need HD help. (1 Viewer)

[Derek S]

I was trying to figure out what my options are for High Def,

in about 2 weeks i will be getting a new Hdready tv (hitachi 65S500) I want to watch the super bowl in high def for sure. also I would like to some day get the HD package that Directv offers.

one more thing i am very interested in Tivo.

so my question(s) is, is there one box that can get both OTA and direct TV HD?

i know i will need an Antenna for local channels. and that i will need the oval dish for the Direct TV hd.

next question, if i get a box that can get both, if say down the line I get directivo, is it possible to have both those boxes on the same tv? meaning can the HD box and the seperate tivo box both get the direct tv signal.


if you guys have any suggestions on brands i would love to hear them. I see that direct tv has great deal on tvio at their web site.

thank very much.

Derek

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Derek,

All HD-capable DirecTV boxes will also tune local ota digital and local ota analog tv broadcasts. They have both HD and non-HD outputs (i.e. component and sometimes DVI for HD, S-video and composite video outputs for non-HD)
They will upconvert non-HD signals for output to HD capable sets and downconvert HD signals for non-HD capable sets, vcrs, and standalone Tivos.

The currently available DirecTivo will not record HD, and will not record non-satellite tv signals of any kind.

The currently available standalone Tivos will record from analog ota, non-scrambled cable fed directly to the Tivo, output from any cable box or any DirecTV receiver, but will not record HD. You would have to use one of the non-hd outputs from an HD box to record programming on one of these.

Early next year but perhaps not in time for the Superbowl, There will be an HD capable DirecTivo box. It will tune and record any DirecTV channel, SD or HD, and will playback HD broadcasts in HD. It will also be capable of tuning OTA digital channels, both SD and HD and recording and playing them back.

Dish Network is also about to release an HD-capable pvr, but it will lack the advanced programming features of Tivo-based units.

Comcast is about to roll out HD cable boxes with built in HD pvr, and already has some units out for beta testing. These won't be for sale but will rent for $5-10 a month more than the non-pvr HD cable
box which in turn costs $5 more than the non-HD digital cable box. Other cable companies may follow suit.

There is a new satellite service called Voom which has a heavy emphasis on HD content, promising 39 HD channels by next March. They are also promising an HD-capable PVR by the first half of next year. A goodly number of those 39 HD channels are proprietary channels exclusive to the Voom system and some may be of dubious value as far as content but they do have 10 HD movie channels running 24/7--mostly 10-15 year old films rather than stuff currently running on HBO or Showtime, but some good titles and pq is reportedly quite good. There's a lot more Voom info over at AVS Forums. The current Voom box will tune Voom satellite channels and local ota digital channels but not analog. They are having a few growing pains at present and nobody's getting locals reliably due to mapping difficulties and the box's current inability to do manual local channel scans. Voom is working hard on a solution to the local ota problems.

 

[Lew Crippen]

next question, if i get a box that can get both, if say down the line I get directivo, is it possible to have both those boxes on the same tv? meaning can the HD box and the seperate tivo box both get the direct tv signal.

Steve gave a pretty comprehensive set of answers—I’ll just write about this one.

Assuming that you buy a DirecTV HD receiver today you will be set for both DirectTV and OTA (with an antenna) HD broadcasts. You can even time shift programs using a VCR. Just connect the component or DVI output to your TV and the S-video or composite outputs to your VCR. The older model receivers like the Hughes E86 won’t output both 1080i and 480i (for the VCR) simultaneously, but if you switch the outputs back and forth between the two, you can record a program while you are not away or watching the same program in SD. Some newer receivers will output both SD and HD signals at the same time so you can record a program in SD while watching it in HD.

Now buy the DircTivo—I’ll assume the current model, as I have no idea of what features will really be available on the, yet to be released HD model. If you have the triple LNB, elliptical dish, you will have two unused lines—run both of those to the DirecTivo (it has two different tuners). The third line from the dish still goes to the HD receiver. If you are already using one of the lines for a bedroom set, you will need a multiswitch to get four separate lines from the dish.

Now you can watch an HD program in HD, while at the same time recording two different programs in SD on the Tivo. Playback of the recorded programs is in SD of course. The SD Tivos are pretty cheap right now at $100. As a bonus, even though you can’t record HD on one of these, you can record and playback any 5.1 sound that is broadcast.

 

[Derek S]

thanks you two for the great answers, i checked out the AVS forum on that Voom, sounds very interesting.

does anyone have any brand HD recievers that are pretty good. not sure what type of options to look for in a HD STB.


thanks again

Derek