Hd-tv

Didn't think this fit into hardware section so here it is! Please move it if it's the wrong spot.

I'm interested in purchasing an HD-TV and was wondering how I received an HD tv channel? I have basic cable from comcast and if something is broadcasted in HD, like a baseball game, will i see it in HD? What about over the air signals? Is that separate from my cable connection? Any advice you can pass on would be great!

Thanks in advance!

 

That's something I'd like to learn too, eventually. I'm a technician, and have dealt with NTSC off and on all my adult life. Looks like this dog's going to have to learn some new tricks.

One thing that bothers me (really bothers me), is having a new standard forced down my throat and obsoleting every TV in the house. I suspect there will be a major outcry with the due date for the transistion from regular broadcast to HD arrives. You can kill our sons and daughters in a bogus war and we'll grumble, but screw with our TV...

 

you have to subscribe to HD service via your cable provider. then, when you want to watch something in HD, you go to that HD channel. for instance, ESPN won't automatically broadcast something in HD, you have to watch the ESPN HD channel.

 

Ok, looks like I'll be upgrading my cable service as well. But what over the air antenna's for local channels? A lot of Chicago's baseball games are broadcast on the local Fox channel. Would an over the air antenna for HD pick up all the local channels that offer HD content? Or is there only specific channels and content in my area? Is there a listing of all the available channels in my area that I could look up?

Sorry for all the questions, but I've gotten some great info already!

Thanks again!

 

that i don't know about.

 

do know this
when the existing stations start broadcasting over the airwaves in HD the picture you receive via an antenna will be even clearer than the HD picture you will receive via your cable box. I don't know whether the distance from the signal matters. Spent the last 4 months in front of a 62" samsung and could care less. The quality between HD and analog is amazing ( to at least my human eye) . Will be interesting to see the difference between a local sporting event over a cable offering and an antenna (airwave) in high definition. Don't know whether I would be able to notice any change. The broadcast companies say you will. My younger brother has all the latest toys and fads. I'm too old to care. Don't watch that much TV to justify the cost for new innovations. I think there will be boxes for all the older sets to allow the existing sets to be used, but not sure. If buying a new TV I've been told to get one that is an HD-TV and not on that is HD-TV ready or compatible as you will have to buy extra components to receive high definition. Pretty sure there are some people around this site with more info about this than me; give them some time to put their opinions up. No matter what, you'll enjoy watching TV in HD a heck of a lot more.

 

Here's how it works where I live:

You can purchase an HDTV either HD-ready or with an ASTC tuner built in. ASTC tuners receive OTA (over the air) broadcast HDTV signals, of which most local stations are currently broadcasting at least something-- some more than others, as there are sidebands that carry multiple signals, so you can, for example, get channel 20 and also 20.1 and 20.2 with different programs running. You can receive this using a regular TV antenna, and, even though you won't see any snow or static, antenna placement is critical to prevent pixelization or signal dropout altogether, similar to satellite dropout in bad weather. The differential between HD and HD-ready sets used to be about $500, but may be less these days. One can purchase a separate OTA HD tuner for less than that if you shop carefully.

The cable company here (Cox) provides HD programming on a handful of channels at no extra charge other than a slightly higher monthly rental fee for a digital cable box that's also HD capable. If you already pay for HBO, you get HBO-HD at no extra charge. The HD signals provided by the cable company are not necessarily the same type of HD signal as the OTA HD, so buying a set with an HD tuner built in doesn't always mean you can view the cable company's HD programming without their box.

However you achieve it, HD is da bomb. I especially like INHD1 and INHD2 which feature a lot of programming you won't see elsewhere, and that especially exploit the HD medium, such as movies that were originally IMAX. Concerts and sporting events are much more enjoyable in HD as well, especially if your audio equipment is above average.

While it is true that you will likely get a better HD picture from OTA-- the cable company is compressing their signal-- it depends on which of the various HD formats currently available a particular local broadcast station is using. Regardless, any HD is better than NTSC by a long shot.

 

Around 2008 or so (they've already moved it back) all analog stations will cease to broadcast analog, and go pure digital HD format. You will REQUIRE an external tuner to convert the new format to analog if you want to use you're old hardware. Say goodbye to all your programable equipment like VCRS, etc. The extra bandwidth will then be auctioned off to the highest bidders.

Thing is, who is getting served here? The public, who has a huge expense in hardware already, or big business, who is already drooling over the freed up RF spectrum that they can make oodles of money from. Congress should not legislate technology, especially before it is ready. Idiots...

 

Mostly big business and the TV networks. Upgrade costs are not just for the consumers. TV stations must upgrade everything from the cameras to the transmitters to provide HD content for news and any in-house programming, and currently run two parallel outputs if they want to provide any HD content, one for the older sets, one for the new ones. And there's not all THAT much HD content out there on the public airwaves yet when you look at total programming; A lot of the smaller independent stations will likely go out of business because they can't afford to upgrade. Uncle Sugar mandates, but doesn't pay for the upgrades. That's great for the networks that don't like competition.

On the consumer side, despite YEARS of hyping HD, most sets sold are still the cheaper NTSC sets. Most people want to watch TV, but aren't even bothered enough by picture quality to buy an expensive better quality NTSC set, much less HD. HD sets HAVE made significant inroads in the market, particularly since prices have come down a lot, but the original plan was to have enough people voluntarily buy HD sets to minimize the trauma of the change-over, and that was supposed to have happened some years ago already. They've kept pushing the mandatory change-over date back because the majority of people have NOT bought into it. Or bought the sets. At some point, they will actually mandate the change, but it wouldn't surprise me all that much if 2008 comes and goes without enforcing it. IIRC, the original plan was to have everything changed over for the new millenium. Welcome to the new millenium. LOL.

The technology has been ready for years, but the public has been VERY slow to embrace it.

 

HD is already here. It arrived so quietly that most people didn't even notice. Your looking at it right now.

As for HD vs NTSC, there is an old engineering saying. Good enough is the enemy of the best. Sums it to a tee.

Personally I think the push should have been technologies other than broadcast. Cable (which is already happening), Satillite, fiber optic (again, happening). This kind of technology should not have been mandated. When it is time, it will happen.

 

I'm anxiously waiting to buy a plasma... I'm going to eventually buy a Commercial Panasonic 42" model... Luckily the prices keep dropping =]

If you have home theatre speakers and utilize the cable box from your cable provider, the commercial models can be very cost effective... Essentially you're just buying a monitor and supplying your own sound source and HD tuner...

The 42" models are going for around $2100 and the 50" models, around $2800...



http://www.plasmaconcepts.com/images/enlarged/Panasonic_TH42PH9UK.jpg

 

Actually...
If they made the HDTV standard uniform...
We might have had affordable HDTV a long time ago.

The HDTV standards allowed by the FCC is:
1922 x 1080 (or 1080i) or 1280 x 720 (or 720p).
"i" stands for interlaced... "p" stands for progressive scan.

Needless to say... they are highly incompatible.
Although the scan rates are easily and cheaply interchangeable...
The resolutions between the standards are not.
You have to build a screen show one HDTV standard...
Then build a circuit to convert the second standard to conform to the TV screen.
As an explanation of what I mean... I like to use the "video game console" example.
Your average NTSC TV broadcast is about 720X480 or there abouts.
And NTSC TV is interlaced scan.
A video game console runs about half that. 360X240 or there abouts.
Video game consoles would be considered progressive scan.
Although NTSC is largely frequency controlled...
Video game machines work well on a standard NTSC TV because their resolution is exactly half.

But with HDTV... the two resolutions are mathematically incompatible.
For a lower resolution "1280 x 720 (or 720p)" to be completely compatible with the HI res 1922 x 1080 (or 1080i) standard...
It would have to be more like a 961X540p
Either that or instead of letting the 720p standard fill the screen...
It could be allowed to shrink to be able to use a 1080i screen.
Or better yet just pick one screen resolution.
But the FCC had other plans
Just have to love government.

 

No, I don't.



Just to add insult to injury, the FCC has mantated that any AIW cards (or equivelent) have to have HD tuners built in along side the NTSC tuners, thereby jacking up the price of said cards. It's actually a good idea, but the FCC didn't have to poke their nose in it. Sometimes I think these dudes just enjoy flexing what power they have.

 

Should be a selective option by the user.

I have heard allot of indications that electronic manufacturers have been pressuring the FCC to mandate a HDTV only policy.
It's only the sticker shock on the HDTV hardware along with the public outcry about that witch has kept the FCC from mandating a complete switchover.
So basically... it has all been about money.

But...
History has shown that it's usually a 20 year transition until a single technology becomes an affordable replacement.
And no matter what the FCC tries to do they aren't going to change that.

 

I remember being in 3rd grade (I guess maybe 8yrs old) when we got our first VHS VCR and it was $350.00 , along with another god knows what for a couple blank tapes to go with it!! Now you can pick them up all day for $30.00 and they are about half the size!!

Roger

 

I remember my sister buying one for $800 dollars.
That was when you had only 2 choices of cable channels...
HBO or ShowTime.
Also was right after VHS had a big price drop because the FCC decided that VHS was going to be the VCR standard and not BETA.
Of course BETA was better.
Keeping the FCC's long record of stupid decisions soundly in tact.

BETA didn't loose out though.
A variation of the BETA standard was used in broadcast video machines right up until the digital age took over.