[starman]

Ok, as someone said, the only way for a thread to die is to stop posting in it. In order for that to happen, there needs to be another one. Here it is.

What HD setup do you have? Still buying HD-DVD?

[design219]

I was at a Best Buy the last week and they had a big bin of HD_DVD's at half price. It didn't look like anyone was interested.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Official. How... laughable.

[Mrjinglesusa]

TV: 47" Sharp Aquos (1080p)
Receiver: Yamaha V-1700
Speakers: Infinity Primus 360s (L/R), Infinity Primus 160s (Surround), Infinity C25 (C), and Infinity P10 (Sub)
HD-DVD: Toshiba XA-2
Blu-ray: Sony 60GB PS-3
Digital Content/Music: AppleTV

Just purchased the last five HD-DVDs I wanted last week. All purchases will be on Blu-ray from here on out.

Going to upgrade from COX cable to Verizon FIOS when they finish hooking up our neighborhood in a month or so.

[MacosNerd]

I have a 32" 720P Samsung. I'm not running any hi-def programming yet, that is I've not upgraded my satellite to HD and I'm looking to get a blu-ray player. As I posted in my earlier thread, the odds are pretty good that I'll pony up the dough for a PS3 since that will give me a blu-ray player and the ability to play games (plus wireless access).

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Blu-ray Magic: iPhone to Become Blu-Ray Player Remote

[starman]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

Official. How... laughable.

You're just upset you didn't come up with the idea first

[osiris]

I've been holding out until after the format battles are over.
Now I'm waiting for HD TV on all channels, for it pains me to watch stretched-out talking heads and over-pixelated movies.
I currently own a Sony 720p tube with a decent surround sound system that makes the windows rattle, but the next screen will be thin, flat and super wide.

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

Official. How... laughable.

Quoted for truth.

[residentEvil]

Originally Posted by osiris 

I've been holding out until after the format battles are over.
Now I'm waiting for HD TV on all channels, for it pains me to watch stretched-out talking heads and over-pixelated movies.
I currently own a Sony 720p tube with a decent surround sound system that makes the windows rattle, but the next screen will be thin, flat and super wide.

HD TV on all channels huh? you will die before that happens. and if you (or someone else reading this) thinks the digital transition in 2009 = HD, please read up some more. it doesn't mean HD broadcasting.

[BasketofPuppies]

Samsung 32" LN-T3253H LCD HDTV set (720p "native" resolution)
Oppo DV-980H upconverting DVD player
PlayStation 3 (60-gig with hardware-based backward compatibility)

Could someone explain how, in 2008, high definition cable television is not available in my building? High definition television sets are no longer luxury items.

I bought an antenna so that I would at least be able to view local channels in high definition, but picking up channels is difficult and erratic due to the many skyscrapers and high rises in the area (I can't get CBS' local digital channel unless I hold the antenna in my hand and stand in a specific spot, despite that it transmits from a skyscraper not even two blocks away..)

[osiris]

Originally Posted by residentEvil 

and if you (or someone else reading this) thinks the digital transition in 2009 = HD, please read up some more. it doesn't mean HD broadcasting.

Only an idiot would think that. Digital broadcast does not equal HD.

[BRussell]

I've got an Aquos 32" 720p, no cable or satellite or tivo or hi-def DVD players or speakers or nuthin'. I get over-the-air broadcast, very little of which is in hi def, and I have a bazillion downloaded TV shows and movies accessible from my computer via AppleTV, almost none of which are hi def.

I watched Michael Clayton last night in HD rented via AppleTV, and it didn't seem much different than regular DVDs - which are fine as far as I'm concerned anyway.

[paul w]

I have a Samsung 40" 1080p LCD TV and a PS3 at the moment. Speakers are next on the list though the sound is certainly acceptable to our ears.

Movies on blu-ray are awesome. And as I just got cable installed - baseball (and basketball games ) in HD are way awesome.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

At the moment my roomie (and condo owner) has only an old-school 32" tube in our living room, but we'd (and by "we" I mean "I'm all for it if he'll do it") like to try for, say, a 42" HDTV Sharp for next year. From the way things are going it looks like similar models should be closing in on the 1k mark by next September.

The real issue we were looking at is on the surround sound front. Currently we've just got a couple (very shitty) mains and an ancient shitty amp for some stereo sound. Surround would be nice, but there's no way to run wires in the condo; the floors are all hardwood and it's relatively open-spaced, so unless you ripped up the floors/walls/mouldings there's no way you're stringing wires to the rear.

What's the wireless tech like nowadays? Is it crazy expensive? I know some computer speakers were going that way for rears a few years ago, but I wonder if it could be done cheaply on a stereo system?

greg

[Luca Rescigno]

Originally Posted by osiris 

Only an idiot would think that. Digital broadcast does not equal HD.

I wouldn't say that. It only takes a minute of research to learn that digital vs. analog is one thing and SD vs. HD is entirely another, but it comes naturally to people like us who've dealt with technology stuff our whole lives.

Anyway, I have a 27" CRT TV that was manufactured in 1992. My Wii's hooked up to it through S-Video. But I'm upgrading! In a couple weeks I'll have a 32" CRT that was manufactured in 1996! I also don't even have an antenna for the thing, so it's really just a monitor.

Eventually I'll be able to afford an HDTV. Maybe by then, 30"+ sets won't be as expensive as they are now and 720p will finally be giving way to 1080p.

[osiris]

Originally Posted by Luca Rescigno 

I wouldn't say that. It only takes a minute of research to learn that digital vs. analog is one thing and SD vs. HD is entirely another, but it comes naturally to people like us who've dealt with technology stuff our whole lives.

Anyway, I have a 27" CRT TV that was manufactured in 1992. My Wii's hooked up to it through S-Video. But I'm upgrading! In a couple weeks I'll have a 32" CRT that was manufactured in 1996! I also don't even have an antenna for the thing, so it's really just a monitor.

Eventually I'll be able to afford an HDTV. Maybe by then, 30"+ sets won't be as expensive as they are now and 720p will finally be giving way to 1080p.

I was a bit harsh, perhaps the techno babble is taken for granted to some.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

Oh goodie. another good use for BR-live.... a shitty game:
Sony Sets Specs, BD-Live for 'MIB' Blu-ray | High-Def Digest

[Salty]

I have no HD setup, I have a nice monitor, and might get an EyeTV when I move out so I can run TV to my laptop... honestly though I don't get why people worry so much about video quality, I'll watch it on YouTube if the story's good enough.

[angelmb]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

Official. How... laughable.

but it is Offical, not Official, he was smart enough to avoid the hyped, overrated and yet a classic 'Official' cliché

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by starman 

You're just upset you didn't come up with the idea first

Naw, I'm so obnoxious I take personal ownership of the threads.

Originally Posted by angelmb 

but it is Offical, not Official, he was smart enough to avoid the hyped, overrated and yet a classic 'Official' cliché

Snap. Nobody caught that.

[residentEvil]

Originally Posted by osiris 

Only an idiot would think that. Digital broadcast does not equal HD.

well, i thought your statement of waiting until "HD on all channels" was idiotic. i was hoping you weren't thinking digital transmissions in february 2009 as HD.

your statement just sounded like an uniformed consumer. HD will not come to all channels so why wait?

or do you mean, all channels provided by a cable/sat company to be all HD?

both dish and direct will be offering an HD only package soon; i can't wait for that!

[BasketofPuppies]

Originally Posted by Luca Rescigno 

Eventually I'll be able to afford an HDTV. Maybe by then, 30"+ sets won't be as expensive as they are now and 720p will finally be giving way to 1080p.

Unless you use an HDTV set primarily for Blu-ray Discs or as a computer monitor, 1080p is a waste of money.

Nothing is broadcast in 1080p. Everything you watch on television will be scaled up and/or de-interlaced, which will not look as good as it would at its native resolution. And very few PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games run natively at 1080p, and many that do have frame rate issues at that resolution.

And as long as I'm ranting, let me add that 1080i is dumb. Back when HDTV was "the future," we were told that one of the advantages that high definition would have over standard definition would be a non-interlaced (read: progressive-scan) picture, which would make HDTV easier on the eyes than SDTV. When HDTV came, we got 1080i, which is interlaced, not easier on the eyes and arguably worse-looking than the fewer-lined 720p HDTV resolution as a result.

And that there is more than one HDTV resolution is also dumb.

[SSharon]

I've got a cheap Olevia 32" 720p and a dual tuner HD DVR from verizon (fios).
When I move out of my tiny apartment I'll look into getting some real speakers and a dvd player to replace my divx dvd player.

[voodoo]

Originally Posted by angelmb 

but it is Offical, not Official, he was smart enough to avoid the hyped, overrated and yet a classic 'Official' cliché

Wow, I've never had the pleasure to participate in an Offical thread before

A real honor!

[jokell82]

Originally Posted by residentEvil 

your statement just sounded like an uniformed consumer. HD will not come to all channels so why wait?

NEVER?!? So in 2050 we'll still be watching SD channels? I somehow doubt it. But I also don't think it's something worth waiting for...

Originally Posted by residentEvil 

or do you mean, all channels provided by a cable/sat company to be all HD?

both dish and direct will be offering an HD only package soon; i can't wait for that!

Dish already offers it, and it's $30/mo. I'm definitely contemplating that plan.

[- - e r i k - -]

I have a 24" iMac. It's higher def than your TV.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

I have a 24" iMac. It's higher def than your TV.

I have a 24" iMac and a 24" external monitor. It's twice the high def of your iMac.

[voodoo]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

I have a 24" iMac. It's higher def than your TV.

I have a 24" ... ah wrong thread

[BasketofPuppies]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

I have a 24" iMac. It's higher def than your TV.

Taller def anyway.

[residentEvil]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

NEVER?!? So in 2050 we'll still be watching SD channels? I somehow doubt it. But I also don't think it's something worth waiting for...



Dish already offers it, and it's $30/mo. I'm definitely contemplating that plan.

yes, NEVER. HD content on all channels won't be possible. we have 6+ decades of TV content that isn't HD. You know, all the programming you watch in syndication? just because a station goes HD, the content isn't. the poster specifically doesn't want to watch stretched/upconverted programing. that eliminates pretty much all TV content before, pick a date...1998? 1998 was the first HD programming i started watching via Comcast. some TV programming was being produced for 720p/1080i prior to that so there may be some popular shows that have the original footage for HD programming but didn't broadcast it. so lets be generous and go back to 1996. anything older than 1996 will never be HD...it will be stretched/upconverted on the station it is played on if that station goes HD for new/live programming.

it will just never happend to have 24/7HD content on all channels; unless you subscribe to a provider that only offers HD channels that are only showing new/live HD produced content. there is only what, 3 national HD channel that is full time 24/7 true HD? and even then that has fallen under suspicion with upconverting reports (HDnet movies and HD Theater).

[starman]

Wrong.

The SD content probably won't be converted to HD itself unless it was filmed (don't forget that), but the CHANNEL it's being broadcast on will be in HD.

I think you misunderstood what jokell was saying. HD channels-YES, but the CONTENT could still be in 480, it'll just be carried over a 1080 signal upconverted.

And don't forget that a lot of TV shows were recorded on FILM which can be transferred to HD. The videocam stuff can be upconverted. Whether it will be is a different story.

[residentEvil]

Originally Posted by starman 

Wrong.

The SD content probably won't be converted to HD itself unless it was filmed (don't forget that), but the CHANNEL it's being broadcast on will be in HD.

I think you misunderstood what jokell was saying. HD channels-YES, but the CONTENT could still be in 480, it'll just be carried over a 1080 signal upconverted.

And don't forget that a lot of TV shows were recorded on FILM which can be transferred to HD. The videocam stuff can be upconverted. Whether it will be is a different story.

yeah, i said that. please read. i said the channels will be in HD, but the content won't be. poster clearly stated they didn't want to watch stretched/upconverted. that will always be the case. you honestly don't think all the shows in syndication will be transferred to HD, even if they had the original FILM? most shows don't have the masters any more. MASH, Lucy, Happy Days, just to name a few. Those are on almost every hour of every day on some channel. Even if that channel goes to HD (like NICK for example), they don't have the original masters to do that transfer. The program will then be stretched or displayed in original format. Either way, the content is NOT HD. period.

so waiting for something that will never happen doesn't make sense. enjoy the HD content that we have now and will have for all future programming.

[jokell82]

Right now I watch Seinfeld syndicated on the local fox station, broadcast in 720p. It is not stretched, although it is obviously upconverted (it has to be), shown with black bars on the side. My guess is every channel will eventually show older shows like this.

But eventually we will have every single channel in HD. It's a question of when, not if.

[residentEvil]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Right now I watch Seinfeld syndicated on the local fox station, broadcast in 720p. It is not stretched, although it is obviously upconverted (it has to be), shown with black bars on the side. My guess is every channel will eventually show older shows like this.

But eventually we will have every single channel in HD. It's a question of when, not if.

i agree, every channel will be. all content, NEVER. it is still SD content no matter how you stretch or upconvert it. i'm not arguing with you, i'm pointing out the poster waiting for all channels to have HD content will never happen.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by jokell82 

Right now I watch Seinfeld syndicated on the local fox station, broadcast in 720p. It is not stretched, although it is obviously upconverted (it has to be), shown with black bars on the side. My guess is every channel will eventually show older shows like this.

I hope to god that's the case. We can still stretch (or zoom) those images if we want, so I'd rather have the choice.

[Luca Rescigno]

Originally Posted by BasketofPuppies 

Unless you use an HDTV set primarily for Blu-ray Discs or as a computer monitor, 1080p is a waste of money.

Nothing is broadcast in 1080p. Everything you watch on television will be scaled up and/or de-interlaced, which will not look as good as it would at its native resolution. And very few PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games run natively at 1080p, and many that do have frame rate issues at that resolution.

And as long as I'm ranting, let me add that 1080i is dumb. Back when HDTV was "the future," we were told that one of the advantages that high definition would have over standard definition would be a non-interlaced (read: progressive-scan) picture, which would make HDTV easier on the eyes than SDTV. When HDTV came, we got 1080i, which is interlaced, not easier on the eyes and arguably worse-looking than the fewer-lined 720p HDTV resolution as a result.

And that there is more than one HDTV resolution is also dumb.

Good points.

Well, hopefully 1080p will become more common anyway so 720p sets get cheaper.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Do they actually manufacture brand new 720p sets anymore? The only ones I see in stores ( a few months ago) were old models now replaced by 1080p.

[stevesnj]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

Do they actually manufacture brand new 720p sets anymore? The only ones I see in stores ( a few months ago) were old models now replaced by 1080p.

If its 1080p it will display 720p

[Dakar the Fourth]

That has nothing to do with my statement.

[BRussell]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

Do they actually manufacture brand new 720p sets anymore? The only ones I see in stores ( a few months ago) were old models now replaced by 1080p.

I'd guess that around 1/3 of all TVs manufactured today are 720p. I don't know for sure, but that would be my guess.

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Dakar the Fourth 

Do they actually manufacture brand new 720p sets anymore? The only ones I see in stores ( a few months ago) were old models now replaced by 1080p.

720p sets are everywhere.

However, "1080p" is a strong marketing tool. Much of that 1080p marketing is total bull, but nonetheless it is a strong tool to sell higher priced units. I've noticed that many of the store ads push 1080p sets now, but the 720p sets still exist nearly everywhere, cuz they're usually cheaper.

Interestingly, a lot of the very low end sets are actually 1080p, but I'd prefer a higher end 720p set over a cheap 1080p set any day. Higher end 720p sets are not that much more than cheap 1080p sets, but the higher end 720p sets have much better picture quality overall.

Higher end 1080p sets are obviously the ideal, but only if you're willing to pay the often significant price premium.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by Eug 

720p sets are everywhere.

They are by far the minority in the Best Buys and Circuit Cities I've frequented. Almost always they are the previous years model, and the current model is 1080p.

Originally Posted by Eug 

Interestingly, a lot of the very low end sets are actually 1080p, but I'd prefer a higher end 720p set over a cheap 1080p set any day.

Completely agree. That's pretty much what I did, anyway.

[Eug]

If they are the minority at Best Buy and Circuit City, that means they exist at Best Buy and Circuit City, don't they?

Anyways, I just checked BestBuy.com and they list 60 (yes sixty) models of 720p TVs, including many 2008 models.

[Dakar the Fourth]

Originally Posted by Eug 

If they are the minority at Best Buy and Circuit City, that means they exist at Best Buy and Circuit City, don't they?

Sorry, I took everywhere as to mean the majority, not that they exist.

Originally Posted by Eug 

Anyways, I just checked BestBuy.com and they list 60 (yes sixty) models of 720p TVs, including many 2008 models.

Ah, ok. From my browsing late last year I was being put under the impression the industry was making a solid shift to 1080p, most likely to help decrease consumer confusion. Obviously this is not the case.

[stevesnj]

Okay yes they do manufacture 720p HDTV's

[Shaddim]

Originally Posted by - - e r i k - - 

I have a 24" iMac. It's higher def than your TV.

Not for much longer. When it gets into the mid-5 digits I'm going to pull the trigger on one (or a model that's similar).

[Eug]

Originally Posted by Shaddim 

Not for much longer. When it gets into the mid-5 digits I'm going to pull the trigger on one (or a model that's similar).

Why?

Why not just get a high end 3-chip DLP?

[Shaddim]

Originally Posted by Eug 

Why?

Why not just get a high end 3-chip DLP?

I have a high end 3-chip DLP, a JVC DLA-HD100. However, I've personally seen 1080p sources scaled up to 4k and they're jaw-dropping. It would be perfect for the throw distance in my HT.

Fact is, it'll be years before 4k is "tamed" to be consumer friendly, in features and price, but as soon as it is I'm all over it.

[analogue SPRINKLES]

They still make DLP's??