[flatpanel]

I have two LCD tvs, and they both "shimmer" on broadcast tv. For instance,

watching PBS gardening shows, the flowers and trees shimmer slightly.

Watching broadcast golf, the grass is seen "shimmering". Is it the focus

of the broadcast, or is it the LCD tv? Does this happen with Plasma displays?

 

[HoustonPerson]

Hard to say; I suppose there are a dozen different types of "shimmer" If it is focus within the set? then reducing the sharpness setting may help?


It could be the nature of the specific LCD you have, and/or combination with the typcial high compression of many PBS HD shows in many areas across the country, and/or how the signal is set to you (for example if you get PBS HD via DirectTV Dish I will guarantee you will get "shimmer")


Try watching Live OTA HD sports that are broadcast at 1080i (even if your set is 720p), and then adjust the sharpness of the set to reduce any "shimmer".


So the official answer is: "It depends"


With that said, most plasmas will produce less types of "shimmer" than a LCD will.

 

[HoustonPerson]

Warning Live (or taped) HD Golf. Golf games cover a lot of acreas. And dozens of cameras are used. Some cameras will be real high quality HD cameras (no shimmer), but many will be much lower quality SD cameras the are converted to HD; hence a lot of "shimmer" will be seen at times from the bad cameras.

 

[JimP]

I think its more likely a signal issue than a characteristic of your LCD panel.


By the way, you might get more responses in the LCD forum.

 

[flatpanel]



Quote:
Originally Posted by JimP /forum/post/0


I think its more likely a signal issue than a characteristic of your LCD panel.


By the way, you might get more responses in the LCD forum.

Thanks, I will. I wanted to try to determine if this was also on plasma. I'll focus

on signals based upon feedback and the fact that it happens on two different

LCD brands. Thanks!

 

[DDG1914]

Flatpanel, I have a plasma, and I do get that shimmer. It's the worst on PBS, especially on Smart Gardening, because they focus on foliage more. It's also pretty bad on The two PBS travel shows. On other HD channels there's a little to none at all.

 

[RandyWalters]



Quote:
Originally Posted by flatpanel /forum/post/0


I have two LCD tvs, and they both "shimmer" on broadcast tv. For instance, watching PBS gardening shows, the flowers and trees shimmer slightly.

Watching broadcast golf, the grass is seen "shimmering". Is it the focus

of the broadcast, or is it the LCD tv? Does this happen with Plasma displays?

This is definitely a problem with PBS. It can be pretty bad on my Plasma, and is even worse on my LCD TV watching the same show at the same time (both TVs are fed by an HDMI Splitter and are located on the same wall so i get the side-by-side comparison). It's the same OTA as it is over HD cable. I also often get it when watching HD Nascar and other HD sports on NBC, HD BMX competition on ESPN-HD, and other random shows on various channels with fast motion or panning shots of trees and so forth.


But i will say that it's much more pronounced on my HP LCD TV and my GF's 32" LCD TV (she lives next door and has the same cable package and DVR as i do). The Plasma seems to deal with it better, but it's definitely the source.

 

[JimP]

I was at a friend's home in Alexandria VA earlier this month who has Comcast cable and saw what may be described as this shimmer effect.


At home, off of Brighthouse Cable, and OTA HD, I've never seen this effect on either my Sony LCD rear projector or my Pioneer 6070 plasma. I vote for signal related.

 

[HoustonPerson]



Quote:
Originally Posted by RandyWalters /forum/post/0


This is definitely a problem with PBS. It can be pretty bad on my Plasma, and is even worse on my LCD TV watching the same show at the same time (both TVs are fed by an HDMI Splitter and are located on the same wall so i get the side-by-side comparison). It's the same OTA as it is over HD cable. I also often get it when watching HD Nascar and other HD sports on NBC, HD BMX competition on ESPN-HD, and other random shows on various channels with fast motion or panning shots of trees and so forth. ....

We are so fortunate here that our OTA Live HD sports on NBC, CBS, FOX are usually 99% perfect most of the time (no blur, shimmers, sparkles, smearing, macro/micro anything, etc). Nascar, football, baseball, The Derby. Only about half the time will the Golf been good. ABC is a 50/50 shot overall. That same level of quality is not available from our cable or sat companies - around here.