Re: HDTV n00b seeking advice....

Hi Def from 35mm film (smacks head). Of course! Thanks for the info.

I guess what would help greatly is a Web site or two that provides
trusted, accurate reviews of current hardware. Everyone seems to review
flat panel TVs these days, including PC magazines, so I'm not sure
where to look. I couldn't find anything on the AVS forums, but then
again, I'm not so bright.


Alan Figgatt wrote:
> Atticus Fisher wrote:
>
> > The problem I see too often is that your Average Joe has a fundamental
> > misunderstanding of HDTV. A. Joe goes to Costco, buys a huge TV, hooks it up
> > to his cable box, and shows off his fancy new gadget to all his buddies. Not
> > knowing that if the cable channel isn't broadcast in hi def, or if the
> > content wasn't filmed with hi def cameras or other equipment, his fancy new
> > TV won't magically make it so ("Lookit! 'Wizard of Oz' in hi def!").
> > Consumers don't even know what the hell they're looking at.
> >
> > So I'm doing my best to educate myself.
>
> You are making a good start. You are correct in that way too many
> people buy an HD TV without then taking the often simple steps that
> would provide them with HD channels. Or learning how to properly connect
> the HD cable or satellite box or how easy it can be if they live in/near
> a city with full power digital TV stations to get HD over the air.
>
> ("Lookit! 'Wizard of Oz' in hi def!"). Not so. The Wizard of Oz movie
> from 1939 has been broadcast in true HD. Looked great too. 35mm film is
> inherently HD, in fact the resolution of a clean and good condition 35mm
> frame can be as good as 4K x 2K, higher than the 1920x1080i HD standard.
> So almost all movies shot since the 1930s can be converted to HD. They
> have to go back to a good master and telecined it to HD. So this is huge
> library of movies that is in process of being made available in HD. It
> is fun to watch older movies that one has never seen in a movie theater
> such as Wizard of Oz (1.37:1 ratio from that era) and Forbidden Planet
> (in 2.35:1 OAR) in HD.
>
> Most current HD TV shows are shot on 35mm film, framed for 16:9, and
> then converted to HD video. So there are no magic Hi Def cameras needed
> for HD. Some shows are shot on 16mm which leads to a somewhat grainy HD
> look, but these shows are HD as well. In fact, older TV shows shot in
> 35mm film, provided the 35mm masters are still in the vaults and are in
> good condition, can be re-telecined in HD. HDNet has Hogans Heroes and
> Charlie's Angel in HD (cropped to 14:9). But because of the expense,
> generating new video masters of old TV shows in HD will be a slow
> process. But don't assume that only new shows and movies can be found in
> HD.
>
> > In any event, someone mentioned that a common mistake is to buy a TV that's
> > too large for the viewing area. My condo living room is small (10' x 11'
> > -ish), so perhaps 42 inches is overkill...? Which is fine, as I'd much
> > rather buy a smaller, higher quality set than a larger, crappier one.
>
> I would go for the larger screen. The advantage of HD is that the
> picture quality holds up for larger screen sizes, unlike SD. The bigger
> screen provides a closer to going to the movie theater experience. I
> have a 42" plasma (in a bigger room than yours), but if I had to buy a
> new TV, I would get a 50" plasma this time around.
>
> > Any advice is appreciated, from specific brands to "gotchas" to watch out
> > for. What brands are generally better than others? Sony? Samsung? Panasonic?
> > Or is this merely another tech religious war (like Mac vs PC) for which
> > there will never be a victor declared? Or maybe it's easier to name which
> > brands to avoid....
> >
> > Thanks...
> >
> > Att
>
> What makes it complicated is that once we only had CRTs to choose
> from. The choice was brand name and size of the tube. Now we not only
> have multiple signal sources - OTA, cable, satellite - with digital
> transmission, digital sound, we also have a whole slew of different
> display technologies to choose from. Plasma, LCD direct view, CRT, DLP
> RPTV, LCD RPTV, SXRD/D-ILA RPTV with others on the way. For starters, I
> would avoid the no-name brands. This is not a mature technology, so the
> difference in picture quality is much bigger than it was between most
> CRT TVs a few years back. For all the opinions and info you can handle,
> www.avsforum.com is the place to go.
>
> Alan F

.

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