# Is HDTV picture quality at home as bad as in the store? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 27, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hdtv-picture-quality-at-home-as-bad-as-in-the-store/474730 "2008-11-27T19:24:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Szlater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Szlater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Szlater)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hdtv-picture-quality-at-home-as-bad-as-in-the-store/474730/21 "2008-11-28T18:11:08Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > Are there any reputable online reviews of TVs and/or explanations of which cable companies use what compression? Your best bet is to read the forums at [www.avforums.com](http://www.avforums.com) (UK) or [www.avsforums.com](http://www.avsforums.com) (US), they have some very knowledgeable people on all matters regarding TVs and home theatres. You’ll get reviews of pretty much every possible component, alongside listings of all the faults of a particular bit of kit (which is useful if you’re comparing two options and need to decide between them). ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hdtv-picture-quality-at-home-as-bad-as-in-the-store/474730/22 "2008-11-28T19:28:00Z")
In dark and/or action scenes I see some blockiness even on pure 720p and 1080i ATSC antenna channels, which is going to pretty much be best case quality. It’s a compression artifact, hopefully compression techniques will get better over time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-hdtv-picture-quality-at-home-as-bad-as-in-the-store/474730.md?page=1)