MSBerliner Posted August 18, 2013 #1 Share Posted August 18, 2013 :confused:We're booked on a fourteen day cruise around Hawaii. We've reserved a mini-suite that includes two flat screen television sets. Are these high-definition TV sets? Do they present the correct format, i. e. NOT a squashed or stretched picture? Over the past few years we've been in several hotels, including some very nice ones in Las Vegas. ALL have had disappointing pictures on their flat screen TVs. All have used analog presentations, never digital pictures. Apparently all are too d----d cheap to pay for quality products. On a fourteen day cruise, such as the one we are taking with many sea days we will be spending some time in our cabin and watching some TV. We expect a high quality product from a high quality cruise line. Will we be disappointed?:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CA Posted August 18, 2013 #2 Share Posted August 18, 2013 I don't pay any attention to the TV as I almost never turn it on while on a cruise. That said, I know that one brand used is LG. They are not HD as the TV satellite reception, movies or TV programs broadcast are not in HD. It's not worth installing HD TVs if there's nothing in HD to show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamloops50 Posted August 18, 2013 #3 Share Posted August 18, 2013 You'll find that cruise lines don't have HD signals on there ships . Satellite service to cruise ships currently doesn't support HD signals. Even onboard sources aren't in HD as people know it . HD or 720P (also known as HD) is on ships but 1020i isn't on ships. Most people forget that 720P is considered HD in TV Land. 16:9 aspect isn't available on the ship unless you have your own DVD or Blu Ray player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waltd Posted August 18, 2013 #4 Share Posted August 18, 2013 I would not expect much when it comes to the cruise line television programing. I think you might be disappointed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Coral Posted August 18, 2013 #5 Share Posted August 18, 2013 I believe the Sapphire Princess had ViewSonics and the video was analog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro Flyer Posted August 18, 2013 #6 Share Posted August 18, 2013 I don't remember the brand of TV on the Coral recently but I thought the picture was better than on previous Princess ships using analog signals. The best way I could describe the difference is that previously it was like watch analog on an HD TV but on the Coral it was more like watching a standard DVD on an HD TV. A pre-cruise email said we'd have the Princess@Sea intranet on the Coral but it did not have it. With a better video image & a better than normal Wi-Fi connection maybe the Coral has an upgraded system. I'm not a techy but this was my recent experience on the Coral Princess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsiegel Posted August 18, 2013 #7 Share Posted August 18, 2013 In addition, the sets themselves are not very large. Definitely not big screen. However, there will be plenty of activities in the public areas to keep you occupied. Plus with mini-suite you get one of the best high-def views available, the ocean from your balcony. You don't want to be watching the tv when there are whales breaching. Jackie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruisin' Chick Posted August 18, 2013 #8 Share Posted August 18, 2013 We watched quite a bit of the movies and programming (news, the off-network shows like the Love Boat, Modern Family, etc) -- yes, that's relaxing to us and we don't usually get to see movies in the theater when they're released. I guess I'm not that picky as long as the image isn't flickering or I can't adjust the sound to the volume I want. (and we do see the shows and sit down in the lounges to listen to music before we retire to our cabin, so we're not just being cabin potatoes) Given that the programming is delivered via satellite, I'm certainly understanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishywood Posted August 18, 2013 #9 Share Posted August 18, 2013 It is not the TV screens, it is the program itself. Princess may use digital media, but all the movies, sitcoms and sales videos are definitely not transferred in 15:9 aspect. The flat screens reveal the picture quality to be that of a bad stretch-o-vision VHS transfer. Would have been better off keeping the CRT sets until they upgraded the playback system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colo Cruiser Posted August 19, 2013 #10 Share Posted August 19, 2013 They are junk. IMO and as stated the signal is analog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Woobstr112G Posted August 19, 2013 #11 Share Posted August 19, 2013 To the best of my recollection, the sets have been the "View Sonic" brand. Basically a computer monitor with a built in tuner..... Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentchikan Posted August 19, 2013 #12 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Not great quality and not great programming which is fine with us since we rarely watch TV when on vacation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasperdo Posted August 19, 2013 #13 Share Posted August 19, 2013 My recent cruises on the Coral and the Golden have had ViewSonic TV's. I don't watch much TV while on a cruise, but I thought the picture quality was pretty good considering. Coral Princess by Jasperdo, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro Flyer Posted August 19, 2013 #14 Share Posted August 19, 2013 My recent cruises on the Coral and the Golden have had ViewSonic TV's. I don't watch much TV while on a cruise, but I thought the picture quality was pretty good considering. I thought the same thing about our recent Coral cruise & with what seemed to be a better WiFi experience maybe the Coral has had their system updgraded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CA Posted August 19, 2013 #15 Share Posted August 19, 2013 I believe the Sapphire Princess had ViewSonics and the video was analog.You're right and I'm wrong. They're Viewsonic. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiserkenn Posted August 19, 2013 #16 Share Posted August 19, 2013 I agree about not watching too much TV onboard, but... On the way to/from Hawaii, I did get to watch two important college basketball games on ESPN. It was great! The idea of watching college basketball, in the middle of the Pacific, seemed amazing to me. The picture was pretty good. Not HD, but not distorted or grainy, either. Acceptable. (These were games that were important to me: my school.) In other words, it is OK for essential programming. It was OK for some news programs. Enjoy your cruise :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pablo222 Posted August 19, 2013 #17 Share Posted August 19, 2013 :confused:We're booked on a fourteen day cruise around Hawaii. We've reserved a mini-suite that includes two flat screen television sets.Are these high-definition TV sets? Do they present the correct format, i. e. NOT a squashed or stretched picture? I have been on quite a few princess ships. The TVs are generally 16x9 HD. The signal is SD, so the result is not that great. I have not seen squashed or stretched. The worst TVs ever are the viewsonic monitors with tuners -- that have apparently been replaced. These are the only TVs that I have ever seen that have to be unplugged and rebooted from time-to-time. The TVs may or may not have HDMI inputs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinerama Posted August 19, 2013 #18 Share Posted August 19, 2013 The only ship that seems to be receiving an HD signal is the Royal. This is only from pictures I have seen of the ship MUTS and flat screens in the cabins posted on Cruise Critic. We had done the Alaska cruise in June this year and while the picture quality was better than previous cruises on Princess, its still pretty bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWCJR Posted August 19, 2013 #19 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Flat panel TVs on Caribbean Princess, Ruby Princess, Crown Princess, and Coral Princess have all been Viewsonic TVs about 28" and have been HD 720 but not the full 1080. They have all had all types of inputs including HDMI but these for the most part have all been on the back and usually next to impossible to reach and plug anything into without a mirror and flashlight. The controls to actually use these inputs have sometimes been on the remote, sometime on the front panel and on the Coral the use of these inputs was blocked from access as the TVs were made for Carnival and they had them blocked before they ever reached the ship(there was an onscreen message to that effect). I like to use the TV to review HD video that I shoot and on the ones that I can connect and access the inputs the picture quality is very good. If you take a DVD, BluRay,computer or media player and can access the inputs you will be able to have an outstanding picture. P.S. onboard video can be very good but is NOT HD on all but the Royal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentchikan Posted August 19, 2013 #20 Share Posted August 19, 2013 We take our computers to review the pictures we take in HD. We also sometimes watch movies on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasper2012 Posted August 20, 2013 #21 Share Posted August 20, 2013 If I want to watch a movie I watch it on the outdoor movie screen. I love the fresh air and Drive in feel. Otherwise I use a my laptop. The in room TV cant be too bad because last year my son spent almost a whole day in the room watching movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentchikan Posted August 20, 2013 #22 Share Posted August 20, 2013 If I want to watch a movie I watch it on the outdoor movie screen. I love the fresh air and Drive in feel. Otherwise I use a my laptop. The in room TV cant be too bad because last year my son spent almost a whole day in the room watching movies. MUTS is amazing for real life events. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarpeian Rock Posted August 20, 2013 #23 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Not great quality and not great programming which is fine with us since we rarely watch TV when on vacation. Same with us. The first thing we do when we arrive in the cabin is to turn the TV off, and it never comes on again. Part of why we go on vacation is to escape all things digital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kentchikan Posted August 20, 2013 #24 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Same with us. The first thing we do when we arrive in the cabin is to turn the TV off, and it never comes on again. Part of why we go on vacation is to escape all things digital. It's good to unplug and really relax. I don't like it when circumstances require me to check email. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare trbarton Posted August 20, 2013 #25 Share Posted August 20, 2013 The TV in an inside cabin is an excellent way with the TV on the bridge cam to see when it gets light outside. Tom:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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