Archived Calgarypuck HDTV, LCD, TV, etc. Help/Advice Thread

[Table 5]

For those out of towners who rely in NHL Center Ice for their games, I HIGHLY recommend you check if youre provider carries HD games. Center Ice does carry HD games, but it's up to your cable provider to choose whether to give them to you....something i only found out AFTER I got my HDTV, which i got almost exclusively to watch HD hockey.

For those in the U.S., Ive found DirecTV has the best amount of HD channels bar-none (85 at the moment, 100+ in the next couple of months) and carries a lot of hockey in HD. Im giving my carrier (time warner) till new years to bring on the games....after that, I'm switching to satellite.

[return to the red]

When a broadcast says it's broadcasted in HD is that only on the HD channels? For example Last night (the Detroit game) said it was broadcast in HD but it sure didn't look like HD to me. Am I missing something here or do I have to change something on my HD box or T.V.?

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by return to the red

When a broadcast says it's broadcasted in HD is that only on the HD channels?

Yes. This isn't quite the same as when we went from B&W to colour; you need to be on the right channel. But to use that analogy, think of it this way: we now have colour channels and B&W channels.

So even if you now have a colour TV and a colour cable box, if you are tuning to the B&W channel you will still see the game in B&W.

[return to the red]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Yes. This isn't quite the same as when we went from B&W to colour; you need to be on the right channel. But to use that analogy, think of it this way: we now have colour channels and B&W channels.

So even if you now have a colour TV and a colour cable box, if you are tuning to the B&W channel you will still see the game in B&W.

probably a really stupid question for you technoligically advanced, thanks for the reply

[return to the red]

I was going to start a new thread but figured I should just post in this one first so here is my problem

Now that I have mounted my TV on the wall I need a nice looking Audio stand to house my receiver, DVD player, etc. Anybody know of a good place that sells these things other then the usual Future Shop, Best Buy, etc.?

[photon]

Here's a great place to see what's available:

http://www.racksandstands.com/

I found one I liked and found the manufacturer, and then called to find a local dealer.

http://www.laurierfurniture.com/eng/index.html is the company that had the one I liked.

http://www.laurierfurniture.com/eng/...cy/legacy.html

You can get some of them as a single audio tower rather than a whole entertainment unit, and some even come with a feature where the shelves inside are on a separated pivot so you can turn the equipment around and get at the cables without moving the furniture itself!

[photon]

Some other stuff I found:

http://www.standoutdesigns.com/

http://www.salamanderdesigns.com/syn/featspecs.jsp

http://www.studiotech.com/products/c...ets/index.html

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Table 5

ok, Ive waded through this whole thread, and to be honest, i'm more confused now than ever, ha. But I have a couple of simple questions that hopefully those in the know can answer.

.

Ditto myself.

Buy a Cow a TV . . . .

We have satellite on Star Choice.

The room is bright, south-facing, with floor-to-ceiling windows. The TV will likely, periodically, have some direct sunlight hitting it from the other end of the house, at sunset with nothing between us and the mountains.

We sit about 10-12 feet away from the TV . . . . so I assume I could have something in the area of 50." We'd prefer something in the flat screen variety.

I'll be looking to add a DVR. I'll be looking for some kind of stand or cabinet. Probably a stand. You can throw in some speakers if you wish although we don't even have a stereo/ghetto blaster in the house so you can probably tell quality of sound isn't a huge deal for us.

I have no real interest in X-box or gaming on the TV. We use the TV to watch pretty much anything, including a bit of black and white on Turner Classic.

I don't have any particular budget but I assume I'm going to be upwards of $4,000 to $5,000 for the above.

If you care to, feel free to spend my Christmas money and make some suggestions for the above requirements!!!

Cowperson

[Vulcan]

^^^
For appearance and convenience, I'd be looking at a flat panel. The two choices are LCD and Plasma. Plasma, I understand isn't very good with bright sunlight so I'd go with LCD. The three major LCD brands are Sony, Samsung and Sharp. Sharp has had trouble with banding on their bigger screens, so that leaves Sony and Samsung. Sony is reported to have good SD quality, so that would be my choice. Sony and Samsung have reported cases of backlight bleeding and cloudiness, so check your picture when you get it home and buy from a dealer who will accept returns for maybe 30 days.

Future Shop has a $100 credit on Starchoice receivers on a TV purchase, so that looks interesting but check other stores and don't be afraid to bargain on your TV purchase.
Here's some to look at

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/sub...EN&catid=23527

These are just my thoughts, so go to some stores and have a look at each TV.

Just wanted to add that Future Shop may be having an unadvertized sale of throwing in a Blue Ray player with a Sony or Samsung.

[Bobblehead]

Mentioning that Cow is using StarChoice, if you use the HD receiver does that scale the SD picture or does it pass through the signal and allow the TV to do the scaling?

I'm just wondering because if the Starchoice box does the work then it doesn't matter how good the TV's SD scaling works, it won't get used.

Photon has StarChoice, perhaps he knows?

[Kerplunk]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

^^^
For appearance and convenience, I'd be looking at a flat panel. The two choices are LCD and Plasma. Plasma, I understand isn't very good with bright sunlight so I'd go with LCD. The three major LCD brands are Sony, Samsung and Sharp. Sharp has had trouble with banding on their bigger screens, so that leaves Sony and Samsung. Sony is reported to have good SD quality, so that would be my choice. Sony and Samsung have reported cases of backlight bleeding and cloudiness, so check your picture when you get it home and buy from a dealer who will accept returns for maybe 30 days.

Future Shop has a $100 credit on Starchoice receivers on a TV purchase, so that looks interesting but check other stores and don't be afraid to bargain on your TV purchase.
Here's some to look at

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/sub...EN&catid=23527

These are just my thoughts, so go to some stores and have a look at each TV.

I'd just like to add Hitachi to the list of companies here. They recently came out with a few 47" LCD TV's; L47V651 & L47S601. I have the 42" version from them and it has nice HD picture, although it doesn't seem to handle SD upscaling as well as a few other brands.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Mentioning that Cow is using StarChoice, if you use the HD receiver does that scale the SD picture or does it pass through the signal and allow the TV to do the scaling?

I'm just wondering because if the Starchoice box does the work then it doesn't matter how good the TV's SD scaling works, it won't get used.

Photon has StarChoice, perhaps he knows?

What I do, is besides having an HDMI connection from my Bell receiver, I also connect it with a composite connection so I can change the TVs input when I want the TV to do the scaling.

[Bobblehead]

The new Samsung TVs use LEDs for the backlight so are giving better black levels and colour reproduction, although the screen supposedly can have glaring issues (like plasma) and seems to have a relatively thin "sweet spot" for viewing angles.

That is something I usually forget to mention - when looking at TVs remember the angle you will be watching at and try to see how the TV looks from those angles before you buy.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

What I do, is besides having an HDMI connection from my Bell receiver, I also connect it with a composite connection so I can change the TVs input when I want the TV to do the scaling.

Good idea.

Is there a lot of difference between the scaling abilities?

[photon]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Mentioning that Cow is using StarChoice, if you use the HD receiver does that scale the SD picture or does it pass through the signal and allow the TV to do the scaling?

I'm just wondering because if the Starchoice box does the work then it doesn't matter how good the TV's SD scaling works, it won't get used.

Photon has StarChoice, perhaps he knows?

The only thing the HD Starchoice box will do is deinterlace the image from 480i to 480p.. any other scaling required will have to be done to by the display.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by photon

The only thing the HD Starchoice box will do is deinterlace the image from 480i to 480p.. any other scaling required will have to be done to by the display.

Good to know.

So the scaling chip (where some bargain brands skimp) will be important to Cow.

I know Sony has had a reputation for good SD scaling.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Good idea.

Is there a lot of difference between the scaling abilities?

I'm not entirely sure on my TV but I can use different settings on each input so I tone down the settings such as contrast and sharpness on the composite connection, which helps.

[Cowperson]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

^^^
For appearance and convenience, I'd be looking at a flat panel. The two choices are LCD and Plasma. Plasma, I understand isn't very good with bright sunlight so I'd go with LCD. The three major LCD brands are Sony, Samsung and Sharp. Sharp has had trouble with banding on their bigger screens, so that leaves Sony and Samsung. Sony is reported to have good SD quality, so that would be my choice. Sony and Samsung have reported cases of backlight bleeding and cloudiness, so check your picture when you get it home and buy from a dealer who will accept returns for maybe 30 days.

Future Shop has a $100 credit on Starchoice receivers on a TV purchase, so that looks interesting but check other stores and don't be afraid to bargain on your TV purchase.
Here's some to look at

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/sub...EN&catid=23527

These are just my thoughts, so go to some stores and have a look at each TV.

Just wanted to add that Future Shop may be having an unadvertized sale of throwing in a Blue Ray player with a Sony or Samsung.

Thanks for the info.

Basic questions from a guy who hasn't bought a tv in more than a decade:

What is "backlight bleeding and cloudiness?"

What is the relevance of "SD?"

What is the relevance of "HDMI?"

Blue Ray and another system are in competition with each other, I think, with Blue Ray compatible with one type of disc, like Disney movies, but not compatible with a Heroes box set as examples - as per the LA Times this am. Comments?

I assume if I get a Starchoice DVR that I will still need to use my existing satellite box as well, correct? Or does one replace the other?

I think I've got a 46" Sony KDL46W3000 LCD picked out. I'll probably get a cabinet stand and stuff all the extras in there rathat than have speakers and such standing up around it.

Comments?

Cowperson

[MissKat]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

Thanks for the info.

Basic questions from a guy who hasn't bought a tv in more than a decade:

What is "backlight bleeding and cloudiness?"

What is the relevance of "SD?"

What is the relevance of "HDMI?"

Blue Ray and another system are in competition with each other, I think, with Blue Ray compatible with one type of disc, like Disney movies, but not compatible with a Heroes box set as examples - as per the LA Times this am. Comments?

I assume if I get a Starchoice DVR that I will still need to use my existing satellite box as well, correct? Or does one replace the other?

I think I've got a 46" Sony KDL46W3000 LCD picked out. I'll probably get a cabinet stand and stuff all the extras in there rathat than have speakers and such standing up around it.

Comments?

Cowperson

I would suggest going to www.avsforum.com for the HD needs or www.hidefdigest.com for movie format discussion. They have a lot of expertise on those boards and are very busy.

Anyways, the Sony LCD you are eyeing is a very good choice. The 07 Sonys are rated very high and the main problems that have boggled last years model have been fixed for the most part (clouds). But I would only get that model if you can get it cheaper or at the same price as the 4661F Samsung as that model is probably the best 46'' you can buy to date. Also take note that samsung has free in home repair with all their tvs for 1yr, whereas Sony does not. Big selling point to a lot of people.

Bleeding is when the backlight is uneven. Often corners and sides will be much lighter than the centre. Clouds is the same thing except in cloud form with patches scattered. THese are most noticable at dark scenes with black back drops.

SD is Standard definition

HDMI is a new type of connection. It basically handles your audio and video, allowing for fewer hookups and its uncompressed. Both the video and audio is digital whereas component video is only analog.

[Vulcan]

The relevance of SD for you Cow, is that a Standard Definition broadcast is fine for smaller screens but when you blow the picture up in a big screen TV, it loses sharpness and becomes, for me especially in fast moving scenes, blurry. Also HD sets take care to give a good HD picture but SD seems to be an afterthought so if you watch old movies, you'll want a TV with a good SD drive. I'd check out any TV you intend to buy for its SD picture.

The DVR will replace your old box and you can always keep it for your old TV. You could switch to Bell as they say there 9242[$599] is a better PVR with some deals for new customers but be prepared for some irritation, aggravation and maybe frustration when dealing with their CSRs, especially about billing.
I don't have Blue Ray or HD DVD but I hear Blue Ray is winning the battle for buyers and if it's free, I'd get it.
Look for a TV with 3 HDMI inputs. You'll need one for your PVR and another one for Blue Ray? and an extra for whatever, maybe to connect your computer. Some stereos have HDMI and can act as a switchbox also.
Don't buy overpriced HDMI cables. Go to a computer store or order online, say from MonoPrice. Component cables will work if you have to wait for an HDMI cable.