HDTV

[goggle]

katyzz said:

^^ You can get a basic rabit-ears antenna and pick up all of the local broadcast channels in HD, if you live near a city that is.

I asked my dad about it and he thinks we're just a little too far from NYC to pick up the HD channels, but I'll still try it.
I already played some video games on it and it looks great (it's probably just because the screen is big enough for me to see text at a comfortable distance), but I'll wait until we can get someone with an XBOX 360 to come over to see how good the picture can be.

[Deleted]

topher said:

I just got my 50 inch Sony HDTV and now I am a HDTV addict. Watching something on regular TV is quite the letdown now.

And, boy do I feel sorry for some TV personalties. You can't hide flaws now. I watched last week's ER. Maura Tierney didn't look as cute because of the blemishes one can clearly see. The guys on ESPN don't get off easy either. The one ex-QB now commentator looks about 60 with a bad spray on suntan.

My favorite channels are Discovery HD theatre and HD music channel from MTV.

Are you SURE you are not my husband? We got our 50 inch Sony HDTV in Oct. of 2005, and MrB loves to watch the Discovery Channel. He also likes that channel that will just show a scenic view from somewhere on the planet- I can't remember the name. I was surfing for the high def yule log at Christmas, but never could find it.

He fusses because when I set the DVR, I always record the regular channel when we have a high def channel. Well, I don't need to watch Ugly Betty on high def because it takes up 4x the space of the regular version. Plus high def is not Vanessa Williams' friend. He went on a business trip to Germany the week after we got it, and I think he was homesick for the TV.

[topher]

Discovery is showing their Atlas shows all this week.

[satellite]

When I got my HD TV one of the first things I watched was Dennis Rodman's "Behind the Glory"- Yee, gods, I was almost turned off to the whole concept.

Love the nature specials, travel shows, and PBS HD though. I was watching some underwater thing the other day that was just gorgeous. And a travel show on Versaille was lovely, also that Year in the Life of Windsor Castle show on PBS. I agree that hockey and other sports are great in HD even though I'm not a sports fan. They rerun old shows like Kinight Rider and Quantum Leap on Universal HD since it's NBC owned, but those shows weren't shot in widescreen so they're cut off a bit at the top and bottom. I don't see the point, even though the quality is nice otherwise.

[Deleted]

I think I have resolution blindness. We have a big ol' HDTV we got when we moved and it's great and all but I really only notice the HD resolution when my husband is watching sports. Even other shows shot in HDTV don't seem like that much of a difference. But then I feel the same way about the DVD/VHS comparison. They both look fine to me.

One thing that does bug me BIG time is our HDTV Cable. We have Comcast HDTV and it constantly flits out. I'll be watching a show and all of the sudden the screen will go to black with no sound for like 10 seconds. Comcast has already replaced our box once but it pisses me off. This never happens on our non-HDTV.

[Deleted]

Jen, is it a Motorola box? I love our DVR, but I sort of feel like it abuses its power over us, what with randomly erasing saved programming, dropping the sound for 5 seconds at a time, and occasionally freezing up completely. They've replaced it once, and the new one doesn't have as many problems as the old one, but it's still really annoying to be watching TV and have your cable box suddenly decide hey, you don't need to see the next 5 seconds.

[ownlife]

I don't get it, if you watch a non-HDTV channel on an HDTV, is the picture horribly fuzzy or impossible to see? Also, can you hook up a plain vanilla DVD player to an HDTV or do you need an HDTV-compatible DVD player? I would like to see Black Narcissus (the most beautiful movie ever IMO) on HDTV. I recommend this movie highly even if the idea of nuns in the Himalayas bores you to tears, the colors and scenery are absolutely gorgeous and it was not filmed on location. Who knows, HDTV may expose those limitations.

ETA: Thanks, Topher.

[topher]

Non HD channels come in fine but you start to notice flaws and the non clarity. You can play regular DVD on a HDTV with a standard DVD player.

[CAgirl]

My parents have an HDTV, but not the service. How does the antenna work? Do you hook it up as you would normally? Is there something special you have to do to get it to work? Do you have to have digital cable?

[katyzz]

cagirl said:

My parents have an HDTV, but not the service. How does the antenna work? Do you hook it up as you would normally? Is there something special you have to do to get it to work? Do you have to have digital cable?

You just hook it up normally, and you do not have to have any kind of cable service. I don't know all the technical terms, but the broadcast channels are required to air their HD channels the same way they do their regular versions.. so ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, FOX, etc., can be picked up in HD with a regular antenna. (if you live near enough to where they are broadcast from) The Discovery Channel, INHD, ESPN, and the like all require HD subscription service.

I'm sure it isn't the same everywhere, but the difference in my area between the regular and HD channels is quite a bit, even with cable.

You can check the reception in your area here. (this site helps interpret the results) It's set up for outdoor antennas, but depending on where you live an indoor one could be all that's needed... I live near Houston and that's what works for me just fine.