Got the HD TV, now what.

[71T Targa]

My wife got me an HD TV for V-Day.

Now that I have it, what are my options for HD sources? We get a few channels over the air, and I am amazed at the the difference. But the old DVD player running through s-video while good, isn't what I expected.

How are the DVD players that up-convert to HDMI? (I'm not ready to get in to the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray battle.)

What game consoles are HDMI?

Is there any advantage to the antenna's that are advertised as HD?

[gr8fl4porsche]

I have a Denon upscaling DVD player and the picture quality is fantastic compared to a standard dvd.

I use a cheap UHF antenna in my attic which works well. I have not tried the fancy antennas but would get a non-directional one if you try it out. I get all the major networks and 4 PBS channels in HD with a $25 antenna.

[Mule]

I hear good things about the better up-convert dvd players. Make the call to Dish network right now. IMHO they are the best!.

[71T Targa]

Originally Posted by gr8fl4porsche

I have a Denon upscaling DVD player and the picture quality is fantastic compared to a standard dvd.

I use a cheap UHF antenna in my attic which works well. I have not tried the fancy antennas but would get a non-directional one if you try it out. I get all the major networks and 4 PBS channels in HD with a $25 antenna.

This is interesting. Can you tell me more about the antenna you have in the attic? I have thought of that as well, but I thought I'd need a $200 something...

Our network channels are on 3-10. Do you still get those with a UHF antenna?

[Wickd89]

Great point. What are some good upconverting DVD players (in addition to Denon)

For example, Costco has Sony, Toshiba, etc...
Best Buy has LG as well...
Circuit city has Samsung, Panasonic, etc...

One time I bought a Harmon Kardon DVD player, paid top dollar and was a waste of money (poor remote, not the best features, etc)... Even though it had a nice blue light to match my receiver... ;-)
Don't think a $350 Denon or Onkyo DVD player is worth 3-8X times the price of a regular player....

[gr8fl4porsche]

The Denon was $159. Its the entry model but works just fine.

Antenna is from Radio Shack 40" Boom Length, 17 Elements Outdoor Antenna for UHF-Only $29.99 Model: U-75R




All HD channels are UHF . They will be 2.1,4.1,5.1 etc. All network local channels are broadcast in HD. Some in 1080i (especially at night) while the others are still 720p.

[Super_Dave_D]

Originally Posted by gr8fl4porsche

The Denon was $159. Its the entry model but works just fine.

Antenna is from Radio Shack 40" Boom Length, 17 Elements Outdoor Antenna for UHF-Only $29.99 Model: U-75R




All HD channels are UHF . They will be 2.1,4.1,5.1 etc. All network local channels are broadcast in HD. Some in 1080i (especially at night) while the others are still 720p.

Go with Direct TV HD and you dont need this thing! I have an LG upconvert DVD player and its nice but it appears that Blue Ray is going to win the battle. That is on my short list for home electronics.

[71T Targa]

The antenna looks directional. I'll do some digging. How far is your coax run? Did you install any type of signal booster or Rotor?

Right now I will NOT pay for TV. It's enough of a waste of time watching movies and network stations. The only way I would consider it is for TLC, Discovery, etc.

[Paul T]

DIRECT TV has a ton of HD channels now, and they keep adding more...

[Dave L]

Originally Posted by Wickd89

Great point. What are some good upconverting DVD players (in addition to Denon)

For example, Costco has Sony, Toshiba, etc...
Best Buy has LG as well...
Circuit city has Samsung, Panasonic, etc...

One time I bought a Harmon Kardon DVD player, paid top dollar and was a waste of money (poor remote, not the best features, etc)... Even though it had a nice blue light to match my receiver... ;-)
Don't think a $350 Denon or Onkyo DVD player is worth 3-8X times the price of a regular player....

I have a pioneer upconverting DVD that I made them throw into the deal when I bought my TV. I think it retailed for about $100. The quality is very good in my opinion.

[gr8fl4porsche]

The antenna is directional. I had to look up the location of all the towers around town and find a spot somewhere in the middle biased towards the channels I watch the most.

If I bought a better one, I would go non-directional (more expensive).

It all depends on the location and distance of the towers.

Coax run is about 25', no boosters or amps.

I am fairly close to many towers and near the top of a hill. I probably get a better picture with my antenna than dish or direct could provide - from what I've read. It all depends on where you live.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by phred68

My wife got me an HD TV for V-Day.

Now that I have it, what are my options for HD sources?
Over-the-air HD antenna, Dish/DirecTV, or an HD cable box/package. I went with cable (Cox), as they have an internet/cable/phone bundle package, and the cable box has a built-in DVR (+ HDMI connection).

How are the DVD players that up-convert to HDMI? (I'm not ready to get in to the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray battle.).
Pretty good actually. You can get one that scales to 1080p for well under $200 these days. I went with the Oppo 980H, as it also allows 480i pass-through (so you can use an external video processor/scaler). It is a bit better in the audio department too (7.1, sacd/dsd playback, etc.).
Although, it looks like the nod is going to blu-ray in the format war, so you might consider a br player as most of them will up-scale your standard dvd's as well. For most people though, the benefit of 1080p (vs. 1080i) is negligible at viewing distances of over 10 ft. anyway.

What game consoles are HDMI?
Both PS3 and Xbox 360 are available with HDMI.

Is there any advantage to the antenna's that are advertised as HD?
Supposedly, the over-the-air HD broadcasts are a bit better quality (no compression/signal degradation?), but I haven't compared OTA vs HD Cable broadcasts directly. I think a big factor is your geographic location as well. Might be worth looking into.

[wcc]

I agree with a lot of what Eric Coffey has said. But to add to his post a little, if he doesn't mind is, the PS3 is ALSO a BLU-RAY player. Also you can surf the internet with it and On-Line game playing is FREE!

I also have an upconverting DVD player for my old DVD's. It is a Sony hooked up with HDMI that was ~$120.00 OTD.

Lastly, goto www.monoprice.com if you need to buy any cables. I saved a TON there....

[Neilk]

You really need to go to monstercable.com and get cables there.

The Monster FlatScreen HDMI Cable will pass ones and zeros much better than the cheap cables. The cheap cables tend to suffer from dyslexia.

[MBAtarga]

The first upconverter DVD player I bought was a Toshiba - which kept freezing frames. After more research, found out I wasn't the only one with the problem. Took it back and got a Sony - it ran $20 more than the Toshiba - a total of $120.

Let me know if you are interested in DirecTV. I can refer you and save us both $50. (yes, I'm cheap.)

[Steve Carlton]

Blu-ray has all but won the war. Just get one of those and let it do the up-converting. But the quality of up-converting does differ, at least among Blu-ray players. Besides, most of the new movies coming out on DVD are available in Blu-ray, anyway. Why not get the full benefit? Good resource here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

You could buy a Samsung BDP1200 for peanuts until you find the final solution. It won't play all Blu-rays, so the resale value is zilch. Maybe $100-150? But it up-converts with the best of them. Not sure how much a decent Blu-ray player is these days.

I don't know if you can get TLC or Discovery HD over the air.

[nostatic]

Oppo rocks:

www.oppodigital.com

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by wcc

I agree with a lot of what Eric Coffey has said. But to add to his post a little, if he doesn't mind is, the PS3 is ALSO a BLU-RAY player. Also you can surf the internet with it and On-Line game playing is FREE!

Good call, forgot to mention that.
In addition to being a full-function blue-ray player, it will also upscale your standard DVD's, decode SACD's, and even up-sample standard audio CD's. Pretty versitile little machine.

[89911]

Originally Posted by Neilk

You really need to go to monstercable.com and get cables there.

The Monster FlatScreen HDMI Cable will pass ones and zeros much better than the cheap cables. The cheap cables tend to suffer from dyslexia.

I could not disagree more. HDMI cables are the "extended warranty" ripoff of buying an HD tv. They were outrageously priced when HD first came out. Soon many found out that they weren't even needed. A digital signal either works or it doesn't. These are not like analog component or other signals. Sure, you can have problems with a $10 10ft cable from Ebay if the build quality is really poor. I've seen 12ft Belkins at Sam's club for $25 for a comparison if you want an upgrade. I wouldn't pay more then that.

http://forums.cnet.com/5208-7596_102-0.html?forumID=60&threadID=234178&messageID=2406967

[TimT]

I could not disagree more.

+1 werd

monster cables have been pretty much exposed as marketing BS