Who here has HDTV???

[hmurchison]

Ok so I'm over at a friends watching the HBO Boxing on Sat. He has just bought a 50 inch Hitachi HDTV with the Motorola HDTV cable box.

No I've seen plenty of HDTV pictures in stores but it's just a different perspective when you're looking at it in a living room. Going from HDTV to standard NTSC is disheartening. The US Gov was right to add requirements for HDTV broadcasting. One you see a sports game(I watched some HD Soccer)in HDTV glory you will not want anything else. Sports look great because they are basically direct HDTV Camera feeds. HDTV movies will look good but post production and editing will ensure the picture is not as sharp as a direct feed.

Anyone here enjoying HDTV? What are your favorite subjects to watch.

[Kickaha]

When my 18 year old Sanyo POS finally craps out, and I have the $ post-graduation, I'm definitely getting an HDTV.

For one reason.

Hockey. I saw a game last year on HDTV, and was just blown away. Nothing else I've seen on HDTV has impressed me *that* much.

[hmurchison]

Originally posted by Kickaha
When my 18 year old Sanyo POS finally craps out, and I have the $ post-graduation, I'm definitely getting an HDTV.

For one reason.

Hockey. I saw a game last year on HDTV, and was just blown away. Nothing else I've seen on HDTV has impressed me *that* much.

Yes..the white ice and uniform colors. Hockey probably rocks in HDTV. I'm really thinking that HD is a huge boon for sports and any other direct broadcasts. I expect the movies to look good but not as good as sports.

Hmmmmmmm my goal of getting a front projection system within 5 years is looking better and better.

[Concord]

I have a HD capable TV but I have been waiting for a better selection of channels from Shaw. I get a whole slew of digital channels (though the quality isn't quite HD) but I'll need to upgrade my digital box in order to receive a true HD signal (mo' money).

Cheers,

C.

[mattjohndrow]

two words: I wish!

[Ebby]

I home my next projector has HDTV. Or at least 1600x1200. :D Prices need to come down though.

[mattjohndrow]

Originally posted by Ebby
Prices need to come down though.
ain't it the truth!

[LoCash]

I had it over the summer with my 50" Sony LCD rear projection set. I sold the TV at the end of the summer because I wasn't impressed with its black levels. It's gorgeous though. Totally worth it. I'll probably buy a new HD set this coming summer. I've been waiting for a couple of other imaging technologies to trickle down, and for a certain Panasonic DLP set to come available.

[DanMacMan]

I have never seen an hdtv broadcast but I am certainly looking forward to it. I can just imagine the quality of sporting events. However I know one industry that is reviling the adoption of it, Hollywood. In a recent issue of my local newspaper, they ran an AP article about Hollywood's obsession with glamour, and how hdtv is ruining it. The article cited the latest Oscar awards which were in HD, where the always perfect stars were shown as their true selves. Particularly Oscar winner Renée Zellweger, who because of hdtv, shown her acne scars to the world. They also mentioned Cameron Diaz and others as having the same problem. In closing, may I say HAHA.

[Kickaha]

Just wait until the porn industry has to deal with it, and you realize how many zits really *are* on that tush... :wow: :D

[Concord]

Just wait until the porn industry has to deal with it, and you realize how many zits really *are* on that tush...
Watch for soft-focus filters to make a big comeback... :D

Cheers,

C.

[Kickaha]

Ah, so the Vaseline will be on the *lens* now... got it. :D

[adpowers]

Yeah, I've got HDTV. I can barely spit it out based on my bad experience with it (well, with Comcast).

We got out set over 3 years ago now. We got over-the-air HDTV broadcasts (aka, an antenna) 1.5 or 2.5 years ago (can't remember). Unfortunately, our reception wasn't very good, so we could only get a few channels, some of the time, with spotty reception.

A few months ago we got Comcast digital cable for that one TV. When they installed the box, not only did they not plug in one of the component cables, they also f'ed up our surround system which took a while to troubleshoot. We were getting HD HBO, but not the local channels. My parents bought it for HD football, but the town I live in can't get that station (even though all surrounding towns can). I wanted to watch Blue Man Group on Leno in HD, but we couldn't get our local NBC affiliate in HD (even though we could over-the-air, with spotty reception). Then we lost HBO (we were never really paying for it), which means 0 HD stations. This weekend the Comcrap employees came back and did whatever to it. Now we, finally, get local stations in HD, HBO, and these two called INHD. I am very jaded, though.

Also, when I first watched live HD content (something besides the loops at stores), I noticed how... um... ugly everyone looked :). Our NBC affiliate's anchorperson is an older lady. She looks just fine on SD, but with HD she looks really wrinkled.

Andrew

[mattjohndrow]

Originally posted by Kickaha
Ah, so the Vaseline will be on the *lens* now... got it. :D
ROFL! that is awesome!

[Eugene]

Ping.

And favorite subject? Sports sports sports.

[CosmoNut]

So let me get this straight:

There are people who are upset about HDTV because the formerly beautiful are now ugly because you can see the detail of their skin?

The word "shallow" comes to mind. :rolleyes:

[BuonRotto]

....except hockey. We know you hate hockey, Eugene. ;)

Sorry for the oh-not-another-hockey-post, but hockey should be putting its full weight behind HD. People who complain that they can't see what's going on will stop complaining with HDTV hockey broadcasts.

My parents have HDTV and got a DVD player at the same time, but they're disillusioned with the setup. Cablevision has OK HD coverage, but my parents graduated from broadcast antennas to cable only a few years ago. They instinctively tune into channels 2-13 almost exclusively, and they are still renting VHS when the DVD selection is bigger. They don't trust on-demand movie ordering, and despite the fact that every time I go over, I point out that the HD channels are in the 700's, they still tune in to NTSC broadcasts when the same shows are on HD. My dad spent the entire football season until Thanksgiving with this system, and only learned of football on HD when I went over for the holiday. The only thing they have figured out and enjoy are the filler music-only (and I don't mean videos) stations at the top of the channel listings.

It doesn't help that they need 3 remotes to operate their whole system: TV, Cable and DVD/VHS. I can't blame them for finding that to be frustrating beyond belief. There must be a better way, but they refuse to hire help on their setup. I did most of the set up for them in the end, and I'm sure I didn't do the greatest job of it.

[CubeDude]

Originally posted by CosmoNut
So let me get this straight:

There are people who are upset about HDTV because the formerly beautiful are now ugly because you can see the detail of their skin?

The word "shallow" comes to mind. :rolleyes:

Its Hollywood, what else is new? ;)

[OldCodger73]

<<Our NBC affiliate's anchorperson is an older lady. She looks just fine on SD, but with HD she looks really wrinkled.>>

C'mon, don't knock Jean, grey power, even with dye, rules!

Seriously, has anyone watched HDTV on a plasma screen? Or for that matter watched a DVD on plasma? Has anyone had a heart attack pricing a plasma set?

[Aquatic]

I had it over the summer with my 50" Sony LCD rear projection set. I sold the TV at the end of the summer because I wasn't impressed with its black levels. It's gorgeous though. Totally worth it. I'll probably buy a new HD set this coming summer. I've been waiting for a couple of other imaging technologies to trickle down, and for a certain Panasonic DLP set to come available

Hehe, I thought your name LoCash meant you were low on cash!

[Concord]

Personally, I'm hoping that a Plasma - LCD pricewar picks up over the next few years as HD-DVDs start rolling out. A nice ~50" set in 2005/6 sounds about right when I get tired of my current (smallish) HDTV...

Cheers,

C.

[Splinemodel]

Maybe this might not make sense to you guys, but I just want a normal sized screen -- less than 30" -- that is an LCD panel with 1920x1080 resolution. In truth, the resolution isn't that critical for me since I have bad eyes, but I sit really close to the TV to compensate (like 4 feet away).

But when I watch sports I keep my glasses on, and I want that detail!

[trailmaster308]

I have a 42 inch Sony Vega Plasma FP. I love it, but not sure it was worth the price. Picture is great. I went ahead and coughed up the extra dough on the 4 yr extended warranty. Highly recommend that to anyone thinking of getting a Plasma FP.

[Sailfish]

Originally posted by Splinemodel
Maybe this might not make sense to you guys, but I just want a normal sized screen -- less than 30" -- that is an LCD panel with 1920x1080 resolution. In truth, the resolution isn't that critical for me since I have bad eyes, but I sit really close to the TV to compensate (like 4 feet away).



Sounds like you need a Apple 23" Cinema Display (1920 x 1200) and EyeTv/ATI remote. You can see it from 15 ft away up to point blank range. DVD's movies look really great on it.

You also get a nice computer with it for less than most plasmas.


BUT:

I don't think HD content can be imported into a computer, there's this scrambling/encoding feature that every HDTV and every transmitting device has. The purpose is to have no unscrambled/free signal going through any cable, so it can't be split or tapped, you see a DVI plug doesn't mean you can just plug your computer into it.

And HD content is frigging expensive, cable today is a joke and is bleeding people dry. Dump your cable, get your news online and subscribe to Netflix.

[Eugene]

Originally posted by Sailfish
Sounds like you need a Apple 23" Cinema Display (1920 x 1200) and EyeTv/ATI remote. You can see it from 15 ft away up to point blank range. DVD's movies look really great on it.
Sadly no. A DVD won't really look any 'better' on a 1920x1200 screen since it's only 720x480. Some monitors have nice scaling options, but they still introduce a bit of blur...

I don't think HD content can be imported into a computer, there's this scrambling/encoding feature that every HDTV and every transmitting device has. The purpose is to have no unscrambled/free signal going through any cable, so it can't be split or tapped, you see a DVI plug doesn't mean you can just plug your computer into it.
The "broadcast bit" nonsense hasn't been implemented yet. People are capturing HD content uncompressed onto their computers all over the place, with PCI adapters like the MyHD cards.

And HD content is frigging expensive, cable today is a joke and is bleeding people dry. Dump your cable, get your news online and subscribe to Netflix.
I get HD content from NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, etc. for the low, low price of $0/month thanks to this nifty invention called a VHF/UHF antenna.

I can also get ESPN-HD, InHD, InHD2, HBO-HD, Starz-HD, Showtime-HD, Cinemax-HD if I pay $5/month extra and have all the SD channels in my package.

[piwozniak]

I got HDTV projector, but since i'm "borrowing" Satellite signal from our Southern neighbors, and no-one knows when it will stop working (then again it's been working for the last 2 years no probs) i'm kinda reluctant in spending $500 on HDTV receiver.

My local cable company does not offer HDTV, and i don't want to get another satellite dish (mostly because they would have to install it and may have a question or two about my existing dish pointing in "wrong" direction..)

So technically i'm all ready to go :-)

[trick fall]

I'm hoping to get one over the summer. I've been holding off buying a bigger tv for like four years waiting for HD to become more reasonable.

[Sailfish]

cool thanks Eugene,

do you have and Mac HD input/output card links?

I heard there is this guy who used to own Digital Voodoo and went off and started his own company, makes Mac HD cards exclusively.

thanks in advance


Got it BlackMagic Design, got lucky on Google today.

http://www.decklink.com/productsdeckhd.asp

[dfiler]

I run rabit ears through an HD receiver and into a Infocus X1 projector.

HDTV is great... when it works. Unfortunately, current hardware and service quality is really quite pathetic.

It is routine for stations to broadcast 3.1 channels of silence along with a stereo source. Sound sync issues are still around. Aspect ratios require constant baby-sitting.

But most of all, signal strength just isn't there for a non-insignificant number of people. It is usually necessary to setup a rooftop antenna or pay more to cable/satellite providers just to get stations that you _already_ have. After doing this, periodic dropouts and jitters should still be expected.

With that said, I absolutely love HDTV. It is so impressive in 1080i (non-compressed / off-the-air) that DVDs are now blurry to my eyes. That's right, DVDs are low res! ;)

Greater resolution changes everything. While before you may have noticed the formation chosen by the defensive line... with HDTV, their facial expressions hold your attention.

During the State of the Union broadcast, you could see all kinds of subtle behavior quirks of politicians. Regular TV? You see everyone smiling and clapping. HDTV... you see which smiles are forced and which are genuine.

Finally, I predict a revival of the scene-change segue. Regular TV won't hold your attention with a typical cityscape shot... HDTV has you peering into the cityscape pondering whatever it is you ponder when on a sky scraper's viewing deck.

[adpowers]

It is so impressive in 1080i (non-compressed / off-the-air) that DVDs are now blurry to my eyes.

Umm, I am not sure what you mean, but I am 98% sure that HDTV is compressed. This really becomes noticable if you are watching a broadcast that contains strobe lights. The codec breaks down and you begin to see artifacts and boxes because of all the quick color changing.

[dfiler]

Originally posted by adpowers
Umm, I am not sure what you mean, but I am 98% sure that HDTV is compressed. This really becomes noticable if you are watching a broadcast that contains strobe lights. The codec breaks down and you begin to see artifacts and boxes because of all the quick color changing. I suppose all video is compressed... technically. ;)

HDTV that you receive over satellite or via cable has gone through one more stage of compression than has HDTV off-the-air. This is done in order to make room for more channels.

With HDTV picked up OTA (with an antenna) there aren't any artifacts. That is of course... if you are lucky enough to pull in a strong signal.

[Eugene]

Originally posted by dfiler
I suppose all video is compressed... technically. ;)

HDTV that you receive over satellite or via cable has gone through one more stage of compression than has HDTV off-the-air. This is done in order to make room for more channels.
That is not technically true at all. DSS tuners use the same 8VSB signaling as off-air tuners. It's up to the providers to decide if they want to compress the video more.

Cable companies use QAM signaling, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are compressing the video further. Per channel, cable has more than enough bandwidth for 1080i at full tilt.

With HDTV picked up OTA (with an antenna) there aren't any artifacts. That is of course... if you are lucky enough to pull in a strong signal.
There are artifacts even on a 20 mbps 1080i transmission. The codecs they use are inherently lossy.

[dfiler]

That pretty much sums it up.
Betcha didn't know we were agreeing. ;)

I wasn't trying to promote OTA over SAT or cable. All three definitely have merits. Rather, I was explaining comments about uncompressed 1080i. Nearly all cable and satellite providers deliver lower bit-rates than their terrestrial broadcast counterparts. On demand in particular has spurred cable companies to pinch bandwidth wherever possible. This isn't to say that OTA is better. It has other drawbacks such as poor reception and zero support.

And I also agree on the lossy nature of the mpeg codecs. However, the pixelation and boxes that people notice aren't really 'HDTV' compression artifacts. They are invariably artifacts from the second stage of compression happening at a satellite uplink or cable company. I typically refer to this as 'cable' or 'satellite' compression. It seems to get the distinction across better to people who'll never rember 16:9 / 4:3 let alone 8vsb / cofdm.

sorry... Perhaps I shouldn't dumb down stuff so much. Maybe it's dealing with non-techies at work all day that's done this to me?
:???: