I had a chance to watch some HDTV while in Nashville last weekend. My friend Mike has the DirecTV HD service on a big, beautiful set. It was good, but I wasn’t blown away.
My guess is, in order to fit in all the HD local broadcasts from around the country, DirecTV has to compress the living you know what out of the signal. I don’t know that for sure, but I saw digital artifacts I didn’t expect to see and compression is a reasonable explanation.
The question is, should I upgrade to HDTV at home?
Note to Helaine: This is not a fishing expedition. As you will see, I’m really unsure.
When we bought our new TV for the family room, it came HD compatible. All I need do is get a tuner and voila, high definition. Comcast does provide an HD service… but is there enough on to justify even the small cost?
The big deal would be sports. Most of the other shows we watch are perfectly fine on the low def 4:3 analog world. Sports might be another story… though after yesterday’s Eagles game, a 5″ black and white model might suffice.
Then there’s the question of our DVR. The one we have now puts out ‘normal’ analog video. I checked Comcast’s website and didn’t find an HDTV DVR.
I’m going to have to go to Comcast to return the cable modem I am renting. I’ll ask, but I don’t think it’s time yet.
Funny you mention this today. I spent some time this afternoon looking into what programs I would get in HD and what it would cost. I also have an HD ready TV and have Dish Network. A receiver that would give me HD would cost $399 BUT I have gotten used to the Dish DVR and and an HD with DVR receiver would cost $699! Too much. Monthly programming fee is an extra $9.99 but it’s the purchase price of the equipment that turned me off. Maybe if I live long enough they’ll come down.
satellite compresses HD channels, cable doesn’t. i would say go for it, especially if your TV is already HD ready. i’ve had HD for a couple of years and you won’t want to go back.
i’m on a Time Warner system and HD doesn’t cost anymore than SD digital cable and i’ve had an HD DVR since January 2004.
you don’t need a tuner for the tv, just an HD cable box or DVR.
Geoff:
Comcast does have a HD DVR. We bought a 42″ HD set when we moved and got Comcast because we couldn’t see the DirectTV Satalite. (I’m ready to cut down everey tree in the area to get DirectTV back.) Another story. I like TIVO much better than what Comcast uses.
John
Geoff:
Comcast does have a HD DVR. We bought a 42″ HD set when we moved and got Comcast because we couldn’t see the DirectTV Satalite. (I’m ready to cut down everey tree in the area to get DirectTV back.) Another story. I like TIVO much better than what Comcast uses.
John