HD or No? (1 Viewer)

[Jeremy Hegna]

Hello fellow forumers....
I live in Anchorage Alaska as my profile suggests. I've been shopping for HiDef sets, both direct and rear projection...as well as front projection systems, and I'm in a dilemna.
As most of you know, even in the major markets (NY, LA, Chicago, Houston, etc...) HiDef programming is VERY limited at the present time. In Anchorage, it's even more so. We HAVE to have a 6 foot dish to get any kind of reception by satellite...but 10' is the recommendation. Also, the further north you are, the less opportunity of getting a southern shot.
Dish Network and Direct TV are only available services here.
You must live in certain parts of town, you must sacrifice your first born, yada, yada, yada...you get the picture.
Hence my dilemna. I love watching DVDs and would like to take advantage of a 16:9 screen...but with little or no chance of receiving HiDef programming (for maybe a couple to several years) Is it worth the coin to invest in one now? Or wait it out, IYO?
Have those of you that got rid of your 4:3 in lieu of a 16:9 screen found cable TV watching decent? Or must one have both 16:9 and 4:3 to enjoy each type of viewing at it's best quality?
Just wanted to get your opinions...
Thanks,
Jeremy

 

[Evan A]

Do you watch a lot of TV? The money would be better spent on a TIVO!
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Evan Adams
[email protected]
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[Jeremy Hegna]

Yes, Evan...I do watch a lot of TV. Especially sports.
I've been debating about a TIVO for this football season, but I really want a big screen to enjoy it on
I'm turning 30 in September and my bride's given me permission to take the HD plunge...but without programming, I'm not sure it's worth it.
I watch several movies a week and I know it would help with my DVD experience
Life is full of trade-offs. I would like this to not be one of them....sacrificing decent cable reception and viewing for better a better DVD experience.
Any others with an opinion?
Jer

 

[JerryHatchett]

Jeremy,
Funny how we all seem to have that wife angle to contend with on our HT stuff.

I'll have to agree with the TiVo recommendation, which is IMO a quantum leap in TV technology that truly changed the way I use television.
The downside to the TiVo experience is the fact that I'm sure HD TiVo is eons away.

Nonetheless, I have to vote for the HD set. If you haven't seen one in action yet, go do so and you'll probably have your answer pretty quickly. I'm in the same boat here: I wouldn't be surprised to learn that our local TV station is still in mono. Our cable system now offers digital cable but I called them and asked them if any of the channels were offered in HD. Their response: "What's that?"
I ordered a 65H80 this morning and am shopping for the right progressive scan DVD player to go with it now. I've posted that question in another thread and hoping to get some feedback there soon.
Jerry

 

[Jay Mitchosky]

Moving to HD area. Also add my two cents that, yes, despite there being rather little in the way of HD programming a progressive scan set is still a great solution for watching DVDs. Once you spend some time watching it you'll never go back to interlaced. The picture is much more solid and detailed.
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--Jay
"No one can hear when you're screaming in digital."
My Home Theatre Pictures...
"You're no mesiah. You're, you're a movie of the week. You're a ... t-shirt, at best."

 

[Abdul Jalib]

Definitely get a HD-ready set even if you will "never" get HD. However, HD is not synonymous with a 16:9 screen, only a 16:9 picture. You can consider a 4:3 HD-ready set that has a 16:9 mode, producing widescreen pictures the same way 16:9 sets do, just with wider letterbox bars at top and bottom. Cable TV stinks in most areas, so get satellite, then a TiVo, then a HD-ready set. Next, I suggest getting a HTPC. DVD's at 1440x960i on my Radeon card with ATI Player are sometimes superior in quality to the worst HD transfers. Then think about HD. BTW, this just in, Dish says they are going to add CBS-HD. And May 1, 2002, Anchorage is scheduled to be blessed with 7 digital OTA stations.
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Philips_HDTV/joinClick to subscribe to Philips_HDTV discussion group

 

[Mike I]

Actually the amount of HD programming has increased quite a bit in the last year, thanks primarily to CBS which has most of it's prime time programming in HD..ABC also has a few movies a month and 4 or 5 of their fall prime time drama's will be HD this coming season..
Also this just in from HDTV magazine..

HDTV Breakthrough From Satellite Signal Provider EchoStar
CBS Takes HDTV To The People
by
Dale Cripps
EchoStar has won the heart's and pocketbooks of HDTV enthusiasts more so
than has DirecTV. This is due to EchoStar's carriage of both HBO and
Showtime, and a prime time pay-per-view channel. With less transponder
real estate in their inventory, DirecTV has limited its HDTV offerings
to just HBO, and one very late night pay-per-view and a demo loop.
EchoStar may be upping the ante again, this time with two more
channels from CBS, Inc's. network-owned and operated stations WCBS, New
York, and WCBS, Los Angeles. These two will likely be available, and we
will know for sure tomorrow from EchoStar, in what the industry calls
the 'white zones' of the nation. That means that consumers out-of-range
of any digital signal from any CBS affiliate will be eligible to receive
these two CBS-operated channels.
CBS affiliates are reportedly 'up-in-arms' about the CBS move to
satellite. "They see this as the network's first step toward bypassing
them." said one long-time affiliate station. "They are going to see this
as a real threat." A conference call was scheduled for 4:30 PM today
with the CBS Affiliate Advisory Board to discuss the ramifications of
the news.
It is reminiscent of eighteen years ago when CBS secured a DBS permit
from the FCC. The Tiffany network laid plans at that time for a
direct-to-home HDTV service. But the affiliates jumped up to block the
network from advancing the plan and the DBS permit was returned to the
FCC unused. The attitude today from CBS has changed to; "If you are not
doing HDTV in your market today, why shouldn't we offer an alternative?"
A 'white area' is traditionally defined as the area outside of a grade B
NTSC coverage. CBS is said to be modifying the definition to include any
area which does not have a CBS digital signal. This could be especially
challenging to outlying markets where digital conversion may be years
off. Customers equipping for satellite reception of CBS may have little
cause to seek local DTV signals when available.
For consumers it is good news. It opens up new vistas for original HDTV
network programming to rural regions where neither an analog nor digital
signal can be found. "It's a big step, and an exciting opportunity for
the HDTV technology," said a source who wished to remain anonymous.
All the national networks were approached by EchoStar for like
arrangements. CBS was the only net with enough HDTV programming to
warrant the move. The subsidy money for HDTV programming has been mostly
absorbed by CBS, leaving the other networks to fend on their own.
EchoStar will be hammering out final details tonight with confirmation
by mid-day tomorrow.

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[Jeremy Hegna]

Guys,
Thanks for the suggestions.
When is the new line of RPs due to hit the shelves? I've heard the new line of Mits will have the fire wire port, keeping it a bit more future-proof I suppose.
This should also lower the prices on "last year's best" brands, wouldn't you think?
I'm not too concerned about HD programming, moreso about DVD playback at the present time. Satellite, again, is hit and miss in Alaska. We've been promised over the last couple of years that the addition of new satellites in the Northern sky will alleviate the necessity to have such a massive dish...or no reception at all. So far, to my knowledge, this hasn't happened.
Jeremy

 

[Jeff Adams]

Yes. I would most definately get an hdtv set. The prices have dropped quite a bit. Even if you are not able to get hdtv programs via satellite, they are still great to watch anamorphic dvd's on. Just make sure you get yourself a progressive scan dvd player. I am telling you, there is a night and day difference between interlaced and progressive scan! Also with alot of hdtv sets you have options of different aspect ratios. So you can stretch out 4x3 programs to fill your entire screen.
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"I'm your Huckelberry"

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

Jeff,
I've done my HT completely backwards
I already have progressive scan (Denon 2800), so I'm ready there. Everything's in place to take advantage of the "big screen experience."
I just went to a local B&M in town and took a look at some of their sets. They just got a couple of Panasonics in.
The PT47WX49 and WX51. They are both 47" HiDef displays, the 49 is $2k and the 51 is $2.2k (with screen guard).
This seems to be a phenomenal deal. The smaller Mits is still around $2.5k
Anyone with one of these new Pannys around? They didn't look nearly as sharp or bright as the Pioneer Elites standing next to it. However, if the sets are new, they may not be completely calibrated.
You guys have convinced me to take the plunge...now I suppose the question is whether or not to wait for the newer technology, or buy now.
Jeremy

 

[John Morton]

For more information on the Pani 47WX49, check the "TV and projector" forum for a thread started by BrettW called: "Panasonic 47WX49 Service Manual". There are great hacks for this TV and a mention by Brett of his web site he put together for support/ect. It's worth a look.
ALSO, check out the post in the same forum for red push for more great info!!
ALSO, do make sure you get a progressive DVD player. Brett has a Skyworth with a Fujoura (sp) chip and on his Pani it simply blew away my Sony 650d (which is non-progressive and I can say looks simply incredible on my 36" non-progressive with the verticle squeze trick = well, plus a few mods of my own I've come up with and a few more I'd really like to finallize some day soon).
ALSO, I think you can get the Pani at onecall.com for just over $1725 delivered to your door. They have excellent prices and better than that service. Do me a favor and tell them [email protected] sent you.
I can say IMO that this Pani with the Skyworth DVD player is by far the best projection I've personally looked at (yes, IMO, comperable to the Pioneer Elite as well, but then again, they did have a different DVD player!!).
Whatever you decide to purchase, plan to spend at least a few weekends tweaking you won't be disapointed.
Good luck!!
John

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

Thanks John
Precisely what I needed to hear...under 2k for an HD TV, damn....I'm happy I waited
Jeremy

 

[Michael Jsmith]

Jeremy,
I would recommend a 53 or 61" Sony HS10 or HS20/30. With the 61" Sony, you basically get a great 4:3 set for regular viewing, but also HD capability and anamorphic squeeze (for anamorphic DVDs) on Video 5. It's like having a built-in 56" 16x9 TV, which is pretty darn big...and priced lower than most that size! I'm in a similar situation. I watch a lot of cable (4:3), some Hi-Def (16X9) and a whole lot of anamorphic DVDS (16x9). My 61HS10, IMO, delivers outstanding picture quality in all modes. Right now, you can get some great prices on the 53HS10 ($1999) because the new models, the HS20/30s are just coming out. The main difference is the newer models have 3:2 detection and 2 HD inputs vs 1 for the HS10. Anyway, I love my set--I think it's the perfect bridge set until everything is broadcast in 16x9.
mike
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Consuming air and other valuable resources since 1953.

 

[John Morton]

Good post Mike.
I checked out the Sony 53"ers as well (I'm actually a Sony die hard and thus far have purchased nothing but if you want the real truth). I agree it looks quite nice. The only problem I had was both stores I viewed it at had it connected to a real crappy DVD player so there was quite a bit of pixelation (which although I find hard to believe was caused by a Sony, does make it tough to give an honest "TV" opinion = could've also been VSM instead of the DVD player now that I think of it??). Anyway, I've been looking as I'm debating on staying status quo for at least 2 more years, spending the $ to upgrade my 36" wega, or buying a new 16:9 projection (IF THEY JUST MADE A 47" SONY WEGA 16:9 FORMAT = CAN YOU HEAR ME SONY?????). I'm 95% toward buying the boards I need to upgrade my wega to the new xbr450, but my FV15 looks so darn good with the verticle squeeze (especially since I got rid of the scan lines by changeing the aspect to 0 and vsiz to +2 in the service menu) that it's hard to see any difference?? As you can see I try to do as much research as possible before making a final decision. I gave myself til Aug 1 and I'm ordering then if I'm going to order at all. Assuming I upgrade as planned, I'll then new-post to HTF with results when finished. If I don't order, I'll still post with my suspected plan anyway.
If you've decided to buy local, something that may help you make your final decision would be to call and ask them if they mind you bringing in YOUR DVD player (WITH CABLES and select DVDs), let you connect it to a few sets, maybe tweak them a little (at least Avia), and then purchase. This way you'll get a much closer apples to apples comparison and at the same time get a better education.
OH (speaking of that), and keep reading HTF!!!!!!!!!!!
Good luck!!
John