Bought an HD-TV: Waste of Money
- Thread starter Mr Light
- Start date
And the fun comparison:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10240&cs_id=1024005&p_id=2742&seq=1&format=2
Costs $23.78
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10240&cs_id=1024005&p_id=2742&seq=1&format=2
Costs $23.78
I firmly believe in HDMI cables as the way to go. And for sound, if you have to send it to a surround system, optical is best.
I'm shocked at some of these stories.
to the OP:
I do remember the first day, how confused I was, and then I started dividing my DVDs up by the resolution numbers on the back.
But still, the first season of Xena was crap no matter what I did. That's when I found out that there is nothing you can do if they record it with cheap cameras.
Older TV shows are 480, modern DVDs are 720, and high def is 1080. Just because a screen can display 1080 doesn't mean your DVD will look good. Anything 720 will still look good.
I have some files in 360 for use on my iPod, but that is going to change with the iPad, so when I get that I will have to rip them over again at 720. But they look OK on the little device. When I hook the iPod up to my 1080 set using the three RCA plugs, it looks terrible. The math will tell all.
Same logic works for programs you have in 480. If you use an older TV set, they will look OK, but they will always be pixelated on a high def set.
I got an upconverter for around $100, used HDMI cables, ran the optical audio back to my old DVD player with surround, and watched LotR in its entirety, drooling!
I'm shocked at some of these stories.
to the OP:
I do remember the first day, how confused I was, and then I started dividing my DVDs up by the resolution numbers on the back.
But still, the first season of Xena was crap no matter what I did. That's when I found out that there is nothing you can do if they record it with cheap cameras.
Older TV shows are 480, modern DVDs are 720, and high def is 1080. Just because a screen can display 1080 doesn't mean your DVD will look good. Anything 720 will still look good.
I have some files in 360 for use on my iPod, but that is going to change with the iPad, so when I get that I will have to rip them over again at 720. But they look OK on the little device. When I hook the iPod up to my 1080 set using the three RCA plugs, it looks terrible. The math will tell all.
Same logic works for programs you have in 480. If you use an older TV set, they will look OK, but they will always be pixelated on a high def set.
I got an upconverter for around $100, used HDMI cables, ran the optical audio back to my old DVD player with surround, and watched LotR in its entirety, drooling!
Which brings me to my next dummy question: I'm looking to buy an upconverting DVD player it's only $40 right now on sale. The missus is wondering if that's a waste of time and we should get a Blu Ray Player for $150. Now keep in mind we have NO Blu-Rays and will not be buying OR renting them ANY time soon they're still too expensive! .... Oh yeah I have a installation appointment on Wednesday for my digital and HD cable
A
Amaris
Guest
Which brings me to my next dummy question: I'm looking to buy an upconverting DVD player it's only $40 right now on sale. The missus is wondering if that's a waste of time and we should get a Blu Ray Player for $150. Now keep in mind we have NO Blu-Rays and will not be buying OR renting them ANY time soon they're still too expensive! .... Oh yeah I have a installation appointment on Wednesday for my digital and HD cable
1) I recommend a blu-ray player. Walmart sells a Magnavox Blu-ray player for $68 (in stores it might be $78). I have one, they work great. The quality of the DVD looks much better than one that is "upconverted", plus you'll be ready for when you do buy Blu-rays.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Magnavox-Blu-ray-Disc-Player-NB500MG1F/11319406
2) Shop in the right places. Amazon.com has blu-rays for $6 and up. Walmart has Blu-ray titles for $10.
3) Good job on getting the HD digital cable!
Various thoughts and sundry:
1) Get the blu-ray player. You won't regret it. A properly mastered BR will blow you away. And will beat the hell out of so-called "upconverting" standard DVD players.
2) About HDMI: If you have a receiver and a cable box, watch out. A lot of cable boxes won't work via HDMI if you run it through a receiver (these boxes have a faulty copy protection system).
Meaning: Let's say you have a lot of HDMI stuff, such as a cable box, a Blu-Ray player, a PS3, an AppleTV, etc. If you have a receiver that supports HDMI, you could run HDMI cables from all of those things into the receiver, then one HDMI cable from the receiver to the TV. But some cable boxes won't play ball if you do that. They will make you run the HDMI cable straight from the box to the TV. Usually this won't be a problem, since most current HDTVs have plenty of HDMI inputs anyway. But with an older set, it could be a factor.
3) Get a Logitech Harmony remote. You *KNOW* you want it. It will cure all your remote-related ills instantly.
1) Get the blu-ray player. You won't regret it. A properly mastered BR will blow you away. And will beat the hell out of so-called "upconverting" standard DVD players.
2) About HDMI: If you have a receiver and a cable box, watch out. A lot of cable boxes won't work via HDMI if you run it through a receiver (these boxes have a faulty copy protection system).
Meaning: Let's say you have a lot of HDMI stuff, such as a cable box, a Blu-Ray player, a PS3, an AppleTV, etc. If you have a receiver that supports HDMI, you could run HDMI cables from all of those things into the receiver, then one HDMI cable from the receiver to the TV. But some cable boxes won't play ball if you do that. They will make you run the HDMI cable straight from the box to the TV. Usually this won't be a problem, since most current HDTVs have plenty of HDMI inputs anyway. But with an older set, it could be a factor.
3) Get a Logitech Harmony remote. You *KNOW* you want it. It will cure all your remote-related ills instantly.
I third the motion. I would get the Blu Ray player. It plays standard DVDs just fine and will be there for you when you decide to rent the Blu Ray DVD of Star Trek, which I am told is the only way to see some of the deleted scenes.
^ And it will also be there when you *buy* the Star Trek blu-ray, since it is one of the best looking BRs in existence. And I'm not talking about lensflares. 
You're quoting the vertical resolution of NTSC TV and HD, but the horizontal resolution of DVDs there. if TV is 480, then so are DVDs, either that or 576 depending on whether it is NTSC or PAL.
720p is the lower of the two popular HD formats, that is the vertical resolution, 1280 x 720. Substantially better than a DVD.
If your TV has enough inputs, which it should, then your VCR will still work. You will probably need to 'split' the cable line, though, one goes into the cable box and the other into the VCR. (The only problem might be if your cable company has gone to all-digital, in which case I don't know if the VCR would work. The channels may be encrypted)
Or you might try renting a DVR from your cable company.
BR players don't cost that much more. You can get an entire player for about $150 nowadays. And yes, it blows the hell out of upscaling. (I've said this before, and I'll say it again: All HDTVs upconvert. And most *decent* HDTVs have better upscalers than the DVD players could ever have.)
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Or you might try renting a DVR from your cable company.
THIS.
Get a DVR from your cable company, it's likely to only be a couple of dollars more a month. Heck, with my cable company they only offer DVRs with digital cable so you'll likely get one anyway. Then you can forget about your VCR forever.
If you have all the cables hooked up correctly and your still not getting a picture, there was also a little switch on those cables that you had to flick to either HD or standard TV....its on the thick plastic bit yoi plug into the back of the 360...its been so long since i had a HDMIless 360 it slipped my mind.
A
Amaris
Guest
When I bought my PVR a few years back (it's got a DVD burner) it could burn standard definiation digital to DVD but HD wasn't possible (a capacity issue iirc) so it's unlikely that will change until they start bring them them out with Blu-ray burners.
Also most DVD Recorders have a built in hard disk so they operate just the same as the Tivo sans the electronic programming guide.
And the fun comparison:
http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10240&cs_id=1024005&p_id=2742&seq=1&format=2
Costs $23.78
Even that's too much.
I got a 6ft cable for 5 bucks.
My friend taught me that if you bought a 60 dollar monster HDMI cable all you'd be buying is the name.
Did you see that the monoprice cable was 35 feet long? 
