Voom's PQ vs. HDNet Movies

DemisE most of the major proponents to PQ use other forms of Sat/Cable and are comparing it to Dish or DirecTV. There is no mystery about it, HDNet pushes it's HD content at a higher bandwidth. INHD looks pretty good too. You don't even have to go as far as having dual providers, compare Voom to OTA (at least in my area) you can see the difference. It's noticeable. Granted if you have a crappy untuned TV you won't know the difference, but clearly.. CLEARLY.. this is not the case my friend.
 
It seems like alot of you are arguing about bandwidth and encoding. Yet another very important feature to everyones arguments is what TV you are viewing said HD on. Also everyone is making their decisions with human eyes which are connected to a body that is by default going to have bias weither they think so or not.
Oh please. I have been viewing ALL HD on the same TV using the same cables etc. And, although I'll agree that opinions are subjective, there are more facts surrounding this PQ issue than just simple opinions. That's an insult. :no
 
It never was meant to be an insult of any kind. I am just saying that if JoeBlow with a Sony Plasma says that this provider is better and MaryBlow with a rear projection says that provider #2 is better it is possible and highly likely that it is differences in their setup and equipment.

For instance I have the Mitsubishi WS-65809 and VaVaVoom and my neighbor has a Hitachi 42" (not sure of model number) he had his Voom before me and was the one that said it was ok. But when I got it installed at my house he came over and said it looked 10000 times better on my screen than his. The only difference being TV model and size.
 
DemisE said:
I am just saying that if JoeBlow with a Sony Plasma says that this provider is better and MaryBlow with a rear projection says that provider #2 is better it is possible and highly likely that it is differences in their setup and equipment.

For instance I have the Mitsubishi WS-65809 and VaVaVoom and my neighbor has a Hitachi 42" (not sure of model number) he had his Voom before me and was the one that said it was ok.
Most of us here are comparing Voom to OTA or Dish or Direct and see plainly obvious diffferences in PQ from the same channels such as: DiscoveryHD, TNTHD & ESPNHD which are available from both providers (as well as HBO, SHO). I agree that the setup makes a huge difference, and comparing a plasma against a 65" Mits RPTV is like comparing apples to oranges. Plasmas are not there yet for PQ vs an Analog RPTV, no way, so this is not even a fair way to evaluate any HD provider. You may as well take an old 13" Commodor monitor and put it up against a 36" Sony Wega, which one do you think would win?
 
DarrellP said:
....
Plasmas are not there yet for PQ vs an Analog RPTV, no way, so this is not even a fair way to evaluate any HD provider. ...

I respectfully disagree. DarrellP, could you please take a look at Rich Harkness' screen shots: http://www.pbase.com/chunkofunk/screen_shots_gallery/? He has a 4 year old Panny Plasma (2 or 3 generations older than the current model) and these are screen shots from his DVDs. Oh, and his plasma is just ED not even HD.
 
Panny is THE exception. Go to AVSForum and readup on Plasmas, plus screenshots mean nothing.

I just checked out those shots and I am NOT impressed, you can see obvious digital artifacting and noise in the background. Looks a lot like Voom.
 
Holy cow, those plasma shots look amazing. Does Plasma have the same poor black level performance like LCD and DLP do? Because those black levels, color, and contrast are great!
 
Eh it is just going to suck untill everything is HD.

Lazy bastards need to hurry up and pass some laws or something to get the ball rolling on this.
 
DarrellP said:
Panny is THE exception. Go to AVSForum and readup on Plasmas, plus screenshots mean nothing.

I just checked out those shots and I am NOT impressed, you can see obvious digital artifacting and noise in the background. Looks a lot like Voom.

You must be really demanding, DarrellP, if you see "obvious digital artifacting and noise" in those shots. I am not saying that they are perfect (it is just 480p plasma and the shots are from DVDs not HD material) but my point was that plasmas can provide PQ comparable to any other display technology. Many people on AVSForum argue that plasma's PQ is second only to good pj and, unlike pjs, plasmas don't require dimmed environment to watch.
 
The images are also compressed in JPEG format which can add artifacts and noise as it is, after all, a lossy compression format just like MPEG is.
 
A few observations regarding HDNet and VooM...

I maintain a lifeline cable subscription because I have broadband internet, it's cheap, and six (6) digital locals are being passed unencrypted. Anyway, I noticed the local WB station disappeared last week and HDNet appeared last night in its place. :) It would be nice if this were a freebie, but I get the feeling it will be encrypted in the near future. This is the first time I have seen the famed HDNet, but I have become very familiar with VooM over the past few months. Here are a few of my brief observations:

1. PQ was outstanding on some of the HDNet broadcasts - outstanding=10. IMO VooM's HD Exclusives (HDNets, Barker, Rush, Rave, Ultra, Auction, Gallery) offer excellent PQ (average 8.5) with most of their programming being anywhere between 7-9.5. Of course, not all programs on HDNet were a 10...in fact, I found the WorldSports Soccer coverage to be of higher PQ, better/more exciting soccer, and better camera work than MLS. PQ for MLS and a basketball game I saw was 6 and 7 respectively. IMO there is not too much difference between VooMs better HD channels and HDNet, but there is a difference.

2. PQ for the other HD Exclusives (Monsters, Equator, Cinema10, Animania, MooV) is all over the place, from 3 to 9 (average 6.0), largely depending on source material and available bandwidth. I rarely experience the WOW Factor while watching these channels. There is noticeable difference between these channels and HDNet.

3. HDNet content was pale in comparison to the vast amount found on the VooM HD channels. Ok, the bikini babes were unbelievable, but I found myself flipping back to VooM most of the time. I'm not a big soccer fan, but I certainly prefer the soccer being offered on WorldSports than MLS. Additionally, the Junior Internation Basketball Championship was a real snoozer. Plus, similar programming and much, much more can be found on the VOOM Exclusives or HD Marquee channels. Also, I don't care for NASCAR, but the boxing would be sweet!

4. HDNet PQ was great, but a lot of it was not WOW FACTOR material. Also, the content was nice, but come on...how can this possibly compare to all the VooM Exclusives? I certainly want VooM to provide the very best picture, but I like Cinema10 (crappy old movies and all) and I am generally happy with with the overall PQ being offered by VooM at this time. :)

These are just my opinions and everyone is entitled to disagree. Also, I am expecting both the PQ and content quality to increase over time. Oh, VooM did a great job with the Williams-Tyson fight. :cool:

*Found INHD1 and INHD2 in the clear on cable a few hours ago. The Song Remains the Same was playing on INHD1 and the PQ was much better than when I saw it on Cinema10. A recorded concert played a short while later and it looked no better or worse than Rave - excellent PQ. There were several new movie trailers playing on INHD2 followed by some sort of NASA show - the PQ was outstanding and just as good as HDNet and some of the better VooM material (like the fight last night). To the best of my knowledge, the local Cable Co. is now offering 14 HD channels, 6 of which are network digitals...and offer firewire on their STBs. I sure hope VooM has a plan to add the INHDs and HDNets later this fall.
 
Everyone is welcome to compare their 1 or 2 HD channels on some other system to the 30 on Voom and draw whatever conclusions they please.

In my mind, I like 30 better than I like 2.
 
We all have different taste.HDNET is 1080p.
If the content is shot in 1080p it will be better than 1080i.Its only
logical that 1080p will look better when down converted to 720p.
As far rating for us save it and get a job in Hollywood!
 
Seawaves said:
So are you saying that HDnet is coming to Cablevision?

Doubtful. I am typically a free market kinda' guy, but the root of the Dolan-Cuban animosity is the respective sports teams and venues they control. In a merit based world, the tangential differences would be ignored for HDnet to get more subs & vice versa. It's a win-win except for egos.

That said, HDnetMovies I have seen this weekend have been exceedingly soft, which is disappointing because 2 of my favorites were this pasyt weekend - The Wind & the Lion and The Man Who would be King. I hope the PVR for Voom is out along with these films, soon!
 
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