anyone know anything about high definition tv?

[madmom]

Have to buy a new tv and am curious about the hdtv. Is it worth the extra money,are all stations going to hd,basically anything you could tell me would be helpful. Thanx in advance.

[medeak]

1. Cable company told me it was useless here

but live in remote area... would call your cable provider and ask.

[Shoeempress]

2. We've been in the market for a TV for a year. Hubby, Mr technical,

keeps getting a different story from every dealer he speaks to. Some say EDtv is as good if you are not trying to count the hairs on a mouse. Others say, it's not. Good luck.

[jdots]

5. If you have a TON OF MONEY

I dealt in installing it and keeping the wealthy happy with it's short comings for years...here are some facts
Hi def is great for certain and not all things you watch just like surround sound became a way to beef up crappy movies that couldn't keep your attention,hi deff does the same.
There is a reson for it's expence and it is shown in the fact of being able to buy a regular t.v. that cost 1500 $ in 1980 for 150 bucks today. today you get the toy free but the batteries are what cost you alot of money.D.V.Ds are not high def ! wierd but true,if they were no one would go to movies,so be preparred to spend upwards of 100 $ a month for what you can waych in hi def at home.Ad 3 grand for for a good surround system and that is a okay one,not great,but you spent 4-10 thousand on a real high def veiwing system so you can rationalize the purchase.
NOW THE WIRING ! and remote control unification can be done by you if you have the tools and wire (about 1000 $ )or you can hire an installer like me for 80 bucks an hour and depending on what you want done (in wall speakers etc...) plus re plastering and painting it adds about 3-5 thousand dollars.
the cost of a real life high def surround system worth it's hassle is about 20-30 thousand dollars & 100 $ a month for some (limited) programming to watch.I have done million $ and up systems.........Is this worth it ???? most installers i know if we have them don't turn them on that much because we beome videofiles and like audiofiles you search for good program material to use your system to it's potential. wow it costs a ton and if you don't have that kind of money forget it and travel,live well and buy art that will gain in value because the thirty grand you just spent is worth about 600 bucks. sorry i went off for so long.but i have a contenpt for junky gear that isn't made well now that everything is made cheaply and with no tomorrow in sight.

[Valkyrie55]

3. Here's a link

to the Federal Communications Commission website. Pretty much everything there is to know about HDTV is there. http://www.dtv.gov/

[Bandit]

4. If you get satellite TV you will need another box and it isn't cheap

Cable offers it in large cities but not in many rural areas. It is coming in the future though and now may be a good time to buy the TV set. I just bought one from Costco. A Toshiba and the picture is way better than the others on display and it wasn't even receiving HD TV. They are more expensive but worth it IMHO.

[Misunderestimator]

16. The HD box isn't that much more expensive.

[Technowitch]

6. We just bought a Hitachi 65" rear-projection HDTV

...and at the moment, we get no over-the-air signals. Comcast doesn't support HDTV yet where we're at, and we haven't yet decided to go get a satellite system, which is likely to be the only option for some time.

HOWEVER, we do have a progressive-scan DVD player. And most movies these days are available in letterbox format. The 16x9 format display plus progressive scan output from the DVD player are simply awesome, and SO much better than the 50" Hitachi projection set this new one replaced.

Eventually, HDTV will be more readily available thru the cable systems, if only because the satellite people are giving them stiff competition.

I guess the main question is whether you watch enough television to warrant the expense of getting a new set at all. If so, upgrading to HDTV is probably something you wouldn't regret in the long run.

[TX-RAT]

7. whether you watch enough television to warrant the expense

Hit the nail on the head.
We just bought a Big Hitachi also. Most of what you watch isn't formatted for wide screen.

[madmom]

12. If the signal is not wide screen format.

Is the pic degraded or compromised in any way?We're not looking for big screen we are looking to be prepared for the future.We hate those black bands at the top and bottom of wide screen format on standard tv.'Preciate your help.

[drbtg1]

14. If you hate the black bands...

...most HDTV's can alter the picture to fit the signal. Take West Wing or ER for example, two programs broadcast in widescreen format which cause most regular TV's to get the black bars. If I'm watching the SD version with the 4:3 ratio, my HDTV can stretch the picture vertically to fit the screen. However, the HD broadcast in the 16:9 ratio is already perfectly set for the HDTV.

Please don't be too hateful of the black bars, as they help show the director's true intent. You can check this site for more info:

http://www.widescreen.org/

[drbtg1]

11. when it comes to HDTV, satellite can't compete with cable

not enough bandwidth for all those HD local channels on satellite. Might have been possible if Dish Network was allowed to buy DirecTV, but that got blocked by FCC and Justice Dept. Fox, under News Corp., then bought DirecTV. (The lesson for Dish Network here: Don't use the lawyer Gore used in Florida when dealing with the * administration.)

[drbtg1]

8. HDTV kicks serious ass (got the 73" Mits), but it takes some work

- ensure that whatever HDTV you get has a built in "ATSC" tuner! This is different than an NTSC tuner (what America has been using for ~60 years). This will allow you to get free signals from your networks over the air that will most likely be better than HDTV signals from cable or satellite (they have too much compression). I get NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, WB, and UPN over the air. PBS I get from cable. You'll need an antenna, though (How 70's :) )

- go to this web site:

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/Address.aspx

this will help you find out what over the air signals are available in your area and what kind of antenna you'd need.

- check out this web forum:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?s=65147932519896f5d911973f26894849&forumid=45

then find the thread specific for your area for more info relevant to you in your area.

If anybody in your home likes sports and you do an A/B comparison, you won't believe the difference. Even my wife is amazed.

I'll monitor this thread if you have more questions.

[kiahzero]

9. It's only critical if you are getting broadcast channels over-the-air

FCC regulations mandate that the broadcast channels switch to HDTV in 2006.

If you have cable or satellite, it doesn't really matter, because you're almost always using a decoder box between the feed and your television.

[drbtg1]

13. with the ATSC tuner built-in, I don't need the decoder box

My ATSC tuner can get the HD signals already sent through the cable (varies by system), so I can do an A/B switch for the cable stuff or the over the air stuff when I want better quality, as I stated before.

Currently, I have the decoder box for the premium stuff (Real Time on HBO, f'instance), but with Smart Card technology, the decoder box can go the way of the dodo.

As for the switch to HDTV in 2006, I doubt NTSC signals will be turned off. The NAB is pretty powerful.

[kysrsoze]

10. It won't cost you anywhere near $20K for a good HD system

You should probably go with DLP, LCOS or LCD TV (imo LCD has worst picture of the three). The picture on DLP and LCOS is awesome. Good ones of decent size are running anywhere between $2,800 and $4K. My set is a Samsung DLP and the picture is awesome. Stay away from EDTV as you'll notice a great difference, especially when HD DVDs come out. I would avoid plasma because the cost is way too high, the picture isn't all that great and no one knows how long they'll last. If you have to go cheap, you can get a Sony widescreen old-fashioned tube set for about $1,500. Tubes still have a phenomenal picture, but I haven't seen anything bigger than 34" widescreen.

I have Dish Network and the receiver is free if you go with them and don't have a built-in tuner. HD is only another $10 a month - There are only about 6 HD channels right now, but more will arrive over the next couple of years. You can only get local HD via satellite if you have your own off-air antenna. PBS has some great HD shows. Larger cable companies are sending locals through in digital HD signal.

As far as your sound system goes, spend whatever you can. I personally wouldn't spend less than $1K if you go cheap. A set of high-quality audio equipment and speakers will run you at least $2K. You're much better off with full-size mains and center, while using small speakers for the rears. Using all small satellites doesn't sound nearly as good. In-wall installation will cost you much more, but you can work around it if need be. I saw one system with wireless surround speakers - probably not very good sound quality though.

[Misunderestimator]

15. LOVE HDTV

An incredible difference. More and more programs are going HDTV... all the major networks have some programs that simulcast in HD. I have an HDTV satellite receiver that provides 3 or 4 of the same stations so that you can choose the HDTV simulcast one. Really a huge difference.