[mythtv-users] Can I play scaled HDTV content on a standard TV?

Lane Schwartz dowobeha at gmail.com
Wed Dec 8 15:17:03 UTC 2004


On Tue, 07 Dec 2004 17:34:48 -0500, Kyle Rose <krose+mythtv at krose.org> wrote:
> > Is it possible, using Myth, to watch TV shows recorded using a pcHDTV
> > 3000 on an standard television set?
> 
> Yes, and yes, it does look better than broadcast SDTV in my
> experience.
> 
> Before I got my HDTV, I had an HD-2000 card feeding my mythbox with an
> attached SDTV for several months.  The quality of the HDTV image was
> noticeably better to my eyes than that of the SDTV image on the
> associated SD channel.
> 
> I think TV broadcasters purposely "fuzz" the NTSC image to make it
> look better on all kinds of sets---including improperly-tuned
> ones---but this results in a loss of clarity.  OTOH, downconverting
> the HD image to SD on my computer sacrificed less of the image
> quality, resulting in more perceptible detail even from the same
> resolution screen.
> 
> Nonetheless, a real HDTV is what you want.  Eventually. :)
> 
> Cheers,
> Kyle
> 

Awesome! I'm really glad to hear that this is possible.

So, just to clarify, the following is what I now believe to be true.
Please confirm or deny:

1. HDTV shows can be watched on a standard definition TV, albeit at
far less than true HD quality

2. (#1) can be done without actually transcoding the recorded content

3. (#2) is true because the video card is scaling the content on-the-fly

4. If desired, the recorded HD show can be transcoded to a lower resolution.

5. If (#4) is done, playback of the transcoded show will require much
less processing power than playback of the original (non-transcoded)
HD show


I'm pretty sure that 1, 2, and 4 are correct. Not so sure about 3 and 5. 

Thoughts?


Cheers,
Lane


-- 
"No, we've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11."
-- George W. Bush, 17 Sept 2003


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