bitch slap best buy…
its almost like they are doing false advertising
I considered that, but settled on the fact that I’m a luddite in a gee techno world and well, THAT’S not their fault.
Talked to Adelphia, all that needs to happen is for them to “activate” my HD signal. No added cost, just “turn it on”. I need to do some hardware snooping to be sure my DVR is current enough(HD ready), but they were all kinda ready for me when I called them…
Ah! well there you go! 
pretty cool they are doing it at no additional cost!
no you dont…
and swing down friday andrew. shoudl be a decent garage turnout. i know i ahvent been goign down as much as its fucking cold, and im waiting until end of month to hit it hard again. so now im just buying parts to finish shit up.
Sailor, Sonny I’ll see what’s shakin’ for Friday night, it might be motivating to check out the garage. Lord knows I need some motivation.
Adelphia delivered as promised…fuggin’ SWEET picture.
i didn’t read all the post so some of this might have already been said but here is some info…
the better the TV, the more it exploits a poor signal.
if you have regular cable & use Coax …forget about it…that looks like shit…if you want to stay with coax you need to just stick with a tube TV.
if you have digital cable or dish…you need to at least use audio video cables…S-Video or RGB prefered…dpending on what your cable/Sat box supports.
As far as HD… Direct TV & cable offer only like 8 channels…Dish network bought out Voom so they have the biggest selection. something like 7 or 8 dish channels plus like 10 exclusive Voom channels if you ad that $5 package.
the line up for Cable & Sat are OK (Dish network perfered out of the 3 because of the wide selection) but they mostly consist of Discovery, TNT, ESPN and a couple others.
because they cost like $12/per month for the HD package & i wouldn’t really watch them that much…i went with OTA HD…(over the air)
just get any antenna. don’t let a sales person fool you with one being labled “HD”
you can use one of the new fancy ones or one of the oldschool arrow shapped roof mount ones.
get that & a OTA HD reciever(usually $150-$300) & if your a not too far from the city you can get a decent amount for free as long as you have the hardware.
I get NBC, NBC(weather), CBS, ABC, FOX, UPN, WB, PBS all in HD.
thats good for me becahse most of my tv watching throught he week is primetime stuff so that why i went that route instead of the Cable/Sat pacakge.
Introduction
A new generation is upon us and like many, we are not prepared. Many of you have heard of this thing called HDTV and are wondering if it’s worth all the hype. The simple answer is yes. HDTV creates an image so amazing and so clear that it can be compared to going from black and white to color. Although, the technology is still developing, it’s still a good idea to understand some the key aspects of this new generation and this is where this guide comes in. It will cover the most important elements of HD and give you an edge over others when finally buying the TV.
Comparison
For those that have never experienced HD, here is a comparison.
SDTV Image
HDTV Image
As you can see the image is greatly increased this is because HDTV has four times the resolution of a SDTV (standard resolution television).
Types
There are four main types of televisions you can purchase. Each of them has its own pros and cons so you will have to pick the one the suits you.
The CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube)
Pros
-Cheap.
-If set up correctly and placed in the right area they have the best display out of the four types.
-They produce an excellent black
Cons
-Do not work well in bright rooms
-Need regular maintenance
-Most cannot display computer signals
-Narrow viewing angle
-Softer images then the other four types
-Smaller screen sizes
Final Say
The CRT is an old technology and it’s dying out. Nevertheless if you are on a low budget and don’t need a huge screen, then CRT will is a good choice.
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)
Pros
-Light and thin compared to CRT
-Bright
-No maintenance to keep sharpness
-Most are computer capable
-Prices are dropping
Cons
-More expensive then CRT
-Are not worth the price after 32’’
-Lowest black compared to all four types
-Regular Lamp replacement
-Narrow viewing angle
Best Brands
Sony, Hitachi, Panasonic, LG
Final Say
LCD’s are a developing technology. The prices are always dropping, while the quality is increasing. If you are looking for a TV lower then 32’’ and are on a medium budget, the LCD is for you.
Plasma
Pros
-Can be as thin as 3”
-Wide viewing angle
-High quality image in the best cases
Cons
-Expensive
-Burn-in is a possibility (Burn-in is when an image becomes stuck on the screen for a long period of time. After the 1st 100 hours of watching Burn-in is highly unlikely)
Final Say
The Plasma technology has come a long way in the last few years and it continues to develop. Plasma is the best type to buy when looking at screens larger then 32’’.
DLP (Digital Light Processing)
Pros
-Good black level
-No maintenance to keep sharpness
-Computer capable
-Large screen size
Cons
-Expensive
-Needs Lamp replacement
-Makes video noise in dark places
-Have a habit of breaking down (costly repairs)
Best Brands
Samsung, Toshiba, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, LG, RCA
Final Say
The DLP is a new technology that still needs to develop for a few years. They may one day rule the TV world, but not today.
Resolution
Many people seem to have difficulty understanding resolution, but it isn’t as hard some people think.
There are two times of video display modes: Progressive and Interlaced. Progressive means that every single line on your TV is refreshed X number of times in one second. This will give you the sharpest image possible. Progressive is represented as a “p”. Interlaced means that every other line on your TV is refreshed X number of times in one second. This will give you slightly less sharp image. Interlaced is represented as an “i”. FPS (frames per second) determines the X. If your TV runs i at 60 fps then every other line on your TV will be refreshed 60 times every second.
Now the resolution means how many pixels are on the screen at one time. If you buy a 1080 TV then there are 1,920x1,080 pixels displayed and if you buy a 720 then there are 1280x720 pixels displayed. There are more resolutions, but these are the most used.
So, a 1080i TV running at 60fps will display 1,920x1,080 pixels and every other line will be refreshed 60 times every second.
This brings us to the question, which is better 1080i or 720p? The answer is simple, both. It all depends on what you are viewing. If you are watching or playing an image that moves slowly then 1080i is the best for that. For example, a golf game would look much better on 1080i then 720p. If you are watching an image that is fast paced then 720p is best for that. For example, a racing game would look much better on 720 then 1080i.
Make sure the TV you are buying has both capabilities, most TVs that support 1080i will support 720p, but it isn’t a guarantee so check first.
There is also a new resolution that combines both 1080i and 720p. It’s the 1080p. Now this is a new technology so not many TVs have it and like all new things it’s quite expensive. In addition, unless you are buying a giant TV (Around 40’’) then the 1080p will not make a big difference to you. The difference on a small set is almost impossible to notice.
There is one last thing you need to be aware of and that is native resolution. This is the resolution at which the TV was designed to operate on. It can still display images of higher and lower resolution, but it must convert the image making it slightly degraded.
Widescreen
If you are going to invest in a HDTV then you should also look into widescreen. What widescreen does is display an image in a 16:9 ratio. Meaning for every 16 inches of width it displays 9 inches of height. This will allow you to watch a more broad view of the image. Most movies are shot in widescreen and most new game systems will have this as well, so getting it will only benefit you. When looking into buying a Widescreen make sure the TV has Panorama, TheaterWide, or Natural settings, otherwise the image you are watching will look distorted.
Connections
Now that you have decided on your screen it’s time to look at all the ports you are going to need.
HDMI- will provide you with the highest quality of video and audio possible.
DVI/ HDCP- is much like HDMI except that it doesn’t send digital audio, so you will have to buy an optical cable and attach it to your device to get digital audio.
Blu-Ray recently announced that their Blu-ray players would not function properly without an HDMI or DVI connection. This is because the HDMI and DVI ports/ cables have copy protection technology in them, meaning that they will not display pirated discs. If you don’t have an HDMI or DVI port, then the resolution of your Blu-ray discs will be cut in half.
What does this mean? Well simply, if you bought a HDTV and it doesn’t have a HDMI or DVI port, then you are screwed because you will not be getting HDTV signals out of your blue-ray player. If you are going to buy an HDTV soon then make sure that it has either or both ports.
Extras
Here are a few things you might want to add while you are buying a HDTV.
TV Tuner- This will allow you to view channels that send HDTV signals in that form. It replaces the box you would need to pay for from your local service provider. TVs that have a TV Tuner will be marked “integrated HDTVs”, TVs that don’t have a TV Tuner will be marked “HDTV ready” or “HDTV compatible” You should only get this if you are in a largely populated area. If you are not then this is a waste of money because you will not be getting these signals anyway. A TV Tuner can also be called a Digital or ATSC Tuner.
Digital Cable Ready (DCR) – This works much like the TV Tuner. If you buy a Digital Cable Ready TV then you will be able to view Digital Cable channels in HD. TVs with integrated digital cable box will be marked “Digital Cable Ready” or “DCR” This replaces the Digital Cable Box you will need from your local service provider. If you don’t live in a highly populated area this is a waste of money, you will not get the signals anyway.
VGA (Video Graphics Array) – If you would like to connect your TV to your computer and use it as a screen then you will need a VGA port. You can also get an S-Video, but VGA has a much bigger resolution a image quality. (If you gey a TV with both a HDMI and DVI connetion then you can use the DVI for your PC, since the DVI provides a much better resoultion).
go read one of the other threads about people who wanted to buy. should be info in them. i think sonnys thread had decent info in it.
I dug up some info and changed the post. i Found this helpful and maybe others will too
i have a sharp aquos 26" lcd hdtv i like it alot you can sit any where in the room and it is still clear i think the colors on mine are a little crisper
my dad has a samsung 56" dlp hdtv i dont really like how when you dont sit right infront of it you can see the color spectrum but other wise it is a nice tv
either way if it aint a hd signal it looks the same as a regular tv i cant wait till they make all tv hd and poeple have to pay for it to be converted to crappy analog
has anyone with a hd tv and dvd player tried the new hd dvd’s or has anyone had any experience with the blu ray
Nice INFO…
did a little shopping today, came across this
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7679951&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050044&id=1134703181662
and really liking it!! same size display as i have now but the picture and quailty on it is amazingly better. and its not a bad price :bigthumb:
just found another one, same company just the widescreen version
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=1-1/qid=1162670215/ref=sr_1_1/601-9640771-4289741?ie=UTF8&asin=B000F0J4JS
i would look at the resolution on them i was lookin at a westinghouse one before i found the one i got and when i sat the 2 next to one another mine had better resolution
its 720p with the option of being 1080i
I seen it in person and personally i think its pretty nice
There is no “option” of 1080i, native panel res is only 768. Contrast ratio of 1000:1 sucks too.
all i know is it looks good… most of this res and shit is like a different languange to me…
all i want to do is be able to hook in HDMI cables from the PS3 and get good quality from blu-ray movies and shit
westinghosue is only nice because of it’s price… the quality and availibility isn’t there… but that’s all dependent on what you want to spend.
i did a ton of investigation and ended up with a 42" toshiba 1080p LCD tv… at least you’re looking into LCD, anyting else would be useless!
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Best Bang for your Buck . . .
Can be found for just under $2K:
Hey can you tv guru’s give me an opinion on this one… im picking it up on wed from best buy… it hooks up to my computer as a monitor to hahaha im buying a separate computer for vids et etc off the net for in the living room haha i can t wait…
any input would be highly appreciated!!