Toshiba RPTV's DVI upgradeable...great...HOW? (1 Viewer)

[Dennis Pagoulatos]

Alrighty then...DVI upgradeable...what the heck does that mean?? I can't find HOW it will be DVI upgradeable...I don't see anything on the rear inputs/outputs that looks like it could accomodate a DVI port. Am I missing something here, or is Toshiba playing a "Yeah yeah yeah, the check is in the mail, don't worry about it..." game with everyone. How much will this DVI "upgrade" cost?? And when will it be available? There is nothing as far as I can tell on Toshiba's website, and the drones at Best Buy obviously have no clue. Of course, the reason I ask is that I'm interested in the 50H82 model and the DVI potential intrigues me for connecting my PC with DVI output to the TV... Otherwise, I'll pick up the 50H81 at one of the fire sales going on right now...

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

-Dennis

 

[BruceSpielbauer]

Why worry about DVI? The fact that the MPAA WANTS you to believe that this will become a standard does not mean that it WILL become a standard. The same group tried to convinve the public that DIVX was going to be in all of our homes, and also opposed the DVD format. The marketplace decreed otherwise, as I recall.

There are now 3.1 million HDTV sets in users' homes, and ALMOST NONE of these have anything resembling a DVI port. By Christmas, that number will surpass 4 million, and still VERY, VERY few of them will have any sort of a DVI input. Do you seriously think the large number of early adopters (including many who paid upwards of $7 and even $10 K to be an early adopter) will simply be abandoned?

I shall now go back to devoting my time to worrying about more immediate and timely issues, such as where that left sock disappeared to in this morning's wash.

-Just my opinion,
-Bruce in Chi-Town

 

[Dennis Pagoulatos]

Well, I don't care about DVI becoming a standard for HDTV...I'm more interested in having the option to connect my graphics workstation to the HDTV for some 3D gaming! (No static images will be allowed, and can be turned off on most games worth their salt!)
So, anybody else?
-Dennis

 

[rougehiller]

My feeling is it will be cheaper to buy 50HDX82 (~$300 more) which has built-in DVI input than to upgrade 50H82 later.
BTW, on page 14 of Link Removed says "This TV is not intended to and should not be used with a PC". Do you know why?

 

[Chet Hayes]

I believe I saw a quote from a press release where Toshiba had indicated that the sets that are DVI/DHCP upgradable have a power supply capable of running the upgrade and it will be a field service call to install.

I think this makes sense, since the DVI/DHCP spec confines the final decryption device to be inside the display. If they gave you some type of connector for an external upgrade, it would circumvent the whole purpose of the DVI/DHCP spec to begin with.

I'm in a similar boat, considering buying the 50H82 or 57H82. I look at the upgradability as an insurance policy. If DHCP does become required in the future, then at least I could upgrade.

As for not worrying about the industry abandoning current HDTV compatible owners, I would disagree that there is little reason for worry. If DVI/DHCP is required to get 720P or 1080i from some sources in the future, eg PPV, HD-DVD's, etc, that will still be at least several years out. At that point, the message could be... well the HDTV you bought several years ago will receive HDTV OTA at full resolution. It will also receive most cable/sat sources at whatever the highest resolution is that they provide. And you can still watch DHCP protected sources, whatever they turn out to be, just not at the full resolution of your set. Remember, most of the people who buy these sets are not all that technically savy to begin with. I could see the industry getting away with it. Will they, who knows?

Bottom line, now that either DVI or DVI upgradable units are shipping, I would not buy a set that is not at least upgradable.

 

[Dennis Pagoulatos]

Anybody know why they should not be used with a PC? As long as you have video drivers on your PC to display 720 lines, for example, what would be the issue?

-Dennis

 

[Gil D]

Remember, most of the people who buy these sets are not all that technically savy to begin with. I could see the industry getting away with it.

I have been shopping for an HDTV RPTV and not one salesperson has even mentioned DVI or HDCP
I think people will be very pissed when they find out that their $5K HDTV and HD-Sat receiver won't do 720p or 1080i anymore.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Because PC programs are full of static images for the most part. Tons of people have connected their PC and web-browsed their way to burn-in

As long as you're smart about your PC usage on the set, it's no worries

 

[Dennis Pagoulatos]

I agree, Jeff...I'm not planning on wasting a $2K-$3K TV so that I can surf the web "real big and stuff"...Now blowing people away in Jedi Knight II, that's another story...
-Dennis

 

[JohnnyG]

The upgrade will require changing out the jack pack on the set with one that has the DVI port and associated electronics. I can't imagine this being a user-installable upgrade. I can't imagine it being all that cheap either, but no prices or availability dates have been mentioned yet.

 

[Dennis Pagoulatos]

That's what I was afraid of...it sounds a little pricey. Anytime you need to have a tech. come to your house, you've already spent a decent amount of money, regardless of how long the "upgrade" takes to install.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for any announcements from Toshiba...although the HX series will have the DVI built in, or so I've been told...

-Dennis

 

[SteveMo]

I can't get HD televison on cable for the next 10 years in my area most likley.

Satalite isn't as good as DTV cable most of the time anyway from what I hear.

I do still consider it for HD Discovery however.

I would rather enjoy a product or design that is not new technology. That is why I waited until this year to get anything to do with movies. I do admit I bought a few tapes but not much. When somebody gets the HD disc and they don't want the old ones any longer guess whos going to buy them.

That is why DVI does not concern me now.