MPEG2 -> MPEG4 Transition Discussion: HD Theater

Please commence discussing!

Still a blank screen

I re frame from judgment since the shown movie isn't in HD.

Disc. HD Theater working here

Does the PQ look any different from the MPEG-2 version?

digitalfreak said:

Does the PQ look any different from the MPEG-2 version?

Click to expand...

On Sunrise Earth, I could see greater detail and less graininess especially on panoramic shots.

Absolutely! Much greater picture quality!

tonyd79 said:

On Sunrise Earth, I could see greater detail and less graininess especially on panoramic shots.

Click to expand...

I also switched back and forth for Sunrise Earth and the difference was definitely notable with a sharper, crisper picture.

It looks better to me, but not as much as some of the other channels. I think their shows are mostly mastered in MPEG2.

I think it looks quite a bit better than it was.Still watching.

ChrisPC said:

It looks better to me, but not as much as some of the other channels. I think their shows are mostly mastered in MPEG2.

Click to expand...

Sitting 6 feet from my 42" plasma I could not tell any difference. Maybe a bigger screen, being closer, or having LCD might be a different story for others. Must remember MPEG4 codac will mean more HD down the road. Will have to "curb my enthusiasm" for a few more weeks.

The challenge with doing "comparisons" are that different people have different equipment, and more important....image quality is dependent on the quality of the original source material, which varys.

photostudent said:

Sitting 6 feet from my 42" plasma I could not tell any difference. Maybe a bigger screen, being closer, or having LCD might be a different story for others. Must remember MPEG4 codac will mean more HD down the road. Will have to "curb my enthusiasm" for a few more weeks.

Click to expand...

I had to look right at my 37" LCD from a few inches away to tell a difference, and that was only on fast moving scenes.

ChrisPC said:

I had to look right at my 37" LCD from a few inches away to tell a difference, and that was only on fast moving scenes.

Click to expand...

Yes but if you can see it at all, it means the picture experience will be better overall. Sometimes I cannot quantify it but I can see that some pictures just look more "real" so I look at specific things to see if the quality is better. Text or small details a noisy environment (like a crowd scene or panoramic view) will help determine PQ. Also, dark to light and light to dark transitions.

Most of the MPEG2 PQ was acceptable and if you were just watching material that was good enough to hold your interest based on the content, you wouldn't notice the PQ. But a lot of the MPEG4 stuff will make you sit up and take notice. An example on ESPN2 this morning was Mike and Mike. A lot of the ESPN studio stuff looks artificial but the details seem there. This happens on my Comcast hookup as well. But this morning, it looked like Golic was sitting in my living room. Much better than I anticipated.

tonyd79 said:

But this morning, it looked like Golic was sitting in my living room.

Click to expand...

i hope u had alot of donuts n bagels.

I'm pretty sure HD Theatre was changed back to 1920x1080 after Malone got control. So it was pretty good for MPEG2 via D*, hence not a big leap with MPEG4. Just a better bitrate.

hdtvfan0001 said:

The challenge with doing "comparisons" are that different people have different equipment, and more important....image quality is dependent on the quality of the original source material, which varys.

Click to expand...

Understandable but if someone is switching back and forth between the channel in the 70's and the Mpeg4 channel, on the exact same equipment, and notices a difference then I'd say there is a difference.

RunnerFL said:

Understandable but if someone is switching back and forth between the channel in the 70's and the Mpeg4 channel, on the exact same equipment, and notices a difference then I'd say there is a difference.

Click to expand...

I still think its very close to the same on both channels....I compared them via 2 sets - 1 on one channel and the other on the new MPEG4 channel for the same program at the same time.

I can see a bit more difference on ESPNHD than on HD Theater.

hdtvfan0001 said:

I still think its very close to the same on both channels....I compared them via 2 sets - 1 on one channel and the other on the new MPEG4 channel for the same program at the same time.

I can see a bit more difference on ESPNHD than on HD Theater.

Click to expand...

Not to knock your test but comparing using 2 sets isn't the same as comparing using 1 set. Yes, you'll see differences in quality when comparing channels using 2 sets, that's a given. However if you see differences comparing channels using the same set, same dvr then I'd say it's the channel that made the difference.

As far as comparing ESPNHD to HD Theater I can see where you'd see more difference with ESPNHD. HD Theater already had a pretty good picture, ESPNHD did not.