DivX on T.V. > DivX on PC Monitor

[agent2099]

Why is the image so smooth and clean when I watch DIVXs on my T.V. instead of my CRT.

Aren't CRT monitors the equivalent of HDTVs? I notice that both DVDs and DivX look better on my T.V. than on my 19" monitor.

[hakko504]

Originally posted by agent2099
Aren't CRT monitors the equivalent of HDTVs?Yes they are, that's why they inevitably show every little defect encoded into the video stream.

Also, TV's do a little (or sometimes quite a lot) of vertical smoothing, which will remove noise and blockiness from the picture. CRT's assume nothing is wrong with the output from the computer and shows everything as it is intended.

If you really want to make a correct comparison between TV and CRT then you should sit at a distance to the monitor (TV/CRT) proportional to the size of the monitor. They should also have matched resolutions, i.e. CRT=640x480 for NTSC TV and CRT=800x600 for PAL TV. If you can get framerates to match also, even better.
Suppose you have a 19 inch CRT and a 28 inch TV (standard 4:3, not widescreen).
Then you should make the first test sitting 19 inch away from the CRT and 28 inch away from the TV. Here you should see artifacts on the TV too.
Now change distance to feet, i.e. 19 feet away from the CRT and 28 feet away from the TV. Which one looks better now?

(19 inch = 48 cm, 28 inch = 71 cm , 19 feet = 5,79 m , 28 feet = 8,53 m )