Crap Ubc Picture Quality On New Lcd 46. Advice Please!

[Ducati]

Just purchased a 46 LCD Samsung tv today.....

The guys from Carrefour came to install it, and the DVD picture quality looks fantastic......and then he switched over to UBC cable and i was gobsmacked with the quality of the picture quality....quite blurry on most channels. My CRT 32 Sony picture is far better.

Bearing in mind that we watch 80% tv and 20% DVDs.....I am very dissapointed. I realise that UBC does not broadcast HD, but still very surprised about the quality.

So bad in fact that I sent the guys back to the store with the TV!

They claimed that the poor picture is 'normal' with UBC cable....but mentioned that Plasma would be better. So I will go back to the store tomorrow where they will show me both LCD and Plasma connected to UBC.

Any similar experiences? Should I expect and accept poor quality on a new LCD with cable?

[ovenman]

Any similar experiences? Should I expect and accept poor quality on a new LCD with cable?

The UBC signal is marginally better than that of a VCD. As with a VCD, the larger and more hi-rez the TV, the more the imperfections will show.

[Scott]

Keep us posted. I am planning on getting a new TV and I am wondering what is going to be best overall (quality and price wise). Don't want to spend a lot of money for a crappy picture.

[ovenman]

Don't want to spend a lot of money for a crappy picture.

I can't imagine that it's worth dumping a bundle of baht into a new television if one's primary viewing is of UBC.

[rainman]

One of my friends has the same problem with the UBC signal. He bought a huge flat screen TV and the signal is much much worse than on my regular flat screen (normal sized, dont ask me the size). I'm afraid if you can't convince UBC to send a better signal (0.0000001% chance), you'll be stuck with it. Ever wonder why they always show the pretty DVDs when selling TVs, not the regular UBC signal?

[Tywais]

They claimed that the poor picture is 'normal' with UBC cable....but mentioned that Plasma would be better. So I will go back to the store tomorrow where they will show me both LCD and Plasma connected to UBC.

Any similar experiences? Should I expect and accept poor quality on a new LCD with cable?

Yeah, UBC compresses their video a lot and subsequently a low(er) picture quality with all the associated artifacts. LCD will exaggerate this with their higher pixel count and no cross bleeding to 'integrate' adjacent pixels. So the bigger the screen the more exaggerated this compression will be. I have a 42" Panasonic Plasma TV that UBC looks pretty good on, at times very good. Watching the Superman Return movie tonight (UBC) and it looks quite good, sharp and good color accuracy and contrast.

The bottom line is that the fault is not with the LCD TV but with UBC.

[technocracy]

As said most standard satellite/cable and Terrestial TV will actually look worse on a HD TV. We've got a 32" Samsung LCD - couldn't be arse with the 42" plasma - but it makes the picture of the cable here look far worse than old CRT TVs here.

DVD are good - well you'll even notice that even DVDs aren't 'perfect' particularly if you are close to the screen since these only have a resolution of 720x576 and your HDTV is capable of displaying over twice that resolution (1920x1080).

[aka_jack]

Simple answer to this really!! I was also going to get a plasma or lcd, after talking with a friend who worked at currys in the uk just ask them to show you what the pic is like with ubc, cable whatever!! I did this and have a local cable operator when seeing the pic i said no thanks and walked sticking to the normal tube tv better pic!!

[Sanpatong]

The UBC definition is a disgrace; you merely don't notice it as much on a CRT because it's more blurry.

Don't let them sell you a blurrier TV just so that you dont notice how crappy UBC is!

Live with it; it is what it is.

[TopDogger]

Its pointless going any larger than 36" with UBC..

[mart29]

if you have an hdtv its going to look grainy on anything lower than an hd signal, the image has to be stretched over the screen so you lose definition. it doesnt particularly matter if its ubc or sky or whatever it will always look crap if you put the wrong signal into a tv.

[Naam]

Its pointless going any larger than 36" with UBC..

i have a 67" Samsung (DLP technology) and my UBC picture is excellent even though UBC's programming is sh*t².

http://www.dlp.com/tech/what.aspx

[Pundi64]

We have a 50" LG Plasma hooked up to UBC, we are really happy with it's picture, can't say anything for the DVD picture, I so far, can't figure out how to hook up the player to the TV, they say it childs play humm, well this 60 year old kid can't figure it out as of yet.

[Firefoxx]

I have a 37" LCD that does 1920x1080, and I'm using it with the old analog cable UBC system. It actually looks OK, not great, but very nearly as good as DVD on some channels. My friend has a 40" Sony LCD (not 1920x1080), connected to satellite digital UBC, and his looks pretty bad. Yet when he switches to terrestrial Thai TV, it looks OK. So, YMMV.

[Scott]

Ovenman, I thought it was the TV that was bad; do you really think that it's UBC? God, I hate having a reality check! Now I am mad and I am not going to post anything and I am going to pout for the rest of the day!

Thanks Ovenman. Thanks a lot!!

[PadThaiGuy]

The stores refuse to hook up UBC since the picture quality is horrible. It's a dishonest way of doing business.

I went to 5 or 6 shops asking to see cable displayed before I purchased. No way. Only show high def in the demonstrations.

My 10 year old Sony CRT looks much better than the 200,000thb plasmas and LCDs.

I doubt the cable will ever be very good as the installers are typical lazy and the connections are loose/faulty/untightened from your home all the way back to the head-end at the satellite.

The entire system needs to be rewired by professionals.

[LivinLOS]

First cable is usually a lot worse than Sat.. UBC sat is bad but not so bad its not watchable..

Secondly make sure you use the S-video cable not the composite or RF output.. The S-Vid is the best signal as I know of no component output UBC boxes.

I have UBC on a 120 inch projection setup.. But I run a computer based scaling system that can apply sharpening and denoise filters.. It looks bearable, some of the channels (AXN especially) can exhibit some awful MPEG ghosting but its not unwatchable.

[Paul Hancock]

Just purchased a 46 LCD Samsung tv today.....

The guys from Carrefour came to install it, and the DVD picture quality looks fantastic......and then he switched over to UBC cable and i was gobsmacked with the quality of the picture quality....quite blurry on most channels. My CRT 32 Sony picture is far better.

Bearing in mind that we watch 80% tv and 20% DVDs.....I am very dissapointed. I realise that UBC does not broadcast HD, but still very surprised about the quality.

So bad in fact that I sent the guys back to the store with the TV!

They claimed that the poor picture is 'normal' with UBC cable....but mentioned that Plasma would be better. So I will go back to the store tomorrow where they will show me both LCD and Plasma connected to UBC.

Any similar experiences? Should I expect and accept poor quality on a new LCD with cable?

I have had exactly the same experience with my Sony 32" LCD. I am going to try one thing - use an RGB lead to connect the to the TV, instead of the phono one supplied. (There is an RGB socket in both the box and the back of my TV)

According to some sites, this results in less loss of definition.

Will report back when I have tried it. Has anyone else?

[PadThaiGuy]

Go to the Emporium and ask to see the local Cable TV on the 200,000thb Plasmas/LCDs.

They won't do it because nobody would buy them.

Only after you pay and have it delivered you will see it is terrible, almost unwatchable.

200,000 wasted . Sorry. TIT

[solo siam]

Get a Standard Definition plasma (840x480) and the picture will look noticably better, I ran a 480p projector at 80 inches and the UBC picture quality was very good, DP's give a softer image so a DLP set (if you can find one) may be better.

First thing to do though is make sure you are connecting with S-Video.

[ignis]

Can never work out why people watch UBC

I have my own Sat system + 50" Plasma + Perfect crystal clear picture + 2,600 odd channels, over 600 being in English from around the world. FREE to view !!

There are 28 Satellites over Thailand so why anyone want to watch the smallest one only is totally beyond me

[aka_jack]

what satelite system have you got and how much was it??

[ignis]

what satelite system have you got and how much was it??

I bought a MOVE system from JSat.TV....

Bought over 4 years ago, upgradded to a DM box last year, prices are cheaper now look at there web site, I have both 'C' and 'KU' Bands so can watch all 28 Sats

[LivinLOS]

Its pointless going any larger than 36" with UBC..

i have a 67" Samsung (DLP technology) and my UBC picture is excellent even though UBC's programming is sh*t².

http://www.dlp.com/tech/what.aspx

I find DLP tends to smooth an image without suffering detail loss.. I suspect its due to the millions of on off mirror flips inherent in the DLP technology.. LCD (in projectors too) look more harsh and digital looking..

I too use a DLP system and am very happy.. Time for a new bulb tho.

[LivinLOS]

DM Box ???

Dream ??

[ignis]

DM Box ???

Dream ??

Yes Internet connected Dreambox = no signal loss with bad weather... Great

[Ducati]

Ok.....

went back to Carrefour today and the very helpful guys placed my (returned) 46 LCD side by side to a 50 Plasma (the Samsung range does not have a 46 Plasma - but ok bcos same same price as the 46 LCD) with both connected to the same UBC source.

Overall the Plasma looks a little better....and that's with larger screen size as well. So will be content with the Plasma.....installing tonite. Not perfect, far from it, but will live with it. Of course cannot compare the quality of the Carrefour UBC cable link compared to my Condo....but will do later today.

Thanks for the other suggestions....esp trying diff cables. And never considered Satellite......with mycondo providing 50 free channels as part of the rental price I guess I will be content with that.

Now....off to stock up on dvd's tomorrow....

And thx to the Carrefour team.....very good service despite my terrible Thai....!

[Naam]

Its pointless going any larger than 36" with UBC..

i have a 67" Samsung (DLP technology) and my UBC picture is excellent even though UBC's programming is sh*t².

<a href="http://www.dlp.com/tech/what.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.dlp.com/tech/what.aspx</a>

I find DLP tends to smooth an image without suffering detail loss.. I suspect its due to the millions of on off mirror flips inherent in the DLP technology.. LCD (in projectors too) look more harsh and digital looking..

I too use a DLP system and am very happy.. Time for a new bulb tho.

what's the average lifetime of a bulb in a DLP TV LivinLos? my TV is about 1½ years and my wife's 1 year old. each running ~4-5 hours a day.

Edited October 15, 2007 by Dr. Naam

[LivinLOS]

DM Box ???

Dream ??

Yes Internet connected Dreambox = no signal loss with bad weather... Great

I was considering getting a dreambox for the extra zones rather than the code sharing..

But I dont understand the comment on no signal loss ?? Surely thats a dish issue not a receiver issue..

[LivinLOS]

Its pointless going any larger than 36" with UBC..

i have a 67" Samsung (DLP technology) and my UBC picture is excellent even though UBC's programming is sh*t².

<a href="http://www.dlp.com/tech/what.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.dlp.com/tech/what.aspx</a>

I find DLP tends to smooth an image without suffering detail loss.. I suspect its due to the millions of on off mirror flips inherent in the DLP technology.. LCD (in projectors too) look more harsh and digital looking..

I too use a DLP system and am very happy.. Time for a new bulb tho.

what's the average lifetime of a bulb in a DLP TV LivinLos? my TV is about 1½ years and my wife's 1 year old. each running ~4-5 hours a day.

I am using a 720p projector thats good for 2000 - 3000 hours per bulb..

I actually have the current bulb at well over rated spec but it is now dimmer and as I am over driving the screen size (it looked a lot better at 90 inch approx than the 120 I am using but 120 looks better for the room) so the lowered 'punch' is less than perfect if you have room lights on.. Also I project on a cream wall rather than a pure white reflective screen, again not ideal but compromises in a rental villa. One day I will build the whole room around the system.

I will pick a new bulb up next time I am in Singapore.. They have a dealer there and its easier than mail order and customs..