How to get a better picture through Sky +

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markpw73

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Since installing my new TV (sony bravia kdl v4000) and a sony home theatre kit, i am not that impressed with the picture through the regular sky + box.
DVD's are far superior and the sound is great.
I have a decent HDMI cable from the digi amp to TV for sound etc but from the sky+ box i only have an optical cable to amp for sound and a gold plated scart to the TV? Is this the best set up as there is no HDMI on the Sky + box. I take it this is where the quality loss will be.

Also sorry for being dumb but how to i get the built in digi freeview channels to store on the TV because at the mo it doesnt pick up any digi or analogue channels with the quick set up???????:wacko:

Any help would be appreciated
Mark
 
For the digital channels on your TV, I believe you need a special digital ariel to replace the standard analogue one that there, has this been done?

As for the Sky box, I guess sky do their HDSky+ box, this would have the HDMI cable etc. - not sure how else to get around that one, but someone else may
 
i have the same TV and Sky+ RGB Scart is the only way to connect this to the TV unless you upgrade to Sky HD. You will find the signal quality varies depending on the channel you watch.

Mart is correct you need a good quality digital ariel on your house to plug into the tv for it to use the inbuilt freeview decoder.

My advice to you to get the best results is head over to www.avforums.com as there is a big thread on this tv http://www.avforums.com/forums/lcd-...v4000-series-1080p-be2-33-000-1-contrast.html you will find allsorts of settings guides etc so you maybe able to tweak it to make it better for your type of veiwing.

Hope that helps
 
why buy an aerial to access the freeview when you have sky???? pointless
 
You should be able to get all the freeview channels through Sky as animal says, also are you sure you have an aerial connected to the TV, Sky+ box, as without an aerial, you are not going to get anything (you stated not getting analogue or digi)

If you have an external aerial coming into the room, make sure its connected to the aerial in on the sky box, then from the aerial out there should be an aerial lead going to the TV, or alternatively, you can have the external aerial direct to the tv.

Also to get a better picture, press services on the sky remote, go to picture settings and then change the setting to RGB, as you will get a clearer picture with this.

Hope that helps.

Nilz
 
TBH the sky quality is pretty crap at best of times, skyhd is ok but I got rid of it cause £10 a month for what u get is ridiculous, best channel was discovery anyway, lol, HD should be free considering paying £50 a month which tbh I'm thinking of lowering or switching to freeview for £20 card one time payment as tbh £600 a year is tad to much plus license plus everything else, for gods sake they get so much in ad revenue why we paying for it or why so high & another thing the poxy license fee is only for BBC anyway which I dont ever watch as its ***** but why they dont switch to ad revenue defies me.

The skyhd box for sure is to big, noisy, unreliable & the video/voice sync is awful even with the audio delay option, if it wasnt for I wanted hdmi it woudnt be around anymore

Sony Bravia's arent all they're cracked to be, infact most LCD's are *****, I can say this cause I've had about 4-5 different higher end models in the last year & sent them all back cause quality was bad for what you pay & the marketing spill never lives upto what you see, the old tube trinitrons were amazing tbh but then you'd have a tube that sticks out a metre into the room, lol, so just have to put up with half baked image quality, but I still think my 1st flat panel plasma which I sold to my mate is the best image I've seen & its now what 4-5 years old, I replaced a power board but rest is fully functioning & looks amazing, in my wisdom I should have kept but hate the plasma high pitched whining you get, only sensitive hearing effects but I can hear a dog whistle, lol, I always wonder why I'm always chasing pussy
 
thanks for the advice chaps.

Some programmes are definitely better then others through sky so i guess i can only attach another external arial to the sky+ and tv and see if that helps. I just thought the digi free view channels would be of better quality (assuming a decent arial) then the sky+ so could switch between the two. As i cant put up with the grief from the other half moaning that the image is making her feel dizzy!!!!

Will plug away and see what happens cheers !!:think:
 
They're all dizzy, its in there gene's, lol, on serious note get her to have an eye test as this could be sign of something slightly out like lenses etc
 
LOL !
Maybe she should get her eyes tested as she does need glasses to drive at night !
Although we were watching the Bill last night and i dont know if its the shaky cam effect by the producers or what but it did take a bit of getting used to. Saying that the telly was only put in yesterday and its gone from an old trinitron tube 26 inch to the current 32" flat screen job so maybe just acclimatising !!!
 
Even if you don't want to subscribe to the HD channels, you should get an HD box.
You can then connect via HDMI (digital), which is infinitely better than scart (analogue)
Your picture will instantly improve on all channels.
Whilst I understand you may be reluctant to spend money on an HD box, you should then understrand you're kind of getting what you deserve, in that an LCD TV is only, really, as good as the signal it's getting.
There are also loads of set-up issues with LCD's.
Go onto www.avforums.com and do a search for set-up ideas for your specific model.
As they come from the shop, they are awful.
Everything set to 'vivid', so they can compete with bright shop lighting.
 
I wouldnt agree overall with that, I mean you can change the output res & this does play with the image a bit but I wouldnt say its drastically that much better tbh even over hdmi, I've tested svid, scart, hdmi & yeah svid is little poorer but hdmi isnt anything to write home about unless on hd channel, but mostly ch4 hd is just upgraded images to hd scaling not true HD filmed
 
I've yet to find anyone who didn't notice an improvement on all channels, when switching to an HD box, but each to their own.
I just think that if you're using an analogue connection, you don't really have the right to moan about the picture.
It's akin to keeping the standard earphones on an ipod and moaning about the sound, in my book.
 
Well you found 1 now & mines all digital
 
bin the lcd, plasma still better ( a good panasonic that is ) upscaling is great aswell.
lcd to soft.
as bowfer says, hd box will be a little better but not fantastic.
through scart, RGB is the best your going to get.
a company called keene electronics, who do have a web site, do alot of things to do with connecting to screens. you could try a scart sync blaster to component out and it will improve a little but still not fantastic.
they also do a box which i had on one of my old plasmas that will pull the RGB from a scart and convert to the 15 pin d-sub (VGA) lead, like your pc monitor and that gives you a true rgb sd reselution and that was fu**ing brilliant.
you can also buy a sync blaster that converts scart RGB to hd (upscaling ) and but these only give you your devices ie SKY, GAMES CONSOLES, ETC in 720p
these can be got for £60.
as for the audio out, i too am using optical from sky, but sadly you only get as good as sky produces, depending how good your amp is depends on how well you set it up to compensate the poor audio coming in.
hope some of this makes sense.
 
Thanks again for the advice guys, my amp is a digital amp/dvd that came with the Sony home theatre kit so is ok for the price!
Will using a decent RGB scart such as a QED one give better gains then a basic one ?
 
everyone has opinions of this but I've tested this theory & didnt make any difference whatsoever even if gold is believed to conduct better on connections, same theory for hdmi cables, havnt seen any difference in images or sound, you'd need unreal hearing & eyesite to notice any differences in either with £5 cable or £200 cable

there was an article while back in well known mag or paper about this or online cant recall & they also said same as me, I was using cambridge audio av receiver, dvd player etc & thats good kit & for me no difference at all, only differences I've seen is from svid to scart to hdmi so connection type made difference not actual cable, but as I said everyone has opinions, mine is no difference
 
not really mate, most advertise all about gold connection etc which is all rubbish as the pins that do the connecting arent gold.
when looking at cables the quality is all about the strands and the screening.
yes its always better to have a good cable but dearest isnt always the best.
a middle of the road ( price wise ) thicker cable ( usually screened better ) is a sensible option.

as NHN states, its not really the cable, its the output format you choose,
composite ( basic ) crap, s-vid ( crap ) scart ( in RGB ) can be quiet good along with component RGB
be careful when connecting scart to get RGB as usually you only get one of the scarts on your device that will allow RGB in.
most teleys, lcd's, plasma's will have 2 or 3 scart in's on the back, as a rule AV1 ( 1st scart in ) is usually RGB
 
The Sony v4000 only has two scarts AV1 and AV2 they both state 21 pin connection suitable for RGB etc so i take it there will be no difference between the two?

I have set my sky+ box to RGB, can you set the AV inputs (via scart) on the tv to RGB or is this a default setting ?

Thanks:blink:

Been playing around with the picture settings and have got a better picture so am more then happy now.

Just need to ensure my dish is at the optimum angle etc as a friend has a device to set it apparently so will borrow that at the weekend!
 
markpw73 said:
I have set my sky+ box to RGB, can you set the AV inputs (via scart) on the tv to RGB or is this a default setting ?
Click to expand...

You don't have to 'tell' the TV it's getting an RGB signal, no.
BTW, with regard to scart cables.
I've never bothered with gold plated scarts, always viewed (sic) them as gimmicky.
However, I did used to use good quality (fully shielded, oxygen-free) scart cables by the likes of Ixos.
Noticeable picture improvement.

Then again, the more money you spend, the closer you would be to getting a used HD box off ebay and ditching scart altogether...:rolleyes:
 
bowfer said:
Then again, the more money you spend, the closer you would be to getting a used HD box off ebay and ditching scart altogether...:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

:applaus:

trouble is bowf, great picture but sadly the same old **** programms! lol
:sob:
 
I often find myself watching programmes I'd normally avoid, just for the stunning picture you get on HD.
I mean, I watched a ****** documentary on glassblowing the other night.
****** glassblowing, I tells ya!
But the picture was so good I just sat there, transfixed.
 
Personally I think its an amazing skill, glassblowing that is & when in HD even better, Discovery HD is cool or rather was cause got rid of HD as only channel worth watching was that one, I loved the sunrise program that showed different sunrises around the world, amazing really were, but wasnt worth £10 a month extra for just that, I mean *** £300 for box originally & then they wanna add more charge for HD, £50 a month already is enough & thats not with sports, so would of been near £70, sorry but I'd rather take up a sport than pay £800 odd a year for TV
 
NHN said:
£50 a month already is enough & thats not with sports, so would of been near £70, sorry but I'd rather take up a sport than pay £800 odd a year for TV
Click to expand...

I don't know where you're getting "close to £70" from.
I just went into SKY's package builder thing and it suggests you would be £55.75 per month for the full package, including sports, movies and HD.
I'm £65.75 per month for the full package, HD in the lounge and SKY+ in the bedroom.
I'd rather pay less, but I don't grudge it either.
I actually pay multiroom Setanta on top of that, at around £15 a month.
It saves me going to the pub to watch football, or travelling to actual games.
In either of those options, I'd spend loads more.
 
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