Is an HDTV worth the money to me?

[Cosmo Kramer]

Just wondering-

If I were to buy an HDTV, the only things I would do is play Xbox 360 in High Def (720p native) and watch ESPN and NFL Sunday Ticket. I know everyone says, "there are not enough stations broadcasting," but if all I watch is pro sports and mainly ESPN, and all of those are in High Def, isn't it worth it? Or is it better to wait until the FCC makes the switch? What do you think?

If it is worth the money, what kind of HDTV would fit best what I want to do? My range is $700-$1700.

 

[plasmalvr]

Just wondering-

If I were to buy an HDTV, the only things I would do is play Xbox 360 in High Def (720p native) and watch ESPN and NFL Sunday Ticket. I know everyone says, "there are not enough stations broadcasting," but if all I watch is pro sports and mainly ESPN, and all of those are in High Def, isn't it worth it? Or is it better to wait until the FCC makes the switch? What do you think?

If it is worth the money, what kind of HDTV would fit best what I want to do? My range is $700-$1700.

It's definitely worth it. ESPN is available in HD and there's a great deal of content including Sunday Night football. All the networks broadcast NFL games in HD and you'd take advantage of your xbox 360 with 720p. For your budget you should consider the Sony 34" XBR widescreen CRT. It has a wonderful picture and top rated by Consumer Reports. I've seen it and if 34" is big enough for you that's the way to go.

If you want bigger there's an ED Panasonic plasma that may do well- 42" model. It won't be HD but your xbox would look real good. If you want 50" or bigger DLP would be the way to go without blowing out your budget.

 

[jlindsey86]

I think it makes better sense to wait, imo.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Just wondering-

If I were to buy an HDTV, the only things I would do is play Xbox 360 in High Def (720p native) and watch ESPN and NFL Sunday Ticket. I know everyone says, "there are not enough stations broadcasting," but if all I watch is pro sports and mainly ESPN, and all of those are in High Def, isn't it worth it? Or is it better to wait until the FCC makes the switch? What do you think?

If it is worth the money, what kind of HDTV would fit best what I want to do? My range is $700-$1700.

It's worth it. You'll be waiting until April 2009, which is the date (I'm pretty sure) that congress mandated all broadcasting be high definition. They just released the news last week. It's BS that stations can now drag their feet until 2009 if they wish. Let's hope advertisers jump on the HD bandwagon.

Micro Center just ran an ad for a 37" Olevia that retails around $1700. With rebates, it's $1099. I wouldn't normally recommend an off brand, but I own a 20" Olevia LCD for my PC, and it's been a godsend. So I picked up this set for my folks, and hooked it up yesterday. My jaw dropped with NFL, and I'm only using over the air HD (you're right, CBS, NBC, 3 PBS channels, and Fox is about all you'll get for free). Indoor rabbit ears gets them all perfectly.

It also has a wonderful picture with standard cable, which is a big complaint on these new "thin" sets.

The Sharp Aquous and JVC 37" had slightly better color, but at $2700 it's a no brainer. Plus, not many units have dual NTSC and ATSC tuners, built in speakers, HDMI inputs, PIP, and side by side picture.

http://secure.syntaxgroups.com/products/detail.jsp?pid=LT37HVS

 

[MAX661]

It's worth it. You'll be waiting until April 2009, which is the date (I'm pretty sure) that congress mandated all broadcasting be high definition.

In 2009 everything only has to be digital NOT high Definition, It will be a long time before everything we watch is HD. With that said i believe there is alot of HD content available right now. On any given day I have alot to watch, I pretty much only watch HD. Having a PVR helps because then you miss nothing and your television doesn't tell you when to watch it, You just sit down and enjoy anything when you want.

YOU SHOULD GO FOR IT!!! YOU WONT REGRET IT...

 

[ruadmaa]

Is HDTV Worth It?

Just wondering-

If I were to buy an HDTV, the only things I would do is play Xbox 360 in High Def (720p native) and watch ESPN and NFL Sunday Ticket. I know everyone says, "there are not enough stations broadcasting," but if all I watch is pro sports and mainly ESPN, and all of those are in High Def, isn't it worth it? Or is it better to wait until the FCC makes the switch? What do you think?

If it is worth the money, what kind of HDTV would fit best what I want to do? My range is $700-$1700.

I would give you a resounding "YES" it is absolutely worth it. All stations are telecasting in HD and the picture quality is a night and day difference. Once you have seen sports in HD there is no turning back. Standard definition looks like garbage in comparison. You might as well be watching black and white. Also, the audio is 5 channel in many cases. It is a win/win situation.

 

[ironlung]

No comment



edit: Some anonymous person gave me a grey rep point for this informative post. What is a grey rep point? I admit the origional post was just some sarcastic humor (very little humor) wasting bandwidth. But some of you who know me I am not a big fan of HDTV at the moment. My CRT might be long dead by the time there is HD content.


PSA: EVERYONE GO BUY AN HDTV AND DEMAND CONTENT!!!

 

[BMXTRIX]

Not only will the X360 look great, but you will have your current lineup of HD programming available to you right now.

In a year or so though - forget broadcast - think HD discs. I think the real push for digital and HD television has sprouted from DVD. The increase in performance that DVD has brought to the table made everyone realize how poor VHS and regular TV is. Throw in some satellite companies and suddenly everything must be digital to look decent.

Now, add to the mix HD disc players and you are talking about thousands of movies available in HD every day of the week. Add Netflix or some other rental shop and you have new watchings every day of the week in HD.

Yes, if you don't have HD and you will have a HD source, then it makes a difference.

 

[mnc615]

channels

If your shopping for channels Dish network had the largest i believe after there merge with voom tv. For $15 bucks a month you get quite a selection. If your in rnage of locals, you get those with a cheap antenna and you can use your dish receiver as a HD tuner if you go ED with out an HD tuner built in you can get down around $2000 for that panasonic now.

I bought an ED after seeing mine in a store next to an HD for twice the price and thinking the signs were switched because the display mine was putting out was far superior to my eyes anyways...maybe i need glasses

 

[ruadmaa]

Ed superior to HD????

If your shopping for channels Dish network had the largest i believe after there merge with voom tv. For $15 bucks a month you get quite a selection. If your in rnage of locals, you get those with a cheap antenna and you can use your dish receiver as a HD tuner if you go ED with out an HD tuner built in you can get down around $2000 for that panasonic now.

I bought an ED after seeing mine in a store next to an HD for twice the price and thinking the signs were switched because the display mine was putting out was far superior to my eyes anyways...maybe i need glasses

Extended Definition (ED) is definitely NOT superior to HD in any way. The programming they were presenting on the displays you saw was most likely not in HD.

 

[BMXTRIX]

Extended Definition (ED) is definitely NOT superior to HD in any way. The programming they were presenting on the displays you saw was most likely not in HD.

While this is true for broadcasting, actual video displays can be superior between different models and a lower resolution model most definitely can look better.

It really depends on the scaling and video processors inside the units. Especially at 42".

A 'HD' 42" display is typically only 1024x768 pixels. Not a 16:9 format, but a bunch of recangular pixels to make the screen appear as 16:9. This is about a 50% increase in resoultion over 853x480 for an EDTV model and far less than the 1280x720 pixels (or more) that you find in a 50" plasma display.

So, all incoming video must be processed to fit a 'HD' 42" plasma with some weird resolution, and the results may not always be fantastic. Unlike a ED model which may do fantastic scaling of the incoming video signal to fit the half million pixels available for display, the 'HD' model may do a horrible job.

An EDTV, in many instances, is sufficient for people to be tremendously happy with the final results of any images shown, and can often provide a superior image for DVD video and regular standard def television which doesn't need to undergo as much scaling and image processing.