Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

[aaronwt]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

It's very possible his set doesn't accept 1080p/24. So he was probably running at 1080i and taking a photo like Volker said would only potentially capture 1/2 the actual image since it's interlaced.

So yeah, write him back and ask him to do the tests using an actual HD setting of something like 1080p/24 or 720p.

We still need to know what is automatic setting is. If the difference he saw was so miniscule my guess is that his automatic setting is 480i/480P.
That would explain why he can't see much of a difference between the two. Because in my setup the difference is very obvious and I know my output was set to 1080i.
Even that radar sceen part. The text at the bottom of the screen is absolutely unreadable on the VUDU SD version. But in the HD version it is clear and crisp and easily readable. The Xbox Live HD version is clear and readable but not as sharp as the VUD HD version.
The clarity on the text is directly related to the resolution.
if he looks at that scene in the automtic setting and can't read the text at the bottom of the Radar screen, his output is definitely only 480i or 480p.(or he has poor eyesight if it is an HD resolution)

[NA9D]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

Agreed. We need to know his "automatic" setting. However, if he simply sets the output to 720p or 1080i or if his TV supports it, 1080p/24, and then re-does the test, he will see a difference. We need Russdude to ask him to do this. Then he needs to correct his writeup.

[Rusdude]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

Agreed. We need to know his "automatic" setting. However, if he simply sets the output to 720p or 1080i or if his TV supports it, 1080p/24, and then re-does the test, he will see a difference. We need Russdude to ask him to do this. Then he needs to correct his writeup.

I emailed him some of the responses and, again, invited Wilson to come discuss things here. I mean, I have no influence on Giz writers, so relaying messages through me doesn't mean he will respond to them.

P.S. It's "Rusdude" (one S) or Ivan.

[NA9D]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

You know, the more I think about this the more it hit me that this guy just reveals how much of a group of hacks they are at Gizmodo. I mean, come on, who is going to actually measure the performance of something and leave the setting at "automatic"? I don't think Consumer Reports would even be that stupid. Wouldn't you want to step through everything and make sure it is set up to be as best as possible?

[steveybaby]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

I'm seeing the giz review get posted all over the web and the responses are mostly "yeah - im not surprised" type responses. It's pretty annoying - as those people haven't even seen a vudu in action and are commenting on something they know nothing about based on those pathetic screenshots he included.

Are any vudu users able to hook up into a capture card to get accurate screenshots? I'd happily contribute a few dollars towards someone re-renting Transformers in SD and HD to get an official comparison posted and correct this guy. If we want to do this properly I'd want to see side by side comparisons of VUDU SD/HD, DVD, XBOX live download.

Aaron - you have a lot of kit and have access to all these version - is it something you can do?

[NA9D]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

I'm willing to rent both movies and take a picture with my camera. I bet I can show better quality differences...

[Rusdude]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

You know, the more I think about this the more it hit me that this guy just reveals how much of a group of hacks they are at Gizmodo. I mean, come on, who is going to actually measure the performance of something and leave the setting at "automatic"? I don't think Consumer Reports would even be that stupid. Wouldn't you want to step through everything and make sure it is set up to be as best as possible?

While, I am all for proper testing, tech bloggers (Giz, Engadget, etc.) don't usually do in-depth reviews and are not, by design, 100% objective. However, we should ease up on Wilson. From his email to me, it seems he means well.

Even if his settings weren't correct, perhaps we need to view this as an opportunity to improve (just like HDMI situation in other post). Perhaps, any time someone tries to play 1080p video over lesser connection, a message could pop-up saying something like "You are about to view 1080p content, but Vudu output is set at ____. If you'd like to change setting click CHANGE OUTPUT. If this is correct, press IGNORE. If you'd like to not see this message in the future, press ALWAYS IGNORE".

[HeadHodge]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

It's very possible his set doesn't accept 1080p/24. So he was probably running at 1080i and taking a photo like Volker said would only potentially capture 1/2 the actual image since it's interlaced.

So yeah, write him back and ask him to do the tests using an actual HD setting of something like 1080p/24 or 720p.

I forgot the P stood for progressive scan.

Do you think a Vudu HD movie would be better to watch with 720P instead of 1080i?

I'll definitely try it myself, but was curious what you thought.

Regards

[NA9D]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

I don't think there's a need for poping up a message whenever you are going to play 1080p content as then anyone playing an HD movie on a 720p set would have to view that. What should pop up is during the initial setup, perhaps the box should tell the user what the determined resolution is on the default (automatic) setting. That would be a useful thing as many people who have a 1080p/60 set assume the box is going to output 1080p/60 which it won't. The box will default to 480p then....

[NA9D]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

I forgot the P stood for progressive scan.

Do you think a Vudu HD movie would be better to watch with 720P instead of 1080i?

I'll definitely try it myself, but was curious what you thought.

Regards

Well, the correct answer to your question is for you to watch the movie in the native resolution of your TV. If your TV's native resolution is 1080i, then watch the content in 1080i. If the native resolution is 720p (1280x720) then, watch it in 720p. Most sets that aren't 1080p native are 720p. I believe there are very few 1080i native sets. Now, if you have a 1080p/60 set, the Vudu's 1080i/30 output will be converted to 1080p/60 by your TV with no loss of quality.

Bottom line is that your TV will convert whatever you input to the native resolution of the set. My set's native resolution is 720p. So 480i, 480p, 540p, and 1080i content are all converted to 720p.

[Rusdude]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

I don't think there's a need for poping up a message whenever you are going to play 1080p content as then anyone playing an HD movie on a 720p set would have to view that...

Which is why I'd include ALWAYS IGNORE option. But anyway, I was just thinking out loud, so I am not going to argue details, lol. Bottom line is that there should be some sort of a warning flag/message/etc. that makes people aware that their connection may not be optical (my set is only supports 720p & 1080i, so it'd apply to me). Otherwise, people may end up watching SD-quality video and many would probably never realize it (just like a lot of HDTV owners think they watch HD when in reality they watch same-old SD content -- there were surveys on that).

[NA9D]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

Which is why I'd include ALWAYS IGNORE option. But anyway, I was just thinking out loud, so I am not going to argue details, lol. Bottom line is that there should be some sort of a warning flag/message/etc. that makes people aware that their connection may not be optical (my set is only supports 720p & 1080i, so it'd apply to me). Otherwise, people may end up watching SD-quality video and many would probably never realize it (just like a lot of HDTV owners think they watch HD when in reality they watch same-old SD content -- there were surveys on that).

I agree with you completely. No argument there!

During guided setup, it should give you an option for your resolution, something like:

We've detected you are using the HDMI connection. We have determined that your optimum resolution is ___________. Would you like to keep this or change to another resolution?

[Rusdude]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

I agree with you completely. No argument there!

During guided setup, it should give you an option for your resolution, something like:

We've detected you are using the HDMI connection. We have determined that your optimum resolution is ___________. Would you like to keep this or change to another resolution?

Or something like, being able to chose the max resolution supported by a TV and reminders when/if something gets reset/messed up and output is off.

[Nded]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

One other observation. The Gizmodude does not specifically state whether he is using HDMI or COMPONENT connection:

I had the Vudu plugged directly into a Panasonic 1080p
plasma. We're not talking about a complicated rig here. Just a direct
connection, with the Vudu set to Automatic.

Everyone seems to be assuming that he is using HDMI, but that has not been confirmed by his response. If he is making his comparison without HDMI it is not even a valid review.

[NA9D]

Re: Gizmodo's Take on Vudu's HD Quality

I'll submit this as a feature request if The Brain doesn't beat me to it.