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

Craig Read craigread at csi.com
Thu Dec 9 00:39:01 UTC 2004


Lane Schwartz wrote:

> 
>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?
>
1. Yep.
2. Yep.
3. Yep (my output on my MX440 is 800x600, but sends out a PAL signal).
4. Yep.
5. Yep.

IMHO one of the best benefits of doing this is the audio quality.  The 
audio quality on HDTV here is significantly better than SD (almost like 
comparing FM radio to CD) and I'm pretty sure it also uses an AC3 signal.

I'm not 100% sure, but I'd expect the audio isn't modified when you 
transcode.  So even though the video takes up less space and is less 
processor intensive to play, the audio quality will still be better than 
a SD recording.

Craig...


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