High Definition

Charter has a whopping 7-10 depending on which movie tiers you have. 5 on air, ESPN and Discovery, then HBO, SHO and CIN

 

This whole "HD? Who cares?" thing ain't limited to women. We don't have an HD television here at Chez Passy. My life moves along just fine. I paid $600 for our 32" Sony Wega flat CRT in 1999, and it's been a great television. I don't watch sports very often. I can see The Office and Lost really well on this television.

I spend that HD TV money on Apple computers. Weeeeeee.

 

There are several types of HD broadcast:

1080p: That's the truest form of HD. You'll only get that in blu-ray.
1080i/720p: Basically the same thing. This is what you get over-the-air with antenna and on some satellite and digital cable channels.
720i/480p: Enhanced definition and upconverted HD broadcasts.
480i: Standard broadcast.

P means progressive. For example, in 720, that's how many lines of resolution "flash" on the screen as you watch the broadcast. I means interlaced. Interlaces is half, so with 1080i, you only get 540 lines of resolution. 720p is the best way to have your settings because that is the standard HD broadcast.

On DirecTV, all HD channels except DiscoveryHD and HBO HD are upconverted. Those two channels found out they were being upconverted and threatened to pull their broadcasts if DirecTV didn't go true 720p.

I heard by the end of the year or early next year, DirecTV will expand its HD package to around 100 channels.

DishNetwork offers about 20-25 HD channels right now.

Most digital cable providers offer about 10-15.

The government deadline for all over-the-air channels (stuff you get with an antenna) to end analog broadcast and begin digital is Feb. 17, 2009. It is the law, too. Once that happens, most local channels will have at least two digital channels to choose from - one being the primary broadcast. So, for example, in my market channel 15-1 is the digital CBS. That channel has all the morning shows, soaps, evening newscasts, primetime shows, sporting events, etc. Just like the regular CBS channel did. When those shows broadcast in HD and I have an HD TV, I get to watch them in HD. Channel 15-2 is odd stuff like WB/UPN stuff or local radar.

God, I worked at Best Buy too long....

 

i don't have one. the choices are dizzying. i still have my 1999 model 32-inch sanyo. that was considered the shit when i bought it after making some money on an internet stock. i'll probably get a flat screen when i graduate from law school next year. i'm going at least 40 inches.

 

Leo1, yeah, the choices are vast.

I did work at Best Buy, so I've talked to just about every type of customer. I had the dude who didn't care how much he spent, the wife shopping for the husband, the tightwad who went with the piece of shit TV that would break within a year, the family that had no idea what was best for them, etc, etc, etc.

Like I said, I don't work at Best Buy anymore, but here is what I know: The salespeople are knowledgable as hell. They'll help you find what's best for you. They also don't work on commission. So whatever they tell you is in good faith, not because they want to line their pockets with straight cash, homie.

Even if you aren't in the market to buy yet but want to poke around and ask some questions, the Best Buy people will still be able to help you out. Go in there sometime and just check things out. They won't pressure you to buy and will help ya out.

Like I said, I worked there too long.....

 

That would be cool. One cool thing to watch is the shuttle launches on HDNet. They show them all and they look great in HD (and sound great with the surround sound on). The only weird thing is their anchorman looks and sounds like one of those Disneyland animatronic deals.

 

So where is this Best Buy located where the salespeople actually know things? I have yet to find it.

 

The one I worked at was top 100 in the company (there are over 720).

Go to a bigger market Best Buy if you can. Smaller ones tend to have smaller staff (duh) and suckier management.

You may have found a crappy salesman, too, or a newb fresh out of training. The one I worked at, about 95% of us knew WTF we were talking about.

 

I can attest to this. I just went into our Best Buy to take a look ... some lines are starting to show across my 35-inch CRT, indicating that the death spiral for the piece may not be too far behind.

I've looked at everything ... from a 27-inch CRT stopgap (a mere $406 plux tax) to larger CRT models (I trust HDTV, but prices aren't exactly in my affordability target zone). I looked at the larger HDTVs as well.

I got lucky ... a guy was able to answer the specific questions I had for him (are plasma more dependable? Are they still running excessively hot? Is burn-in still a problem). In other words, the usual gauntlet should I dive into HDTV. Likely, it will be one more CRT stopgap ... something I can move into my bedroom when I feel like taking that HDTV swan dive.

Any further advice, NDub? I want to make a move before long, but will be doing some extensive research first.

 

My best friend owns a rear projector, similiar to what somebody would do PowerPoint presentations on -- only he has a high-end one. So when I go over to his place to watch a game, I get to see it on a 96-inch HD screen with a surround sound system. Needless to say, I get over there as often as I can.

 

Projection isn't on my list ... the bulbs don't tend to last too long, at least at peak performance. I got lucky in that the CRT lasted 15 years, and it may be the reason I go with it again (well, that and the now-relative inexpensive cost).

Then again, PDB ... it's not yours. Enjoy.

 

There are so many choices for HDTVs - brand name, size, technology. It's all about what is best for you, though.

Where is the TV going? That will tell you how big of a screen size you need. A living room will probably require a larger TV than a bedroom. 37-42' is a good size for a living room. A 50' is ok, too. Anything beyond that is for your basement or massive living room.

How important is picture quality? Because a source (satellite, digital cable) will be needed. The proper accessories (HDMI cable, power center) and if you want surround sound (digital optical cable, upgraded speaker wire) are very, very important. Your HDTV is only as good as it's source and what carries that source.

Next, what do you like to watch? For 99.9% of us, it's sports. So you have to think: which TV fits what you like to watch?

-DLP, LCos and LCD projection TVs tend to be cheaper for such a large screen size, which ranges from 42 to 65 inches. These newer projection TVs don't protrude so far in the back like past projections and are very light for such a screen size. The drawbacks: You've got replace the bulb about every 4 years. You get the best picture when you're looking at it straight on. So if you've got seating off to the side or even at an angle from the screen, you won't get the full contrast, which is a big deal for HD. The viewing angle is better than in the past, but still not as good as plasma or LCD or even generic tube (CRT).

-LCD. These range from 15 to 46 inches. You can pick one of these up for around 1,200 bucks (without the accessories, of course). They have a 160 degree viewing angle so you can watch them from anywhere. They have decent contrast ratio and a bright picture. If you're into video games, this TV is the best for them because you don't have burn-in. The drawbacks: Pixel drag. They've gotten much better at it and most have 6 to 8 millisecond refresh rates, so you don't see much pixel drag on fast-moving objects. But, for sports fans, you may notice a very minor blur behind a ball flying through the air because the pixels aren't becoming active/inactive quick enough to keep up with the signal. Personally, I have an LCD and really don't see this.

-Plasma. This is, without a doubt, the best picture you can get. The contrast ratio on these bad boys is 5-10 times better than LCDs or projection TVs. Trust me, that makes a HUGE difference. You get the most vivid, colorful and realistic picture with these. Viewing angle is like 160-170 on these, too. You can get them as small as 37' and as large as 58' (a 103' from Panasonic for like 30K comes out next year). The drawbacks: If you game, this probably isn't for you. Burn-in comes the most from video games because they have non-moving objects (life bars, scoreboards, etc.) on the screen all the time. These also heat up because they require much more power to...well...power.

If you're still reading, here are some brand names to and to not consider:

KEEP YOUR EVIL EYE ON THESE:
LG plasmas, LCDs - The XD engine makes these bad boys shine. And they're very, very resonable in price, too. The flesh tones look the best on these, as well.

Sony LCDs - You may more for these, but the XBR engine built-in to some of them makes the picture quality rival many plasmas.

Panasonic plasmas, LCDs - Nevermind Consumer Reports' ratings. Check one out yourself. They're nice.

Samsung - You spend a bit more here, too. But they've got a real deep contrast and the reds are real nice.

Pioneer plasmas - Fucking amazing. But you'll pay 3-4 times as much as any other. And that's a lot for a, say, $1,000 TV.

STAY AWAY FROM:
Westinghouse - Every floor model we had (about 3-4) had to be sent to service because something wen't apeshit inside of it.

Maxent - Here was my line when people asked "What's Maxent?"
Me: "Have you ever heard of it before?"
Customer: "No."
Me: "Exactly."

Insignia - It's the Best Buy house brand. You won't find it anywhere else. It's cheap, but don't suckered. These are generic TVs.

Holla if you have any more questions....