On Wed, May 1, 2019 at 12:20 PM Adam Bowie <[email protected]> wrote:
> I suspect that there are a number of issues here. > > One is compression and re-compression. HBO distributes the show to its > partners globally, and probably in a fairly high definition version. But > the local carrier than re-compresses that for delivery to homes. Different > carriers do very different things. I think it can be particularly bad if > you're watching a streamed version of a video - and especially if it's > live. The compression algorithms are just set to work "averagely" and that > can lead to bad compression. > > I watched a recorded-as-live version from Sky in the UK in HD and there > was lots of blockiness in the dark scenes. Sky's picture is decent, but > they compress too much. I remember seeing the same years ago watching Das > Boot on DVD with submarines floating around in murky waters. Compression > just does a really bad job unless someone spends a lot of time doing it > well. When the BluRays of GOT come out (I've been buying them all), the > picture will undoubtedly look better. > > I think that as well as for artistic reasons, they chose darkness to cover > up CGI issues. Since this was such a CGI-heavy episode that in full > brightness I suspect that it wouldn't look as good. But add darkness and a > snowstorm, and you hide a lot of the joins. > > But this was definitely a dark episode. I watched in a darkened room with > the curtains drawn and didn't have too many problems. I could see what was > happening when I was supposed to. I think some sections, they were trying > to convey confusion in the heat of war. I have a circa 2012 Samsung TV - so > nothing too high end. I definitely wouldn't want to watch on a shiny laptop > screen or an iPad. But yes, this would look awesome on an OLED screen. But > those screens are four figures. > > The sound, by the way, is exceptional. If you have a separates system, it > really makes a difference. I invested in a Denon Atmos enabled receiver a > few months ago, and I can feel the room shake! > I read a comment on Monday from someone who thought the battle as shown on HBO was too dark due to compression and switched to watching a streamed version from HBO Go cast to his TV. He said the picture was much better and he had no trouble following what was happening. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
