High Definition Television

melbertbloosfan · May 26, 2004

Finally got my used HD tuner (Sammy T-100). Got my antenna dialed in up there in the attic, got my cables all routed, turned on Leno........

Holy shiiiiite!! This stuff is great! I never believed that it could look soooo much better than a DVD! It is really like looking through a freaking 50" picture window!

I had tweaked and calibrated my toshie many times before so when I tuned in it was right on spec-freekin-tacular. And the local PBS feed is even prettier (not hard to do with Leno as your competition ). But the pic on Leno is razor-sharp and soo saturated. Amazing detail on his huge mugg.

Now we need to get everybody to buy HDTV's and get all of the networks in 100% digital, hi-def, glory.

Anybody else have HD and what did you think when you first saw it?

deduncan · May 26, 2004

I have a 55" Mitsubishi HD projection that has been waiting to tune in all of that HD glory for 2 years now. The problem I have with it is A) I have to buy a new satellite receiver that is substantially more expensive right now, and B) I have to pay $10 a month in addition to the normal charge to receive 4 channels in HD. I think I'm going to wait til there is a bit more programming available, and for the price to drop a bit. I really want to get an HD receiver with TIVO. It'll be a while til that's relatively affordable.

I'm envious, though. I've seen what these TVs can do, and it's nothing short of amazing. Twice the resolution of a DVD. I can't wait.

Charlie in TX · May 26, 2004

deduncan, you don't specify your location but over the air brodcasting is availible to almost everyone. All you need is a HD ready TV (which you have), a reciever (like the T-100), and an antena (type depends on where you live). I live in a Houston suburb. I get the local NBC aff in 100% digital and HD when aval. Leno's grill never looked as bad. They also have a 24-7 radar weather channel. PBS has a dedicated HD channel and the normal channel brodcasted digitally. CBS has its normal shows brodcast digitally (CSI is sweet). The ABC aff has the normal shows brodcated digitally, an HD channel for local shows (can you imagine the Texan cheerleaders in HD!) and a radar weather channel. Then add UPN, Fox and WB. All for free. Worth a look. Go to http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/stations.asp, put in your zip code and see what antena you need and what stations are availible.

melbertbloosfan · May 26, 2004

I have a 55" Mitsubishi HD projection that has been waiting to tune in all of that HD glory for 2 years now. The problem I have with it is A) I have to buy a new satellite receiver that is substantially more expensive right now, and B) I have to pay $10 a month in addition to the normal charge to receive 4 channels in HD. I think I'm going to wait til there is a bit more programming available, and for the price to drop a bit. I really want to get an HD receiver with TIVO. It'll be a while til that's relatively affordable.

I'm envious, though. I've seen what these TVs can do, and it's nothing short of amazing. Twice the resolution of a DVD. I can't wait.

Yea, the high cost of the sat route turned me off at first. So i figured: I could get a used, demo, off-air HDTV receiver on Ebay for less than $100 and at that price it was worth the experiment to see if the difference was really all that much between DVD and high-def broadcasting. Plus all the programming is free!

Spend some time on ebay and antennaweb researching and jump in. I already had an attic UHF/VHF antenna with amp, so there was no cost there.

I have the hd tuner and the dvd switched thru my receiver (ran outta comp in's on the tv) and could really tell the difference when switching back and forth from PBS (the HD broadcast) to T2 (dvd). Amazing. I think 1080i has around 2 million pixels to make-up the picture whilst DVD (480p) has around 350,000. BIIIIIG difference in the depth and sharpness of the picture.

And you are right, Charlie, sometimes its a lil too sharp when watching Leno.

deduncan · May 26, 2004

I took a look at that site (thank you, by the way) and it says virtually the same thing - 4-6 channels available in HD. I live in the Boise, ID area, and we're usually one of the last places to get any new upgrades (we just got local channels added to our sattelite broadcast this year). In the July/August timeframe we're going to get rid of our current sattelite system (currently with Dish) and look around. I like DirecTV because I can choose my receiver, but my local cable company has a tempting offer too.

Any way I go, I'll be looking at around $5-$15 extra a month for the HD programming unless I can figure out this antenna thing. That would also be tempting, but would limit me to local channels. Perhaps a combination of both?

Also, I've heard that 2002 was the deadline for HD broadcasts to begin, but obviously that fell through. I've now heard that 2006 is the date. Anyone have any reliable info on this?