Can anyone answer questions about HDTV?

R

Richard K

Joined
Dec 30, 2000
Messages
711
I've been told that once all broadcasts are in high definition my existing TVs will be useless without some sort of converter box for each set (between two houses and an RV, I have eight sets). I'm on Dish Network which, I'm told, sends out a digital signal and some local programming is already broadcast in HD. I get a great picture on all programming. Am I going to need new TVs or converter boxes or is it just a sales pitch?

Thanks in advance,
 
Yes they can. In Gadgets & Gear. Moving this to that forum.
 
A conventional TV set is incapable, by itself, of receiving HDTV signals. That is true.

HDTV is a digital signal. Conventional TV sets receive an analog signal called, "NTSC," which stands for National Television Standard, Color (or "Never Twice the Same Color" depending on who you ask).

Dish Network's signal is digital. That is also true. Dish Network's signal is not HDTV. It is a proprietary digital format that can accomodate HDTV.

Right now, your Dish Network set-top box decodes the proprietary Dish Network signal and re-encodes it either into a conventional analog NTSC signal or into an digital HDTV signal.

My guess is that Dish will continue to do this for a long time and that your exisiting NTSC TV sets will function with your Dish box and service in situ ad infinitum (that's Latin for "as is for the foreseeable future").

Most cable TV these days is similar. It's a proprietary digital format on the cable and the set-top box decodes it and converts it to either an NTSC analog signal or into an digital HDTV signal which your set then decodes and displays for you. Similarly, I suspect that NTSC analog sets will continue to function with such cable set-top boxes in situ ad infinitum (that's Latin for "as is for the foreseeable future").

Over-the-air broadcasters, on the other hand, will be discontinuing their analog NTSC signals. When that happens, you will need some sort of converter box to receive and decode the digital HDTV signals and convert them into analog NTSC signals which your analog NTSC set can decode and display.
 
Richard K said:
I'm on Dish Network which, I'm told, sends out a digital signal and some local programming is already broadcast in HD.
Click to expand...
Dish will not phase out the current NTSC broadcasts until it becomes too expensive for them to do so. You've got time to let the sets get used up before you need to worry about it. Industry forecast doesn't see a complete phase out of the NTSC standard for at least 20 years.
 
even if you did need to use an off air antenna, it's pretty easy to find a hdtv tuner, called an atsc tuner that can convert the signal to analog. it can be a little expensive though.

Pete

<edit: i guess what i'm trying to say is that those hdtv tuners are availible now, so i'm sure they will be very easy to find once all off air broadcasts go digital. To tell the truth everything isn't even going to be hdtv, at least not right away. it's just going to be digital. by the way, hdtv is awesome, if anyone needs any specific help with it feel free to give an email or post here. i sell hdtvs at best buy every day so i might be able to help cut through the clutter.>
 
Thanks Guys! At both houses I'm in the shadow of Mountains so the only way I get TV is with Dish or cable. If Dish Net. continues, as suggested, I won't have a problem. Two of my sets are realtively new 32" non-HD and would hate to part with them. I have a 15 year old 27" Mitsubishi that has the sharpest picture of any of my others but don't know how much longer it will last. We're having another house built and the built-in entertainment center will need a 48 or 52". HD TVs in that size get really expensive (we'll be on Dish there also) Will probably make the plunge then, although I've heard that non-HD broadcasts on an HD set suck.
 
If you're having a cabinet built, keep in mind that NTSC screens have a 4:3 aspect ratio. The screen is four inches wide for every three inches tall. A square would have an aspect ratio which could be expressed as 4:4, four inches tall for every four inches wide. So, NTSC screens are rectangular, but not to far from being square. And NTSC sets tend to follow along.

HDTV sets are 16:9; they are sixteen inches wide for every nine inches tall. They are almost twice as wide as tall, very rectangular. HDTV sets also tend to follow their screens and end up being very rectangular.

So, that will probably influence how you want your cabinet built.




Interestingly, human vision has an overall aspect ratio that is a lot closer to 16:9 than 4:3. But, the actual area where human vision is in-focus and actually usable is about 5:4, a lot closer to 4:3 than 16:9. So, why the move to 16:9 when 4:3 is closer to the usable are in human vision?

Imax movie theaters use 4:3. But conventional movie theaters prefer the 16:9 screen because they can get more seats across each row. That is what drove Hollywood to 16:9. And now Hollywood is driving home TV to 16:9 to match movie theaters.
 
If you can reduce the amount of light in the room, especially light behind you, and if you can watch the tv basically straight on you could get away with a traditional projection tv. those go mostly 1000 - 2000 USD. The reasons for those requirements is that with traditional (crt) projos you lose a ton of light at very slim angles and you can tend to get a lot of glare.​
Ifyou are going to be looking at the television from all over the room and or there is going to be a lot of natural light around you might consider one of the newer forms of projection television, dlp (digital light processing) projection or lcd (liquid crystal display) projection. they are also much slimmer than crt projos so they may help solve space problems as well. they tend to be around 16 to 24 inches or so. they start right around 2000 usd and go up to about 4000 usd (roughly).​
You can also look at plasma or a large lcd panel (vs lcd projection) but they will cost you a lot more. i haven't physically seen any lcd direct view (panel) tvs that are larger than a 45'' sharp that we have at best buy, but 42'' and 50'' plasmas are very easy to find. they oftentimes have removable speakers or smaller speakers, which can be useful if you are trying to get the largest screen size for the space.​
Theres a lot of stuff out there as it seems like is often the case with consumer products these days, so i would definitely advise you to do your research when you start to get down to it. cnet.com has some good information and it can be fun to flip through a "sound and vision" magazine just to get an idea of what's out there. hope this wasn't a little overwhelming to anyone, but i do enjoy talking about it. it looks like a lot of text in this small little box that i'm typing in but i'm sure that it will end up being a semi-normal sized post. in any case finding something that will fit that space should be no problem with a projection, although panel tvs will work as well.​

Pete

by the way, if anyone hasn't check out cnet.com, it is a very valuable resource regarding any consumer electronics purchase. occasionally they seem a little nitpicky, but i wouldn't have it any other way.
 
Thanks for input, Pete. The house won't be completed for another 8 months, so have plenty of time for research. Was thinking about plasma but understand their longevity is reduced substantially in Colorado's dry climate.
 
Consider also today's front projection technology using either LCD or DLP. It's possible for your "TV" to literally disappear when you're not watching it. The screen can roll back up into the ceiling re-revealing the tastefull artwork on your walls and the projector can also retract up into the ceiling leaving very little trace of its existance either. Today's 1000+ Lumen front-projection units don't require the black-out drapes of old and they have great color and great contrast. It's a bit more expensive than a TV, but on a par with plasma and delivers a much bigger picture.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top