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HDTV, is it worth it?

J

jsbush

Diamond Member
Is an HDTV, television worth buying? Are there enough channels out there offering good HD programming to justify the high costs of HD?

Anyone know what the future will hold (like ten years from now), well everything be using HD, or will that be absolete and onto another technoligy?



Thanks 😀
 
i think in a couple years HDTV will be widely adopted. HDTV is the future, i dont see the point in buying a nice non-hdtv now when you will just have to replace it for an HDTV in a couple years.
 
Digital television is going to replace analog in 2006 (if they make that date). Digital and HDTV are not the same thing. Not all shows will have to be HD but all broadcasts will have to be digital. Right now if you get an HDTV you can it with a tuner or without. Eventually, all TV's will come with a tuner for digital broadcasts. There's quite a few shows that are always shown in HD and some sporting events are as well. You can get HD from cable, over the air, or satellite.
It is pretty amazing stuff. It's like looking out a window (the really great broadcasts). I have an HDTV but I don't get any programming. I got a receiver a while back just to try it out and see what kind of over-the-air reception I could get.
 
The technology is great for watching dvd's and movie rentals..but not interested in the pop culture crap on tv these days..
 
OK -- don't listen to Happy Puppy. HDTV is the best thing to happen to TV since TiVo, and yes, it's worth every penny you might ever spend on it. Sure the TV, might be a *little* more, but if you're already in the market for a new set, it just plain makes sense to go ahead and get an HDTV-ready TV.

All the big networks offer prime time programming in HD, and others will follow. Showtime, HBO, ESPN, Discovery, Bravo, PBS Stations, HDNet, HDNet Movies, and others including many more that VOOM offers are all channels that just look fantastic -- today!

My cable company charges 2 measly dollars a month more for the major networks, PBS, HBO (since I already pay for the regular channel, it's inlcuded), and a Bravo feed in High Definition. I don't know if you're into football, but if you had ever seen Monday Night Football in all its High-Def glory, I don't even think we'd be having this conversation.

Get the d*mn HD-ready TV -- trust me, you won't regret it.


Also --
The technology is great for watching dvd's and movie rentals..but not interested in the pop culture crap on tv these days..
Click to expand...
Not sure what you're talking about here... High Definition and watching DVD's have nothing in common, except maybe in the case of a progressive scan DVD player, which uses the same component inputs found on HD-ready TV's. But even this does not output High Definition content. High Definition makes the best DVD resolution look downright bad on a properly calibrated TV.
 
So an HDTV will do nothing for watching dvd's? Is a HD televison gernerally better image quality then a regular?


I'm really leaning towards a HDTV, and HD satellite receiver.
 
I say wait a few years. HDTVs are so freakin expensive and the channels offered and the area they are offered in is very limited. Not all shows are broadcast in HDTV either just because the channel is offered in HDTV.

Too many negatives right now. I look at it like HDTV is in the version 1.0 or maybe even lower stage. Let all the other people spend the big bucks to be the beta testers than a couple years from now when the technology is better and tvs are cheaper and more content has become available you wont' be kicking yourself for wasting your money.


edit: grammar problems ugh
 
mine comes with my cable service if you have an hdtv...most basic channels like cbs, nbc...extc have 24 hours of hdtv

its so crisp and the sound is beautiful
 
why wait? life is short, HDTV is great and it's here NOW.

My motto is, if it aint in HD, I aint watching it.
 
My parents just got an HDTV a couple months ago and it's amazing. My mom didn't even want it at first because she said she wouldn't even be able to tell the difference but now she really likes it, and my dad says it was worth every penny. So far the only channels they get in HD from the cable company are CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS, HBO, and Showtime. Only some shows are in HD, but at least the Sopranos is and it rocks. Hopefully they will add FOX soon so I can watch 24 in all it's glory.
 
Originally posted by: Linux23
why wait? life is short, HDTV is great and it's here NOW.

My motto is, if it aint in HD, I aint watching it.
Click to expand...

Hahaha, so true. I caught my dad watching a gardening show on PBS beacuase it was the only thing on in HD at the time.
 
Right now, the hardware is still not mature yet. Even though DVI(or its many varients) will be the universial connection, the current crop of TVs haven't taken this into account and have only included one or two, far too few when you have a plethora of device that will be dvi. I think the hardware is behind and still a few years away.
 
I'd wait. But then, I don't watch TV so paying the premium for "new" (cough cough) technology seems pointless to me. Maybe if the programming wasn't so vapid I'd have a different view.
 
I got one just for the movies...

I don't plan on buying an HD tuner or getting HD service as I almost neer watch TV.
 
HD sets are more than worth it if you watch DVDs or play video games. For television, you'll have to wait for the broadcasters to catch up.

But DVD/gaming in progressive scan can't be beat.
 
Originally posted by: Ikonomi
HD sets are more than worth it if you watch DVDs or play video games. For television, you'll have to wait for the broadcasters to catch up.

But DVD/gaming in progressive scan can't be beat.
Click to expand...

what do you mean wait for the broadcasters to catch up. by the fall of this year, all of the major networks will be doing primetime in HDTV. more and more sports and live sporting events are being broadcast as well.
 
Originally posted by: Linux23
Originally posted by: Ikonomi
HD sets are more than worth it if you watch DVDs or play video games. For television, you'll have to wait for the broadcasters to catch up.

But DVD/gaming in progressive scan can't be beat.
Click to expand...

what do you mean wait for the broadcasters to catch up. by the fall of this year, all of the major networks will be doing primetime in HDTV. more and more sports and live sporting events are being broadcast as well.
Click to expand...

I mean that it will be a long time before everything, or even most things, are broadcast in high definition, if ever. As of right now, and it's not fall yet, HD sets make a lot more sense for movies and games than they do for just television programming. I'm glad that networks are continuing to move forward with digital HD broadcasting, but I mean to say that we're going to have to wait a while before HD replaces basic analog viewing as the standard.

That said, I still think an HD set is one of the best home theatre investments to be made right now.
 
well anything worth watching(prime time shows)/HBO are already in hd. even pbs 😛 whether cnn or c-span is in hd, doesn't matter as much
 
i think that if you spend $500 on a normal tv you may regret it in a couple years. if you spend $1000 on an hdtv i dont see any reason you would regret it in a couple years.
 
Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
well anything worth watching(prime time shows)/HBO are already in hd. even pbs 😛 whether cnn or c-span is in hd, doesn't matter as much
Click to expand...

Now, I wouldn't agree. I watch quite a bit of the History Channel, TLC, Discovery (non-HD) Spike, and FX... none of which are HD yet. I even watch re-runs of MASH before bed on the Hallmark Channel.

The only HD is:

Primetime networks (about 60%)
The Voom channels (worthless)
ESPN (only HD on an occational game)
1 HBO channel (almost worthless, as the bulk of their primetime is taken up with stupid shows The only HBO shows I like are Sopranos and Deadwood)
1 Showtime channel (ditto on the stupid shows... not a single one I like here... as Penn and Teller is an upconvert, not HD)
Bravo
Discovery (shows the same 10 shows over and over and over)
HDNet/HDNet Movies (shows the same tired crap over and over)
PBS (worthless).

DirecTV has yet to get Starz HD or Cinemax HD. Those may be better than the HBO or Showtime channels because they focus on movies... not upconverted stupid shows about porn families or sports.

Also, most medium and smaller market OTA stations have not converted to HD yet. In the central IL area, only ABC and Fox are in HD (and Fox is more like ED)

HD has a long way to go to make up the bulk of my viewing. I just hope they find the bandwidth to make that possible.
 
Originally posted by: jsbush
Is an HDTV, television worth buying? Are there enough channels out there offering good HD programming to justify the high costs of HD?

Anyone know what the future will hold (like ten years from now), well everything be using HD, or will that be absolete and onto another technoligy?

Thanks 😀
Click to expand...

Is it worth it?

Two words:


HELL Yes!!

😀 😀
 
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