Best HD Picture

[grantsa4]

What settings does everyone find gives them the best picture on a Tivo HD?

I have a 1080p 40inch Samsung

[Amnesia]

The real question is whether to set the TiVo to fixed 1080i or native. And that boils down to whether you want your TiVo to do the scaling or your TV/AVR. Note that if you use native, then you will generally get some flickering/delay as you switch channels that broadcast in different resolutions.

[wkearney99]

Some TVs do a markedly better (or worse) job with scaling changes. When deciding for a gift to the in-laws a few years ago I requested they show old analog signal channels, not just an in-house DVD source. Some units did a REALLY bad job of upscaling, noticeably so on anything larger than a 20" screen. The scalers in the TVs have gotten better but some still do a bad job. Trouble is there are so many ways the picture could get handled before it gets to the actual TV. It could get scaled badly well before the TV (or Tivo) ever gets a shot at it.

Bottom line, compare the picture quality of your favorite programs both at native resolution and fixed. As has been suggested, the main downside to using native is the TV will have to adjust to the changing resolution and on some sets that can incur a slight delay. But if the TV does a great job scaling then you'd have to trade that off against the delay when switching channels.

[EVizzle]

I have posted this before but it is relevant to the discussion here, so I will re-post.

I have a Series3 Tivo and the Panasonic TH42PZ700U (1080p 42") and I have played with the settings, and have actually found ZERO difference between 480p fixed and native in terms of picture quality, and prefer 480p fixed as it lets me change the aspect ratio of SD content and do not have to deal with scaling changes. I have compared OTA and cable inputs, 720p and 1080i signals and have found no difference.

Comparing the HD video to DVD and Blu-ray, the HD signal is far sharper than upconverted DVD and noticeably lower quality than Blu-ray, so I definitely can tell the difference in input.

I challenge anyone with an open mind to try it out for themselves. You may see a difference, and in that case go with what you see as a better picture.

[wmcbrine]

I have a Series3 Tivo and the Panasonic TH42PZ700U (1080p 42") and I have played with the settings, and have actually found ZERO difference between 480p fixed and native in terms of picture qualityI have a 42" EDTV plasma, and I can see the difference between 480p and 720p plain as day.

and prefer 480p fixed as it lets me change the aspect ratio of SD content and do not have to deal with scaling changes.I don't really understand this comment. The Aspect button works fine for me on SD material, with my output set to 720p.

[EVizzle]

I have a 42" EDTV plasma, and I can see the difference between 480p and 720p plain as day.

I don't really understand this comment. The Aspect button works fine for me on SD material, with my output set to 720p.


1). The difference in SOURCE material is 100% night and day. The difference in OUTPUTTING is where I see no difference. I can watch a 720p signal, outputted by the Tivo at 480p, upscaled by the TV to 1080p and it looks the same as a 720p signal, outputted by the Tivo at 720p, upscaled by the TV to 1080p.

2). When watching in "Native" I cannot change the aspect of any show. If it is HD, it is 16x9. If it is SD, it is 4x3. If I am watching a widescreen SD show, it is both letterboxed an pillarboxed. These shows I would like to change the aspect ratio on.

[wmcbrine]

1. No, I was also talking about output.

I have to ask, do you wear glasses?

2. OK... but why not 720p or 1080i fixed, then? I use 720p fixed myself.

[EVizzle]

1. No, I was also talking about output.

I have to ask, do you wear glasses?

2. OK... but why not 720p or 1080i fixed, then? I use 720p fixed myself.

lol, no, I do not wear glasses. I have vision better than 20/20. It may be that my TV upscales very very well, I am not really sure.

I may have to have someone over to look at this and see if they come to the same conclusion. I do use native, but not because of the signal output to my TV. I have a slingbox pro-hd, and if I am streaming in network, I see a much sharper picture with an HD input instead of the 480p input.

[dwgsp]

2. OK... but why not 720p or 1080i fixed, then? I use 720p fixed myself.

Can the output resolution be configured on a Tivo HD? If so, would you mind sharing where this is set up? I can't find it.

Thanks!
/Don

[EVizzle]

Can the output resolution be configured on a Tivo HD? If so, would you mind sharing where this is set up? I can't find it.

Thanks!
/Don

Tivo>messages and settings>settings>video>video output format

one advantage the HD has over the Series3 is that the resolution is displayed on the front of the Tivo, showing you what resolution you are outputting.

[cgould]

Don't forget Hybrid mode ... the Tivo displays SD channels at 480p, but HD channels at 1080i fixed. The Tivo does an excellent job converting the picture to 480p, and you still have the aspect/zoom controls available (and the zoom works excellently also, for SD-letterboxed stuff.)

In any case, your eyes are your own! Experiment & choose what you like! :-)

[dwgsp]

Tivo>messages and settings>settings>video>video output format


Maybe I misunderstood the discussion. I thought that someone said that the Tivo could be configured to output all video in HD (such as 720i). The screen on my TivoHD says that it can force all HD to be either 720i or 1080i, but in those modes SD is still output at 480.

[Amnesia]

Maybe I misunderstood the discussion. I thought that someone said that the Tivo could be configured to output all video in HD (such as 720i). 720i is not an option. If you're going with "Fixed", your choice is 720p or 1080i.

[dwgsp]

Yep, I stand correct. The "fixed" options are 1080i and 720p. But my main point was that in both cases SD recordings are *not* upconverted.

[rainwater]

Yep, I stand correct. The "fixed" options are 1080i and 720p. But my main point was that in both cases SD recordings are *not* upconverted.

They are converted to 720p or 1080i. Perhaps you are confusing fixed mode with hybrid mode.