HDTV Question

[Adam West]

I am fairly illiterate when it comes to new electronics but mentioned in a previous thread that I purchased a new Samsung HDTV.

I got a special deal from my cable provider with about 100 channels in HD plus a DVR. My tv is a 1080p and can transmit video at 120 Mhz. I also have the cable box connected in through an HDMI cable.

I have only watched a few programs so far....regular channels look great, sports games are incredible and couldn't be happier.

The other day I watched Spiderman-3 on Starz HD and something looked strange to me. The actors looked very clear but almost look like they were filmed strange (like you would see in a Soap Opera) and didn't quite look right to the background. The scenes jerked around a bit and I could completely tell when Spider-Man was computer animated and when he wasn't.

I tried fooling with my tv settings such as setting the picture options to movie mode and playing around with the other settings but I couldn't get it to look quite what I was expecting it to look like.

I finally hit the information screen on the tv and saw that it was being transmitted at 1080i at 60Mhz and thought that this was just the speed that the transmission is taking place even though my set can handle more.

Is there anything I can do with the settings to get this to look better or would this particular movie look better on a Blu-ray rather than streaming through a channel. Or is this a movie that just doesn't look good in HD at all?

Like I said, this was the first major action movie I have looked at and was disappointed with the way it looked and was hoping someone could give me some advice on changing the settings on my tv so that it would make it more enjoyable in an HD setting. Thanks.

[Mikey]

Hmmm,

I know nothing about HDTV ..... But this is just an off the wall guess ......

Is it possible some movies that were filmed in regular 35 mm could have been converted using VIDfire (a process that makes film look like video tape) ........ It has been used often by the BBC when restoring old Doctor Who's ....

It really makes film look like it was filmed on video tape.

[cjefferys]

Many of the newer HDTVs have a type of motion enhancement feature (different manufacturers have their own name for the feature) that can make something shot on film look like a video (as you say, something like a TV soap opera). It sounds like you have a setting like that turned on. I think it looks very unnatural for film based material, so it's better to have that turned off.

The main advantage to a 120Hz television is that when you are watching a source that supports it, you will get a smoother, more film like picture with less motion jutter. This is because 120 is divisible by the 24 frames per second that films are (120Hz sets use 5:5 pulldown resulting in a smoother picture). I don't think that cable TV can be 120Hz, nor can it be 1080p (as you say, your diplay shows it as 60Hz, 1080i) so that could also be the source of the jerkiness in the picture.

Spider-man 3 looks great on Blu-ray. It is 1080p, 120Hz and does not suffer from all the extra compression that most cable companies use in their signals, so the BD should look significantly better than the cable broadcast you saw. If you like the film, I'd definitely recommend picking up the Blu-ray disc (Part 2 looks great too. Unfortunately the first Spider-man film doesn't look as good on Blu-ray as it should, Sony did a bit of a poorer mastering job on that one according to many reviews)

[JPkempo]

Some of the stations strech or alter the film to fill the HD screen. TBS and TNT do this all the time.

[cjefferys]

Some of the stations strech or alter the film to fill the HD screen. TBS and TNT do this all the time.

Yeah, that kind of thing really sucks. I'm sure most channels show Spider-man 3 at 1.85:1 instead of the proper 2.39:1 aspect ratio.

[EmergencyIan]

I've got a 52 inch Samsung 650 series LCD HDTV arriving tomorrow. So, this is helpful. I'll be sure to turn off the motion enhancement feature off.


- Ian

[JPkempo]

If you have your picture set to panoramic it will destort the sides.

[Adam West]

Thanks for the information.

I'll look for the motion enhancement feature and see if I can set it properly. Unfortunately, the user manual is about as useless as most manuals and only give you basic information like how to turn on the tv.

Ian, I also purchased the Samsung 650 in a 46 inch. So far, I love it!

[Donkey Hoatie]

I've got a 40" Samsung 650 Touch of Color t.v. and love it. I haven't had the same issues as you, but I'm pretty sure I turned that feature off when I got the t.v., or at least turned it down.

Look for the Auto Motion Plus setting using the T.V. remote. If I'm remembering right, there's three settings for it, something like Off, Low, and Hi. I think I have it on low, but I'll check when I get home. Sorry, I'm at work now.

[EmergencyIan]

Please, let us know, Donkey.


- Ian