I'm planning on getting a 1080p HDTV in 2-2.5 months.

[Zero Plasma]

Edit: I know there is no 1080p content yet. I just mean HD.

I have cable with HBO.

The TV will be HDTV-built-in.

I was just wondering what content I can get.

I'm thinking that I'll be able to get all the shows that are in HD and SD (I think its called simulcast?) like Alias,Smallville,Conan,Leno,The O.C. and such.

Is HBO HD?

Well if you can just tell me what I can get that would be great.

 

[xtknight]

Err...crapola I didn't realize you were talking cable (I'm tired) but if you ever decide to hook up an antenna:

I watch HDTV (external tuner+LCD) almost every night...mainly Jay Leno and Conan on NBC and I love it. Your signal will of course vary. You'll want to check there is at least some station broadcasting HD in your vicinity. Check http://www.antennaweb.org/.

Personally me in Ann Arbor, MI (near Detroit) gets:
FOX
ABC-3 subchannels (HD channel, SD weather and some random SD tower cam)
NBC-2 subchannels (HD channel, SD weather)
WB-HDTV and SDTV subchannels
PBS
Probably something else I'm forgetting.

And just because some are broadcast in SD doesn't mean they will look bad. Remember, SDTV is still digital. No fuzziness here.

 

[xtknight]

For either antenna or cable check out NBC's HD lineup here:
http://www.nbc.com/nbc/footer/HDTV.shtml

Crossing Jordan, ER, Joey, Las Vegas, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Medium, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and The West Wing are currently broadcast in HDTV. Occasionally, theatrical films and made-for-TV movies are also broadcast in the high-definition format.

Also for ABC, FOX, PBS, etc. they list HDTV after the show on their schedule page, I'm
pretty certain.

But, yes, these shows are not 1080p. They are either 720p or 1080i.

 

[Zero Plasma]

Thanks for the info.

The main thing i'm wondering is shows on cable that say "broadcast in HD where available" will be HD on my HDTV-built-in tv, right?

I've read some confusing articles about cable companys being the deciding factor.

 

[xtknight]

Hmm well it depends if your cable station can pick up the signal or not. If so it should be on your cable line up (assuming the correct package).

 

[xtknight]

The main thing i'm wondering is shows on cable that say "broadcast in HD where available" will be HD on my HDTV-built-in tv, right?

I don't quite understand.

 

[Zero Plasma]

Originally posted by: xtknight

The main thing i'm wondering is shows on cable that say "broadcast in HD where available" will be HD on my HDTV-built-in tv, right?

I don't quite understand.

Well some shows like Alias on ABC say "simulcast(or something like that) in HD where available."

I think it just means you need an HDTV, but my cable is analog.

Can you get HDTV on an analog line?

Edit: Adelphia's site says you need to order(read as rent) a HD settop box from them to be able to view HD content, but i've heard cable companys say that so you pay them for it and if you have an HD tuner(built in or external) your fine.

I just want to know if i'll be able to watch shows that say HD where available (like Conan) in HD over my analog line.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Zero Plasma
Well some shows like Alias on ABC say "simulcast(or something like that) in HD where available."

I think it just means you need an HDTV, but my cable is analog.

Can you get HDTV on an analog line?

Edit: Adelphia's site says you need to order(read as rent) a HD settop box from them to be able to view HD content, but i've heard cable companys say that so you pay them for it and if you have an HD tuner(built in or external) your fine.

I just want to know if i'll be able to watch shows that say HD where available (like Conan) in HD over my analog line.

Ohhhh. No you will definitely not be able to watch them in HD unless the source is HD (your analog cable service is not). Simulcast just means they have analog and HD I guess.

For digital cable, it depends. You will need to pay a premium to get the digital cable. If they encrypt your cable, you will also need a box from them so that it decrypts it in to unencrypted QAM256 (or QPSK) your HDTV tuner can process. If your HDTV supports a CableCard then that could also work if your provider supplies you with the card. When you sign up for digital cable, the signals coming through your coax are very different (still 6 MHz wide though). It's digital data delivered by analog means and then decoded.

 

[Zero Plasma]

Thanks.

 

[xtknight]

Don't forget you can hook up a regular 30 year old analog antenna and get (most of) the local stations for free. You don't need a decryptor box. If your HDTV decodes QAM256 it ought to decode 8VSB (Over The Air HDTV). You will have to mount the antenna somewhere relatively high though to get a good signal. I have mine a foot and a half below my ceiling and it works fine though.

 

[Zero Plasma]

Thanks again.

I'm going to go with an antenna.

And I just need clarification.(This is all somewhat new to me.)

The antennaweb.org site you posted to, when I enter my info I get a list of available stations.

So if the antenna is hooked up to my HDTV and a show is being broadcast in HD say on Fox I can watch it in HD?

And is the quality with an antenna good for HDTV?

I just can't see why an antenna can get free HD at a good quality level, but the cable i'm paying to much for can't.

 

[kylebisme]

Originally posted by: xtknight
Ohhhh. No you will definitely not be able to watch them in HD unless the source is HD (your analog cable is not).

Anolog cable isn't HD, but the same peice of cable carries the HD signals regardless of whether you plug it into an HD cable box or directly into the HD tuner on a TV.

The question is wether or not your cable company encrypts the signal, so yeah Zero Plasma, your cable company is the deciding factor. They will most definatly encrypt HBO and other premium HD channels, but some cable companies will let you watch basic network TV channels in HD with baisc cable service.

 

[jiffylube1024]

1080p Cable HDTV is a long way off from what I've heard (networks happy with 720p and 1080i for the forseeable future). 1080p should be available in at least one of the HD-optical disc formats next generation (HD-DVD and/or Blue-Ray), although it's not clear if it will be a requirement or not for next gen films (probably not).

 

[Pabster]

1080p ANYTHING is way off.

1080i is hard enough. There just isn't much out there. Unless you enjoy watching PBS

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Zero Plasma
And is the quality with an antenna good for HDTV?

I just can't see why an antenna can get free HD at a good quality level, but the cable i'm paying to much for can't.

I have an indoor UHF antenna mounted on a lamp with tape (ghetto but it gets the job done). I'm very satisfied with my antenna signal, it doesn't cut out hardly at all, not like you'd think it would. My tuner can usually get a crisp signal when even only 4/8 bars (signal strength meter) are full. Anything 6/8 and above has been flawless. If you can get a good mounting spot for the antenna, you won't even have to think about reception loss. Right now mine's just attached with tape to a tall lamp. My dad has an antenna in the attic which consistently got 7/8 bars with nearly every channel.

Yup analog TV does suck when you use an antenna, but that's because it's not positioned right. Everyone associates antenna with vomit, but it just isn't that way. I like the DTV system because almost every DTV tuner has a signal strength bar just like every cell phone does. That makes it easier to locate a good signal, by a little bit. Perhaps they broadcast a stronger signal for HD than they do for analog TV? BTW, you will need a UHF antenna (not VHF which is only 1-13 IIRC). On my tuner I type in HD channel 4-1 (NBC WDIV) which goes to analog channel 43, hence why you need the higher UHF. My NBC analog station is channel 4, but HD must be broadcast on a different channel. Come 2006(?) when that HD-only OTA law is passed, that won't be so though.