Help me test my TV's picture quality using Star Trek

[Extrocomp]

I recently upgraded from a 46'' TV to a 60'' TV. In the past, I could barely tell the difference between DVDs and Blu-rays, but now all standard definition footage looks kind of blurry.

Maybe there's something wrong with my TV. Or maybe it's just my perception that's changed. Since my TV now looks more like a cinema screen than a TV, maybe I subconsciously expect everything to look as good as good as it does in the theatre.

There have been a number of scenes in the various Star Trek series, where barely-readable text was displayed on a computer screen for a second or two. Can you give me an example of one of these scenes? If I can still read the text on my new TV, I will be assured that there is nothing wrong with the TV's picture quality.

 

[Melakon]

Try TNG: The Neutral Zone, when Troi helps Claire Raymond trace her family tree. That was readable on an 80s era 27" picture tube in original broadcast.

 

[Metryq]

A TREK episode hardly qualifies as a proper test pattern. There are too many variables—DVD or Blu-ray, the quality of the particular release, even the circuitry of your players. As a start, go through the menus on the TV. There may be "sharpness" and other processing presets. Of course, you may also be pushing the limits of HDTV with a 60" screen.

 

[sojourner]

Standard definition on a large HD tv WILL look "blurry" when viewed from the same distance as it was from a smaller tv.

That's how it works and why you want to get higher def sources for that nice big tv.

 

[BillJ]

Standard definition on a large HD tv WILL look "blurry" when viewed from the same distance as it was from a smaller tv.

That's how it works and why you want to get higher def sources for that nice big tv.

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