For the HDTV Experts.

[sd]

A TV sales guy told me that I should really get a HDTV even if your not gonna use the HD yet. According to him, every channel will be HD by the end of 2007, and by the end 2010, a non-HDTV won't even work.

What do you think? I can buy the first part, but not the 2010 part.

 

[T2T III]

I thought the FCC has tried to come up with some sort of manadate to make all of this effective. I'm just not sure if anything has been formalized yet or not. I thought that dates have been set in the past, but they keep getting moved further out.

You might find some useful information here.

 

[spacejamz]

the mandate is to have all stations broadcast a digital signal, not necessarily an HDTV signal...

once eveyone is broadcasting this signal and if you don't have an HDTV, you will need a converter to change the signal from digital to analog so you can continue to use it...

Even after the transition is over, your current TV will not become obsolete. A converter box can be used to receive broadcast DTV signals and change them into the format of your current television.

 

[nsafreak]

I hear this on a regular basis from customers I talk to (in the TV industry but not as a salesperson) when they go to purchase a new TV. The mandate from the FCC is for the conversion from analog broadcasts to digital broadcasts. In any case a lot of newer sets are being sold with ATSC tuners which will tune in to digital off air stations anyways. There is absolutely no mandate from the FCC to migrate to HDTV broadcasts. Really the only people it affects anyways are people that receive their programming from antenna. If you get it from satellite or cable it will not matter to you. But really if you're buying a new TV set why not get a HDTV set anyways? They've come down a lot of price and the amount of HDTV content has been steadily increasing over the years. Still not a ton out there but it wouldn't hurt to have a set so that when the market does reach a saturation point you won't have to go out and buy a new TV set again.

 

[tallest1]

Originally posted by: sd
A TV sales guy told me that I should really get a HDTV even if your not gonna use the HD yet. According to him, every channel will be HD by the end of 2007, and by the end 2010, a non-HDTV won't even work.

What do you think? I can buy the first part, but not the 2010 part.

Florida was supposed to be all HD this year according to a 4-5 year old mandate and yet nothing has changed. Theres no way in hell that the public will be forced to switch to TVs that cost at least 100x as much

 

[SpunkyJones]

Originally posted by: tallest1

Originally posted by: sd
A TV sales guy told me that I should really get a HDTV even if your not gonna use the HD yet. According to him, every channel will be HD by the end of 2007, and by the end 2010, a non-HDTV won't even work.

What do you think? I can buy the first part, but not the 2010 part.

Florida was supposed to be all HD this year according to a 4-5 year old mandate and yet nothing has changed. Theres no way in hell that the public will be forced to switch to TVs that cost at least 100x as much

The change is for digital, not HDTV. Most people won't notice anyway, for the cable & sat companies will shield them from it via their set top boxes, people who use OTA will simpley need a decoder, not a new tv.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: tallest1

Originally posted by: sd
A TV sales guy told me that I should really get a HDTV even if your not gonna use the HD yet. According to him, every channel will be HD by the end of 2007, and by the end 2010, a non-HDTV won't even work.

What do you think? I can buy the first part, but not the 2010 part.

Florida was supposed to be all HD this year according to a 4-5 year old mandate and yet nothing has changed. Theres no way in hell that the public will be forced to switch to TVs that cost at least 100x as much

WTF?! 100x as much? This isn't 1995

Most 32" SD tv's cost around 300-500 or so while a 32" HDTV starts at around $649 now.

 

[TwiceOver]

By the time the FCC and the cable companies all agree on a deadline for digital broadcast, plasma and LCD tvs will be reasonably priced and there will be something else out there.

 

[z0mb13]

I never believe anything a salesman tells me

 

[waggy]

heh.

man the confusion over the darn switch is amazing. They are not forcing everyone to get a HD TV heck the FCC does not care. They are forcing the switch from analog to digitial (if you have cable or satilite odds are you already have it). So no you do not need to buy a new TV just for that.

Now if you can afford HD TV and watch TV a lot then get the HD TV. you will LOVE IT. The few times i have watched it at friends/family i want to run out and buy one. But i do not watch that much TV so i can't justify buying one. Maybe when my 27inch tv dies i will.

 

[Wag]

If you're going to buy a new TV you should probably purchase a HDTV.

Comcast offers plenty of HDTV channels for only a few dollars more than regular cable. If you watch alot of DVDs it's great for that too.

There are some 30" 16:9 HDTVs in the $500 range now.

 

[EyeMWing]

Heh. HDTV's will not totally replace SDTV's for the forseeable future. Good luck making a $50 15" HDTV (Remember that CRT computer monitors in the 15" size range still cost twice that and we've had them since the beginning of time)

 

[DingDingDao]

Originally posted by: tallest1

Originally posted by: sd
A TV sales guy told me that I should really get a HDTV even if your not gonna use the HD yet. According to him, every channel will be HD by the end of 2007, and by the end 2010, a non-HDTV won't even work.

What do you think? I can buy the first part, but not the 2010 part.

Florida was supposed to be all HD this year according to a 4-5 year old mandate and yet nothing has changed. Theres no way in hell that the public will be forced to switch to TVs that cost at least 100x as much

LOL. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHHHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAAH :laugh:

That's the most inane comment I've read in a while. Welcome to the 21st century my friend.

 

[Apex]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: tallest1

Originally posted by: sd
A TV sales guy told me that I should really get a HDTV even if your not gonna use the HD yet. According to him, every channel will be HD by the end of 2007, and by the end 2010, a non-HDTV won't even work.

What do you think? I can buy the first part, but not the 2010 part.

Florida was supposed to be all HD this year according to a 4-5 year old mandate and yet nothing has changed. Theres no way in hell that the public will be forced to switch to TVs that cost at least 100x as much

WTF?! 100x as much? This isn't 1995

It's not? Are you saying my 3dfx Voodoo2 SLI system is no longer cutting edge?