When I go to my parents house, both my sister and I will be sitting there wondering how we ever watched TV on that TV (which is about 15 years old). It’s so fuzzy and dark you almost can’t tell what’s going on. Now, don’t get me wrong, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, and it wasn’t always that bad, and some of that is just due to some degradation in the cable (which I keep telling them they need to fix before they get an HDTV, otherwise they’ll just have really crisp static), but still, how they live with that crappy TV, it really is terrible.
Well, I’m old an’ stuff.
As a sometime filmmaker, I’m conscious of things like film stocks. Often, a particular film stock is chosen for its particular qualities. It’s an artistic decision. For most films I watch, it doesn’t matter. But there are many in which I think it’s better to see the images the director intended.
Some TVs have funky modes or something that make them look noticeably different. I have a 50" Panasonic Plasma, and my father has a 48" Samsung LED-LCD TV.
Mine’s more contrasty, mostly because it’s a plasma, but Dad’s has some weird effect going that makes EVERYTHING look like it was shot on video, even old movies. They look like the frame rate’s jacked up, and they’re sharper, etc… Actual video stuff like the evening news, sporting events, and the like look fine.
It’s a very weird effect if you’re not used to it- it’s not like a bigger, more vivid and detailed version of the same thing like my plasma is; it’s a different look entirely.
Maybe the OP saw something like this going on?
Google “[Brand/Model] + Soap Opera Effect” (without quotes) to find the setting on his TV that you need to turn off. It’ll make a world of difference. It’s called something different on every TV, but it’s usually something like Smooth Motion or Auto Motion but it could be any number of other things.
ETA, here’s a partial list, but it’ll vary even within a manufacturers product line.
Never buy a floor model, for that reason. Not just burnout/burn-in, but a thousand other things. The money you’re saving will likely cost you more in shortened life and repairs over the reasonable life of the set.
I think HD is great, especially for movies and nature documentaries. I agree on the facial details, that generally isn’t flattering or necessary, but for scenery and background detail it’s great.
Only when watching porn. Some things really shouldn’t be in super hi-def.
This is what I came in here to say. My friend has his TV set so that it displays this “Soap Opera effect” and it is so distracting. They think it makes it look clear and almost 3D. I think it makes everything look fake and weird.
It probably doesn’t really matter on LCD screens, since they’re not prone to burn-in, and the lights on them are ridiculously long-lived anyway.
But a plasma? No way should anyone buy a floor model, except maybe at a 95% discount.
I bought a calibration disc on Amazon for HD (I think it was by Disney) and it really made a difference. My HD looked pretty good before, but now it’s amazing.
The Soap Opera effect is image smoothing. It is only useful for things like sports where an image will go quickly across the screen (and even that’s debatable) and should almost always be turned off.
Regarding Standard def: SD looks so muddy and unwatchable to me. I almost think my HD TV makes it looks worse on purpose 
Regarding HD looking too over-lit and sharp, 30 Rock did an amusing gag about using an HD camera on their show.
Interesting. I’d never heard of it before this thread, but I nailed what it looks like.
Of course it’s going to look bad on an LCD screen. Those tend to look best at their native resolution and progressively worse the further away you get from that. Upscaling algorithms can only do so much.
Oh, and it’s not image smoothing the way most people use the term. A better term would be motion smoothing. The original images or frames stay exactly the same, but new ones are created that go in between them.
First time I watched 1040hd, I couldn’t stop staring at the veins in the announcer’s eyeballs.
Oh, don’t get me started on blu-ray either. I hate blu ray. Sony needs to get beaten with a pipe.
I’m given to understand that every news presenter wore this kind of thick pancake makeup on account of the low resolution of SD. Ever since HD has become a thing they’ve been trying all different kinds of makeup techniques so they can look good again for the super high resolution cameras.
As others have said, you sort of get used to it. I’ve had one since 2011 and I still occasionally find it weird, especially when I’m close to the TV, but on the whole I’m OK with it now.
On the other hand, those ultra HD photos with the bright colours and sharp details still look somehow off to me.
I watched Gravity on a flat-screen with HD (new experience for me) and the special effects looked really good, just like at a theater. But it was disconcerting to see every pore and tiny pinpoint pimple on Sandra Bullock’s smooth complexion. I would be afraid to see a Cameron Diaz or Bill Murray movie.
Every now and then I get distracted. I remember seeing an episode of Revolution where the were walking through a market. I started to focus in on the extras in the background. They were really horrible at their jobs. They were not moving or acting realistically at all. In an older show not shot in HD the background would have been blurry and it wouldn’t have mattered. Also distracting on that show in HD is how amazingly beautiful Tracy Spiridakos’ eyes are.
Yes. I refuse to watch the non-HD channels on my cable provider, even though there are many that are not available in HD.