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HD and Full HD: understanding streaming picture quality and improving it at home

Conseils & AstucesPar Mondial TV·12 November 20266 min read

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SD, HD, Full HD, 720p, 1080p… There is no shortage of acronyms when it comes to picture quality, and they are not always easy to make sense of. Above all, many viewers do not realise that the sharpness of what they see on screen depends less on their TV set than on their internet connection and a few very simple settings. In this guide, we explain in plain language what these terms mean, how picture quality works in streaming and, most importantly, how to improve it at home so you get the most from the live channels and films in your Mondial TV subscription.

SD, HD, Full HD: what are we talking about?

A digital image is made up of tiny dots called pixels. The more there are, the sharper and more detailed the picture can be. Resolution simply refers to the number of pixels that make up the image:

SD (standard definition): the traditional quality of television. Fine on a small screen, it quickly looks a little soft on a large TV.
HD (720p): 1280 × 720 pixels. A clear step up from SD, with crisper outlines.
Full HD (1080p): 1920 × 1080 pixels, more than two million dots. Today it is the benchmark for most TV programmes.

The « p » in 720p or 1080p stands for « progressive »: the picture is drawn in one go, line after line, which gives a steadier image, especially during fast movement.

Key point: a recent TV can almost always display HD. If the picture looks average, the screen itself is rarely the cause.

TV set on a wooden cabinet in a living room decorated with plants

How quality works in streaming

Unlike an aerial, streaming delivers the picture over the internet. To keep playback smooth, modern services use a technique called adaptive streaming: quality adjusts automatically, in real time, to the bandwidth available. If your connection is fast and stable, you get the best version available; if it weakens, the picture temporarily drops in resolution rather than freezing.

That is why a picture can look superb one evening and a little less sharp the next, at the same time: it all depends on what is happening on your network at that moment. For Mondial TV, the guidelines are simple: around 5 Mb/s is enough for standard definition, and 10 Mb/s is recommended for HD.

Another factor comes into play: the original quality of the programme. Not every channel broadcasts in the same resolution, and an old film will not have the same detail as a recent production. The final quality therefore depends both on the source and on your connection.

Checking and improving your connection

Since the connection is key, that is where to start.

Measure your speed

Run a speed test from the device you watch TV on, not from your phone sitting next to the router. Ideally, do it in the evening, at the times you actually watch: that is when networks are busiest.

Go wired

Wi-Fi is convenient, but it is sensitive to walls, distance and interference. Connecting your TV or set-top box to the router with an Ethernet cable is often the most effective way to stabilise the picture. If that is not possible, move the router closer to the living room or consider a Wi-Fi extender.

Lighten the load

Downloads in progress, automatic updates, games consoles, video calls: they all share the same bandwidth. During an important match or film, pause whatever can wait.

Four-antenna Wi-Fi router lit in blue and pink

Setting up your TV properly

A good connection is not always enough: factory settings are often designed to dazzle in the shop, not in your living room. A few tweaks make a real difference:

Choose the right picture mode: « Cinema », « Movie » or « Standard » modes give more natural colours than « Dynamic » or « Vivid ».
Tone down the sharpness: sharpness turned up to the maximum creates artificial outlines. A moderate setting looks more refined.
Try motion smoothing: useful for sport, it can make films look artificial. Decide according to what you are watching.
Match brightness to the room: lower in the evening in a dark living room, higher during the day.
Check your box’s output: if you use an Android TV or Apple TV box, make sure its output resolution matches your screen.

To go further, our guide to setting up your Smart TV for streaming covers these steps in detail, and our comparison of boxes, HDMI sticks and Android TV helps you choose the right equipment.

Good habits in the app

The Mondial TV app works on smartphones, tablets, Android TV, Google TV, Apple TV and on computers through the Web TV. A few simple habits help keep the picture looking good:

Keep the app up to date: new versions regularly improve stability.
Restart from time to time: a TV or box that has been on for weeks benefits from a restart, as does your internet router.
Give it a few seconds: when a channel starts, adaptive streaming sometimes begins cautiously before stepping up in quality.
Pick the right screen: a programme watched on a tablet needs less bandwidth than on a large TV, and resume across screens lets you switch devices along the way.

Our article Mondial TV on all your screens shows you how to set up the service on each of your devices.

Hand holding a remote control to adjust the TV

What if the picture is still disappointing?

If you have checked your speed, plugged in a cable and adjusted your settings and the picture is still blurry or jerky, there are other possibilities: another device in the house using a lot of bandwidth, a router that needs replacing, or a temporary problem with your internet provider. Our FAQ covers the most common cases, and our team can be reached through the contact page.

Not a subscriber yet? The 2-week trial for €0.99 is the ideal way to check the quality at home, on your own connection, before continuing at €9.90/month with no commitment. And if everything suits you, the annual plan at €79/year saves you €39.80 over the year. See the details of our plans, then sit back: a well-tuned picture really does change an evening.

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