HDTV question

dave shepard

My wife and I have gotten 2 diff. answers to the same question. We went to CC and Rex's and asked about a big screen with an HDTV tuner in the set, one said that the tuner will take a standered sat. signal/dvd/and cable (our cable co. is very cheep not even stereo) and give you hd.. The other said that we will still have to get an hd. sat. reciever and that the tuner is only for using an external hd antena it will not do anything for cable dvd's will be in hd.. Can someone help with this what seems an easy question for someone who knows, I don't and one of the two or both salesmen don't eather. Our big screen now is not hd and like the pic quality on the sets in the stores but need to do homework before we upgrade. We also are looking at the 65in theater view projection and are not interested in plasma or lcd.

Thanks dave

gidrah

The 2nd guy is correct. I don't own one yet either. The main reason is because of the limited sources of HD signal and the cost, besides my standard 36" is fine for me.

dave shepard

Would it then be wiser to get a set with the tuner inside we mostly use it for sat./dvd's , there is a big price diff. between one with and one without. If I get one without will I still get hd on dvd's?. I didn't ask that to either of them I do have a progressive-out dvd player if that matters.

Thanks dave

gidrah

Either way, you won't get HDTV with DVD or standard cable. The progressive scan will give you a better picture though compared to a DVD player without it. Both sets would handle the DVD signal the same.

wallstreet

Get the tuner inside. You don't want another box sitting on your tv. DVD's are not HD (480p). You can get free HD programming using an OTA (over the air) antenna.

fireshoes

If you are getting satellite, don't get the integrated set. You can hook up an outdoor antenna to the HD satellite receiver and it will be the tuner for local HD too. The HD satellite receiver would replace a regular satellite receiver if you already have one. Since the sat recevier will do the over the air HD tuning, you don't need the tuner in the tv, why pay for something twice?

HBombToo

Originally posted by fireshoes
If you are getting satellite, don't get the integrated set. You can hook up an outdoor antenna to the HD satellite receiver and it will be the tuner for local HD too. The HD satellite receiver would replace a regular satellite receiver if you already have one. Since the sat recevier will do the over the air HD tuning, you don't need the tuner in the tv, why pay for something twice?

I am with fireshoes on this. I find it interesting that we all try to migrate toward seperates in our audio systems; however, vidio integrated is " OK?". The flexibility of the seperate receiver is the way to go.

I have the Zenith Sat 520 which does over the air and Direct TV. A 10 dollar kmart brand rabbit ear antenna is all I use to capture the local high def broadcasts.

HBomb

polkatese

agreed, a separate HD tuner is my preference also, much more flexible. One thing that is worth mentioning, make sure the RPTV has DVI or firewire option, since it is becoming more and more common nowadays to have those as one more connectivity option.

dave shepard

Thanks guys the info is much appreciated. We just walked in the door from the sony factory outlet and seen they have the 60" grand wega for $3299 and a 65" xbr for 3999. Just thought I'd pass that along.

shiznit311

If you're planning on going the cable route (I can't get Direct TV t my apartment) FWIW, Time Warner here you have to use their HD cable box to decode the signal. It costs the same as digital cable (just an upgraded box) but the picture on the HD channels is unbelievable. Hmm... let me go see whats on Discovery HD :cool:

polkatese

Dave,
It might be worthed to buy the October issue of Sound & Vision mag. since it includes a list of HDTV (DLP, Plasma, CRT) with its features, and explanation on what to look for.

ChrisDurano

When is Directv gonna put all the big channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, etc.) on HD? Wouldn't that be great?

polkatese

Chris,
I was told that it is highly unlikely DTV will ever do this, because of bandwidth issues. Hence, the reason I put out an OTA antenna.

shiznit311

Why couldn't Direct TV do it if TWC can? I get the networks HD channels, granted some don't broadcast much stuff yet, and the damn ABC station still doesn't broadcast anything in HD yet...

What's the difference?

dlew308

Discovery HD is great, I love that channel.
Football on HD is like wowsers, this is how it should be done for all sports. HBO needs more shows, same with Showtime, altho I love Dead Like Me.

HBombToo

Originally posted by shiznit311
Why couldn't Direct TV do it if TWC can? I get the networks HD channels, granted some don't broadcast much stuff yet, and the damn ABC station still doesn't broadcast anything in HD yet...

What's the difference?

With the cable companies there are central offices to each and every market where as the satellite system only has 1 satelite feed per say. That said, there are over 4000 large metropolitan areas in our country which each may have and affiliate of ABC,NBC and CBS so there is no way to provide the BW for all those simultaneous broadcasts. They do provide the larger MTA's in their feed but thats about it.

I need a new dish and just went through the DTV relo plan. I hope Friday is the day! The front of my house faces south but I have restrictions through the community association regarding installation location. I believe I can actually hang the dish on a high eve on the southern face but orient the dish north which should give me an ok look at 119 degrees with plenty of clearence. If this is the case I won't be in any trouble but if I can't it looks like I'll have to fight this issue using the 1996 FCC Telecom Act to force the issue. **** the association!

HBomb

HBomb

fireshoes

Yeah, for once the FCC did something right. Don't let them push you around. "Shut up and mow my lawn, hippie!"