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Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

I am considering switching to HDTV in two steps. To ease the financial hit
I am thinking of getting either a DISH 811 or a DISH 921, and then getting
the HDTV monitor separately. If I do this is two steps, say a month or two
apart, would I be better getting the HDTV monitor first and then getting the
receiver later, or am I better off getting the receiver first and then
getting the tuner?

 

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Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

J&D Schnoor wrote:

> I am considering switching to HDTV in two steps. To ease the financial hit
> I am thinking of getting either a DISH 811 or a DISH 921, and then getting
> the HDTV monitor separately. If I do this is two steps, say a month or two
> apart, would I be better getting the HDTV monitor first and then getting the
> receiver later, or am I better off getting the receiver first and then
> getting the tuner?

If you get an HD TV with a built-in ATSC tuner and have stations which
broadcast digital & HD signals in your area (see www.antennaweb.org),
you could watch the broadcast networks HD shows while waiting to upgrade
the DISH receiver. However, DISH does not have a good reputation for HD
as they have lagged in adding much HD capability, so you may not want to
lock yourself to DISH for HD if you have a choice.

Movies on DVD also look a lot better on widescreen HD TVs, so I would
get the TV first if you watch DVDs much. For me, watching movies on a
42" plasma is a whole different experience than watching them on a 27"
4:3 CRT.

Remember that the height of the screen for a 4:3 TV is 0.6 times the
diagonal, the height of the screen for a 16:9 TV is about 0.49 times the
diagonal. For example, if you are replacing a 27" 4:3 set, you should
get a 32" widescreen to get the same screen screen for 4:3 SD material,
while getting a wider picture for widescreen material. The rule of thumb
should be to replace your 4:3 set with a widescreen TV that is at least
1.2 times the diagonal of your 4:3 TV so you don't step down in picture
size.

Alan F