Hi-tech-tv.com: Television technology news & answers

I have Directv and want to know what experience anyone has had in getting an LCD or rear projection LCd and using directv. I know I will need to upgrade my directv box. I do have an updated antenna with 3 LNB’s and a local antenna to use if I can’t get the local channels over Directv. Will the wrap around antenna on the dish give me HDTV capability? I know if I had cable I could get a tv with a cable card slot. What else do I need to be aware of to maximize viewing HDTV (I am thinking Sony Wega 42″)? Thanks!

Answer 1: I have a plasma, DirecTV, and HD. I needed only a seperate, off-air antenna to get the local channels in HD. Generally, DirecTV is supposed to be upgrading their HD package. I paid $10.99 for fewer than 10 channels. Other than the Sunday Ticket, and ESPN, the local channels are about all I watch in HD right now.

Answer 2: At the moment I don’t get local HD channels on DTV, although that will change imminently in many markets (within 90 days I believe). If your current setup gets local OTA that’s fine, other than that if you’re in one of DTV’s HD local markets you’ll have a choice. Personally, my OTA HD works wonderfully 50% of the time, but that’s not good enough for me when football is on the line (and it seems to work best at night). That aside, DTV’s HD lineup is a joke. ESPN HD which is actually in HD about 20% of the time, Discovery channel (awesome), and a couple useless channels.

Answer 3: I went with the Panasonic 43″ rear projector LCD and I have DTV with the HD. I get CBS NBC ABC and Fox in HD. I get ESPN and ESPN2, HBO and SHOWTIME, HDNet and HDNet Movies, Discover HD, and so on. I love it. I can’t watch a baseball or football game thats not in HD; it’s ruined me for life.

Please leave your answers or questions in the comments section below.

HDTV Question: 1080P or 720P format?

I plan to buy a 60″ HDTV. Time Warner Cable (of which I am fond) tells me that their broadcast format is 1080i (for interlaced, as opposed to P for progressive scan). I don’t see many 1080i sets being advertised. I’m guessing that I should spend the extra $500 or so, and get a 1080P set. Any information about whether a 1080P set will give me a better picture would be appreciated.

Answer #1: 1080i capable vs 1080i native is not really different. For example when you watch football games, the majority of them will be 720P (progressive scan). Progressive scan is better with motion (football, videogames). 1080P is for HD DVDs and allegedly PS3 will use 1080P. I have an older Sony Grand Wega 50 in widescreen rear projection LCD. It’s native 720P, so it’s great for games. If HD DVDs are important to you, go with 1080P.

Answer #2: It should prepare you for future upgrades to the HD standard. I’m not 100% as up on this as I should be, but HD-DVD will be in 1080p, I believe. The satellite/cable/OTA HD feeds will lag behind this standard for a while. Most of those being 720p, and some being 1080i.

My set’s a couple years old and 1080i. If you’re going to buy now and keep it for 5-10 years (which is likely what an investment in a 60″ HDTV will be), then get the 1080p. The 1080p is the full spec: buy one now and you’re set for years. Also Sony has some 1080p HDTVs and I’d imagine other vendors do as well.
Many SXRD and Bravia sets are native 1080p, that’s why they cost upwards of 10K. Also, Microsoft has already said they’re making 1080p games, and while HDDVD is only 1080i, Blu Ray is 1080p. There are Sony native 1080p sets for sub-$3K at 50″, no less.
 
Answer #3: Microsoft can make all the 1080p games they want to and it wouldn’t mount up to a hill of beans. Besides, MS doesn’t make games only the game platform. IF EA Sports decides to make their games 720p Microsoft can’t do crap but complain. What is going to drive the market is TV programming and major studios movie release and as of now they are not going to. Movie studios don’t want to release 720p much less 1080p, and it ain’t going to happen for a while yet. A true 1080p receiver will cost thousands of dollars. Anything that sells for less than 3 thousand is not a true 1080p TV.

What they do to get 1080p is convert 1080i to 1080p in a process called up-converting. XBox 360 games are already on the shelf in 720p. Blu-Ray DVD’s currently support 1080p right now.

Answer #4: Who knows how long it will take until conventional programming over the satellite dish or via cable will produce true 1080p content, however. If it were up to me, my decision would be based on how far in the future I planned my next home theatre upgrade. I would argue that if someone would want to upgrade in another 5-6 years anyway that you would be better off saving the extra $$ now and wait at least until the second or third generation Blu-ray DVD players come out. That way you’d be closer to a window where conventional programming(not Blu-Ray DVD’s) might be available in 1080p.

Answer #5: You want 1080p: You can already see a difference. Go to a Tweeter store and have them explain to you the up conversion switching. I just bought a Sony 50″ 1080p and it’s the best TV I have ever seen. Circuit City is also a very good place to shop for TV’s right now lots of 10% off coupons out there and 24 months no interest financing. Stay away from Best Buy. 1080p is so awesome that I sold my 1080i 65″ Sony to trade up.

Answer #6: There are absolutely no television programs in production or planned for production for the 1080p format. DVD-HD and Bluray discs are upscaled to 1080p and in the future the XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 will have games in 1080p that can be played on those systems. However, as I implied that is a long way off. Currently the broadcasters doing sports in HD - the 4 networks, ESPN, TNT, FOX Regional Sports networks, YES, MSG, etc… have just gotten around to showing games and studio shows in 720p and 1080i, depending on the network. The market penetration of HD sets in these formats is still lagging, therefore 1080p is a long way off. Long enough away to buy a nice 720p or 1080i set and purchase a 1080p set when the format becomes standard.

Networks won’t be spending any money to provide 1080p with the digital deadline breathing down their neck. Also they need all the bandwidth they can get. 1080P is for games and DVD’s. If you don’t do that 720p or 1080i if very good. By the way,720p is supposedly the best for sports due to motion but the 1080i CBS college football telecasts blow away the Fox and ABC 720p. See for yourself.

Answer #7: I got a sony 50″ 1080×1920 lcd rear screen projection tv….both sports and dvd’s are stunningly detailed, it has great picture quality without the harshness of seeing the glass tube pixels you see with plasma. Since the biggest true lcd is still limited to 46″ the 50″ Sony is really a cinematic experience.

iO DVR: Anyone have it? Comments or complaints? Just ordered one and it should be here by mid week. Time to move out of the dark age of the no-tivo life.

Answer #1: It’s awesome and works great. Actually, it’s the best thing ever. It seems better than TiVo because its essentially the same thing and it costs less.

Answer #2: I have Time Warner with the DVR and love it. I’m sure iO is pretty much the same.

Answer #3: I’ve just gone back to IO after years of using a DirecTivo DVR. I prefer the 8300hd dvr, but I have some Tivo withdrawl symptoms.

What do I like better than the TiVo?

PIP is cool, as is the viewable picture when in menus and guides. I also like the really fast channel and guide scrolling plus the channel info surfing without changing the channel or going to the guide.

Continued from Should I buy an LCD or plasma TV?

Answer #6: It depends on the size you’re looking for. I don’t think they make plasma in the smaller sizes. I have a Samsung 32″ LCD and it’s real sweet. Of the TVs I’ve seen, Samsung, Sharp, and Pioneer look great

The LCD is apparently better in rooms where there is light as the Plasma tends to be susceptible to glare issues more. That being said, the Plasmas tend to have higher contrast ratios. All things being equal, which TV has the better component extras? Does it have a PC connection? Which are more compatible with satellite vs. cable? If there is a difference, which one has the best most accessible input/outputs etc.

Answer #7: Plasma is kind of like a tube TV regarding glare and LCD and DLP are more like the old rear projection sets where glare isn’t an issue. Regardless of the contrast you’ll have a bad glare problem in a room with a lot of light with a plasma TV. Make sure the room it goes can
be controlled for light or you’ll be unhappy.

Answer #8: I own one of each. There are positives and negatives to each. Personally, my favorite is the plasma, only because it’s brighter and has better darks than the LCD. Granted, there is more reflectivity from ambient light in the room, but it’s so much brighter I think it’s a wash. Burn in isn’t an issue, unless you’re going to be staring at something that never changes, or you spend most of your watching time viewing channels that have static images (like the Bloomberg ticker running at the bottom of the screen 24×7, or if you always watch with closed
captioning).

Plasma has a better refresh rate than most LCDs, so it’s a bit better for gaming. All said and done, I don’t think you can go wrong either way.

And by all means, buy from Costco so you get a good, long, money back guarantee, which is necessary on modern TVs regardless of make or model.
Which ever technology you invest in, please make an effort to eliminate any light sources in your room. Specialty shades can be purchased to remove and sun light. Remember, the darker the room the better image quality you will have.

Answer #10: I just bought 42 inch Panasonic plasma. I spent many an hour researching the differences between the two…the plasma is pretty amazing. the colors “pop”…it’s the best way I can explain it. You may want to consider the 1080p version as well, as opposed to the 1080i…sort of the wave of the future. Plus it will work well with blue ray/ hd dvd.

I have a few grand burning a hole in my pocket and my TV is about to die. Any help would be appreciated. I have to decide between a plasma TV, an LCD, or something else.

Answer #1: I have a Sharp Aquos LCD and love every minute of it but DLP will save you a ton of money and the picture is still great. Also unlike the PLasma if the TV breaks you can get it fixed for cheap.

Answer #2: Burn in is not a serious problem any more, so don’t worry about that. In July I got the Panasonic 50″ HD plasma, the commercial version. It’s cheaper than the consumer version, all black (which I prefer), does not come with a stand (I planned to and did mount it on the wall), and does not come with speakers (I planned to and did take care of sound through my receiver/home theater speakers). I absolutely love the TV, it is amazing.

Answer #3: I Just bought a 42-inch plasma last week. Burn-in does not affect modern plasmas nearly as much as older models (pre 2004-2005). Also, the life of today’s plasmas can easily exceed the life of picture tube TV’s, some plasmas are expected to last 10 years or more. An added plus is that plasmas have the sharpest, brightest picture of any of the three technologies, can be wall-mounted (unlike DLP) and, depending on size/brand, is very competitively-priced. The best plasmas are Panasonic, Pioneer, or Hitachi.
Answer #4: If it’s going in a room that is fairly bright (as in sunlight), LCD will handle this better. Otherwise, it’s whatever looks better to him. I personally would stick to a brand name.

Answer #5: I like LCD better then DLP or Plasma, but there’s no real better among them. It just personal choice and the kind of picture you enjoy. Do you need a flat panel? If you want a screen bigger then 46″ and need or want a flat panel you have to go plasma. LCD flat only goes up to 46″ and there is no DLP flat.

It’s true that the days of burn in are over for plasma TVs with the latest models. But be careful with Panasonic; they were very slow to adopt the non burn technology and there’s still some Panasonics out there that you have to be careful with. I don’t like the “blur” or “clay face” you get on a lot of the plasma screens even with HD during a football game.

Whatever TV you go with try and get 1080p resolution even though it’s a big expense. If you’re spending 3 grand on a TV get something with the best technology you can.

I just added a 50″ Sony 1080 LCD to my collection. It was a lot less expensive then a 50″ 1080i plasma. If you don’t have to have a flat panel save the money and buy a 1080p LCD or DLP whichever you like better.

If you have a Circuit City near you go there and check out the 1080P DLP from Mitsubishi and the LCOS 1080p from Sony. There are also some 1080p plasma sets out now from Sony and Samsung but they are over 4 grand. About 1500 more then the DLP or LCD rear projections but they are direct pictures.

The first thing you need to decide is your space for the TV. The second thing you need to decide is what you’ll watch most. Then read and shop and have fun.

Read more on LCD vs. plasma TVs.