Upscaled HD Freeview worth it on a 17" WS TV?

If you want a 17" w/screen with built in freeview at a decent price
you wont go far wrong with the Humax and its got the excellent Humax
style menus etc like their set top boxes and PVRs. (Interestingly,
their 23" is their only model that doesn't use their own menus and
has the "almost standard" (Vestel, I think) menus like so many other
set top boxes). A clue to origin, probably, but still a much better
set than many.

Otherwise if you a 20" w/screen, the Toshiba is great.

Personally I think HD is pointless at the size and it is much more
effective to have a decent quality set with built in freeview as that
will also give you auto wide screen switching etc, which "S" video
connections will not. Sound quality is an overlooked issue as well
most of the time, and that is usually awfull with most cheaper LCD's

On 28 Jun, 00:52, wrote:

Personally I think HD is pointless at the size and it is much more
effective to have a decent quality set with built in freeview as that
will also give you auto wide screen switching etc, which "S" video
connections will not.

Can you elaborate on this? Am I wrong in thinking that all Freeview
material is in widescreen and hence it would be safe to leave the set
in the 'normal' (W/S) mode? If this isn't the case I might drop the
Freeview idea and stick to watching a terrestrial channel or whatever
the downstairs cable box is tuned to. I don't fancy changing the
screen mode every time I change channel (or programme even?).

Sound quality is an overlooked issue as well
most of the time, and that is usually awfull with most cheaper LCD's

That's one of the reasons I didn't want a PC monitor as in my
(admittedly limited) experience of those with speakers they've been
pretty naff. This Sony LCD TV however is pretty good and includes a
subwoofer. Okay, this might be pushing the term a bit but's it's got
plenty of bass for normal bedroom TV viewing, probably thanks to it
being relatively large given the unique shape of the bottom of the
unit.

Mathew

Can you elaborate on this? Am I wrong in thinking that all Freeview
material is in widescreen and hence it would be safe to leave the set
in the 'normal' (W/S) mode? If this isn't the case I might drop the
Freeview idea and stick to watching a terrestrial channel or whatever
the downstairs cable box is tuned to. I don't fancy changing the
screen mode every time I change channel (or programme even?).


You might hope! As an example, "NCIS" on channel 5 is clearly 4:3 but my
widescreen Sanyo, connected to a Ferguson Freeview box doesn't switch, even
using SCART. Now that might be because the relevent line isn't getting set
on the SCART lead, I don't know and I don't have time to care.

Actually most programs are 16:9 and the times when you need to change the
resolution are few and far between.

Paul DS

Can you elaborate on this? Am I wrong in thinking that all Freeview
material is in widescreen and hence it would be safe to leave the set
in the 'normal' (W/S) mode? If this isn't the case I might drop the
Freeview idea and stick to watching a terrestrial channel or whatever
the downstairs cable box is tuned to. I don't fancy changing the
screen mode every time I change channel (or programme even?).


The point is that most new programming is widescreen but not all. Some
local and foreign news, some foreign sport, and qiite a few US
programmes are still 4x3. Older programmes and much of the output of
UK History etc are 4x3.

Most decent widescreen TV's with built in digi will perform the
switching automatically (if they are set to auto) but with a seperate
Freeview box, they will only do this if they are connected with a
scart lead as the switching is handled by pin 8 of the lead, and then
only if the output of the digibox is set to 16x9.

I would estimate, by the way, that around 80% of the new customers I
visit will either have their Sky box, their Freeview box or their DVD
(or all of them!) set to 4x3 with a 16x9 TV.

The really annoying thing is that most people either don't notice,
don't care or prefer to watch everything stretched anyway, so as not
to waste any of the screen of their showpiece TV! "Never mind the
quality, feel the width" as they say!

"S" leads do not carry the switching signals

S video may not carry the SCART signalling, but any video method is
capable of controlling the switching, as long as the box producing the
signal and the display receiving it both understand and correctly
interpret the WSS information on line 23 of the signal.

I can't think of any way in which an S-Video connection would bugger
that up (with the caveat that I've not tried it myself; I use a
component connection, which also carries WSS properly).

So, when programmes like NCIS are broadcast on five, my box (actually
a Toppy PVR) signals that, and the TV switches to 4:3 mode (pillarbox,
black bars either side) automatically.

Not a SCART cable in sight.

"Nigel Whitfield" wrote in message
oups.com...
S video may not carry the SCART signalling, but any video method is
capable of controlling the switching, as long as the box producing the
signal and the display receiving it both understand and correctly
interpret the WSS information on line 23 of the signal.

I can't think of any way in which an S-Video connection would bugger
that up (with the caveat that I've not tried it myself; I use a
component connection, which also carries WSS properly).

So, when programmes like NCIS are broadcast on five, my box (actually
a Toppy PVR) signals that, and the TV switches to 4:3 mode (pillarbox,
black bars either side) automatically.

Not a SCART cable in sight.


OTOH, my Ferguson Freeview box, connected to a widescreen Sanyo TV using
fully wired SCART _doesn't_ switch automatically when NCIS comes on :-(.

Paul Ds

In article ,
Paul D.Smith wrote:
OTOH, my Ferguson Freeview box, connected to a widescreen Sanyo TV using
fully wired SCART _doesn't_ switch automatically when NCIS comes on :-(.

Doesn't on a Panasonic 4.3 set I have either - you have to switch between
16:9 and 4:3 manually. Even although an earlier Philips set I have does
this automatically.

--
*For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Doesn't on a Panasonic 4.3 set I have either - you have to switch between
16:9 and 4:3 manually. Even although an earlier Philips set I have does
this automatically.

That's interesting, you have a 4:3 set that you expect to switch to/from
widescreen? I've never come across that before.

Paul DS.

In article ,
Paul D.Smith wrote:
Doesn't on a Panasonic 4.3 set I have either - you have to switch between
16:9 and 4:3 manually. Even although an earlier Philips set I have does
this automatically.

That's interesting, you have a 4:3 set that you expect to switch to/from
widescreen? I've never come across that before.

It's a Panasonic TX 21, IIRC, and quite well specified (for its time) with
NICAM and two SCARTs, one RGB one S-Video. But to switch aspect ratio you
have to dive into the setup menu - quite a bore. I've tried it with
various FreeView boxes, and RTFM carefully.

--
*Am I ambivalent? Well, yes and no.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 30/06/2007 18:05, Alan Pemberton wrote:

Paul D.Smith wrote:
That's interesting, you have a 4:3 set that you expect to switch to/from
widescreen? I've never come across that before.

You've come across a second one now because my old 4:3 Fergie does as
well.

14" Sony portable here does it too (but it's hard to watch because when
it shrinks vertically down to 16:9 you get one very visible bright scan
line within the top black bar)