Sony 46EX503 Freeview SD Settings

[admin_exported]

Hi

Bought this LCD TV on the strength of the What HiFi review but have found Freeview SD picture is not great, especially via my Humax PVR (using scart). Within a couple of metres the picture quality can be quite poor (grainy/messy).

Do any members have some optimum TV settings they could share for best Freeview picture on this TV model?

Thanks

 

[DistortedVision]

Get a HDMI cable for a start.

 

[daveh75]

SD is never going to look good sitting that close to a 46" set!

 

[def lugs]

I have Panasonic 42"GT20 plasma and sit 2.5metres and is good for SD except for some of the poorer Freeview/Freesat channels. It still provides a better SD picture than my Toshiba 40" ZF355 did at the same distance, less blocks and artefacts. I prefer Freesat SD to freeview SD but Freeview HD seems to have the edge over Freesat HD. I presume this is down to signal strength.

I would definitely get an HDMI cable

For me you are sitting too close for SD, though I bet it looks great for HD sources at that distance.

 

[Anonymous]

SD looks OK on my Evesham PVR via scart,but no better via HDMI from my Panasonic DVD/HDD recorder

Baffles me.

 

[Andy Clough]

Ant69:
Hi

Bought this LCD TV on the strength of the What HiFi review but have found Freeview SD picture is not great, especially via my Humax PVR (using scart). Within a couple of metres the picture quality can be quite poor (grainy/messy).

Do any members have some optimum TV settings they could share for best Freeview picture on this TV model?

Thanks

Hi Ant 69, it's worth taking a look at our "How to get the best from your TV" video for some useful set-up and installation tips. You'll find it under the 'How To' tab on our video channel:

http://www.whathifi.com/Video/

And yes, definitely swap that Scart cable for an HDMI one.

 

[Anonymous]

Andy,

Are you planning to publish a matrix of SD & HD viewing distances for differnet screen sizes, as I commented in a previous stream some weeks back on inconsistencies in WHF viewing distances (in some caeses HD only, yet othersincluded a combination of SD & HD)?

Pauled.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Everyone and many thanks for taking time to reply.

My fault, I should have said my Humax is the non-HDMI 9150 model - at the time bought it for my 32" CRT so HDMI wasn't so important - if only I had got the 9300! I am using a Thor scart which What HiFi gave good write-ups to.

Realised how daft I sounded saying the picture is grainy within a couple of metres! I am not sitting and viewing within a couple of metres but am definitely now sitting much further away from the set than before. I am now viewing usually at about 3.5m - 4m.

Agree with the comment about viewing distance guides....The Awards issue has a diagram on page 40 on 'How to Buy A Television' which states if you are 1.8m to the TV, "buy a 46in screen". My closest armchair sits you at 1.8m but that will become the least used seat now probably! Yes this is no doubt for HD viewing and I didn't expect perfection but didn't expect Freeview SD to be so poor at 1.8m initially.

I say 'initially' above as having spent time tweaking a lot of the settings on the Sony, the picture is much, much improved - so far as to say I have watched a couple of films now in Freeview SD which look DVD-like at around 3m. And that is played on the Humax via scart as well. Sony's in-built Freeview SD is better still but mostly the family likes the PVR functions and its ease of use so we generally continue to watch through this.

Haven't seen HD on it yet, although have bought the Readers' Award Sony Blu-ray player and a QED reference cable. Haven't got Freeview HD in my area yet but will surely upgrade to a HD PVR with HDMI when it comes.

So now much happier and will check the 'How To...' video guides as well for further improvements, thanks for the suggestion.

Just a couple of questions I don't know the answer to..

1. With DSO, will the quality of Freeview pictures increase? I know signal strength will be boosted multiple times but will we see significant picture improvements? Some Freeview channels at the moment seem better than others.

2. I have a good quality aerial and cable going to a distributer/amplifier in the loft. From there it is cheap brown coax cable through the walls to my living room TV. Is there significant benefit in replacing the wall-hidden stuff with e.g. 'satellite-quality' black cable?

Thanks again

 

[Anonymous]

On your last point, I recently had a new aerial fitted together with good quality aerial cable (satellite grade) and I have seen a big improvement in Freeview reception. I know some of this is down to the new aerial but the installer (a highly rated local company) made it clear to me that my previous installation was wired with the old brown cable to a wall outlet, and from there a cheap aerial extension cable to the tv. The new aerial cable goes directly from the aerial on the roof into the tv (no termination in a wall socket), and he stated that a common cause of loss / poor reception is cheaper extension cables going off a quality installation. So, I would guess you would benefit from extending the quality installation in your loft directly to your tv using the same quality satellite-grade cable.

Hope that helps.

Pauled.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Pauled

I am trying to pluck up the courage to attach good cable to the brown coax and pull it through walls without the two coming apart! But I am glad to hear that replacing it could be of benefit.

Couple of years ago - prior to aerial upgrade - I took the plate out of the wall socket and linked the brown coax inside more directly (using a normal cable end plug and a good quality 1m aerial extension cable) to the TV and saw improvement in Freeview so yes I agree if I replace the stuff in the walls it should carry on through the hole in the wall socket straight to the TV(PVR).