[Retsof]

So, just got the HDMI cable for our nice big TV, and decided to test it with the Avatar DVD.  It looks so much more fake now.  Before, it looked almost passable as real, now it looks like a cutscene from a video game.  Anyone else have HD Weirdness?

[BlueFlames]

So, just got the HDMI cable for our nice big TV, and decided to test it with the Avatar DVD.  It looks so much more fake now.  Before, it looked almost passable as real, now it looks like a cutscene from a video game.  Anyone else have HD Weirdness?

Ummm....  Did you mean to say DVD or Blu-Ray (or HD-DVD, if you're a dead-format affectionado)?

If you are watching a DVD on an HDTV, then I'd say your player's upscaling algorithm isn't all that great, and the transmission quality on your old cables masked that fact.  Switch over to an HD channel or play a Blu-Ray, and it should look much better, because you'll be playing HD content at its native resolution, instead of stretching a 480p image across a 1080p monitor.

Now, if you are watching the Blu-Ray, it might be that the movie dived deeper into the uncanny valley for you.  The finer details, being more apparent, made it more obvious that you were looking at a whole lot of artificial effects.  You might try testing the setup with a movie that doesn't rely so much on computer-generated effects to see if you get the same effect with practical effects and live actors.

[Klaustrophobia]

So, just got the HDMI cable for our nice big TV, and decided to test it with the Avatar DVD.  It looks so much more fake now.  Before, it looked almost passable as real, now it looks like a cutscene from a video game.  Anyone else have HD Weirdness?

i know what you mean (if you're talking about blu-ray movies), and i agree.  it's very distracting to me as well, it makes even live action look kindof animated.  i believe it's because of the framerate.  a friend told me he's able to turn it back down to 60 from 120 on his player and it makes it look more traditional.  my blu-ray is in my computer which plays out through my 60 hz monitor, and i don't notice it when i play one on my computer.

[Grizzly]

Isn't that the uncanny valley effect? When some things become perfect, the less perfect things stand out a lot more? The same reason 'realistic' video games had to be all in the same colour because otherwise the lightning would feel 'off'?

[The E]

See also: The soap opera effect

[BloodEagle]

Isn't that the uncanny valley effect? When some things become perfect, the less perfect things stand out a lot more? The same reason 'realistic' video games had to be all in the same colour because otherwise the lightning would feel 'off'?

Me thinks you should recheck your definition.  Or link me to the one you found.

[Nuke]

ive always considered hdtv to be one big joke. dvd movies look better (and i just play those on my pc and its 1080p screen).  but general tv just sucks too damn much to benefit from any hike in resolution.  id assume the bad tv shows on these days are there because all the networks blew several years of profits on new hdtv capable equipment. it certainly doesnt do anything for old tv shows shot in the old skool format which now need to be sidebared or stretched to fit the new aspect ratio. very few new shows are worth watching. if there are new shows worth watching rest assured the seasons will be really short. my tv looks like it was built in the 80s, and it works just fine.

[Mongoose]

A whole bunch of really good shows over the past five or so years would like to have a word with you.

[Nuke]

my rant wasnt about tv shows, but that hdtv isnt really worth the drivel thats on tv these days. there are a few good shows on. not as many as i used to remember watching back in the 90s. there was always something on tv and the seasons were not really short like they are now, and i certainly dont need to watch tv at 1080p to enjoy any of those new shows.

[Klaustrophobia]

i refuse to watch hockey in low quality after having seen it in HD.

[deathfun]

See also: The soap opera effect

I ****ing hate that
Pardon my french

[IceFire]

It's the 60Hz and above look... movies in 30fps (29.97) look cinematic. Even down to 24 frames it looks great on film. Anything shot at a higher rate looks like it was shot on a handycam because... that's what handycams used to shoot at. Now they have options and so do the high end cameras. While I love 720p and 1080p images... I can't say the same about the higher frame rate. It looks horrible.

[Klaustrophobia]

i used to think watching standard def source on a HDTV looked like ass, but now i don't really notice so much anymore.  maybe we'll get to the same point with the higher framerate eventually.

[redsniper]

It used to bug the hell out of me, but I'm getting used to it. Turning off all that motion correction stuff or whatever it's called seemed to help.

[deathfun]

This is why I'm glad my HDTV doesn't have these settings
It displays everything as it was meant to be

29.97 FPS

[Mongoose]

It's funny how that 24-FPS "cinema look" only exists as a result of technology limitations of the original medium, and yet people are so used to it that much more natural higher-FPS videos look "wrong."   I've read a couple of write-ups expanding on this.

[FlamingCobra]

It's kind of like that issue of the "glow" of new lightbulbs vs the old ones.

[CP5670]

It's funny how that 24-FPS "cinema look" only exists as a result of technology limitations of the original medium, and yet people are so used to it that much more natural higher-FPS videos look "wrong."   I've read a couple of write-ups expanding on this.

I have always found that 24fps or 29.97fps "cinematic" motion annoying and nothing like motion in real life. It's probably because I play games (at 80+fps) far more often than watching TV or movies.

[Sololop]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JnBDT4ZnaQ

^This guy explains how to sort of fix the soap-opera effect, in the was as Redsniper mentioned.

[haloboy100]

See also: The soap opera effect

Seriously? So my TV isn't crap for not having that affect, when everyone else's TV does?

I thought that "effect" was just because the TVs I observed it on were at 120 mhz. Every TV in my house is 60mhz because we don't believe in the improvement of a 120mhz TV. And then here I am noticing this affect on other TVs, where the animation seems so smooth on everything, even when viewing games with low FPS like Halo 3. Thank god, I thought I was living on crap televisions.

That being said, I think I might like the "soap opera effect". It makes things seem smoother. It's really alienating, but maybe I could get used to it.