toddvj Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 OK, I hope you are being sarcastic, and that this isn't really supposed to be secret. Hopefully anyone on this forum is smart enough to go through the set-up menus on ANY new piece of equipment they buy. I'd be willing to bet that there are hundreds, if not thousands of people who haven't gone into the set-up screen, though, and think they are watching HD. I bet there are even a few techs that don't know how to set this up properly, either. Heck, I bet almost everybody with Comcast is stuck with that horrible 4:3 override that you mentioned, and don't even realize that the picture isn't really supposed to be stretched out like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 Actually if you look at the back of a lot of new DVDs you'll see they say something like "Recorded in High Definition" or "Filmed in High Definition" Yeah, they say something like that. I can't find any in my collection, but I have seen them. I think they actually say Mastered in High Definition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el jopez Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 damn, VHS technology is supposed to be dead... and burried. Ok, so how do they compare to DVD's then, as in is there a point if there is a cheaper alternative? Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 I wouldn't rush out and get a D-VHS at this point in the game. They have been around for several years now, but all they ever were is a temporary solution until the HD DVDs came out. The quality is awesome, picture and sound. I'd expect probably about as good as the HD DVD formats will be. I'm sure if you wanted one, you could pick one up on ebay pretty cheap. And in a couple months, probably REAL cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blake_mooney Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 I believe that what HBO considers HD is actualy line doubling . If you switch from HBO to say The Discovery Channels HD , there is a big difference . Remember for true HD the image must be recorded in HD , broadcast in HD and received in HD . What HBO and other premium channels are doing is filling the screen on your wide screen TV , which ain't a bad thing . It is a bad thing, because they are advertising it as something it's not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blake_mooney Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 I wouldn't rush out and get a D-VHS at this point in the game. They have been around for several years now, but all they ever were is a temporary solution until the HD DVDs came out. The quality is awesome, picture and sound. I'd expect probably about as good as the HD DVD formats will be. I'm sure if you wanted one, you could pick one up on ebay pretty cheap. And in a couple months, probably REAL cheap. You scare me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyKlipschFan Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 OK, I hope you are being sarcastic, and that this isn't really supposed to be secret. Hopefully anyone on this forum is smart enough to go through the set-up menus on ANY new piece of equipment they buy. Todd, Comcast does not want you to know this at all. Your now in control of the box I hope you were not being sarcastic either. Yes, we in the know, should know what to do. SADLY a lot of people do not. Case n point.. My comcast guy when HDTV came out said I had full 5.1 sound out of the RCA left right 1/4 " cables. (NOT). I used the optical digital out for real surround sound and blew him away!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 I wouldn't rush out and get a D-VHS at this point in the game. They have been around for several years now, but all they ever were is a temporary solution until the HD DVDs came out. The quality is awesome, picture and sound. I'd expect probably about as good as the HD DVD formats will be. I'm sure if you wanted one, you could pick one up on ebay pretty cheap. And in a couple months, probably REAL cheap. You scare me. What do you mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 damn, VHS technology is supposed to be dead... and burried. Ok, so how do they compare to DVD's then, as in is there a point if there is a cheaper alternative? Joe Joe: Just as toddvj said, the quality is awesome: It surpasses DVDs because DVD is Standard Def...this is real Hi-Def. Don't be too quick to lump this into the same category as VHS. It's only real similarity to VHS is that it uses tape cartridges that are the same size as VHS and S-VHS. But ,those are analog. This is pure digital and recorded in MPEG-2 format. I too, would not recommend anyone run right out a buy one. Todd was right in saying that the format was really just a stepping stone until the disc-based formats such as DVD-HD and Blu-Ray roll out. The deck was $700 when I bought it 3 years ago. It originally listed at $1,000. It also plays and records S-VHS and VHS, so it's pretty versatile. I can plug my MiniDV videocamera right into it as it has Firewire (ieee1394) so it will dupe directly from the camera, which can be handly. The D-VHS tapes are very different from their VHS counterparts. Compression can be used to extend the recording time with little or no preceived degradation in sound or picture quality. VHS in SP mode has a limitation of 2 hours on standard tapes, and 6 hours in LP mode. D-VHS will record 5 hours and 7 hours depending on the tape. Just as in any tape format, winding and re-winding is always a pain, so I would prefer a disc format to this. However, with the advent of DVD-HD and possibliy Blu-Ray,...obselescence may be just around the corner for my receiver and projector as neither have HDMI or DVI Inputs or Outputs. DVD-HD has already said they will not allow a true Hi-Def signals to be sent from their component video out jacks (an agreement they had to make to satisfy the movie companies)! Blu-Ray is still on the fence with this. There is no way I am going to be buying another projector and receiver right away just so I can use the new discs. So, what started out to be just a "transition format", could eventually turn out to be my mainstay, along with thousands of other disgruntiled consumers who adopted Hi-Def early! Ironic, isn't it? Hey, that's okay; DVD-HD and Blu-Ray can kiss my butt anyway, because their are already 2 more, improved formats in the wings ready to pounce on them within a year of their introduction! When will it end? -Yikes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Currently the following methods are available to play High Definition stuff: 1.....D-VHS tapes 720P JVC VCR 2.....DVD-R+R, Dual layer discs 1080i m2t, ts, tp, HD-WMV, jpeg files 1080i Avelink & JVC players. About 30 minutes for 4.7 gig disc, 1hr for dual layer. (JVC $370.00 at B & H) 3.....EVD format Chinese codecs on standard DVD-R+R discs 4.....FVD format Taiwan system on standard DVD-R+R, dual layer discs using Microsoft HD-wmv codecs with possible tripple layer discs. 5.....DMT format Indian/Russian codecs on standard DVD discs with possible 40 gig new discs. 6.....Bluray format 1080p Pioneer burner $995.00 (Videoguys) (Samsung) and others. 7.....Toshiba HD-DVD 1080i-1080p player $499.00 (Best Buy) 8. ...LG PR saying their player will play both Bluray & HD-DVD 9.....HVT holographic disc 300 gig intro 2007. 10...HVX holographic disc 1000 gig intro 2007. I have the JVC D-VHS VCR and the 100U player and the quality is outstanding. I have edited and burned high def m2t files to dual layer discs and played them with outstanding results. I have also burned HD-WMV microsoft samples to dual layer discs with no loss in quality. Ditto 2200 x 2200 jpeg stills. Nero burns these files as simple data files to the standard DVD-R discs. I have also edited and PTT to the JVC D-VHS deck with outstanding results. M2t is the resultant file that high def video editors use for HDV. (Sony Vegas, Adobe Premier, FCP, Ulead, etc) Basically the HDV spectrum is in the relm of 19 to 25 meg mpeg2 data streams. With today's HDTV's (720p) most people cannot tell the difference in quality. With 1080P HDTV's it's another story. The 1080P quality difference is about the same as from jumping from analog to 720P. Problem is no one will be broadcasting 1080P for a long time because of the bandwidth requirements. JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picky Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 JJKIZAK: Great post! You rock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 At the risk of getting in trouble.. I will pass this on to you. You did NOT hear it from me at all!!!!! USE at your own risk!! But this is safe... Go slow, follow what I say here to the letter. That said... if your on Comcast, grab your remote.. Click power to turn it off.. Click menu.. It will show you what settings you have. 480p 720p 1080i from your cable box. Also, how you want the size of the screen to be. (480 over ride on the screen to stretch it out too on non 16x9 material.) It will also show compression..(take all of it off) And some other stuff I would not recommend going into. When done, hit power. ENJOY!!!! If you see a MUCH better picture.. Thank me later. This is a great way to see if 720P or 1080i is better for you too. I still feel 1080i is better on my Infocus 7210 in High Def. And, everyone is right.. Discovery in HD is amazing! So are the NBA TV Basketball games when in HD too. Enjoy!! I'm not quite understanding what you are saying here. Can you explain in a little more detail? Also, will this work with Time Warner Cable? Also, if I am monitoring my HD input (video 5), and I am watching a non HD channel, the only thing that looks good is 4:3 format. If I select Wide or Stretch they both look like crap, and I can't watch it. Is this normal? I installed an S-Video cable to another video input just so I can select Smooth Wide on my TV when watching normal digital channels, and it looks a lot better... just wondering why it looks like crap when monitoring the HD input. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Why would you want to stretch the picture anyway? More importantly, why would you want to watch a non-HD channel???[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Lindsey Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 Why would you want to stretch the picture anyway? Because I'm not real fond of a 4:3 picture. [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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