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Post by kate on Jan 30, 2023 20:21:27 GMT
It is moving to HD only, so us still on SD are stuffed and can't get it without an HD box or TV. Yes, we are being punished.
Thanks, Kate. I now have to admit that I have no idea whether our TV is HD or SD.  I guess you'll find out if you start losing channels. |
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Post by JohnY on Feb 2, 2023 21:07:25 GMT
I am surprised that dear Nicola has not started a new channel for the Scots.
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Post by andy on Feb 2, 2023 21:40:55 GMT
I am surprised that dear Nicola has not started a new channel for the Scots. And call it Unicorn TV? |
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Post by JohnY on Feb 2, 2023 21:51:48 GMT
Thanks, Kate. I now have to admit that I have no idea whether our TV is HD or SD. I guess you'll find out if you start losing channels. I have a very old CRT TV connected to an old free view box in my bedroom and a so called smart, cheap Curies Panasonic TV, connected to a very cheap Panasonic soundbar in my kitchen. In my living room I do not have a TV as such. I have a Dell monitor with lots of ports. The monitor has a Dolby sound processor and good video upscaling. I also have a Free-view box that tunes to HD and standard transmissions. The sound from the monitor or freeview box are both connected to my low fi amplifier, a Marantz unit . The Marantz unit also accepts input from my radio tuner, Record player, and CD/DVDplayer. When playing DVDs the signal is directed to the monitor and sound has to then be passed to Marantz unit.
It all works near perfectly and I know how to connect it all up. Of course if I should lose my marbles I cannot even imagine a carer getting it all to work after moving it to a care home.
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Post by JohnY on Feb 2, 2023 21:53:04 GMT
I am surprised that dear Nicola has not started a new channel for the Scots. And call it Unicorn TV? Don't be cruel. |
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Post by andy on Feb 2, 2023 22:02:34 GMT
I wasn't  . How about Mc News then? |
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Post by nimbus on Feb 2, 2023 23:24:10 GMT
I should have said that via a dish is the only way I can get a good reception. Aerials are useless due to geography. That's why I went freesat. I used to have Sky but to be honest it was hubby who used that most often. BBC channels can be seen live via IPlayer so long as you have access to that platform, which then uses your internet connection provided it is fast enough (I don't know what the speeds are in your location). Quite useful for me as I occasionally want to watch BBC Scotland programmes. |
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Post by nimbus on Feb 2, 2023 23:24:37 GMT
I am surprised that dear Nicola has not started a new channel for the Scots. Give her time! |
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Post by willien on Feb 3, 2023 12:53:48 GMT
In Scotland BBC Alba is on Channel 7 and BBC Scotland on Channel 9.
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Post by peterob on Feb 3, 2023 13:38:13 GMT
Now that the BBC is reducing its channels to us standard watchers and going HD, do any of you use Freesat? I do and it is enough for me. I spend most of my time just listening so it's no big deal the picture quality. I see a cheap Manhattan freesat HD box so thought i would buy one soon. Any of you use freesat? Or are you all smart folks? What’s freesat? My favourite program at the moment is the replay of 1961 Maigret (in mono) on Tuesday nights at 20:00. Is HD high definition? |
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Post by nimbus on Feb 3, 2023 14:06:08 GMT
Now that the BBC is reducing its channels to us standard watchers and going HD, do any of you use Freesat? I do and it is enough for me. I spend most of my time just listening so it's no big deal the picture quality. I see a cheap Manhattan freesat HD box so thought i would buy one soon. Any of you use freesat? Or are you all smart folks? What’s freesat? Is HD high definition? Like Freeview but accessed via a satellite dish. You need either a box or a TV with built-in decoder (some LG and doubtless other brands include them). Yes HD is high definition. |
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Post by Chester PB on Feb 3, 2023 17:08:11 GMT
I don't use Freesat, but have been using Freeview since 2005 and my experience may help with your query.
I have a 17 year old 43 inch Pioneer plasma flat screen TV with 1280x768 resolution (state of the art in 2005, when all that was available 580 line Freeview SD or DVD). Its tuner is obviously SD only, but it works perfectly using its HDMI input with a much more recent Freeview HD recorder because the picture is 720 vertical resolution. The difference between SD and HD images is very obvious (especially on film credits or later series of Shaun the Sheep on CBBC HD), plus the HD signal can carry 5 channel Dolby Digital sound (the SD signal was only ever designed for 2 channel stereo). I carefully chose a Freeview HD recorder with a digital sound output because I have been sending the sound from TV, VHS, DVD and Freeview recorders to an external digital decoder linked to surround sound system (nothing new here - most of it's now 24 years old). This arrangement also allows me to record radio programmes easily, and play the back later with the TV set turned off once the recording has been selected. Radio 3 lunchtime concerts can sound surprisingly good, even though the BBC don't even use the maximum 256 kilobytes per second that Freeview SD allow for sound.
Unfortunately, ITV and Channel 5 routinely only transmit a 2 channel soundtrack on HD, even when 5 channel sound is available. But a decent modern film or TV production on BBC or Channel 4 can look and sound very good on HD. The only caveat is that the Freeview signal (SD and HD) is at a flat data rate, and sometimes large area of one colour exhibit 'banding', or scenes with very rapid movement can suffer, which is why optical disc sources incorporate a variable bit rate so that it can be increased for scenes like that (if the encoding has been done properly).
To answer your specific question, a Freesat HD box sounds like a good idea, but you will only get the best from it if it's used with a TV set that will allow you to see the benefit. Also, consider using it with a stereo system (even a small inexpensive one will sound better than a flat screen TV). Ideally it will have analogue sound output on 2 phono sockets, and a digital sound output too, so that you could connect to almost any sound system and listen with the TV set turned off.
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Post by kate on Feb 3, 2023 17:11:51 GMT
Chester - the sound quality is why I'm hanging on to my oldish TV set. Having tried a new TV a while back, I gave it away in disgust.
The HD box didn't arrive on the Island today. Blamed on strikes not the ferry. Should be with me Monday. The guy came round to tell me.
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Post by Chester PB on Feb 3, 2023 17:34:02 GMT
Chester - the sound quality is why I'm hanging on to my oldish TV set. Having tried a new TV a while back, I gave it away in disgust. The HD box didn't arrive on the Island today. Blamed on strikes not the ferry. Should be with me Monday. The guy came round to tell me. The sound on flat-screen TVs is dire because there's nowhere to put any decent loudspeakers, and most buyers don't ask about the sound when buying the set. My TV is old enough that when originally on sale its loudspeakers were an optional extra that were designed to clip to the sides of the display. I first experimented with sending TV sound to a cheap stereo system as long ago as 1980, linking a mono earphone socket on a TV to stereo amplifier and speakers. I've used something like this ever since, and the 5 channel sound on some Freeview HD stuff was the most recent 'upgrade' when I got a box with HD tuners. One later HD series of 'Shaun the Sheep' I can clearly see the Allen key sockets in the pupils of his eyes that allow them to me moved as required... and the makers had great fun with the sound too. |
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Post by dreampolice on Feb 3, 2023 18:10:02 GMT
A friend of mine has new 65" (or thereabouts) Sony TV with Dolby Atmos. When I heard it, I assumed it was using a sounder or a home theatre. It was just using its own built in speakers. impressive sound
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