Re: OT: Windows Media Center / PVR Experience

Barry Watzman wrote:
The issue isn't the sets, it's that most of the the retail stores don't show true HD on their showroom display sets. For the most part, the displays running in stores (like Best Buy) are DVDs distributed to the sets via analog component video. They do use "upconverting" DVD players, and DVD is admittedly the highest quality non-HD programming you can get, so it's it's "top of the line SD", but bottom line, when you look at the sets on display in a store, the set not withstanding, you are not usually seeing true HD material but rather "top of the line SD".

Any 1080p set with a triple mode tuner (NTSC/ATSC/QAM) and a "cable card" slot is compatible with all present and future antenna and unscrambled cable systems (and with cablecard, most scrambled systems). This includes perhaps 60% of 1080p sets (where most of the rest fail is that their tuners are usually dual mode but not triple mode ... they usually don't support the QAM mode).

A 720p set is just a notch down in quality from a 1080p set, but many people won't even see the difference.

ALL HDTV sets are required by law to display all signal formats (resolutions). But, obviously, when you "down covert" a high quality signal to a lower resolution, you lose something in the process. That is largely the reason for going with 1080p. No one is broadcasting 1080p right now, and the various networks are mixed, some are broadcasting 1080i, some are broadcasting 720p, and of course on non-HD broadcasts they are broadcasting a wide range of the lower resolutions from NTSC up. Any set can and will display all of these, but if you want quality, you want to stick to a 720p or 1080p set, with 1080p (1920x1080 without interlace) being the "top of the line". Projection 50+ inch sets run $1,100 to $$1,500 for 720p and about $400 more for 1080p. The only caveat with all projection sets is to watch out for the lamp replacement costs, an issue over which I still have a lot of concerns (the lamp for my JVC is $200 list, and I don't yet know how long it will really last). Direct view LCD is probably the ultimate winner, but there is still a very large cost premium for such sets in larger sizes (over about 46") compared to projection sets.

For a cable system, however, the reality is that you are likely to need a cable box from the cable company. While in the past I've not liked this, I am truly in love with the cable box that we got, a Scientific Atlanta 8300HD with dual multi-mode tuners, an internal hard drive, an SATA port for an external hard drive and built-in dual tuner PIP in the cable box. The reason that you need a cable box is that even much of the "free" HD channels are still encrypted on most cable systems, and thus can't be received without a cable box. However, I've also found the tuner in the cable box to produce a far better quality picture than the one in the TV set (in my case, a JVC). So I'm very happy with the cable box connected to the JVC set via HDMI digital interface.

In addition to broadcast reception (e.g. RF antenna & cable inputs), you need a lot of other inputs, but most sets now being made are pretty good in this regard, although they all vary somewhat. My JVC has dual HDMI inputs (which I consider a minimum ... I'd like three HDMI inputs) and multiple inputs of each of the following 4 types: composite, S-Video, component video and a computer 15-pin analog VGA input. My only real complaint is that the VGA input is limited to just two modes, 640x480 and 1024x768. I have not yet gotten my media center to fully work with the TV, because I will have to create a custom resolution driving the TV via component video. This is possible, I have everything necessary, but it will take some work that I have not yet gotten around to doing.


Must be a local thing. The BB, CC and even WalMarts around here all use
an HD satellite feed to show the difference. They ALL need to figure out the display settings though. Nothing like looking at HD with one set showing the image tall and skinny next to one showing it correctly and the next one having a vertical compression.

--
Steve W.
Near Cooperstown, New York

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of
arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to
skid in sideways, BBQ in one hand, martini in the other, body
thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming: "WOO HOO what a ride!"
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT: Windows Media Center / PVR Experience
    ... it's that most of the the retail stores don't show true HD on their showroom display sets. ... Any 1080p set with a triple mode tuner and a "cable card" slot is compatible with all present and future antenna and unscrambled cable systems ... No one is broadcasting 1080p right now, and the various networks are mixed, some are broadcasting 1080i, some are broadcasting 720p, and of course on non-HD broadcasts they are broadcasting a wide range of the lower resolutions from NTSC up. ...
    (alt.sys.pc-clone.dell)
  • Re: DAB IS EXCELLENT
    ... I have had a tuner for 4 years good sound much better than AM and ... > so why waste your time saying DAB is not as good as FM, ... I think the main problem with DAB is the poor quality of display screen. ...
    (alt.radio.digital)
  • Re: 1^k as input for the adversary - why?
    ... Hey, go display a ... Her squad was toxic, mature, and omits as well as the ...
    (sci.crypt)
  • Re: A nongeneric bounded string array type (in database code)
    ... and if I get less than 20 I display them and I am done. ... Quality is scientific reality. ... -- from Zen and the Art of Motorcycle ...
    (comp.lang.ada)
  • Re: Lucky Goldstar
    ... display, a reference-quality display for the high-end post production ... market, uses an LG panel. ... As far as general quality issues, Dell and HP actually don't tend to use ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)