[Grady Clay]

Yes and YES

I bought two in early November. Conservative ol’ me started small. I bought a Sony 26” KDL26S2000 (measures13”vertical) for our bedroom. As expected, it appears smaller than the Mitsubishi 32” tube it replaced – we just put it closer.

The second is a Magnavox 15” 15MF605T (measures 9” vertical) for my desk.

The reason the vertical measurement of the image is critical is because that defines the image in the various formats. The two TVs format the image differently. The Sony in “normal” mode limits the width to about 17” while in HD it is 22.5”. The little Magnavox always fills the (12” wide) screen. I don’t like this as it slightly distorts “normal” images.

The difference between my conventional TV (Comcast digital cable) and HD is remarkable. Both new TVs are 1080p resolution. The little Magnavox appears better resolution and the Sony brighter. Both have <6 ms refresh so my lame ol’ eyes can’t detect any delay smearing. (Interestingly, we went to a theater movie recently. My eyes noticed the difference between the 24 frames/sec and TVs 30 frames/sec.)

All of the larger TVs currently have the exact same resolution, they are just larger. The single reason for a larger TV is to allow greater viewing distance. This, in turn, allows more people to view it. As you can see, it depends on your use.

The industry will go through the progression of higher and higher resolution (just like computers with speed, & memory tp use current programming features.). The issue is only current programming will usually take advantage of HD. It is the source material.

I would compare the difference I experienced to HD as similar to between a regular 35 mm movie and a 70 mm or IMAX! Just not at that resolution – yet. Our newest Sony 36” tube has suddenly become poor quality picture but it will do for a while.

I started seriously looking in September. The first thing I found is the sales people had no clue. I then talked to the high-end professionals who install custom systems, some techs, the net and friends. The technology is in a high level of flux and most sales people aren’t keeping up.

My basic constraints were to buy two inexpensive TVs that fit my needs and weren’t necessarily “future expandable.” The current cable and satellite systems deliver 1080p at the highest. These fit that requirement and may last many years. If the technology changes dramatically, no big deal. They will get relegated to lower-level service (by the sink, etc.)

Once I roughly knew what I wanted, I shopped seven local stores. The difficulty is (by design) everyone features different product. I shopped the two TVs and a DVD/VHS with specifications. The best product/price I got from Best Buy. The 26” Sony at $810, the 15” Magnavox for $182 and a LG RC199H DVD/VHS for $128. (They may have raised the other prices to get the Sony down but I don’t care. It was the total price. Another key is I live in 3.2% tax, “free delivery” avoided the 8.x% tax of the store location. They also had some “deal” with the cable company.) Squeak.

The cable company (Comcast) exchanged the boxes (3) for free and even provided all the connecting cables including a few extra. The HD service is $15/mo more expensive – I’m now approaching $100/mo, damn. The next issue is to get the Comcast remotes properly working in each application – it just takes my time.

One thing I discovered is the largest profit center are the cables and accessories. There are $4 HDMI cables for sale at $55 in stores. Planning and shopping pays off.

Speaking of wiring, I now have 3-wire composite (old stuff), 5-wire component, HDMI and RF coax (I seem to have skipped S-video). It seems to me that there will always be some combination of the various standards. Given the choice, I used the latest and didn’t worry about the rest.

The cable in my house tests OK for signal strength and leakage. We have three boxes but after my latest modification, five locations. Fortunately my old 3500 sf ‘60s ranch is easy to re-wire. I’m going to install new regular cable and wired Ethernet. I’ll also re-do the telephone (DSL) to the same outlets. In all this I have found several knowledgeable kids who would like to moonlight. I think I can keep it under $1K.

The reason for replacing the cable is to simply get new cable (it has a life) and to eliminate the poor 20+ year ago installation (metal clamps crimping the cable). Another is to eliminate unnecessary connections – every one introduces SWR increase (bad).

Everyone should have your house (just like your Porsche) with a wiring diagram.


To sum things up:
I am very impressed and satisfied with changing to HDTV.
It takes (unfortunately) significant effort.
It is absolutely worth “doing it right”, even if smaller keeps it within your budget. Bigger is not necessarily better.

Best,
Grady