I found a 37 inch Vizio for 799$ which has two hdmi inputs and built in hdtv tuners and pc connections. THe Cnet user reviews are pretty good getting an average 8.5 rating. Would you guys consider this a good buy? Also, since I have DirectTV, do I have to get a new reciever from them and how much would it cost? And does it cost more for hdtv stuff from DTV? I'm a newb at all this so please help me out, the military gave me a bonus for re-enlisting for 6 years so I'm going to treat myself to some hdtv pleasures this upcoming season of NFL JETS games!!! I want to see what all the hdtv fuss is about.
Basically what I'm asking is, would it be beneficial in any way to get a tv with an hd tuner already built in, or would that not even matter if I'm going to get DTV anyway?
First, HDTV (High Definition Television) is a capability of a DTV (Digital Television) system (as opposed to the old analog system). HDTV is the highest quality available from our current DTV system. For more on DTV visit DTV.gov (below) http://dtv.gov/ Secondly, There are 3 ways to get HDTV. Your (HD) source options are: 1) HD-Cable (*Subscription) 2) HD-Satellite (*Subscription) 3) Over-The-Air (**free) There are also 3 requirements for watching HDTV (video) 1) An HDTV source 2) An HDTV capable TV 3) An HD capable connection (i.e. HDMI) Of course having an HDTV is nothing without having surround sound too! All HDTV broadcasts are broadcast in Dolby Digital (i.e. the audio track of a DVD movie) which is capable of up to 5.1 surround sound. *Subscription: Requires hardware from the service provider: 1) Set-top box 2) HD Connection 3) [bold]Monthly fee[/bold] **free: Requires applicable hardware: 1) Antenna (indoor of outdoor) 2) DTV tuner (built-in or external). Hope this helps, Ced
@Ced... do you have any idea why broadcast HD (over the air) seems to have better sound through a good system than HD cable? If I watch a DVD or an HD broadcast program or movie, the sound is awesome but when I watch the same thing on my Comcast HD box, it just doesn't seem as good. Sure, it's 5.1, the effects are all there but it just doesn't seem to have the clarity of sound, the same "cleanness" and "separation" as a DVD or broadcast. I know all my equipment is properly set ... is this the norm or is it just perhaps a local thing? Thanks. (I'm not saying the sound is bad ... its simply not as good as DVD or broadcast).
I have TWC in my area so I can't comment on Comcast but I can tell you that I have not had any complaints from any of my customers but then again the average person wouldn't notice. I have more experience with DirecTv myself. It could be possible though since cable doesn't have the amount of bandwidth that OTA antenna does. If the video OTA can be better it makes since that the audio can be too. Its all about bit-rate! -Ced
