Talk me out of Satellite & HDTV? (part 2)

MossRoad · Dec 30, 2004

Get a universal learning remote. I have had them for serveral years and really like them. I have a cheap one from X10.com that even controls the lights in the house. I set up some macros. One is "Movie Mode". I hit it, the overhead lights dim down to 30%, the side lights go to 50%. About a minute later, the overheads go down to 0% and the side lights go to 30%. Really eases you into the darkness while the previews are running. Very nice to have only one remote for most things. I still keep the original remotes around for weird things that I don't want the learning remote to bother with. I keep them stored under the entertainment center and only need them about once or twice a year. I don't even keep batteries in them.

You can get pretty elaborate with learning remotes. I've seen one that is a pretty large touch screen model that was several thousand dollars. Mine was $39.00. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

fishman · Dec 30, 2004

Andy, I was right there with you a few years back and bought a 27" to replace our 19". What a difference! After a couple of years we gave the 27" to my parents to replace their 19". I measured the interior of my entertainment center after removing the top shelf and went shopping. All 32" tv's would fit but only one 36" model would. Wouldn't you know it, it was the brand we wanted, and it was on sale. The backs of most entertainment centers have cutouts that allow you to remove a portion so the back of the tv can protrude through. That's what we did, and our 36" tv looks like it's built in, the fit is so snug.

Now our old 27" tv looks small in comparison. In a couple of years I'm probably going to start thinking about scrapping the entertainment center and getting an even bigger tv.

We also bought a 27" tv for our bedroom. I thought "no way, this will be too big". Wrong. It's great to be able to watch tv with very little eyestrain.

Bob_Skurka · Dec 30, 2004

For HDTV they will have converter boxes which will allow any 21st century TV to show a HDTV picture. 

Moon, just a technical correction to your statement.

The HDTV sets are special format digital sets which are capable of showing pictures in either 720p (progressive) or 1080i (interlaced) resolution. A regular digital TV set, can not do that type of resolution. The best of the regular digital TV sets will typically have a 480i or 480p capability at its maximum (this is sometimes called EDTV or ENHANCED DEFINITION TELEVISION), so a regular digital will never produce HDTV but you can watch a HDTV broadcast on a regular digital TV in the lower resolution. It won't look like HDTV with all the high resolution images, it will look like regular digital TV.

There seems to be a lot of confusion about DIGITAL and HDTV. HDTV is digital, but digital is not necessarily HDTV.

The set top boxes that we will be able to buy, convert DIGITAL signals to ANALOG signals so our old TV sets will still be able to be used in the future. There are some HDTV terrestrial receivers on the market (HDTV set top boxes), those receive the broadcast signals in digital HDTV, they only produce HDTV quality on a HDTV set.

Plasma and flat panel TV shoppers have to be very cautious about buying their toys, many of the lower end plasmas and LCD TV cost $3000 to $6000 and many of those are NOT HDTV capable, but all are digital capable.

Moon · Dec 30, 2004

Thanks for the correction Bob. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I know one I was considering buying when I was shopping could handle that resolution ....but I thought all new ones could. My bad!

Moon of Ohio

Bob_Skurka · Dec 30, 2004

Moon, honest mistake, and basically you were right about digital and set top boxes, it was just the technicality about HDTV where you missed.

The problem is most of us learn about DTV and HDTV from the 17 year old part timer who works at Best Buy or Circuit City. I did lots of digging last year when I bought a new TV for my bedroom. At that point I was totally lost and confused and the lovely Mrs_Bob was looking really hard at the plasma sets trying to convince me we really NEEDED one of those. In digging around (I tend to dig really deep sometimes) I learned about the differences between analog, digital and HDTV. I still claim to be a novice with this stuff, but I've learned to at least know when the guy at the box store is totally clueless and bull$#!++!^@ me. In my recent quest to buy a HDTV & Satellite system as a surprise for the lovely Mrs_Bob, I simply bypassed every one of the box stores and went to the specialty shops. I bought most of the stuff on line, but hired a specialty shop to do some new coax runs, and bought the surround sound stuff from them (they are also doing the full install and programming a new remote).

I ended up getting a full system for about what Circut City quoted me for just a little bit more than the HDTV alone. -- I picked up the exact same HTDV for almost $1900 less than the CC price!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

jwstewar · Dec 30, 2004

Dang, Andy between you and Bob talking about TVs you've gone and jinxed me. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif We have (or should I say had) a 27" in the living room with Dish Network (not HD), DVD, VCR, and surround sound. I thought I was good to go until 2006 when everything was decided for sure. Well as the kids were just now watching Jimmy Neutron the TV kept going black. I could slap the TV and it would fade in and out a little, but then would go right back out.

Daggone it!!! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif, we had looked at a 65" Mitsubishi last year, but decided to wait for awhile. We didn't want to spend the money. Now we've got to decide to go ahead or get a cheapie to get us buy for a couple of years. It is only 5 years old makes me /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif.

JDGREEN4ME · Dec 30, 2004

Make sure you measure the available space in your entertainment system for a new (bigger) television. I didn't and the new television just fit! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif We don't watch that much television but it sure is nice to have the bigger set when we do! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

MossRoad · Dec 30, 2004

Looking at your enterntainment center...

We had the same problem when our very nice 19"" died. I wanted the largest TV that would fit in the furniture, so I removed the shelf above the TV. That gave me a much larger area to fit a TV into. We were able to squeeze a 32" into it. I re-located the VCR into the shelves to the left of the TV, along with the combination DVD/surround sound unit, VCR and DSS. We have no radio tuner, but the DSS has all the music channels that we could ever want, and they have no commercials, so it is no longer missed.

If you really want only one remote and don't want to use a universal learning remote, you should plan on caughing up the $$ for a nice matched component system made by one manufacturer. They usually have one button operation, so, for example, if you hit the DSS button, the TV monitor comes on, the DSS comes on and the surround sound comes on and everything just works. Very nice. The problem then arrises when, in a few years, you wear out the buttons on the remote. The manufacturer probably won't make a remote for that unit anymore. They will have one that is close, but not exact, and you will be back to pushing a couple buttons to get things working.

That's why I believe you will end up with a learning remote eventually, anyway. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

AndyM · Dec 30, 2004

As for buying a TV, that is really up to you, but I would not buy a TV that was not a DIGITAL TV. Digital is NOT also HDTV, but HDTV is digital. Digital sets have come way down in price, 27" sets were in the $350 to $500 range 15 months ago when I was shopping for the bedroom TV. They are probably MUCH lower now. But if you get an Analog set today then you will need to buy a digital conversion box in 2006. 

Thanks. I'll have to check out digital 27 inch models and get some prices. The 32 inch analog models are really cheap right now, but I would probably only get a year or two out of it before having to get the digital conversion box, right?

My television watching consists mostly of Law & Order and Everybody Loves Raymond. Most other evenings, I get my education and entertainment from the internet. MrsAndyM is usually watching television while I'm in the den on the computer.

I can get a bigger television to make her television and movie viewing more pleasurable, but this is a difficult balance...
She will have a new home theater system and larger television, which will justify me to go out and buy a pole barn in the spring.
If I don't spend enough money on the television, she will be mad that I spent too much on the pole barn and not enough on her.
However, if I spend too much on the television, she will be happy but I won't have enough money for the pole barn!
Oh, what to do, what to do? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

PineRidge · Dec 30, 2004

If I don't spend enough money on the television, she will be mad that I spent too much on the pole barn and not enough on her.
However, if I spend too much on the television, she will be happy but I won't have enough money for the pole barn!
Oh, what to do, what to do? 

Andy get the little lady involved in a hobby that she can do in the new pole barn. My wife keeps about 250 to 300 pounds of bird seed in ours. She has multiple bird-feeders set up just outside the barn for bird watching. I told her all that seed wouldn't keep well in the heated basement. I wonder if she really bought it? /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif