Sky Q picture quality seems inferior to Sky HD

[Robert35]

Had Sky HD plus in the past. When i upgraded to Sky Q i found the picture quality less sharp and detailed. I thought at the time there was a problem with my TV but came to relize that it is just Sky Q after changing picture settings and all the usual things that you would try including putting in the correct resoulution on the sky box. Four years later my mother has upgraded to Sky Q and she thought that her eyes were bad and that she needed to go to the optician until i informed her of the downgraded picture experience that i have had. I have just aquired An LG oled 55inch c3 tv and i am really not impressed with the picture quality through sky. It's much better through the terrestrial tv tuner. What is wrong with Sky Q ? Have they changed the codecs or algorithms on the signal. please let me know if anyone has the answer

[Mark39]

I can't say I noticed any significant different in picture quality after switching from Sky+ to Sky Q and there are few reports of picture issues here. I've no idea whether Sky have made any changes to the way they process video and audio - it's not something they share. There are reports of excellent picture quality from Sky Stream users which might be an alternative for you. 

[oldfella]

Hi @Robert35 

Do you have the monthly Sky Q HD add on?

Sky Signature includes BoxSets and Entertainment channels only in SD as standard.
Only free to air channels such as BBC, ITV etc are in HD. The Q HD pack is required for all other Sky Signature HD content, including Catch Up in HD, On Demand in HD and BoxSets in HD

[Chodley]

Which channels are you seeing this on? I assume your output res is 2160p? I think Q for SD and HD content looks much the same as SkyHD on my 65" OLED and far better on 4kHDR stuff of course.

[Robert35]

I Have the full package, except for Sky cinema . and UHD. thanks for your response

[Robert35]

Yes. 2160p. All  channels are not as clean as i was used to be with Sky HD. I have two Tvs a Sony XH 9505 and the LG 55c3 oled, both the same

[Robert35]

Thanks for that.  

[Chodley]

Hmm

Could be that your LG is better at video processing than the Q. Worth trying outputting 1080i (the native format) for HD stuff which is most of what you'll be watching and see if you like that better.

[Robert35]

I did try that over the Christmas period and did not notice any discernable difference. Last Tuesday i had my two week old tv's panel replaced  due to a row of dead pixals and haven't tried it since. I will give it a go on my new panel.

[Paul401]

I'm afraid the sky signal just isnt strong enough to give great picture and sound quality, i've tried and you will just probably have to accept what you have got, updating cables to best quality did help me a bit but you can only do so much with a poor input signal, just my opinion of course

[Chodley]

Sorry but there's a lot of analogue tech thinking in that post. The skyHD and SkyQ "signals" are identical. Other than the obvious fact the HD hox can't use the UHD channels. It's the same satellites.

It's not weak (makes it here intact from 36000km away) but they have to compress it aggressively (vs a 4k bluray for example or a top quality stream) to manage bandwidth usage.

The signal from the sky box to the TV is digital. HDMI cable quality makes zero difference as long as it works. I hope you didn't pay too much for that.

[Robert35]

Thanks for the advice. I have not purchased any HDMI cables yet just using the same ones that i have.

[Robert35]

I have tried it now and it seems better. I think that i must have put it into 1080p before. I have not had much time to veiw it due to work. I am going to record a program and play it back on 1080i and 2160p to see if i can see much difference.

[Robert35]

I think you are right. I have my Sony tv in another room using the mini box and it seems a better picture than the LG which is directly plugged into the main Sky box via an HDMI cable,  maybe i should upgrade the cable., or it could be that the sony handles a poorer signal better. 

[Chodley]

Sony processing could well be better. The mini won't be set to 2160p, 1080p is the max. Do you know what that one is set to?

If it's a smaller screen, that usually looks better too.

As I said above to Paul, don't spend money on "high quality" cables. They either work or don't.