off topic: initial impressions of HDTV

[newtrix1]

Last week I received an HDTV set. The cable guy came out Saturday and hooked up the new digital decoder box required to decode the HD signal (what a freekin' mess of wires!!!). My first disappointment was how few channels are broadcast in high def. I receive basic cable and count only 8 high def channels (ESPN, Fox, WHYY (public channel), the big 3 and INHD1, INHD2). The channels that look the best are the two INHD (stands for "in high definition") and WHYY. They were consistently super crisp, with rich colors and have that 3-d depth that I expected to see from high def TV. For the most part, I was not as impressed with the image quality on the other networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, ESPN & Fox). I watched a golf tourney, and the ball had a fuzzy rainbow glow around it, plus the edges of the peoples bodies were not clear against the grass either. The Belmont Stakes were inconsistent, sometimes the image was very good, but other times not. Later that night the hockey game was on ABC, that picture was very good.

I guess the bottom line is that HDTV is still in it's growing stages, it doesn't necessarily guarantee great picture quality, there's other variables involved. I'll have to check it out some more, but so far I'd give HDTV a C- due to limited channels and inconsistent image quality. Personally, I was expecting to see some big budget nationwide cable channels like CNN, Discovery, MTV, Disney, etc. to be broadcast in HD, but not yet.

Also, the simple act of watching TV has become a complicated task....two remotes, 300+ channels, multiple source selections and a three-fold increase in wires behind the set :mad:. I kind of understand how it works myself, but now I have the chore of explaining it to the family (who just want to click it on and watch). Seems like every improvement in technology is saddled with baggage that you don't find out about 'till after you've committed. Will I keep it? yeah probably, I just wanted to share this info with others, so you know the plusses and minuses before you jump in.

Rick (the whiner)

[Slosh]

My friend got a 48" Mitsu HDTV a couple of years back and is running a DirecTV HD tuner and is lucky enough to live in an area (Columbia, PA) where they can get three OTA HD channels via rabbit ears. What we've found is not all of the HD channels run HD all of the time. Also movies or shows shot on film look no better than a decent anamorphic DVD transfer on good progressive scan DVD player (although that's still pretty good), but stuff shot on HD video looks stunning.

No HDTV for me yet but I picked up a Pioneer DVD re-writer for my PC yesterday and it's awesome! I backed up :rolleyes: a couple of DVDs so far and it was pretty easy to figure it all out. I downloaded DVD Decrypter and DVD Shrink (both free) and this software works better than the stuff bundled with DVD RW drive, plus they let you copy any DVD. ;) I record the film itself only, and with the best soundtrack available. No FBI warning, no trailers, no special features, no set-up menus, no subtitles, no French soundtrack -- just pop in the disc and it starts playing.

NP: Modest Mouse - Good News...

[Troy]

I've had a 51" HD projection TV for a little over 2 years now. I bought it too early, I know, but I needed a new TV and wasn't about to spend $ on a non HD set knowing that HD IS the future of TV. In 5 years, it will be as common as color TV was in 1969.

I've only been rcving HD signal for a year now. Nope, not much out there yet. My cable company (RCN) gives me NBC ABC CBS FOX and PBS plus DiscoveryHD, ESPN, HD Net and HD Movies. For about $15 a month.

Most stuff on ESPN is still non HD. It looks way better than the same picture on the non-HD channel, but it's not HD. I find Discovery to be the most consistently watchable. Everything on this channel has the most unvelievable picture quality. it really is quite stunning. When ESPN broadcasts an event in HD- it's absolutely stunning. HD movies, so-so. They show a lot really crappy Chuck Norris movies and junk like that. HD Net is a real mixed bag. Fringe sports and travelogues and junk like that. PBS only broadcasts at night and they show a lot of nature stuff. The big 3 and FOX . . . I just don't watch 'em except for occasional sporting events anyway . . . which tend to be in HD and are extremely satisfying.

There's a lot of absolute crap on the HD channels, but that's true of all of TV. Personally, I am totally enthralled with the HD signal and would watch just about anything in HD over something that might be more interesting in regular TV. We watched a show ont he history of dates ferchrissake. It was spectacular.

In a nutshell, it's still early in the HD game. Many cable companies are only NOW starting to offer it in many areas. Direct TV does everywhere, but they make you pay for a lot of stuff up front. Their heavily advertised "Free Install" does not include HD. Read the fine print. I have a friend with it and I get more stuff than he does. He still doesn't have NBC yet.

I suggest you look into Voom. It's all all HD satellite provider. I think it's about $30 a month for 30 channels. I can't justify the cost in my houshold because we just don't want to watch enough TV.

Too many remotes? I have 6 in my living room. It's assenine.

Oh, and you will find that a prog scan DVD player will make movies look truly stunning on an HD set too. No, DVDs are not HD, but like the regular broadcast stuff on an HD channel, it's a marked improvement.

[newtrix1]

My cable company (RCN) gives me NBC ABC CBS FOX and PBS plus DiscoveryHD, ESPN, HD Net and HD Movies. For about $15 a month.
I really want Discovery ch in HD. I wonder why I'm not getting it if it's available? I'll have to check it out, maybe call Comcast.


Most stuff on ESPN is still non HD. It looks way better than the same picture on the non-HD channel, but it's not HD.

Aha! Maybe that was the problen with the golf Tourney!


HD Net is a real mixed bag. Fringe sports and travelogues and junk like that.
That must be the channel that shows up on my system as INHD, seems like the same type of programming. I think I've watched that channel more than any other, because the image quality is the best. I can tell you all about cliff diving in Hawwaii now ;)


I am totally enthralled with the HD signal and would watch just about anything in HD over something that might be more interesting in regular TV. We watched a show ont he history of dates ferchrissake. It was spectacular.
Yup, when everything's done right, it is a worthwhile evolution. My equivalent to your "history of dates" was a PBS show on Pompei (sp?) & the eruption of Mt Vesuvious (SP?? )


Too many remotes? I have 6 in my living room. It's assenine.
OK, you win, I'll stop whining :)


No, DVDs are not HD, but like the regular broadcast stuff on an HD channel, it's a marked improvement.

yeah, that surprised me, I thought DVD & HD were equvalent, but they're not. I think the max resolution of std DVD is about 25% less than HD.

[newtrix1]

is lucky enough to live in an area (Columbia, PA) where they can get three OTA HD channels via rabbit ears.
I think it's pretty ironic that HD signal is available via antennae, it's kinda like "back to the future" ;)


I picked up a Pioneer DVD re-writer for my PC yesterday and it's awesome! I backed up :rolleyes: a couple of DVDs so far and it was pretty easy to figure it all out. I record the film itself only, and with the best soundtrack available. No FBI warning, no trailers, no special features, no set-up menus, no subtitles, no French soundtrack -- just pop in the disc and it starts playing.

Should we start calling you Captain Jack "Slosh" Sparrow? How do find chapters without a menu?

[Mr MidFi]

I second Troy's suggestion of looking into VOOM HD satellite service. I wrote a bunch of sales training material for it before it launched, and it sounded pretty cool to me. I still haven't seen it in-person, so take my rec w/ a grain of salt. You can find it online, or Sears sells it.

[Slosh]

How do find chapters without a menu?

You just pop in the DVD and it starts playing just like a CD, but instead of tracks you skip chapters. I only watch movies in one sitting or not at all so I don't miss the chapter menu in the least. Of course, I could burn the entire DVD if I wanted to but DVD-R is limited to single layer so most movies would require some pretty hefty compression to make it all fit (or spread it out over two discs which is unacceptable as far as I'm concerned). I did burn one that was longer than 120 minutes (it was 144 minutes) and thus had to compress it a bit to get it all on one disc, but without a direct comparison you would never notice the difference (at least on my relatively small Sony Wega), so I'm still happy :)

Sheesh, I used to pay $4.00 a piece for blank S-VHS tapes, $400 for the SVHS VCR, and had to buy a little black box to defeat the Macrovision protection for another $110, and had to settle for Dolby Pro Logic sound. Now I pay eighty cents a piece for blank DVDs (and that's sure to drop in the near-future), $130 for the burner, nothing for the software, and can make perfect (if under 120 minutes) or close to perfect copies, plus retain the 5.1 soundtrack. Ain't technology cool? ;)