[mythtv-users] Upscaling SD content on an HDTV set

[Larry Sanderson]

Hi David,

On Saturday 27 October 2007 11:09:09 pm David Fishburn wrote:
>
> ...
>
> 1.  I used MythArchive to create a DVD of some of my SD shows.  If I
> take this in and watch it on the new HDTVs, will it accurately
> represent what I will see when I watch an SD recording at home?

Yes, this should be close, but not exact.  MythArchive will lose some 
picture info during the transcoding process, but if you use the highest 
quality setting, it should not be noticeable.  More important, is the 
fact that you will be playing the DVD on a DVD player that likely 
outputs its signal at 480p, and you will be seeing the scaler built 
into the TV.  With Myth, you will probably be using Myth's scaler which 
could look different.  But, in the end, you should get a pretty good 
idea of what it will look like.

>
> 2.  Will Myth do "something" for me to make a regular SD recording
> better when displayed on the HDTV?  Will it upscale the image?

Yes, Myth will scale the image, but it doesn't do much beyond that.  
Have you ever looked at a thumbnail image blown up?  It looks pretty 
bad - that's exactly the situation with watching SD content on a big HD 
TV.  There just isn't enough picture information to display a good 
looking image that large.

For me, I watch on a 110" projector screen, so it's even worse.  The 
best trick I have is to sit farther away :)