External HDTV Receiver Question

[edtyct]

You only want to get as much antenna as you need. Go to the Terk site and click on "Antenna Locator" at the bottom of the indoor/outdoor antenna page. Enter your zip code. A list of all channels accessible in your area will come up, provided by CEA. You can customize the list for digital, analog, or both. The color coding of each channel will tell you what kind of antenna you'll need to receive it. If you're interested primarily in stations with a red code, then your chances of succeeding with one of the indoor antennas are best, and so on down the line. If you want channels that are hard to get, you'll be better off with some variation on an outdoor antenna, possibly with an amp and high directionality. Winegard also makes good antennas, if you want to check out an alternative.

Ed

[nightflier]

You only want to get as much antenna as you need. Go to the Terk site and click on "Antenna Locator" at the bottom of the indoor/outdoor antenna page. Enter your zip code. A list of all channels accessible in your area will come up, provided by CEA. You can customize the list for digital, analog, or both. The color coding of each channel will tell you what kind of antenna you'll need to receive it. If you're interested primarily in stations with a red code, then your chances of succeeding with one of the indoor antennas are best, and so on down the line. If you want channels that are hard to get, you'll be better off with some variation on an outdoor antenna, possibly with an amp and high directionality. Winegard also makes good antennas, if you want to check out an alternative.

Ed

Will S-video support 480p?

[edtyct]

No. You need a component, DVI, or HDMI connection.

[s dog]

No. You need a component, DVI, or HDMI connection.

Do they make over the air hd receivers that have component out puts, Im thinking about doing the same thing with my toshiba hd tv which only has component and hdmi hookups for the hd And i was wandering how much do these receivers cost ,dish wants $200.00 for a hd receiver installed and $10.00 a month for the hd package but it only has a few channels that are hd and besides most of the stuff i watch is on local cbs and fox, also where do you buy these things, thank you

[edtyct]

Yes, the OTA HD receivers have component outputs. Samsung, Motorola, and others sell OTA receivers for about $250. OTAs can also double as DirecTV, Dish, or cable receivers (LG's, for one). DirecTV's, for example, doesn't cost more, but you pay for programming. Any electronics store, such as Best Buy or Circuit City, carries a few. You can also find them online or at more dedicated A/V stores like Tweeter. DirecTV and Dish have picked up some of VOOM's HD channels, and each apparently has other plans to increase programming. Comcast cable offers about 15 to 20 HD stations. For someone like me, that's more than enough, if you can stomach the company. I'll resist making political comments about the various providers.

Ed

[nightflier]

No. You need a component, DVI, or HDMI connection.

OK, so here's the crux of the problem. The HDTV box (an RCA unit) will only output HDTV via the VGA out (I bought an AA 9A60 adapter). But I have become quite fond of watching TV w/o commercials, particularly the basic channels. I use a Panasonic PVR to time-slip and then the CM button to zip past the commercials.

It seems to me that the end result is that there is currently no way to record HDTV. If so, I've got a good mind to sit the whole HDTV fad out. Even most of the cable programs that claim to be HDTV and digital (whatever that means), are being crammed with commercials. It's the whole reason I bought a PVR in the first place. I'd gladly replace it, but there isn't a single unit out there that has component video in (or DVI/HDMI, for that matter). It's not just that commercial interruptions are irritating, they actually cause ADD, hyperactivity, and a host of other behavior problems in children and I'll be damned if I'm going to screw up my kids like that.

If there is one sure way to make HDTV go the way of SACD/DVD-A, it's to keep honest people from recording....

[edtyct]

Boy, I hear you. When my daughter watches TV, 95% of the time, it's PBS. On those rare occasions when we let her watch something on a commercial network, the difference is jarring, at least for me. The crass come-ons that kids get from advertisers is beyond tolerance. Since the network stations that are on HD simply duplicate any children's programs that are also on SD, the commercials persist on them. (I don't believe that any of the kids' digital "cable" stations, like Nickoledeon, Noggin, Disney, etc. are in HD yet.) The difference between digital broadcasts and HD broadcasts is the difference between the 480 format and the 1080i/720p format. To remind you of your logical syllogisms, All digital is not HD, even though all HD is digital.

I take it that you object to commercials not just for your kids' sake but your own as well. Otherwise, you could let them watch their accustomed commercial programs as they usually do via the Panasonic, while you suffered through the HD stations with the commercials intact. I personally confess no great love of DirecTV, but if you want to avoid commericals but still watch HD, you do have the option of getting DirecTV's HD DVR receiver, along with the appropriate dish, which does in fact allow you to record HD via an embedded hard drive and thus skip through commecials. You could also move to cable and rent an HD DVR from them.

The industry treatment, or non-treatment, of SACD/DVD-A, is deplorable. But I like them regardless of their lack of recording opportunities and their analog cabling. What I don't like is their status as afterthoughts within the recording industry and all that it implies. In any event, HD video does permit recording. My library of Deadwood recordings testifies to it. Honestly, even if I couldn't record HD, I'd still be an adovocate of it, and my daughter would watch primarily stations without commercials (in our case, PBS, HBO, and various On Demand offerings). Good luck in your quest. Sorry that it isn't working for you yet.

Ed

[nightflier]

In any event, HD video does permit recording. My library of Deadwood recordings testifies to it.

Ed,

How are you recording HD? Are you using DirectTV's PVR? So I take it that not being able to find a recorder has nothing to do with some kind of copyright nonsense that Panasonic is doggedly trying to stick to. If that's the case, there should be a market for HD recorders in the near future...

I also don't care for monthly subsription fees, hence the reason I bought the Panasonic, but I'm not married to the brand, so if there's something else out there that you recommend, I'm all ears. I've heard that Mac laptops can do this using the firewire link, but that's a bit expensive just to record HD.

[edtyct]

I record on a hard drive that is embedded in my Motorola cable receiver. The prohibition against HD recording concerns stand-alone components like your Panasonic, which might produce contraband disks of HD broadcasts that would make you millions on the international market. The hard drive ones don't run that risk, since the broadcasters themselves can control what you record and what you can do with it. Any recording that can be done via a hard drive on a computer is about to get much more difficult, as encryption and HDCP are about to be brought to bear more stringently on it. All such digital devices sold on the market are to be HDCP-equipped by July. Barring strategies that are beyond me (and many are), you'll need a reputable STB of some kind to record HD. Mine costs $15.00 a month, along with my programming.

Ed