right....after watching some tv tonight can anyone answer this question.....i have a hd ready big tv, but dont run it through hd.Now how come the likes of sky can put adverts on advertising high definition tv and show you what it looks like how crisp the picture is......if they can show it, why cant they just broadcast the picture in that quality anyway ???

Ian the adverts aren't real mate, the standard definition images in the advert are softened to make the contrast and edge enhanced "HD" images look sharper. Your TV is also upscaling the image by interpolation i.e. it invents bits of image by inserting extra information based on the brightness/colour of surrounding pixels. This works best with high edge contrast so your TV makes the ad look better as well. Real HD looks so much better although in this country no one broadcasts images in full 1080p so the only way to see the best image quality is via a blue ray plaer.                                                                                                                                                                             

I was thinking of updating to Sky Plus HD...they keep trying to sell it to me... the TV is HD ready... but to be honest, with my eyesight, everythings a bit of a blur anyway lolol...   Because I don't really understand the whole HD thing, I am doing what I always do in such times...nothing!                                                                                                                                                                             

CHEERS PROF, makes sense                                                                                                                                                                             

I thought it was because they are conning gits                                                                                                                                                                              

Well they are that as well                                                                                                                                                                             

my tellys 12yrs and the size of a spaceship! cant wait for it to fizzle out so that i can get some big groovy flat thing up on the wall but being a yorkshire lass no new telly till this ones well ant truely kput                                                                                                                                                                             

Julie J's a Rozzer shock horror lol   Not quite true Prof HD Discs are still out there too ok the "Sony have effectively Killed off HD as a format" as they own so many of the big studios they said they would only allow High Def to go out on Blue Ray (And XBOX 360's still have High Def Games) They have come a long way scince loosing the "Betamax versus VHS war" Beta lost out due to cost but infact was a superior quality.                                                                                                                                                                             

well thought it was about time i `outed` myself !                                                                                                                                                                             

What sky have also done is lowered the resolution on the standard digital service to accommodate the HD Channels without the expense of launching a new bird. You can see this on the come channels where the background color changes from dark to light. When they show a HD commercial they up the resolution and this fools the eye. Very sneaky. I am not overly bothered about HD. My CRT TV has another 10 years in her yet, longer if i can be bothered to get a soldering iron out if it goes down.                                                                                                                                                                             

did u give yerself points for not wearing a helmet?
                                                                                                                                                                             

of course being a good girl i have to set an example so i am always fully kitted when out and about, trying to blend in dontcha know!                                                                                                                                                                             

cissie,

I've had sky HD for 6 months and to be honest when the contracts up i'll be cancelling. The range of channels in HD is bollocks and I rarely watch any of em. The picture is fab but unless you shell out even more every month for the movies etc, your choice is extremely limited and the only time HD is absolutely in it's element is in nature programmes or movies with loads of special effects. I don't have the movies so it's the odd nature programme or getting all excited about the detail on Ken Barlows tie! Total waste of the hard earned in my opinion!

Aaaah, cheers RK... I was dithering, and I think you have just helped make up my mind!                                                                                                                                                                             

no problem, I dashed out n bought the tele (when they were still a small fortune) a blue ray player and then Sky HD, all excited about the 'new' technology. Less than a year later the whole set up is worth less than ten bob and a big orange!                                                                                                                                                                               

Get a PS3,blu-ray player,up-scaled dvd player,audio disc player and you get to kill poeple online in true HD. Hours of fun.                                                                                                                                                                             

Huh?  Kill people? ME?????? I don't have it in me (unfortunately!)   PS3...Blu Ray.... eeeeeeeep!                                                                                                                                                                             

Been doing that this afternoon Ricdude, Playing COD n Resident Evil on the PS3 with the kids, cracking games! lol                                                                                                                                                                              

COD 4 & 5 are the best ones RK. 6 is coming out novenber time. Go on late in the evening,the yanks come online then and thay are so easy to get. Ain't got a clue.                                                                                                                                                                              

A PS3 plays DVD in HD cissie so if you've got a HD ready TV and a PS3 don't bother with buying Blu-Ray disc players as you'll get similar quality from the games console and save a fortune!

You can literally go online and kill people, not that i'm condoning murder unless it involves an ex wife of course lol

Joking Lynn, ooh ya f**ker that hurt!