OT - HDTV
 

I have a HDTV-ready TV (55" Mitsubishi), and I am looking to buy a HDTV receiver. Best buy currently has a Hughes Network Systems High-Definition DIRECTV/Over-the-Air Set-Top Converter Box for sale for $499.

It can receive and decode over-the-air HDTV signals as well as both regular Direct TV and HD Direct TV.

Has anyone seen/used this product? I will need to get it before the Super Bowl. I hear that it will be broadcast in HDTV! :D

ABC will broadcast the Super Bowl in HDTV :cool:

i have the 65 mitsu and the rca hd receiver only one out at the time i got it... but if you have a newer mitsu01 or 02 i would recomend going to a high end audio video store and purchasing the mitsu dtv/ hd receiver box... about the same price as the sony or hughes... they just dont carry it at best buy

Dreamer, I too have the late model Mitsu HDTV...the last time I priced the mits reciever they were $850.00...almost twice the RCA/Hughes model

105mph_38_2003Only if the TV has a built in HDTV tuner and that will only work for broadcast signals (antenna). "HDTV ready" needs a tuner and almost all sets need a satellite HDTV receiver for DirectTV HDTV broadcasts. BTW I do not believe any cable companies are sending HDTV signals. Digital cable is mostly marketing. They compress the signals more in digital format so they can send more channels at the same quality (NTCS standard 260 lines interlaced)

Steve

Digital cable and high definition TV are not the same thing. The TV that Clay has is one of Mitsu's HDTV ready models. Which means you need the set top box. Some of the new diamond series models have the HDTV receiver (tuner) built-in. In that case all you do is hook up the cable. I have been shopping for TV's for the last few weeks and I think this info is correct. Somebody correct me if I am all F'd up on this.

Mike

just get the mitsu directv box... not the mistu decoder box

trust me

We just bought a 65" Hitachi widescreen HDTV. We had to also buy the HD reciever for our satellite service in order to recieve HD signals. You can also buy a tv with the box built in the, but I found that it is about the same price if you by the box seperate as we did. I was told the advatage to buying a seperate box was that you could switch it to a different tv, or split it off to more than one tv. If it is built into the tv that you buy then it can only be used with that tv.

As far as digital vs Hd goes there is no comparison. Digital signals are 260 lines interlace as stated above. Dvd's are 480, and HD is 1080. Once you watch a movie in HD you don't want to go back to a regular signal.

The problem with Hd now though is there are few channels. We get one HBO channel, and one pay per view channel. There is also a Discovery channel available as well as a Showtime channel if you want to pay for them. It depends on what service you have as to what channels you can get.

Does anyone have a VCR for sale? or a 36" TV??(with S Video)

Tommy

Mitsubishi
 

Dreamer...

Do you have the Mitsubishi SR-HD400 system? Also, Mitsubishi SR-HD500 system. Frys Electronics has the SR-HD400 unit for sale for $799 (I think).

Why would it be better than the Hughes unit?

More Hughes unit information.

I just started looking at new tvs. How long should I wait? It's supposed to become the standard format in a few years. It seems like things are in flux and will settle out in a year or two.

Also my DVD player won't play HD DVDs? What's that all about?

Mike and all you guys,
Your understanding is not quite right.....Here goes!!!!!
I have the Mits that has the hd reciever build in. That is for when the "regular tv transmissions are put out in "HD", which they are not. The only true HD signal is thru sattlelite and that is why you must have the RCA/Hugh box, just like your regular tv had to have Direct tv dish and reciever to get the signals. I currently have Direct Tv (the standart one) which is digital signal but not HD. If it was HD, I would need nothing else to recieve HD signal.
The only reason we need any additional equipment is because none is broadcasting in HD but the 3 (three) channels available from Direct TV. Hope this helps.
The tv's that need the "settop box" are HD capatible or know as HD monitors. The sliver and gold series of Mits are the ones with the built in box for HD signal when it is ready.not for Direct TV>

Clay,

How do you plan to get the Superbowl on HDTV?

As far as I can tell:

DirecTV transmits the following HDTV signals:
1) HDNet on Channel 199 (this channel carries sports but I don’t think they will carry the Superbowl since ABC has the license)
2) HBO® HD on Channel 509
3) SHO HDTV on Channel 543

Austin’s local ABC affiliate (KVUE) does not broadcast an HDTV signal (yet).

Austin Time Warner _currently_ carries 2 HTDV channels:
1) Channel 790 HBO High Definition
2) Channel 791 Showtime High Definition

I think the only way to get it would be to go with a C-band, 4dtv or a TVRO satellite (big dish) system. They’re “open” systems but expensive and they need the “big dish”.

We should just find a bar that has a C-band sat. First round is on me. :)

-Chris

HD-DVD
 

Ron,

I advise you to buy a widescreen (16:9) HDTV-Ready Television. Make sure that it has 2 Component Video Inputs. One Component input will be for your HDTV converter box (the reason for my initial post). The other will be for a Progressive-Scan DVD player with Component Video Output.

You also need an Audio Receiver with Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio inputs. You will need one with at least two of these inputs.

I HIGHLY suggest that your DVD player have COAX Dolby Digital output because your HDTV receiver will probably have Optical Audio Output. Then you can buy an Audio Receiver with one Optical input and one COAX input. I was also told than COAX is a better input for DVD.

Jusy my two-cents...

srpbaer,

Look at THIS. It shows 671 stations currently BROADCASTING in HDTV.

More links...

ABC, CBS, NBC, East Coast Schedule, West Coast Schedule

chrker,

The Super Bowl will be BROADCASTED in HDTV. :cool:

I was going to attach some "rabbit ears" to the HDTV receiver/decoder and receive the signal. However, it looks like KVUE (the Austin ABC station) is NOT HDTV capable yet! :mad:

Ok you guys lots of info on HDTV out there MOST of it is TOTALLY wrong. The best boxes out there are the Sony HD-200, and the soon to be released RCA DTC-200. These are the current best for one reason and one reason alone. If you guy a remote control that will do Macros then you will be able to change from S-video out to HDTV out with out loosing your mind. They both have more then acceptable pictures and are quality pieces. The Sony will change channels and run through menues MUCH faster then the RCA will. My third choice is the Zenith unit. This thing has a AWSOME off-air tuner in it. When I am having a hard time getting good signal this is the unit that I go for. There are some things it does better then others and some that it does not do well. It does not have the decreet IR codes.

The Sony unit retails for 750.00
The RCA unit retails for 500.00 (that is what we have been told but it is not sapposed to be available tell Feb. Nice marketing!!!!!
The Zenith retails for about 550.00

As always if any of you guys have any questions about this stuff please feel free to call me and I will answer all your questions. I hate to see you guys spend a ton on bad advice from the super stores. You can get the advice from me then go and get the unit from then and feel a little better that you are not waisting your money :D:D

My Cell phone number is (978) 985-0639

Jon

Digital Cable is just way to cram more channels into the cable. Your regular cable channels will still be analog but you will have a scad of premium channels and music channels all piggybacking on a multiplex digital signal. No increase in picture quality over analog cable, just more channels. Cable TV picture resolution is NTSC standard which is 330 lines horizontal interlaced.

To use digital cable, you must use a settop box to decode the digtal multiplex signal. Otherwise, you are simply feeding a standard analog cable signal to the tv (regardless of whether the digital signal is present or not, since the TV doesn't recognize the digital signal).
Any coax cable plugged directly into a TV without using a box is not digital cable, but you ain't missing out...

VHS is 260 lines interlaced.
8mm is 290 lines, Hi-band 8mm (Hi8) is around 380 lines.

DVDs are digital video. Period. Any DVD player should be able to play ANY commercial DVD video disc. I'm not sure I understand why somebody's DVD player would not play a High Res DVD disc. A player may not have component level outputs, but I would think it would still play any DVD. Output resolution is selectable on all progressive scan players and can be chosen from 480 interlaced all the way up to 1080 progressive with several incremental settings between them.

Any DVD player that is connected to the TV via RCA jacks is limited to around 400 lines horizontal. Any DVD player conected to the TV via S-video cables is limited to around 400 lines, but color bleed and creep is minimized.

To take advantage of a progressive scan DVD player, your TV must have component level inputs (RGB) and you must use the three wire connection for video (two more for audio).

HDTV is a signal format. It can be broadcast via local airwaves or via satellite - cable providers currently have no way to feed you a HDTV signal. If you already paid extra for an HDTV receiver in your TV, then you can only utilize it with a chimney-mounted conventional TV antenna.

An HDTV-ready TV has component level inputs. Some TV's have component-level inputs but cannot process a non-interlaced signal. Using the component level inputs on these tv's is still a benefit since the color signals are separated until they hit the TV's own electron gun amplifiers which keeps line noise down and color bleed to a minimum (even better than Svideo). If the TV can process a non-interlaced signal (progressive scan signal) then you can benefit even more.

As far as "whose brand" of satellite decoder box works better or performs better, it is all a matter of the menu generator's speed and layout of the menus. They all do exactly the same thing as far as getting the picture out of the box. Anybody's DirecTV HDTV receiver box will give an identical picture when compared to anybody else's DirecTV HDTV box.

As far as audio connections, COAX 5.1 signal or optical 5.1 signal are identical. They are both DIGITAL signals and are simply two different ways of sending them. I prefer using the opticals when given the choice between the two, but not for any reason other than I think it is cool to know that the signal is being fed from a little red light...

Ron P - as far as waiting, there is no need to. If you are in need of a replacement TV, right now is a great time to buy - Christmas sales were dismal and they need to move merchandise. My personal preference on rear projectors are the Mitsubishi and the Hitachi HDTV ready units. They both have multiple HDTV inputs and can do PIP switching between any of the many inputs to the set, as opposed to snapshotting two HDTV inputs with the built-in tuner like the otherwise comparable Toshiba units...

The only reason to wait is for the price to drop, which it will continue to do. The settop boxes will get cheaper and cheaper too. As far as big changes in formats, etc, the changes will all be involving the settop box, not the picture processing and screens and tubes and stuff.

I've been ready to buy for a year, but my current Sony XBR refuses to die. It is certainly cantankerous, but about the time I think it has gone tits-up, it acts like a new one...

You are very close on all your info except for this one thing. Coax if superior to Optical. It can carry LOADS more band width then Optical. Optical is good if you are in a HIGH interfearence area or if you are getting a ground loop with the coax (these things almost never happen and when they do you are better served to find out why). Any high end system will always be hooked up with Coax over optical.

Jon

More Links...
 

HiDefGuide.com, HDTV Info Guide, HDTV Programming Schedule, Titan TV

Audiofn,

I currently live in an apartment complex and have Direct TV via SBC Home Entertainment. I want to replace my current satellite box (Sony SAT-A55), with an HDTV "box". I want to connect an antenna to receive the broadcasted signals, and I want to connect the "satellite cable" and continue to receive the "low-definition" Direct TV service.

I saw the Sony SAT-HD200, but it has DVI which I cannot use on my Mitsubishi, so I didn't want to "pay for it". That's why I was looking at the Hughes unit.

With all of that said... I want to buy a "TV-Top" antenna to receive the HDTV signals. Any suggestions?

Holy Bat Cave!
 

What a great thread.. I too am in the mode of purchasing a HDTV.

How do I save this thread for furure reference?? I also want to share it with some friends..

This is taking me back more than a few years when I spent 51 weeks of schooling in Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) while in the Air Force..

Thanks guys..Keep the info coming...

Audio,

We were typing at the same time. I defer all info to your worthiness.

Did not know that about the optical/coax difference. My receiver only has ONE coax in and my laserdisc is coax so I'm stuck with optical on the others, but at my level of hardware I'm fairly sure it doesn't make any difference I can hear.

M

If I showed you then you would be able to tell, so maybe I should not show ya, don't need ya going out and spending that blower money on a new DVD player and preamp ;) ;) ;) ;)

Damn mcollinstn, don’t give in so quickly. I was just about to agree with you (sorry Jon).

If I remember correctly, coax cable has a maximum bandwitdh of about 10 MB/s, while a single fiber line can easily carry in excess of 400 MB/s. In all controlled cases, the fiber cable will always reign supreme when it comes to data transmission speed, capacity and interference protection.

The bandwidth issue is neither here nor there because the bitstream for digital audio is minuscule when compared to the capacity potential of optical cable (really, either cable).

The question is: How can coaxial cable be superior to optical (in a digital application)?

-Chris

I've done a little more research and it looks like the Mitsubishi SR-HD5 and the Hughes HIRD-E86 are the same unit (on the inside). Even their rear panels are exactly the same. But, the Hughes is almost half the price of the Mitsubishi.

Any thoughts? :confused:

Its all in the name. Mitsubishi is a high line product with a high line price. I would go with the Hughes. Hughes (Directv) wants more receivers out there so more people use DirecTV.

I don't know if it true, but the Sound Advice salesman told me Mitsubishi only makes TV set, NOTHING else. This included the DVD player that he said was really manufactured by Toshiba.

I have a DirecTV TIVO and its picture is 10,000 % better than my Time Warner Digital cable for the reasons Jon et al stated.

Maybe I'll forget the TV for a while and get the Nikon 5700 I was interested in..:cool: :cool: :rolleyes:

Hey Mcollinstn, We're with you. We keep looking at the 65" Mitsubishi, But we decided to wait untill ours died. It'd like the Energizer Bunny. Damn thing just keeps going & going. We opened it up one time to clean all the Mirrors & stuff & found a reciept that said '87 or '88. It is older than our daughter.
So I guess We'll just wait till it goes "tits up".
We have digital cable now so we will probably just get the set up from our cable co. no use spening extra money on a box when we'll still have to give them our money for 689 channels of $hit to choose from monthly.

You are only partly correct. Optical COULD carry more then coax, however in stereo equipment it is TOTALLY choked. SO we use the coax. When you go with DVD audio NEITHER one of them can carry the band width so you have to go with 7 channel analog out of the DVD player and into the Reciever. If you have not heard DVD audio all I can say is you do not know what you are missing :D:D

Jon

BINGO :D:D

That is why I do not use the mits unit. Not that I have anything against Mits, but why pay more. I would stick with the Sony, Zenith, or RCA when it becomes available.

Jon

Clay, all that is very impressive with the EXECPTION of they are local affiliates and are not recieved nationally. Each affiliate must have HDTV capability and 96% do not.....back to my orginal statement. All that shows is the signal is our there but not being recieved because of cost of conversion of equipment by the stations themselves. Just my .02 worth

Neb.

You take a hammer to my TV and I'll take a hammer to yours. Then we can all run out and drop $3 grand on another screen to stare at glassy-eyed for hours...

Thanks for all of the info, guys. :cool:

Right now I am still leaning toward the Hughes HIRD-E86 from Best Buy. It is only $500. Here is the Satellite Dish that goes with it for $100.

Since my TV does NOT have the DVI input, I do not want to get a unit (Sony, Zenith, or RCA) that has it. I would just be paying for something that I couldn't use. :(

srpbaer,

Look at this: Local Station HDTV Status

I live in Austin, TX. Four (CBS, FOX, NBC, UPN) of the six major stations are currently broadcasting in HDTV. My local ABC station is scheduled for March 2003, and I don't think that the WB has announced anything yet. PBS is coming too.

Scan the list for your local stations and see if any are currently broadcasting in HDTV.

Good luck! :D

Audio-

Is the optical audio connection a digital or analog signal?

Here is a good "from the horses mouth" description on the DTV transition. I believe that there is also a new agreement on the format about 2 months ago that standardized this so that it makes sense now to have the HDTV "converter" as part of the TV.

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html

Antenna Selector
 

Here is another good link:

Antenna Selector

Click on Choose an Antenna and enter the requested information.

Clay,
Thanks for the information...one small problem for me...I live in the mountains of northeastern tennessee....We are lucky to get sunshine in the mornings. We do have Charter cable and it is digital but that is all she wrote!!!! I keep hearing about the local stations converting but I will believe it when I see it..Hell, this is the land of moonshine and mono radio...At 34oo feet about sea level I could probally catch the signal from the station....See Ya

Clay, I went to the list and indeed it did list two of the three stations we get here...I called them and they said they were not HGTV capable and would be at least 12-18 months away, wey they were listed on the offical FCC listing too....Just my luck

One thing I forgot to mention when I bought our HDTV satelite box was that we also had to add a second dish (facing east instead of south like the main dish). We have Dish network. Direct tv only uses one dish. If you have limited space, or if having to have a second dish face east would be a problem I would go with Direct over Dish Network.

BTW: The HDTV box through Dish Network was about $700.00 and can be switched between HD signals and regular signals. This is important for those that try to record with a non-HD VCR. A non HD vcr will not record an HD signal.