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"One viewer just says no to the high of high-definition TV"

208.58.2.83

Posted on June 8, 2008 at 12:32:07
clarkjohnsen
Reviewer

Posts: 26843
Location: Massachusetts
Joined: May 5, 2000
An interesting counter-view.

clark

 

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livin' in the past, posted on June 8, 2008 at 14:15:31
Joe Murphy Jr
Audiophile

Posts: 4424
Joined: February 3, 2001
But as music lovers return to vinyl in droves... return to vinyl in droves... return to vinyl in droves... return to vinyl in droves... return to vinyl in droves..."

No matter how many times it skips, that comment's still bullshit -- pure and simple. Probably prefers tubes as well. How quaint: so early 1900s.

As for HD vs SD, the world needs a dose of reality. And I'm not talkin' 'bout that "Reality TV" crap, either.

 

RE: "One viewer just says no to the high of high-definition TV", posted on June 8, 2008 at 16:24:21
David Aiken
Audiophile

Posts: 5858
Location: Brisbane
Joined: September 25, 1999
"HDTV doesn't give us the real so much as the hyper-real, an artificial heightening of reality, the turning of a clarity knob."

Gee, HD is more real than real. I thought it was better than SD but still a tad short of the real thing.

"SDTV does for us what our consciousness does naturally - it filters out the unnecessary."

It certainly 'filters out' some things but are those things the ones we personally want filtered out all of the time. It seems to me we're better off letting our consciousness filter out those things we find unnecessary which may not be the same things as others find unnecessary. Leaving it to the machine gives us no choice since the machine has no idea what I personally want to see/hear and what I would prefer to see filtered.

It's only worth going for options which limit personal choice if the option only ever works the way you want. Otherwise you end up losing somewhere sooner or later.



David Aiken

 

reminds me of those people whose audio system is so revealing..., posted on June 8, 2008 at 21:01:01
tunenut
Audiophile

Posts: 9161
Joined: July 18, 2000
that now everything sounds bad. Never made a lot of sense to me.

After all, they can always use a table radio if they want the flaws to be buried.

Similarly, if video resolution bothers you, you will always have the option of getting a 12 inch screen, even black and white if you really look for it.

And never go to a movie in a theater, which is much higher in resolution than HDTV.

Doesn't make much sense to me either.

 

Hey !, posted on June 9, 2008 at 00:25:51
unclestu52
Dealer

Posts: 6982
Location: Hawaii
Joined: March 5, 2005
I like tubes and vinyl too, but I also like HD and was advocating it as soon as I saw the very first demos, a dozen or so years ago !


8^)


Stu

 

You take exception to his exceptionalism I see... nt, posted on June 9, 2008 at 07:34:49
clarkjohnsen
Reviewer

Posts: 26843
Location: Massachusetts
Joined: May 5, 2000
d

 

Two responses from friends, posted on June 9, 2008 at 07:38:03
clarkjohnsen
Reviewer

Posts: 26843
Location: Massachusetts
Joined: May 5, 2000
"That is especially true of CNN...the lighting in the studio is so surreal that people look as if they are covered in ultra-smooth pancake makeup or have been airbrushed to cover up any disturbing anomalies of the facial flesh...it's almost scary!!!"

"Think he'll go crazy in 10-15 years when they go to 4320P?"

clakr

 

Probably has the brightness and contrast way up, posted on June 9, 2008 at 10:58:27
Jon L
Audiophile

Posts: 6085
Joined: April 6, 2000
"then I think HDTV must be like crystal meth, delivering a rush of hyper-clarity and sharpness straight to the head."

From this, it's likely he's been exposed to the hyper-real turning up of brightness, contrast, and whatever else people like to turn up on their HDTV's.

"With great power comes great responsibility."

 

RE: "One viewer just says no to the high of high-definition TV", posted on June 9, 2008 at 12:45:38
Posts: 10307
Location: Lancashire.
Joined: January 21, 2001
"HD is com-modified realness, the world tweaked for effect."

Some people just like to have a good ol' moan, and it's worse when they're pretentious.

I'm making an assumption here, but he's probably basing his views on the factory settings designed to give exactly the hyper-detailed impression he describes.
I would have expected someone who feels qualified to write on the subject to at least know how to correctly calibrate his HD display though, so surely I must be wrong.

I suggest he buys himself some glasses with clouded glass and that he stuffs a little cotton wool up his nostrils and in his ears before leaving the house, better for rejecting all those sounds smells and details which he feels are distracting and unnecessary for living a rewarding life.



Best Regards,
Chris redmond.

 

The latest HD, posted on June 9, 2008 at 22:49:21
unclestu52
Dealer

Posts: 6982
Location: Hawaii
Joined: March 5, 2005
signals are superb and while theater video may be better but when films are first released eventually they develop enough jitter that their innate detail is lost for the most part. In speaking to a tech director for a local movie chain he was the first to point out that the sprocket drive slots on conventional film do cause the picture to flicker as the film wears ( the origin , no doubt, of movies being called 'flicker' shows, especially when coupled with a slower frame rate).

The latest HD sets reveal tremendous detail and one will be quite aware of f-stop issues and the depth of view in the choice of camera lenses selected by the original film maker. Much of the original opposition to HD TV was advanced by the major networks because they had to rebuild all their sets: newsroom first, and then their series' sets, because with HD the difference between real wood and veneer or laminates became obvious.

About two years ago there was an article in the Associated Press reporting on the Academy Awards ceremony where they pointed out that the stars have to redo their makeup, because HDTV could easily pick up the typically overdone applications.

If you do a lot of viewing of older material, many gaffes become very evident with an HD monitor. Some find it objectionable, but I find it fascinating to be able to clearly see compromises made in the production.

Stu

 

"Academy Awards ceremony where they pointed out that the stars have to redo their makeup", posted on June 10, 2008 at 05:49:28
GTF
OH! no.

You mean those actresses aren't as gorgeous as they appear? :-)

They get pimples!
Wrinkles?
Crows feet?

Dam they only look like the girl next door. :-(

 

FWIW the fellow is the Globe's TV critic. Programming-wise, he's reliable. nt, posted on June 10, 2008 at 09:07:49
clarkjohnsen
Reviewer

Posts: 26843
Location: Massachusetts
Joined: May 5, 2000
c

 

It's rather funny, posted on June 10, 2008 at 12:34:46
unclestu52
Dealer

Posts: 6982
Location: Hawaii
Joined: March 5, 2005
but when I sold HD sets, the first comment by most wives and SO's were that (insert your favorite female newscaster's name) had terrible make up or at least some other comment was made in regards to their complexion.

One girlfriend's comment made when her boyfriend purchased an HD set in the middle of the baseball playoff season was that a certain team didn't iron their uniforms. She also told me she knew the set was really good because she could tell if they were playing on AstroTurf simply by walking in front of the set without really looking at the screen (the boyfriend was an ISF certified tech, BTW).

Even with an older 768 line resolution screen (50 inch plasma) I could discern many camera issues. Watching the DVD of Field of Dreams you can clearly see the individual pieces of gravel around Costner's feet when he stands on the baseline but the gravel goes out of focus about 4 feet in front and behind him. In the the nude scene in Forrest Gump, it is clearly evident that the girl is wearing a body stocking as you can make out that her bikini marks are reversed: they are darker rather than lighter. In fact the scenes supposedly set in Viet Nam, you notice that while the soldier's faces are blackened and dirty, their uniforms and packs are immaculately clean: no sweat marks, no dirt....

For many familiar movies, watching them in HD meant that I spent the first times being enthralled by the background detail and the little glitches in continuity. Some may find it distracting, but I enjoy it as you get an idea of the detail and work it takes to set up the scenes. Some are funny as in the scene in Glory where the troops are entering the south and are welcomed by a gang of children you can see some one's hand with a wrist watch on it: a nice gold digital one too.... But most definitely you can tell the difference in a high budget film and one that was financially challenged.

Stu

 

RE: Hey !, posted on June 14, 2008 at 17:32:45
Raymond Leggs
Audiophile

Posts: 748
Joined: November 25, 2007
I love my 2o-24 Inch five year old Tru-Flat CRT TV.

I love my 1980's-90's Stereo cassette decks equallizers and CD players and such

I love my 1970's receivers

I love my just-now aquired but older HT system.

But I think that people for one need to be open to change. My older sound system might just stop working in a few years and then I will have to Buy and look at some of the older stuff. I can't be so narrow minded and focus so much on the age of the equipment that I End up being stuck in the past.

Hell If I can't take the turntable out of my soundesign all in one and Put it into a custom plinth - I could do away with vinyl playback all togeather. or wait for a real turntable to come along I missed out on a thorens with a bad belt.


If my CRT TV blows up I may just HAVe to buy a NEw TV and it won't be CRT if I can help it I could buy a Small 4:3 LCD or a used LCD PC monitor on Amazon.com and a VGA video Tuner so that the monitor can be used as a TV. that way I can move into the future and see why the LCD is so hyped. Heck My current PC monitor is LCD and I watched some movies on it and noticed that wide-screen movies were better on the 19 inch widescreen LCD.

I will Embrace HD when I get the money to do so Hell I probably will upgrade everything. You can't fight the future and I know that sometimes things change for the better, change is good.

 

But yes to the View.. glad to see irony is alive and kicking in high heels (nt), posted on June 20, 2008 at 07:44:19
late
Audiophile

Posts: 84405
Joined: April 4, 2000
.

 

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