What does an HD signal look like on an SD tv?

[rivethead]

I'm currently on Dish Network paying about $55/month for 100 channels of SD content. I'm also using a SD tv and connecting the satellite receiver to the tv via S-video cable.

However, I'm considering switching to one of Dish Network's all HD packages. I can get 50 channels for like $35/month with their base package. But those 50 channels encompass all the channels we watch in our house.

So the benefits as I see it would be:

1) Cost savings of about $20/month (probably less, but still a savings)
2) I'd be prepared for when I do buy an HDTV (hopefully this summer)

But my big concern is that an HD signal will look like crap on an SD tv.

Should this be a concern, or will there be no difference (other than I won't be seeing all the resolution that I could be)?

 

[Muadib]

nm

 

[PurdueRy]

It looks just as clear generally as you would expect from a quality digital signal. The only difference being that it will be displayed in widescreen on the SDTV. So you may find your picture is smaller than you like.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: PurdueRy
It looks just as clear generally as you would expect from a quality digital signal. The only difference being that it will be displayed in widescreen on the SDTV. So you may find your picture is smaller than you like.

Yep. Pretty much.

 

[rivethead]

Thanks for the responses. I never thought about the format difference.

 

[sivart]

If your TV / Box allows you may be able to crop the image to see it 'fill' the 4:3 screen....unless of course you have a 16:9 SDTV / EDTV.

 

[spidey07]

Your TV might also support squeezing wide screen content and accept 480p so that all 480 lines are displayed (with black bars top and bottom). This would result in a better picture than just SD alone, but not by a whole lot.

If your TV has component inputs it's likely it can and does.

 

[SearchMaster]

Originally posted by: spidey07
Your TV might also support squeezing wide screen content and accept 480p so that all 480 lines are displayed (with black bars top and bottom). This would result in a better picture than just SD alone, but not by a whole lot.

If your TV has component inputs it's likely it can and does.

I have a 480p projector and the difference between HD and SD feeds is huge. Obviously the flaws in the SD feed are magnified on a 100" screen.

 

[nakedfrog]

My friend got a TurboHD package, and it included SD versions of all the channels, IIRC.

 

[Kaido]

fwiw, HD-DVDs look better than DVD movies on my 27" SD Tube TV

 

[erwos]

Something else to consider is that ATSC and HD-DVD/Blu-Ray both have vastly improved colorspaces over NTSC. That alone should result in a nice quality improvement if your TV has s-video or component inputs.

 

[rivethead]

My TV has component inputs (two sets) but I'm only using them for the dvd. This is because my current Dish Network DVR/Sat Receiver only has composite or S-video output.

Thanks for the responses. I'm encouraged that component inputs will make a difference. I also need to go check the TurboHD package and see if it includes SD. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense that it would because I bet a lot of households will have a mixture of HD and SD tvs (that will be the case for me once I buy and HD tv).

 

[rivethead]

Ok, I did a bit more research on the Dish Network TurboHD packages.

I would need to get an HD Receiver/DVR. This piece of equipment would be $150 shipped. More if I want it installed.

But their HD Receivers/DVRs automatically upconvert SD signals and downconvert HD signals depending upon which output you use and what incoming signal you receive.

 

[themisfit610]

A well encoded HD signal, properly downconverted, and transported across component connections at 480i (or 480p if you're lucky) will look noticeably better than the same content's native 480i or 480p source.

For example, if you have both a DVD version and a BluRay version of a certain movie, and do a high quality re-encode of the BluRay disc down to 480p MPEG-2 (at the same bitrate as the commercial DVD, to be fair), 90% of the time your result will look much better

~MiSfit