To HD or not HD ...

[pogopossum]

our 20 YO dinosaur console tv died this week, and now the question is how do we replace it? i am in favor of upgrading to HD, but which kind, i think i am inclined toward lcd, and dw would like to upgrade, but she could be just as happy with ntsc, at a quarter of the cost. in our area all the stations are already broadcasting in HD, and i have told her about the deadline of dec 31, 2006, but she doesn't believe that it will happen, law or not. is there a compelling argument for going HD now or waiting for new years 07?

 

[MNSusan]

We took the plunge and bought a Sony HD (LCD) two years ago. The difference in the picture is amazing. I'd buy the biggest and best one you can afford.

And if you really want to complete your ultimate viewing experience, plug in a TiVo box, too.

 

[Charade]

our 20 YO dinosaur console tv died this week, and now the question is how do we replace it? i am in favor of upgrading to HD, but which kind, i think i am inclined toward lcd, and dw would like to upgrade, but she could be just as happy with ntsc, at a quarter of the cost. in our area all the stations are already broadcasting in HD, and i have told her about the deadline of dec 31, 2006, but she doesn't believe that it will happen, law or not. is there a compelling argument for going HD now or waiting for new years 07?

There is a noticable difference watching NTSC TV on an HDTV. IMO, it looks better. Same with DVDs. HD content (cable, SAT or OverTheAir (OTA)) is increasing steadily. If you've never seen HD, go look at it. Your eyes will pop out!!! You won't want to watch no-HD again (unless you have to).

The two biggest drawbacks to HD is the cost. HD displays (with or without a tuner) are much more expensive than SDTV. The other is the ability to record HD programming. The devices are still quite expensive.

As far as size, I would get the biggest you can afford. My next set will either be 60 (or bigger) or a projector (think 8 foot wide screen!). Obviously size of the cabinet matters too. DLP models are pretty thin (about 18 to 20 inches) and LCD (and plasma) are pretty thin and can hang on a wall.

Most people think that getting a big screen TV means they can watch it from far away. The ideal viewing distance is 2.5 times the diagonal measure of the set. IOW, the ideal viewing distance for a 36 inch TV is about 7 feet. My MIL watches her 35 inch TV from across a 21 foot living room!! The ideal viewing distance for a 60 inch TV is about 13 feet.

 

[Mister Incredible]

Yes Yes Yes to HD!!!

 

[golfgal]

I was also told that with the change over to HDTV, programing will be shown in widescreen format, so that is also something you will want to check out. If you get a tv that isn't widescreen, you will have the black bars on all your programs like you do if you watch a movie in widescreen but don't have a widescreen tv.

 

[Mister Incredible]

Get a wide screen tv, and make sure you have someone who knows what they are doing when they hook it up! I have gone over to so many peoples houses who think they are watching HD and were using the wrong cables. When I re-wired the TV, they couldn't believe the difference

 

[The Mystery Machine]

FYI....Our cable company charges extra for the HD channels.

 

[ToyStory Fan]

HD all the way. Stay away from ED it's bogus. Our cable company - no extra charge for HD, Satellite HD will cost you plenty though.

 

[kerrynic78]

We just got our new 52 inch HD tv yesterday and I haven't seen my DH since!

 

['Canes Fan]

we have a 42" Hitatchi plasma. our cable company charges $9.00 extra a month for HD with an HD Tivo.

I find myself staying up to watch ANYTHING on the HD channels. but football and golf....wow.

 

[pogopossum]

well thanks to every one for their opinions, we plunged in big time, went with the 50 inch dlp from samsung, had a little trouble getting the antenna in the right place and tuned at the right place to pick up all the channels for programming, but after a little trial and error, i got it in a good place and even picked up channels from 100 miles away. we got $50 off by buying a samsung hd dvd player. i work in the tv and av business, so i did get it setup and wired in right, with one exception, i have to add an audio cable from the dvd to my stereo, the optical cable only gets into the tv, but not out to the stereo system from the tv, i think it's a digital to analog thing.

but i do appreciate your input, and my beloved dw has come around on the HD thing, after seeing football today she really saw the difference. plus the cable quality picture over the air really won her over, hard to believe this comes in on an antenna.

 

[MinnieM3]

We were out looking today and WOW! Hoping Santa will leave one under the tree!

 

[Kahana-ri]

HD is fabulous. What a difference! The problem is that we only have about 6 HD channels becuase our cable company is too cheap to make all channels HD. We have called and asked what's the hold up and they simply reply it is not doable just yet? They have no problem however in providing high speed internet, phone service, and raising our rates.

 

[Lynn CC]

DH will have his HD 50" Pioneer 2 years this Oct. He LOVES it!

We also have a couple of other HD's in the house a 42" Dawoo which we've had for the same amount of time and it has a very nice picture in HD...no complaints for the price we paid for this tv. A smaller panosonic which is a great picture too, looking for one for the kitchen now.
If you want to splurge, go with the Pioneer!
Our cable company charges for each HD box, so you may want to consider that before purchasing.

 

[pogopossum]

i'm only doing the antenna thing, in fact i have the equivalent of rabbit ears for HD. with a little experimentation in position i managed to get 48 channels, including one over a hundred miles away, but it will allow me to check on my alma mater, when i need to.