Finally HD (1 Viewer)

[Rex.G]

I have had a Toshiba 40h80 RPTV for four years. I used to have direct TV but when they first made HD available I felt it was too expensive. They just introduced the cable to my apartments and the HD package is very reasonable.

I have only seen HD a couple times at a local a/v retailer. FINALLY I will be able to watch HD on my TV. I can't wait!

Does anyone have a suggestion for what to watch first? I will have Comcast. Maybe on ON DEMAND?

 

[Jeremy Swenson]

hard to think right now what is on tuesday evenings, i have just over the air stuff right now so i usually catch CSI , smallville,Lopez, stuff like that, they all look pretty good

 

[Chuck_D]

N.C.I.S. on CBS, American Idol and House on Fox tonight. Don't know what is on on NBC. American Idol and Fox both look good with OTA HDTV.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

The best thing to view to get HD in all its native splendor is one of the all native HD channels. All programming on PBS-HD and Discovery-HD is originally "filmed" in HD. Sometimes film based HD transfers are lacking in the color depth and realism of the stuff from HD cameras. This "native HD" programming is where HD truly shines (not that HD from film is bad, it is far better than anything you will see from SD). Sports in HD is also amazing, being it is shown live via HD camera.

 

[John S]

Yeah.. I don't think any of the on-demand stuff is in HD yet....

If you get Discovery HD, I vote that!!!

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Comcast in Boston has On-Demand HD. A few new releases and some IMAX stuff. Was originally $7.99 a viewing, but I watched Collateral in HD for $3.99 last week.

 

[Jeremy Swenson]

yep, discovery hd is pretty cool, when i first saw hd at home i sat and watched some underwater fish and stuff just because the picture was so awesome, i even watched highschool wrestling or something because it looked so perfect,

now there are alot more hd programs on so its easier to find a good show

 

[John S]

On - Demand HD?? Well, I vote Attack Of The Clones!!!!

That scenes where they are fly'n around the city, will make you dizzy and definetly feel like you are really there in true HD, because they do this even on my upconverted to 1080i DVD Player.

 

[Tim Jin]

Discovery HD is still the best HD channel. HDNet comes in second as far as content goes. The worse is, TNT HD, other than their NBA games in HD, they are just wasting bandwidth.

If you get HBO or Shoetime, most of their prime time movies are in HD, but I hardly ever watch them besides their series.

PBS HD has good content.

INHD is kinda a waste.

I do see a lot of sports on in HD on ESPN HD, but its hit or miss. Most likely prime time games are in HD.

As for the four major networks, almost all of their prime time shows are in HD. CBS showed the Masters in HD over the weekend. If you are into NASCARS, Fox shows the races in HD. If you are into NFL football, almost all of the games are in HD.

ABC and the NBA is disappointing. They are not in HD, besides the playoffs.

Almost all of your prime time network shows will be in HD.

 

[Rich Malloy]

Just adding to the chorus... Discovery HD Theater is the best for picture quality and programming, followed by HD Net and HD Movienet. Sports can be spectacular, and I was going to give an unqualified rave for CBS's HD sports broadcasting, but the NCAA basketball tournament was subpar compared to their usual. ESPN does some nice HD sports broadcast, and just wait until you see the Sportscenter set in HD!

As for broadcast TV, I think the best of the best are the various CSI shows. They look so good that I nearly always get drawn in, despite the fact that I'm not so crazy about the programs themselves (the Vegas one is my favorite).

Finally, whenever a movie comes on HD Movienet that you like, watch it! Generally speaking, it looks much better than HBO-HD, Max-HD, etc., and I've never seen a non-OAR broadcast on HD Movienet. The only downside? Your DVD collection will start to seem sorta like your old VHS collection (you know, the one collecting dust in the back of the closet).

 

[Rex.G]

Thanks for all of your suggestions.

Well I've had a little time to play with the new toy and I gotta say, Dicovery HD floored me. They were doing a little bit on Brasil and I was totally drawn in. WOW!
I also saw a bit of a CHL hockey game that looked uber fantastic on INHD. We were supposed to get a basketball game but got UFC instead. still looked excelent.

I wasn't overly impressed with the premium movie channel Broadcasts. I get the feeling that some of the source they are using isnt HD. I have a hunch when I start seeing some newer content my feeling toward them will improve. I can't wait to see some of the original shows in HD.

ROTK was on starz (i think it was starz) and I really fealt it was lacking. It looked good but I was expecting great. I should have pulled out the DVD to compare, but I did not have much time. If my memory serves It seems to me that the HD might have been a touch cleaner but the DVD seemed more robust and satisfying on my Zenith 318 upconverted to 1080i.

I have comcast in Portland and their selection is a bit limited, (Locals, PBS, movies (prem), Discovery, ESPN, INHD) but is only 5 dollars over the digital cable price for the HD box. Plus they do offer several movies and IMAX presentations for 3.99 "On Demand". I am going to get Shark Tales HD this weekend.

I work a night shift so I havn't seen prime time TV in years. In fact the last show I watched with any regularity was the first season of Third Rock from the Sun. So I am going to try to record some stuff witth the dvr feature on my motorola box. Your suggestions will help when I am looking for titles to record.

Thanks again for all of your suggestions. I can't wait to figure out how to record!!

 

[Thomas Nichols]

I got a DVR from my cable provider and I can record about 12 hours of HD. It works great for me. They aren't afraid to charge me 10$ a month for the DVR, but it is a small price to pay for being able to record HD....oh and Discovery has the best HD out there. You should check out Lost and Alias on Wed nights. Those shows look GREAT in HD. ABC and CBS do some really nice HD.

 

[Allen Hirsch]

Discovery and INHD - both have a lot of nature programming which is flat-out gorgeous.

ESPN-HD Sunday night baseball is great, too. (Though the aerial shots usually look like they've got SD cameras instead of HD)

Your'e right that movies are much more hit-or-miss as to HD quality.

The DVR isn't Tivo for user interface friendliness, but it gets the job done. And for the price and flexibility of recording HD or SD, it's a decent bargain.

 

[todbnla]

I just went down the HD path, too. My question as it relates to this topic is: if you already get HBO via subscription, are you already getting HBO HD too? Or, does that cost extra?

BTW-I luv HD thus far, wow.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

I don't know about other cable/sat companies, but Comcast charges no extra for HBO-HD if you already subscribe to HBO. YMMV

 

[Tim Jin]

I have HBO and Showtime from Time Warner. They don't charge no extra for the HD feeds.