Author Topic: Clarity of picture with Sky Platinum (Help) (Read 3296 times)

jordanmathew · « **on:** Nov 28, 2006 at 08:08 AM »

OK...My first post here. I am currently living in Ayala Alabang and have been researching HD now for last 8 weeks. Mostly watch Cable TV during the week but on weekends its time to break out the DVD for family viewing. Have narrowed down selection to either LCD (40 inch Sony, 37 inch Hitatchi or 40 inch JVC) or Rear Projection ( Sony 50 inch SXRD or 56 inch JVC HD-ILA). When askinhg salesman about general picture quality with a Sky platinum cable box they all tend to answer very vaguely or like I am speaking in Russian. Would like to hear from real users and subscribers to Sky platinum as to how is the picture when using a signal from the sky Digi Box and what is the picture like when with the newest SXRD rear projection ( Full HD 1080P)TV from Sony.

Will feel real stupid investing 200,000 plus peso to watch a snowy 50 inch screen.

Thanx

Jordan

baby · « **Reply #1 on:** Nov 28, 2006 at 08:17 AM »

AFAIK. Sky platinum with not give you the best picture quality or come close to HD. Sky Platinum only have more channels than Gold or Silver. On the Brands that you've mentioned. There's alot of threads or under Tv's that you'll find helpfull. Why not get a HD-DVD player to enjoy you 200k HDTV,LCD or Plasma.

jordanmathew · « **Reply #2 on:** Nov 28, 2006 at 08:39 AM »

Will defenitely get a HD DVD player. Tht is not even a question in point.

But again the question is will I get a clear picture using Sky platinum box? I am not expecting HD quality just a clean/clear picture like I am getting now on my 29 inch SD Sony.

So many people are now buying HD but am sure they are in for a "rude awakening" when connecting to Sky Gold and expecting the same picture they had ( or better) than from there previous TV.

Again.....HELP!!!!

And is there any where that I can actually see in a retail shop the picture quality of a HD TV using Sky platinum. One would figure this to be a great selling tool...unless of coarse the picture is Crap.

baby · « **Reply #3 on:** Nov 28, 2006 at 08:58 AM »

I think that I read somewhere here that the Picture squality is disappointing. Because you're using a bigger screan. The PQ is pixelize. I'll try to find the link.

baby · « **Reply #4 on:** Nov 28, 2006 at 09:03 AM »

this is the link. I hope this helps.

http://pinoydvd.com/board/index.php?topic=51117.0

jordanmathew · « **Reply #5 on:** Nov 28, 2006 at 09:38 AM »

Thanx for the link. Found this post.......sounds good to me!

also called sky and spoke to a slesman and he did verify that platinum customers are getting a very good picture using HD sets.

Re: SkyCable Platinum (Digital Cable)
« Reply #67 on: Jun 12, 2006 at 06:25 PM »

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I got the platinum today. since my hitachi 47 widescreen HD Ready RPTV sucks on regular skycable. All i get is a snowy picture. I decided to try out platinum since you can return everything if you're not happy with it. Paid 650 for the metro and HBO package together. Overall im happy with the picture quality. No more snow! Finally. I'd compare it to watching a VCD in terms of clarity. Before it was like watching with rabbit ear antennas on this TV. Had a chance to demo true HDTV programming in the states and man that rocks, I wonder when we will be having that here in the Philippines. From the looks of it, 2010 they will probably start thinking about it. Till then its Sky Platinum for me.

rok · « **Reply #6 on:** Nov 28, 2006 at 04:25 PM »

pwede maki-nood na lang sa inyo..... i'll bring pop corn para masaya

Shakobe · « **Reply #7 on:** Nov 28, 2006 at 05:32 PM »

Sagot ko soft drinks, puede

Ice Storm · « **Reply #8 on:** Dec 04, 2006 at 07:32 PM »

from a tech point of view there is no point in buying a hd display if your source is just standard definition (eg DVD, cable TV, Sky Platinium, terrestrial TV antenna).

i've already seen Sky Platinium on a 37" Samsung LCD and it looks like crap. I'm thinking your huge Sony wont do it justice either.

Your only choice at the moment to enjoy your Sony is to buy HD-DVD or Blu Ray players. They have the programing that can fully maximize your TV. Your other option is to download HD content from the Internet. There are 720p & 1080p movies & TV shows floating around. discussions on how to download them is not allowed on this forum though. Suffice to say that a 1080p movie would take a better part of a day to a week depending on how fast your DSL service is.

I was called a few minutes ago by Sky Platinium sales rep. They try to mesmerize you with DIGITAL when it doesnt help any, if at all.

You may be interested to know that the NTC is in the process of approving which digital TV and HDTV standard they will allow local content providers to broadcast in. For all you know the TV you buy now will not be compatible with the Philippine standard. It is expected that by 2015 all analogue SD broadcasts will be phased out in favor of digital TV.

akyatbundok · « **Reply #9 on:** Dec 04, 2006 at 08:24 PM »

clarity depends a lot on the screen size, viewing distance and video resolution.

HD sources will look great on a larger screen but the problem is your cable TV (or even DVD video) will look crappy on a screen that's too large..... cable TV, even if it is digital, isn't even 480p resolution so i think 32" would be the maximum size that doesnt let you see big pixels...... but for watching DVD's in progressive scan, i find 32" to be a bit small..... 37" or 42" seems a good compromise based on this table -- a little too big for cable but just right for DVD.

dannielsimone · « **Reply #10 on:** Dec 05, 2006 at 07:11 AM »

Icestorm...akaybundokt........Thanx for your input.

dannielsimone · « **Reply #11 on:** Dec 05, 2006 at 07:12 AM »

Today I have a scheduled home demo (on my sky platinum) for the 40 inch V series and the 60 inch SXRD. My interest is not to buy the V series but as they have no X series in stock the V serves as a test substitute.

Wish me luck!

nels76 · « **Reply #12 on:** Dec 05, 2006 at 08:36 AM »

Sir,

Minireview na lang po after the home demo.

ralfy · « **Reply #13 on:** Dec 05, 2006 at 09:19 AM »

I asked this question, together with one about viewing regular DVDs, around five times in different threads but received only one or two replies. Here's what I gathered so far:

The images in stores look great because high-quality video is used. Since many film buffs have combinations of regular DVDs and HD DVDs, then you're probably better off waiting for companies to come up with better flat panels.

Whether or not you see pixels appearing, or movement in film scenes slowing down, etc., is dependent on the disk played. Some regular DVDs look almost as good while others don't.

It's like that with Sky Platinum you will get only more channels. The video quality is the same as that of regular cable.

(Side note: if companies start requiring a cable box for each TV, then you'll have to pay for each set connected to cable. That might be one good reason to save money by not investing in a flat panel.)

Quote from: jordanmathew on Nov 28, 2006 at 08:08 AM

OK...My first post here. I am currently living in Ayala Alabang and have been researching HD now for last 8 weeks. Mostly watch Cable TV during the week but on weekends its time to break out the DVD for family viewing. Have narrowed down selection to either LCD (40 inch Sony, 37 inch Hitatchi or 40 inch JVC) or Rear Projection ( Sony 50 inch SXRD or 56 inch JVC HD-ILA). When askinhg salesman about general picture quality with a Sky platinum cable box they all tend to answer very vaguely or like I am speaking in Russian. Would like to hear from real users and subscribers to Sky platinum as to how is the picture when using a signal from the sky Digi Box and what is the picture like when with the newest SXRD rear projection ( Full HD 1080P)TV from Sony.

Will feel real stupid investing 200,000 plus peso to watch a snowy 50 inch screen.

Thanx

Jordan

motion55 · « **Reply #14 on:** Dec 05, 2006 at 10:46 AM »

Quote

if companies start requiring a cable box for each TV, then you'll have to pay for each set connected to cable.

if cable companies keep raising rates without the increase in quality, I would seriously consider abandoning cable and rely on my broadband internet connection for my programming. With bandwidth cost coming down and availability going up, that's almost true in my case.

Quote

That might be one good reason to save money by not investing in a flat panel.

On the other hand, I bought an LCDTV set because most programming from P2P download is widescreen. Notice that almost all HTIBs have DivX playback built-in.

dannielsimone · « **Reply #15 on:** Dec 05, 2006 at 10:51 PM »

OK.....in a nutshell. Had the 60 inch SXRD on the floor and the 40 inch V series on the the table. Had a great view of both sitting on my couch approximately 10 feet away. I was with my wife and the two installers (who had installed many a TV) and my electrician. I fed the sky platinum signal in to both units using the standard RCA plugs. The 40 inch LCD had a very clear picture with absolutely no snow or interference. Some channels looked better than others. The SXRD had a similar picture but was a shade or two darker. That is exactly what I hoped for!. However the picture Quality was really strange. Color contrast looked pretty good on close ups but became Hazy when switching scenes or as the camera moved side to side. Skin/flesh tones looked one dimensional with Very Little facial detail visible. The news casters on CNN looked like manicans. Very Very weird. Too me it was a bit disturbing. Watched a basketball game and it looked good when the camera was taking a close up shot but when panning across the crowd or just viewing the game(half court view) as so you could see the whole squad interplay the picture got a little fuzzy and most of the detail was lost. In fact you could not even read the names on there jerseys. I Then watched Italian football on Star sports. It was worse than the basketball game. Close up shots looked good but when the camera panned across the field to, get "the big picture" a brutal ghosting or shadowing effect came in to play on every players bright jersey. The ghosting was worse on the SXRD than on the LCD but was evident none the less. Installer tried tweaking for about an hour but could do very little. I found it hard to enjoy the game. Now having said all that this review is just my opinion of a first watch on a HD using a SD signal...perhaps I need to get used to the colors and lack of detail. It may have been just the shell shock of seeing my 29 inch wega sitting idle in the corner(LOL).

Pulled out the platinum box and viewed regular sky cable. Snowy picture appeared but after fine tuning did not look terrible. Some channels looked real good. Shutting off the room lighting helped a lot. Saw full detail. Color was back to normal. Seemed to be a major relief for me. Told my wife to put away the Valium.

Plugged in the 29 inch Wega and watchwed it next to the others. On my scale of 1-10..(when viewing sky cable/platinum...the 29 inch being a 10 for clarity .. I rated the LCD a 8 and the SXRD a 7.5.

FOLKS I WOULD BE HARD PRESSED TO AGREE TO WATCH CABLE TV ON A REGULAR BASIS USING THESE DISPLAYS. PICTURES WERE NOT AWFUL OR HORRIBLE...JUST NOT WHAT I AM USED TOO.

OK FOLKS....THIS IS WHERE IT STARTS TO GET INTERESTING.

INSTALLER PLUGS IN THE NEWEST TOSHIBA 1080P PLAYER. BOURNE IDENTITY. LOOKED REAL GOOD ON THE LCD. BUT ON THE 60 INCH SXRD PICTURE WAS BRILLIANT. I WAS BLOWN . AUDIO WAS PRETTY GOOD BUT NOT GREAT. DEFINITELY GONNA NEED THE HT .

TOLD THE INSTALLER TO PUT THE LCD BACK IN ITS BOX AND LETS REALLY SEE WHAT THE 60 INCH COULD DO (WITH MY LIMITED TECHNOLOGY). I ALSO TOLD HIM TO PUT THE TOSHIBA IN ITS BOX AND WATCH ON A STANDARD DVD PLAYER. MUST SAY I WAS BLOWN AWAY. MY DVDS LOOKED INCREDIBLE. MY VCDS LOOKED BETTER THAN EVER. THATS RIGHT FOLKS I REPEAT MY VCDS!!! THE COLOR ON THIS TV WAS INCREDIBLE. THE BLACKS WERE REALLY BLACK. SKIN TONE WAS PERFECT. ABSOLUTELY NO GHOSTING OR SHADOWS ON MATRIX, CONSTANTINE, LORD OF THE RINGS AND THE REST. and ANOTHER THING.....NO PIXELIZATION SIGHTINGS....AT ALL!. I REALLY WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH THIS SET AND IT WAS ALL USING STANDARD MATERIAL. MY WIFE AND THREE KIDS DID NOT WANT TO END THE NIGHT. I WILL RECOMMEND TO ALL TO TRY THIS ONE AND COMPARE IT TO ANY OTHER REAR PROJECTION ON THE MARKET. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED .

NEEDLESS TO SAY.........THE TEST ENDED AND I NOW AM THE PROUD OWNER OF "THE ULTIMATE TV"!

OH YES...ALMOST FORGOT.....I GOT A GREAT DEAL FOR CASH. AM LOVING LIFE! AND WOULD BE HAPPY TO SHARE THE WHERE AND HOW MUCH WITH YOU. DROP ME AN EMAIL..IT IS ON MY PROFILE.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

http://www.sony.com.ph/wega/detail.asp?product_id=1463&cat_id=3&subcat_id=76&subcat2_id=0

Galactor · « **Reply #16 on:** Dec 12, 2006 at 11:43 AM »

If you want to maximize the full potential of your HDTV you should get an HDDVD player with an HDMI connection to your audio receiver and HDTV. Set your DVD or HDDVD player to "progressive since your HDTV can receive a "1080p" signal.

As for the salesman he or she does not know exactly what your are talking about since they know nothing about HDTV technology.

I've visited Sky platinum's website and they did not mention anything about HD broadcasting. If they are broadcasting in HD like any most of the TV stations here in North America, SkyCable would've advertised that they are in HD.

Correct me if I'm incorrect. As far as what I have understood when I visited SKYcable's website, it is not even yet "interactive", meaning, you can not order programs that you have missed in regular programming and literally "play, pause, and rewind programs". And they did not mention anything about the programs broadcasted in 5.1 digital audio. It seems that I have overestimated Philippine TV.

To gain more understanding on HDTV, visit the website www.thehdguru.com, or websites of north american cable tv providers like rogers.com, comcast.com, verizon.com or bell.ca. They have very good examples of an HDTV set-up. Again if your source is not HD then you are viewing SD in your HD.

Galactor · « **Reply #17 on:** Dec 12, 2006 at 12:20 PM »

Dont waste your 200k on TV junk. Sky platinum simply got more channels and that is it. Not HD, no 5.1 channel broadcasting, no digital interactivity, no selection of top notch cable boxes,

Most HBO programs are available in HD and 5.1 channel. Such a shame If you could only see it in SD and stereo.

dannielsimone · « **Reply #18 on:** Dec 12, 2006 at 09:47 PM »

Sky platinum does not say they broadcast in HD. They only promote there platunum box will provide more cable channels and that is what it does. They also promote (verbally) that every channel will will have great reception ( VCD-DVD-like) and if fact that is true as well. What so many of us were wondering here is that if the clarity and reception is so good (platinum)than will the PQ look so much better than regular sky cable on a HD TV?

The answer is subjective but for the most part the answer is NO! Both Regular sky and platinum Sky do not come close to HD.

akyatbundok · « **Reply #19 on:** Dec 13, 2006 at 12:08 PM »

picture quality of Sky Silver and Sky Platinum is exactly the same on digital, just more channels on Platinum (no Discovery channel on Silver).

resolution is equal to or better than VCD, but sadly not as good as DVD..... some channels are better than others..... HBO isn't as clear as i would like, it should at least be as clear as CNN.... changing channels take about 3-4 secs w/c gets annoying after a while.

but overall i'm very satisfied with the improvement in clarity after switching from analog to digital at no extra cost..... i don't expect it to be HD, though it would be great if it was..... i guess we'll just have to wait.

dannielsimone · « **Reply #20 on:** Dec 13, 2006 at 10:50 PM »

so AKYATBUNDOKT....do you watch your sky on a HD TV?

What do you think of it?

scofield · « **Reply #21 on:** Dec 14, 2006 at 11:23 AM »

Hi guys!

tanong lang kamusta ba ang lcd tv ninyo sa cable broadcast? makakatulong ba ang cable signal booster?

naiinis na kase ko sa amo ko eh, bakit daw ang labo ng lcd nya sa cable tv channels, kinukumpara nya sa crt tv nya na napka linaw daw kapag nanonood siya.

nag bebenta kase siya ng lcd tv hindi ata makabenta dahil dun sa issue na malabo nga daw sa cable.

and lastly ano ba dapat i-expect sa isang cable tv signal using lcd compared to a crt tv?

thanks

akyatbundok · « **Reply #22 on:** Dec 14, 2006 at 11:30 AM »

mine is an old 36" widescreen CRT with native 1080i so i guess its a HDTV, though its only surplus.

with 4:3 aspect ratio, the video size is similar to a normal 27" TV so for me the clarity is okey..... i think if i get a bigger TV the quality is going to get worse..... i remember when i switched from 32" to 36" the cable video became worse..... that was when my Sky Silver was still analog..... when they converted to digital the improvement in clarity was enormous..... i think between 32" to 37" widescreen is a good size for enjoying digital cable TV..... for analog cable TV i wouldn't go bigger than 32".

too bad Sky's digital cable box only has composite video output -- there is no S-video or component video out..... would have been great to connect via component, i see a big difference in color depth between composite & component when playing DVD.

av_phile1 · « **Reply #23 on:** Dec 14, 2006 at 03:49 PM »

Do Sky's digital cable set top boxes have component connection to the TV?

dannielsimone · « **Reply #24 on:** Dec 15, 2006 at 10:27 AM »

Good morning to you all.

My Sky Platinum box has composite and S video connections. NO COMPONENT!

Funny thing is my no brand (Orange) DVD player has all connections including componenet....why Sky Platinum box would not have it is weak!

av_phile1 · « **Reply #25 on:** Dec 15, 2006 at 11:16 AM »

Ok so most cable set top boxes I know also have no component connection. So I am not surprised that cable signals would look crap on a flat panel display above 32" 480i signals will always look crap in large displays. DVD's 480i signals can look gorgeous because they are upscaled and deinterlaced to the screen's native progressive resolution via component or DVI or HDMI connections. Having no component connection a 480i video signal like cable sources will be displayed in all its horror.

dannielsimone · « **Reply #26 on:** Dec 15, 2006 at 11:30 AM »

Insert Quote
Ok so most cable set top boxes I know also have no component connection. So I am not surprised that cable signals would look crap on a flat panel display above 32" 480i signals will always look crap in large displays. DVD's 480i signals can look gorgeous because they are upscaled and deinterlaced to the screen's native progressive resolution via component or DVI or HDMI connections. Having no component connection

>And that is why my 60 inch SXRD is not in the family room where we tend to watch massive ammounts of cable....and it is why the 60 inch is in the cellar/HT because we will reserve that for DVD.< $:-\$

akyatbundok · « **Reply #27 on:** Dec 15, 2006 at 12:56 PM »

seems those free 21" - 29" TV's are a good idea after all.

if ever i get a really large TV, i'll probably do what you did and keep the home theater & cable viewing separate.... it's a good idea to keep a smaller TV for cable viewing.

av_phile1 · « **Reply #28 on:** Dec 20, 2006 at 03:05 PM »

Quote from: akyatbundok on Dec 15, 2006 at 12:56 PM

seems those free 21" - 29" TV's are a good idea after all.

if ever i get a really large TV, i'll probably do what you did and keep the home theater & cable viewing separate.... it's a good idea to keep a smaller TV for cable viewing.

That makes sense. I would think a lot of HT enthusiast do just that. Cable viewing is relegated to smaller TVs.

These days, many HT enthusiasts in the US and Britain reserve the large HDTV screens typically 50" and above for Blu Ray and HD DVD viewing, While a smaller 32" HDTV is reserved for upscaled DVD and cable. These people no longer receive SD cable, they're enjoying HD 720p cable broadcasts in 5.1. Kainggit talaga.

mercury724 · « **Reply #29 on:** Jan 07, 2008 at 11:22 AM »

mga sirs, dati kasi i heared about a device na gamit ng mga high end audio video shops that theryre using tawag nila is line doubler? para ma-achieve yung high picture quality sa mga LCD and plasma screens. pwede ba ito gamitin para sa ordinary cable broadcast natin like skycable?