Dark and soft RTE picture via Sky Digital

JDxtra

Is it just me or does RTE appear to be a little darker than all the rest of the channels on Sky?

I have noticed this a few times now, but didn't think much of it. In the past few days I have noticed several programmes on RTE1 which were so dark I had to turn up the brightness on my TV to see them!! Everything appears fine on all the other channels, and I can really notice this when the scence of the programme is meant to be a little dark anyways.

Also, the picture from all the Irish channels appears to be slightly "softened" or "blurred". The image is definitly not as sharp as it is on the rest of the channels (except maybe for some dodgy shopping channels!).

Am I going mad, or are RTE applying some type of filter to their channels before they get broadcast on Sky?

Darby OGill

Not sure about the darkness, but I've definitely noticed that colours on my RTE (terrestrial) picture are less vivid than on satellite- if I switch from a Champions League game on ITV (satellite) to RTE, the difference is remarkable. Also, I think the quality of sound is poorer on RTE.

Maybe Watty has all the knowledge on this one.

watty

Current Legislation and forum rules prevent me commenting fully

Off air TV from Woodcock hill UHF relay is very variable.

VHF is usually softer (Maghera or Mullaganish: Is it because these sites were designed for 405Lines?). Much more interference on VHF.

I don't watch Irish TV much now (Maybe a bit of TV3 AM between BBC World TV and CNN).

My BBC World TV Analog Satellite picture is better than some Sky Digital Channels.

There is a huge variation of quality on Sky (Astra2 /Eurobird), Hotbird Analog, HotBird Digital, Astra 19 Analog, Astra 19 Digital.

One experimental package I have for PC based satellite has per channel presets. You'd need them. Esp. for sound level.

I have to change brightness on TV for each different Line Source (S-VHS, DVD, Sky Digibox, Front Door Camera, 2 x Analog Satellite Receivers and different again for RF.). This is in addition to any Sky Channel / DVD / VHS material variations.

The inherent variation between sources (RF, SCART1 Sky, SCART2 DVD etc) is greater than channel variation on RF or SKY.

There appears to be a great variation in sharpness of channels.
MS-NBC in NTSC on 15W is softest

C-SPAN/VOA TV feeds of Bloomberg makes Webcam look sharp!

West Briton

In my experience, anything RTE shows from film is quite dark, and I view it on analogue. Doesn't seem to have much of a difference on the occasions that I view it off satellite.

Ozzie

I notice with certain US programmes, ie, ER, The West Wing, The Practice that there is a "funny" kind of darkness (sorry for being technical!). It's very off-putting!

jabarrett35

Yes I've also noticed this both on satellite and terresterial. Whats more annoying is the size of the picture when the West wing is on when watching it on a wide screen TV.

culabula

Yes, I remarked on this about 10-12 days ago about the time RTÉ1 was showing 'Heat' -it was so dark it was unwatchable. All 4 Irish channels were like this at that time; the situation seems to have alleviated somewhat now.

Éamonn