shinyhappypeople Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I subscribe to Discovery Streaming through our charter. But, as far as I can tell, the video quality is really low on all of the videos I checked. We usually hook our computer to our TV to watch stuff online, but when displayed full screen on our 42" TV, it looks awful, very pixelated (sp?). Even full screen on the computer monitor isn't any better. What can I do to make it look better???? I'm not techie at all, so there's probably a simple solution for this that I haven't thought of. Please help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allearia Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I don't think there is a solution. We generally just watch them on the computer, and even full screen on the computer they are pixelated. We usually just leave them small. I imagine they would look terrible on a TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 allearia... yup, I think it looks awful on the TV, but the kids don't seem to mind. Go figure. Still, it drives me nuts. SURELY there is a solution... anyone? Please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennefer@SSA Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 We been using dc for 3 years now and it's always been like that. We only watch it on our 19 inch computer monitor. I prefer to watch it very small so it's clear but ds8 likes to watch it full screen. It doesn't bother him one bit that the pic isn't great. I think that's just par for a streaming service, but I would love to hear that I am wrong about that! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jplain Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 It doesn't have to be that bad, but unfortunately I think that's just the way it is with Discovery Education. Netflix and all of the cable and TV networks I've checked have streaming content with excellent full-screen resolution. I'm assuming the difference has something to do with the size of the money pots.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 WE hook our computer to our HDTV tube TV which is 32 inches to watch DE UNited Streaming and it is great. Sure it is not always very crisp but I grew up in the 1960's with TV off the air and interference;) We all enjoy it and do not find them terrible to watch at all. Perhaps a smaller TV would be better? Also, you can select the streaming quality on United Streaming with the drop down box under the mini-screen for each show. I also believe there is a settings panel on the web site that my dh plays with that you can try as well:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnomeyNewt Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I personally find the quality not so great also, but we decided in the end that trying to gather those videos from other sources would be a big pain. Netflix is way cheaper than Discovery Streaming and their quality is excellent and I can stream it to my tv with my xbox. Discovery Streaming recently stopped letting homeschool subscribers download their videos so we are stuck on the computer to watch it, unless I want to run a line through the middle of my living room. Not that big of a deal considering we are usually on the computer to watch youtube and other free video sites on our studies, but likewise I pay for this service and I'm disappointed that the options (such as downloading videos) was stripped from our subscription without advance notice and that the quality of the videos were not that great (but I knew this in advance). I was hoping dearly that they might step it up over the next couple of years, as the standard for high quality content surely should increase. Or we can pray that Netflix gets to stream their content at somepoint :c). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoPlaceLikeHome Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I personally find the quality not so great also, but we decided in the end that trying to gather those videos from other sources would be a big pain. Netflix is way cheaper than Discovery Streaming and their quality is excellent and I can stream it to my tv with my xbox. Discovery Streaming recently stopped letting homeschool subscribers download their videos so we are stuck on the computer to watch it, unless I want to run a line through the middle of my living room. Not that big of a deal considering we are usually on the computer to watch youtube and other free video sites on our studies, but likewise I pay for this service and I'm disappointed that the options (such as downloading videos) was stripped from our subscription without advance notice and that the quality of the videos were not that great (but I knew this in advance). I was hoping dearly that they might step it up over the next couple of years, as the standard for high quality content surely should increase. Or we can pray that Netflix gets to stream their content at somepoint :c). We have both Netflix and Discovery Education and DE wins hands down on their educational selection IMHO. I have been able to find videos on just about any subject for my ds and the quality overall has been fairly decent:). You can get DE from Homeschoolbuyersco-op.org for $139.00 or $199.00 per year for the Plus version which we have. I think that a smaller TV definitely makes a difference such as a 30 to 32 inch set. I realize though it is not always an option financially though. We just do not happen to have a larger set due to monetary concerns;). One of the big TV sellers told us that if you are not watching an HD signal then the quality may not be as good as you would expect with those big TVs. Roku and XBox may have the capability to stream to your TV, if not now, then maybe in the near future. We just run a cable from our computer to our TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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