Poor picture quality on IP freeview channels?

[lukef99]

New to BT TV, having recently moved out from home that had always had Sky. I am in internet mode, I did intend to use aerial and bought a loft one to install as previous owners removed it however have read that quality is better on IP than aerial, and the few missing channels/2 at a time recording doesn't bother me, so have stuck with IP.

However i have to say even in IP mode, the picture quality of the freeview channels (ie ITV channels, BBC etc) seems sub standard to me? It's not awful however seems a bit blurry and not crisp how it should be, and certainly in comparison to the same channels on Sky, which is IMO far better. I have a top LG OLED that has amazing picture quality with other sources but switching back to the BT box just seems a bit lacklustre. 

Has anyone else found this and have any thoughts/knowledge on it? 

[lukef99]

To add I am actually pleasantly surprised with the high quality of SD channels (like E4, 4 extra), which as others on the forum have said is far superior than aerial, but the HD channels aren't as good as i feel they should be

[NigelB72]

We've got a 2023 QLED Samsung and the picture quality in IP Mode is great, better than Freeview HD because the HD channels are pushed out at 1080p and much better on the SD channels. The only thing I can suggest is to have a play with the settings on your TV and the Pro Box. 

[lukef99]

It's definitely not the tv as I set my TV up when i first got it to get the best picture to my eyes, as I said other sources i.e apps on the TV, my PS5, look incredible. The NOW channels look good too and sports ultimate looks great so i don't think it's a settings thing with the bt box (there isn't really anything to play with in the bt box settings?) it just seems like the IP HD freeview channels that aren't great? To be honest i don't even think they look much different to the SD channels which look great for SD. 

I was at my dads house with Sky last night and had ITV1 on and immediately noticed the difference

[gomezz]

Presumably the TV settings are per HDMI input which means that anytime you connect a new device then you need to repeat the set up for use with that device and input.

[lukef99]

Yes I'm aware of that, any time I make changes to TV settings I select apply to all inputs which copies to all HDMI inputs 

To be honest I'm testing it some more now and I'm now under the impression that it's not just the freeview channels but them all including TNT and Now channels. For example I've just been flicking between the Ashes on Sky Sports cricket via the BT box and the Now app on my TV and BT version just isn't as crisp or defined as the app? 

[gomezz]

"Apply to all inputs" ?

That sounds like a compromise which does not fully match the connected device and the input taking into account slight differences in manufacture interpretation of HDMI specification and manufacturing tolerances.

[Hunter2660]

I see very little difference personally between the tv's aerial input on ITV HD and BT's Multicast stream. But I see a big difference between BT's Multicast stream and the live stream on ITVX. 

[garybs29]

I also have no issues & it's actually better quality than standard freeview so that would point toward sit being an equipment/hardware issue tbh

[lukef99]

Apply to all inputs simply means I don't have to manually set all the brightness, colour, clarity etc settings to my liking on every source, it copies the settings for me rather than starting from scratch each time. I'm 100% it has nothing to do with the TV - it's not about colour or vibrancy, the picture is fundamentally just not clear enough via bt box. I cannot comment on the difference between aerial via BT box and IP via Bt box as i haven't tried it, I have no doubt that it should be better. But in direct comparison with Sky, it is very different to my eyes