Hdtv - Espn

[HammerJammer]

I have a Panasonic plasma (1080p) and the tip below I found on a message board made an enormous difference in the SD quality. I mean huge! So, if you have a Scientific Atlanta cable box like I do you have to do this. If not, maybe there is something similar for other boxes. Also, to enter the special setup mode you have to hit the buttons on the box, not the remote.

Here is a little tip for people with this TV (I have 50pz700u) using a 8300HD DVR/cable box. This will allow as much up-scaling to be done by the TV instead of the cable box (the 8300hd has a crappy scaler). But best of all, SD channels will fill the screen by default instead of you having to change the Panasonic's Aspect or the STB's Zoom button everytime you change channel from HD to SD. This really minimizes the amount of times that I have to use the TV's Aspect button or the STB's Zoom button.

Enter the 8300HD's advanced set-up:
1) Turn 8300HD power off
2) Press Guide-Info buttons at the same time

Choose 16:9 and advanced setup. Follow the instructions to activate only 3 of the 6 resolutions:
1080i (top left option)
720p (top right)
480p Standard (bottom left)

So you should have only these 3 things in the list of display modes with green dots next to them in the STB's advanced setup. After that, when watching TV again use the STB's remote to make sure Picture setting is set on "DVI/HDMI" instead of Fixed or Upscale.

FYI, while viewing television, you can use the Recall button on the Panasonic remote to see what signal that channel is coming into the TV as. After following the above setup recommendations you should see 480p for all analog or digital SD channels, and 1080i or 720p for all HD channels.

Now whenever you change channels to an SD channel, that is a channel that is coming into your TV from the cable box as 480p, the SD channel will automatically default to the "JUST" Aspect ratio on the Panasonic. The image will fill the screen without any side-bars and without cutting things off the way the Zoom modes cuts things off.

HD channels, that is channels that are coming into your TV from the box as 1080i or 720p will of course will default to the "FULL" aspect ratio.

Now the only time you will see sidebars is when an HD channel is displaying 4:3 content material.

And the SD channels look fantastic being upscaled by the TV and displayed in the JUST aspect ratio. Especially if the SD channel is being broadcast digitally. Sometimes I find myself using Recall just to confirm that it's really only SD since the picture looks so good. If your SD channels look crappy, chances are they are analog SD channels and you have a not-uncommon crappy signal.

I learned this trick from a Cable TV technician who came to my house to troubleshoot a bad signal. He saw I had all the green dots in the advanced setup on and he goes, "I can fix this so it will almost always fill the screen, and this will be better". And he did. And it is!

ps: I have my stb hooked up via HDMI don't know if this will work otherwise.

Edit: Just confirmed that it's not that the TV defaults to JUST in 480p, instead the TV remembers what display mode you're in for 480p. So if you follow my Advanced Setup recommendations then set a 480p channel to FULL it will be FULL when I switch to any 480p channel. If I set to JUST it will stay JUST for all 480p channels. It was just coincidence I had 480p at JUST which is what I like anyway

 

[Bamapossum]

They got ESPN HD to work, so I guess they are off the hook for now.

While watching the WVU/MD game I did notice something weird though. There seemed to be one camera used on a few shots that caused a bit of noise in the picture. They would switch to another camera, and everything would be hunky dory.

Also, does WVU have some type of metalflake on their helmets? It really played heck with my eyes if they did.

 

[Ark-Tider]

They got ESPN HD to work, so I guess they are off the hook for now.

While watching the WVU/MD game I did notice something weird though. There seemed to be one camera used on a few shots that caused a bit of noise in the picture. They would switch to another camera, and everything would be hunky dory.

Also, does WVU have some type of metalflake on their helmets? It really played heck with my eyes if they did.

I noticed the metal flakes too. Had the flickering problem a couple of times as well.

 

[bamanut_aj]

AJ, I'm up on Monte Sano, north end, about a block from the park...

Gotcha. I used to run from HHS up to the park via Bankhead Pkwy and that old "sinkhole" road up the backside of the mountain; the one they finally shut down for good. Those were killer runs, but Coach Oaks had us primed for State every year I was there.

 

[DC Tide]

All the HD stations are coming in great, except for...E-S-P-N

Long-time lurker, first-time poster, etc. (I rarely have anything to add to the conversation.)

I do, however, have something to add to this post because I've been through many of the things that Bamapossum has experienced this week. Sounds like you've got everything fixed in time for tomorrow's game, but for the future reference of others, here's what I found:

1. HDMI cable. I know that you were pretty desperate to get the right cable so that you could finally see your HDTV (I know the feeling), but for those of you who will be getting HDTV in the future: DO NOT BUY AN HDMI CABLE FROM A STORE! Instead, order it online. They normally cost $70-100 in a store; I found mine online for $4.

2. ESPN not coming in. I'm sure this could be lots of things (I'm not a techie), but the same problem happened to me for certain channels. The culprit was poor signal strength. This problem was remedied by buying and installing a signal amplifier. It worked like magic. All you do is plug the amplifier into an AC socket (to give it power) then run your cable through the amplifier. I bought mine from Radio Shack for around $25, but I'm sure there are lots of choices out there. (I think someone else posted on this earlier.)

Finally, since this is my first post, let me praise the administrators for the fine job they do on this site. Unlike many other message boards out there, this one is informative and relatively free of slurs against our opponents, unsubstantiated rumors, and knuckle-dragging posters. Well done.

 

[bamachile]

Welcome aboard, DC! I assume that you are in our nation's capitol, and I offer my sympathies. Please do your best to eventually return home with no long-term damage to your morals and/or sanity.:wink:

Meanwhile, as you have spurned the ranks of the lurking, happy posting!

 

[DC Tide]

I assume that you are in our nation's capitol, and I offer my sympathies. Please do your best to eventually return home with no long-term damage to your morals and/or sanity.

It's too late for me, my son.

 

[MasterShake]

Most consumer electronics stores sell computers and electronics at slightly above manufacturer cost. They make their profits on cables, extended warranties and accessories. Notice how they try and upsell you so hard?

With that said you can get a perfectly fine HDMI cable off of ebay for about 7 dollars including shipping. Yea that 7 dollar HDMI cable from ebay works just the same as the $100 cable you buy at Best Buy and Radio Shack.

 

[rizolltizide]

They got ESPN HD to work, so I guess they are off the hook for now.

While watching the WVU/MD game I did notice something weird though. There seemed to be one camera used on a few shots that caused a bit of noise in the picture. They would switch to another camera, and everything would be hunky dory.

Also, does WVU have some type of metalflake on their helmets? It really played heck with my eyes if they did.

Welcome to High Definition my friend. Those flakes have been there all along, you just never saw them before.

 

[ColumbusTide]

It's too late for me, my son.

I spent twelve of the best years of my life in the DC area. I recently relocated to the midwest. Needless to say the perspective is quite different here ... eventhough I do live in the state capital of Ohio.

 

[rpeastep]

Heresy!!! He was NOT stopped on the one yard line...

In Black & White, he definitely scored.

 

[spock*]

Make no mistake about it. You could hear the thunder hit on Alabama's broadcasts in the 70s. Those guys only got 20 plays a game, so every streak of lightin' absolutely positively had to count. I've heard many explosions every Saturday....


It's a shame HDTV is 30 years too late.

Then came Keith Jackson and Brent Musberger on ABC's game of the week. Musberger hates Bama, but at least you could see it.

When Perkins got to Bama my 80 year old Grandfather and I watched games on TV. My grandfather always said Coach Bryant's teams tackle better and hit harder. He had probably seen 10 games in his life on TV. I guess Forney made it sound more vicious. LOL

 

[BamaChief]

Any suggestions or web addys for a good antennae. I live in a rural area about 20 miles or so outside Montgomery so i will need one that needs to have some range on it.

 

[cbi1972]

My new DVR has both outputs. I haven't hooked up HDMI yet, as the component looks great, and my entertainment center's a pain to deal with, but I may do so.

So I hooked up my DVR with an HDMI connection, and HD ESPN looks worse than it does over component cables. During the Yankees-Red Sox baseball game, there was visible noise in a grid pattern that looks similar to the effect on photos taken with a digital when taking pictures with too little light.

Maybe the component image was equally noisy, but the noise seemed crisper and a lot more readily apparent in the HDMI signal.

My HDMI DVD player, however, looks perfect, so I imagine the fault lies with the DVR's HDMI output.

 

[Aledinho]

With that said you can get a perfectly fine HDMI cable off of ebay for about 7 dollars including shipping. Yea that 7 dollar HDMI cable from ebay works just the same as the $100 cable you buy at Best Buy and Radio Shack.

Another option is to buy the HDMI cables for the playstation 3 at a game store. Those run around $25, and since HDMI is digital you should see the same quality as the $100 cables.

 

[HammerJammer]

Another option is to buy the HDMI cables for the playstation 3 at a game store. Those run around $25, and since HDMI is digital you should see the same quality as the $100 cables.

I was looking for hdmi cables in walmart and in their clearance section they had a ps3 hdmi cable for $12! That's what i got and it's just like a normal hdmi cable.

 

[beercop]

I know it is to late but buy a Vizio. Half the price with the same quality as the name brands. It also has a hidef tuner built in so no need in the cable company's boxs and extra charges. And no need in hdmi cables unless you play vidoe games.

 

[bat123]

Well I have a beautiful 42 in 1080p Hitachi plasma hanging on the wall in my apartment here and I get a grand total of 0 HD channels However I do get Orbit ESPN and should be able to see the game in Low res so I aint complaining.
If it's not on I listen to it on Yahoo but it looks like I might be able to get gameplan online.

Like someone mentioned earlier I rmember my dad driving around searching for a station and parking on the side of the interstate listening to a game......... Technology sure has come a long way.............

 

[Dartigan]

I know it is to late but buy a Vizio. Half the price with the same quality as the name brands. It also has a hidef tuner built in so no need in the cable company's boxs and extra charges. And no need in hdmi cables unless you play vidoe games.

Researching them now. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[cbi1972]

Researching them now. Thanks for the heads up!

Make sure any TV you get has all the inputs you need, if you don't have a switching A/V receiver.

This means enough HDMI and component inputs for:

DVD
Cable/Satellite box
Any video game systems you may have

If you plan on having a high definition DVD (blu-ray or HD DVD) and say, a PlayStation 3, both displaying in 1080p, then you'll need to make sure your TV supports 1080p, and that it has enough HDMI inputs. TVs probably will accept 1080p over component, and gaming systems will do it too, but I think HDMI output is required for movies due to the specification for protecting content.

One of the ways manufacturers cut costs is by skimping on inputs and outputs, so just make sure you're getting what you need.

Also, if you're using a home theatre receiver, like many people do, you don't need to worry about the quality of the speakers in the TV. In fact, you might want to go with a model that has tiny speakers that hide well, and just mute them.

Also, if you have digital cable, you WILL need a box from the cable company, even if your TV has a HD tuner. In fact, if you are going to have that digital set top box anyway, you might be able to find a model that has NO tuner (These are called monitors), and save some money.