are visually orientated and recognize a good, more noise free, clearer picture quicker and easier than shifts in audio frequency such as achieved with different cables/interconnects, something which is mostly learned over years with exposure to a variety of different products. Then there's the issue of screen size. Any picture deficiencies are more obvious the larger the screen and whilst I personally probably draw the line with an HDMI lead before it reaches a 3 digit price tag (unless someone can show me different), if I were to use a projector or 60" panel I perhaps could be persuaded to pay more if the benefits are visible.

regards

I agree. However, there have been many people on here that refuse to even contemplate that digital cables can be different. With analogue cables they can see the science and therefore believe it but with hdmi cables, they always harp on about 0s and 1s. It's very difficult to change someones mind when they don't want it changed.

 

[Andy Grange]

I actually saw the bald guy with the glasses from the Gadget Show in Birmingham New Street station last night, with that new presenter. I was very tempted to just go up and start an argument with him....

 

[Anonymous]

i would have been tempted to just slap him.

i'm not usually a violent person, but...

 

[bigblue235]

Gerrardasnails:I don't understand how adding a scart lead would make any difference

The reason for using scart is that it sends 576i, rather than 576p, so no picture processing is done by the Sky box. Even when using 'Auto' the Sky box is still deinterlacing, however it's deinterlacing abilities are often criticised. Many decent sets make a far better job of it.

I have my box hooked up with both. The HDMI cable probably gives more detail, but certain things just look better over the scart, movies especially.

I have my HD box set to 1080i, I just feel that I get better results either letting the HD box do all the processing, or none at all