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Need Help with HDTV

RoadKing

RoadKing

Silver Member
My loyal 27" tube set died the day before Thanksgiving and not wanting to be without mindless entertaintment for more than 24 hrs I went out and bought a new set. I love movies and have a decent DVD collection so I wanted a widescreen to watch these. As long as I was going this far I went for a 42" LCD-HD flatscreen, not top line but decent. Now I might as well take advantage of HD programming. Well my Direct-TV box is 5 yrs old and does not do HD, but for $99 they will send me an upgrade, Ok, except that if didn't have Direct TV at all it would be free, irritating, yes. I look at my DVDs none seem to be HD including some of the more recent releases.

My question is, What is the deal with HD?

Is there anything except for some TV programming?

Is there such a thing as DVDs in HD, and is there a new type of DVD player needed to access this?

I'd appreciate any advice or information I can get.

:confused2: Thanks, :confused2: Guy :confused2:
 
Additional Info, I was just on the Sam's Club web site, that's where I bought the set. By the way it's not a 42in it's a 37in, anyway I paid $1199 0n 11/22 according to the website it sells for $993 today. Guess where I'm going first thing tomorrow AM. I have a feeling this just the beginning of my TV adventure. :pat:
 
RoadKing said:
...anyway I paid $1199 0n 11/22 according to the website it sells for $993 today. Guess where I'm going first thing tomorrow AM. I have a feeling this just the beginning of my TV adventure. :pat:
Click to expand...

That's one reason I won't part with the 19 inch Montgomery Wards television until it either quits working, or is no longer compatable with the broadcast technology... As soon as I will buy one, there will be one that's better and cheaper the next day.
 
You may want to switch to Dish Network. I just looked over Dish and Direct. Both were priced exactly the same for monthly service (I altered my service in early November so the price may have changed in the past 2 weeks).

Dish offered 26 channels in HD plus local channels.
Direct TV offered 5 channels in HD plus local channels.

Both offered similar other packages. Both transmit in 720p/1080i. So given that, Dish Network was the clearly superior provider for HD channels.

Now onto the TVs. I just bought my second HDTV. 1080p (progressive) is the best there is, very few sources provide it. 720p is the next best resolution. 1080i (interlaced) is the worst HD choice, but is still way better than regular TV.

As for DVDs a regular DVD player plays at 480i, a progressive scan DVD player plays at 480p. There are some DVD players that "up convert" to "near" HD quality, but are not HD. Those are the best value (in my opinion) for you money.

There are also 2 new types of true HD DVD players, one is called BlueRay and the other is called HDDVD and there is no standard set yet so one of them will eventually become the BetaMax of DVD players and both are running about $999 for a basic player. However, if you want one, they do offer roughly 5 times the resolution of a standard DVD.

HDDVDs and BlueRay DVDs are now just being offered for sale, and I doubt if they are in the rental stores yet.
 
Bob, thanks for the feedback. I will check on switching services. While roaming I went to the C-Net website and found an amazing amount of info, laid out so even MY peabrain could understand. I used to frequent C-Net a lot in my early computer days, It's still a great site. Here's the URL for the HDTV info
http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5102926-1.html?tag=dir

Thanks again, Guy :tiphat:
 
Gerard said:
From what I've heard, it's BlueRay all the way.
Click to expand...
I would tend to agree that it is more likely to be BlueRay. I beleive BlueRay was adopted by 5 of the major movie studios and HDDVD was only adopted by 1 or 2. Toshiba has HDDVD players on the store shelves right now, a basic unit for under $500, and their full featured unit at $1000. Samsung has BlueRay machines on store shelves for $1000. Not sure if others are offered for sale yet, but several manufacturers are lined up to sell BlueRay.

Still, I don't see the disks yet.
 
B_Skurka said:
Still, I don't see the disks yet.
Click to expand...

I was in Best Buy about a month ago and they had a five foot section of one aisle dedicated to HDDVD and Blue Ray discs.
I don't have an HDTV or a HD/Blue Ray DVD player.
 
RoadKing, I had a similar problem a couple years ago with DirecTV. I wanted another receiver in a second room, and they wanted more dollars than I thought it was worth. I called DirecTV and asked them how much longer was left on my contract. They said I did not have a contract, but why was I asking. I told them I wanted a second receiver and could get two new receivers free by switching to Dish, and I wanted to make sure I was not under a contract before I cancelled DirecTV.

My phone call was transfered to the retention dept. I had to explain the situation all over again, but they wanted to keep me as a customer so they agreed to let me have the second receiver for $5.00. DirecTV delivered and installed the second receiver within a week.

You might want to try this to see if it will work for you.

Bob
 
B_Skurka said:
Dish offered 26 channels in HD plus local channels.
Direct TV offered 5 channels in HD plus local channels.
Click to expand...
Just out of curiosity I went back and checked Direct TV to see what they offer in High Definiton.
  1. TNT
  2. ESPN
  3. ESPN2
  4. Universal HD
  5. Discovery HD Theater
  6. HDNet Movies
  7. Pay Per View HD
And here is the basic package for Dish Network HD:
  1. Animania HD
  2. Family Room HD
  3. GamePlay HD
  4. Discovery HD Theater
  5. Equator HD
  6. DISH Network PPV in HD
  7. Film Fest HD
  8. Food Network HD
  9. HDNet Movies
  10. Kung Fu HD
  11. Monsters HD
  12. World Cinema HD
  13. HDNews
  14. Rave HD
  15. ESPN HD
  16. ESPN2 HD
  17. NFL Network HD
  18. Rush HD
  19. WorldSport HD
  20. Gallery HD
  21. HDNet
  22. HGTV HD
  23. TNT HD
  24. Treasure HD
  25. Ultra HD
  26. Universal HD
So given the choice, for the same amount of money per month, Dish Network offers 26 HD channels and Direct TV offers 6, plus a PPV channel making it 7. :eek:

Both offer HD local channels.
Both offer Premium HD channels like HBO HD, and Showtime HD.
 
B_Skurka said:
Just out of curiosity I went back and checked Direct TV to see what they offer in High Definiton.
  1. TNT
  2. ESPN
  3. ESPN2
  4. Universal HD
  5. Discovery HD Theater
  6. HDNet Movies
  7. Pay Per View HD
And here is the basic package for Dish Network HD:
  1. Animania HD
  2. Family Room HD
  3. GamePlay HD
  4. Discovery HD Theater
  5. Equator HD
  6. DISH Network PPV in HD
  7. Film Fest HD
  8. Food Network HD
  9. HDNet Movies
  10. Kung Fu HD
  11. Monsters HD
  12. World Cinema HD
  13. HDNews
  14. Rave HD
  15. ESPN HD
  16. ESPN2 HD
  17. NFL Network HD
  18. Rush HD
  19. WorldSport HD
  20. Gallery HD
  21. HDNet
  22. HGTV HD
  23. TNT HD
  24. Treasure HD
  25. Ultra HD
  26. Universal HD
So given the choice, for the same amount of money per month, Dish Network offers 26 HD channels and Direct TV offers 6, plus a PPV channel making it 7. :eek:

Both offer HD local channels.
Both offer Premium HD channels like HBO HD, and Showtime HD.
Click to expand...

Like that Bruce Springsteen song says, "there's 57 channels and nothin' on..."

TV Sucks; yet we are drawn to it like flies to a lamp.:puke1:
 
Not so fast Bob. Most of those channels are not worth watching, in my opinion. However, DirecTv is the larger of the two companies and they will be flexing their muscle in mid-2007 and will be launching 2 new satellites which will up their National HD broadcasting capabilities to 150 channels. If industry hints are correct, the number of channels broadcasting at initial satellite turn-on will be in excess of 40.

Info was taken from a speech by David Hill, president of entertainment at DTV at the HD World Conference and Exposition in New York. You can read about it HERE.

Dish better get their butts in gear or they will be left behind. :toilet: I was never a fan of Dish anyway.
 
All, I am not a fan of either system, just tossing out what is actually available. I'm actually all in favor of skipping back and forth between the two systems from year to year to get the best deal, best technology, etc.
 
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