wide screen HD on SDTV ?,

[Guest]

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

I've decided I want to get a widescreen Sony 34 CRT". They look great
in the store on HD signal. But what will it look like when I bring it
home and hook up to regular old Adelphia digital cable- non HD? If I
pay the extra bucks and get HD, what happens to the quality of the
"regular" channels? I understand about the black bars and 4:3, but
what about analog conversion?

Should I get a TV that's "HD ready" and not totally digital? Or am I
confusing the terms. Will HD ready allow for better SDTV?

There's only six channels that have HD, according to Adelphia (cable
provider). I don't feel like paying extra for it. I get a great
picture with the regular 4:3 style cable. Better than a lot of them
in Best Buy.

But my TV died and if I'm spending big bucks, I want to get something
now and for the future.

Suggestions and help are very much appreciated.

 

[Guest]

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

In article <b15a3f2e.0408291704.54fa463f@posting.google.com>,
bag@centurytel.net says...
> I've decided I want to get a widescreen Sony 34 CRT". They look great
> in the store on HD signal. But what will it look like when I bring it
> home and hook up to regular old Adelphia digital cable- non HD? If I
> pay the extra bucks and get HD, what happens to the quality of the
> "regular" channels? I understand about the black bars and 4:3, but
> what about analog conversion?

I have a 34" XBR910. I think (I may be in the minority, but I said
"I") that it looks as good on SD as the NTSC 32" Toshiba I have in
the other room.

What really happens, in my opinion, is that your idea of what
constitutes an acceptable picture changes quickly after you watch a
little good HD. It's so much that SD looks worse on HD sets as it
always looked bad and you just didn't used to notice.

/Chris

 

[Guest]

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

stephjeff wrote:
>
> I've decided I want to get a widescreen Sony 34 CRT". They look great
> in the store on HD signal. But what will it look like when I bring it
> home and hook up to regular old Adelphia digital cable- non HD?

IF you buy the 34" Sony with a Digital Tuner (XBR960) the new
Sony set will do all the Conversions: be they Analog or
Digital from the Cable Network... Cable Box not Reqd...
unless you want the Cable TV Program Guides...
The Sony CRTs do a super job on Conversions....

IF you buy a Sony HS510 or HS410.....
The Cable Box is required and IF DVI or HDMI output
is available, the Sony HDTV does the conversions...
IF you use Component out.. The Cable box does the
conversions... maybe not as good...



If I
> pay the extra bucks and get HD, what happens to the quality of the
> "regular" channels?

Regular Cable Analog Channels using DVI & Sony guts are very Good...
Regular Cable Analog Channels using Component Cable
may be Good to grainy.... If Source Pgm is poor...


I understand about the black bars and 4:3, but
> what about analog conversion?

Analog Conversion will have gray Sidebars...
HD 4:3 will have black Sidebars...
The 4 Sony Zoom/Stretch modes are OK to use.... also.
>
> Should I get a TV that's "HD ready" and not totally digital? Or am I
> confusing the terms. Will HD ready allow for better SDTV?

Getting the 34XBR960 with 4 tuners & Cable Card is best...
IF you can swing the $2200....
Four Tuners: 2 Analog, 1 HD, 1 Cable QAM unit...

In Short, If the Sony Wega 'guts' process the SDTV,
you'll get the Best Picture conversion.

HS510 & HS420 have good internals... 420 has No Pic & Pic..


>
> There's only six channels that have HD, according to Adelphia (cable
> provider). I don't feel like paying extra for it. I get a great
> picture with the regular 4:3 style cable. Better than a lot of them
> in Best Buy.
>
> But my TV died and if I'm spending big bucks, I want to get something
> now and for the future.


For the Future is 16:9 & No upgrade reqd......
A 4:3 requires a Future upgrade to 16:9 for superb HD.
>
> Suggestions and help are very much appreciated.

I have had Sony 34HS510 for 11 mos now... I like it!

 

[Guest]

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

"stephjeff" <bag@centurytel.net> wrote in message
news:b15a3f2e.0408291704.54fa463f@posting.google.com...
> I've decided I want to get a widescreen Sony 34 CRT". They look great
> in the store on HD signal. But what will it look like when I bring it
> home and hook up to regular old Adelphia digital cable- non HD? If I
> pay the extra bucks and get HD, what happens to the quality of the
> "regular" channels? I understand about the black bars and 4:3, but
> what about analog conversion?
>
> Should I get a TV that's "HD ready" and not totally digital? Or am I
> confusing the terms. Will HD ready allow for better SDTV?
>
> There's only six channels that have HD, according to Adelphia (cable
> provider). I don't feel like paying extra for it. I get a great
> picture with the regular 4:3 style cable. Better than a lot of them
> in Best Buy.
>
> But my TV died and if I'm spending big bucks, I want to get something
> now and for the future.
>
> Suggestions and help are very much appreciated.

Be very careful of the nomenclature of TV's these days.

You want something called an HD-monitor or an HDTV - make sure it has
PROGRESSIVE component inputs and perhaps a DVI in.
Get a 16:9 aspect - much nicer for movies and HD.

The only difference between HD-monitor and HDTV is the HDTV has an over the
air ATSC HD tuner and the monitor does not - both can display HD quality
progressive scan 1080 or 720 images.

If you get HD cable, you will use the cable box to drive either the
HD-monitor or the HDTV. All other channels are the same. They just add a few
HD channels. Analog and normal digital cable are NOT SD quality - but lower.
SD quality is DVD quality.

Some HDTV's available today MAY be able to get cable HD sometime in the
future without a cablebox since they have a slot to contain a future cable
decryption card, but I have not seen this work in real life.

 

[john]

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

bag@centurytel.net (stephjeff) wrote in message news:<b15a3f2e.0408291704.54fa463f@posting.google.com>...
> I've decided I want to get a widescreen Sony 34 CRT". They look great
> in the store on HD signal. But what will it look like when I bring it
> home and hook up to regular old Adelphia digital cable- non HD?

A lot depends on how you set up the television. I had Adelphia
digital cable on a Samsung DLP. The basic cable channels (2-99) look
OK. I have it set so they are streched to fit the screen. The
digital channels 101 and up look pretty good. They're also streched
to fill the screen. I've recently switched the box to the HD box.
Right now, Adelphia isn't charging (at least not where I'm at) any
extra for the feed or the box. The HD channels look great. This
weekend both CBS and FOX showed football in widescreen HD. Both
looked great. NBC had olympic coverage and other than the fact that
it was a day behind, it looked great. Give Adelphia a call and see
about switching the boxes, especially if you like sports.

 

[Guest]

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

jlj21710@hotmail.com (John) wrote in message news:<c50b24e6.0408300202.1366d577@posting.google.com>...
> bag@centurytel.net (stephjeff) wrote in message news:<b15a3f2e.0408291704.54fa463f@posting.google.com>...
> > I've decided I want to get a widescreen Sony 34 CRT". They look great
> > in the store on HD signal. But what will it look like when I bring it
> > home and hook up to regular old Adelphia digital cable- non HD?
>
> A lot depends on how you set up the television. I had Adelphia
> digital cable on a Samsung DLP. The basic cable channels (2-99) look
> OK. I have it set so they are streched to fit the screen. The
> digital channels 101 and up look pretty good. They're also streched
> to fill the screen. I've recently switched the box to the HD box.
> Right now, Adelphia isn't charging (at least not where I'm at) any
> extra for the feed or the box. The HD channels look great. This
> weekend both CBS and FOX showed football in widescreen HD. Both
> looked great. NBC had olympic coverage and other than the fact that
> it was a day behind, it looked great. Give Adelphia a call and see
> about switching the boxes, especially if you like sports.


Thanx. Adelphia is charging more in my area. Bummer. My cable bill
is high enough! And I'm still on dial up!

 

[Guest]

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

Dennis Mayer <Polaris1@execpc.com> wrote in message news:<41328606.C4071F2B@execpc.com>...
> stephjeff wrote:
> >
> > I've decided I want to get a widescreen Sony 34 CRT". They look great
> > in the store on HD signal. But what will it look like when I bring it
> > home and hook up to regular old Adelphia digital cable- non HD?
>
> IF you buy the 34" Sony with a Digital Tuner (XBR960) the new
> Sony set will do all the Conversions: be they Analog or
> Digital from the Cable Network... Cable Box not Reqd...
> unless you want the Cable TV Program Guides...
> The Sony CRTs do a super job on Conversions....
>
> IF you buy a Sony HS510 or HS410.....
> The Cable Box is required and IF DVI or HDMI output
> is available, the Sony HDTV does the conversions...
> IF you use Component out.. The Cable box does the
> conversions... maybe not as good...
>
>
>
> If I
> > pay the extra bucks and get HD, what happens to the quality of the
> > "regular" channels?
>
> Regular Cable Analog Channels using DVI & Sony guts are very Good...
> Regular Cable Analog Channels using Component Cable
> may be Good to grainy.... If Source Pgm is poor...
>
>
> I understand about the black bars and 4:3, but
> > what about analog conversion?
>
> Analog Conversion will have gray Sidebars...
> HD 4:3 will have black Sidebars...
> The 4 Sony Zoom/Stretch modes are OK to use.... also.
> >
> > Should I get a TV that's "HD ready" and not totally digital? Or am I
> > confusing the terms. Will HD ready allow for better SDTV?
>
> Getting the 34XBR960 with 4 tuners & Cable Card is best...
> IF you can swing the $2200....
> Four Tuners: 2 Analog, 1 HD, 1 Cable QAM unit...
>
> In Short, If the Sony Wega 'guts' process the SDTV,
> you'll get the Best Picture conversion.
>
> HS510 & HS420 have good internals... 420 has No Pic & Pic..
>
>
> >
> > There's only six channels that have HD, according to Adelphia (cable
> > provider). I don't feel like paying extra for it. I get a great
> > picture with the regular 4:3 style cable. Better than a lot of them
> > in Best Buy.
> >
> > But my TV died and if I'm spending big bucks, I want to get something
> > now and for the future.
>
>
> For the Future is 16:9 & No upgrade reqd......
> A 4:3 requires a Future upgrade to 16:9 for superb HD.
> >
> > Suggestions and help are very much appreciated.
>
> I have had Sony 34HS510 for 11 mos now... I like it!


Very good info. Thanks to all for the help. I'm also seriously
considering a Toshiba 34hf84. Toshiba has something called "cable
clear" which is supposed to clean up non HD tv signals.

I'm trying to find out about the theatre modes where they stretch the
video of a 4:3 to fit the full screen. I don't the their cinema
series has this. Would anyone know off hand? Is this something I
need if I watch a lot of 4:3 programming?

 

[Guest]

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

stephjeff wrote:
>
> Dennis Mayer <Polaris1@execpc.com> wrote in message news:<41328606.C4071F2B@execpc.com>...
> > stephjeff wrote:
> > >
> > > I've decided I want to get a widescreen Sony 34 CRT". They look great
> > > in the store on HD signal. But what will it look like when I bring it
> > > home and hook up to regular old Adelphia digital cable- non HD?
> >
> > IF you buy the 34" Sony with a Digital Tuner (XBR960) the new
> > Sony set will do all the Conversions: be they Analog or
> > Digital from the Cable Network... Cable Box not Reqd...
> > unless you want the Cable TV Program Guides...
> > The Sony CRTs do a super job on Conversions....
> >
> > IF you buy a Sony HS510 or HS410.....
> > The Cable Box is required and IF DVI or HDMI output
> > is available, the Sony HDTV does the conversions...
> > IF you use Component out.. The Cable box does the
> > conversions... maybe not as good...
> >
> >
> >
> > If I
> > > pay the extra bucks and get HD, what happens to the quality of the
> > > "regular" channels?
> >
> > Regular Cable Analog Channels using DVI & Sony guts are very Good...
> > Regular Cable Analog Channels using Component Cable
> > may be Good to grainy.... If Source Pgm is poor...
> >
> >
> > I understand about the black bars and 4:3, but
> > > what about analog conversion?
> >
> > Analog Conversion will have gray Sidebars...
> > HD 4:3 will have black Sidebars...
> > The 4 Sony Zoom/Stretch modes are OK to use.... also.
> > >
> > > Should I get a TV that's "HD ready" and not totally digital? Or am I
> > > confusing the terms. Will HD ready allow for better SDTV?
> >
> > Getting the 34XBR960 with 4 tuners & Cable Card is best...
> > IF you can swing the $2200....
> > Four Tuners: 2 Analog, 1 HD, 1 Cable QAM unit...
> >
> > In Short, If the Sony Wega 'guts' process the SDTV,
> > you'll get the Best Picture conversion.
> >
> > HS510 & HS420 have good internals... 420 has No Pic & Pic..
> >
> >
> > >
> > > There's only six channels that have HD, according to Adelphia (cable
> > > provider). I don't feel like paying extra for it. I get a great
> > > picture with the regular 4:3 style cable. Better than a lot of them
> > > in Best Buy.
> > >
> > > But my TV died and if I'm spending big bucks, I want to get something
> > > now and for the future.
> >
> >
> > For the Future is 16:9 & No upgrade reqd......
> > A 4:3 requires a Future upgrade to 16:9 for superb HD.
> > >
> > > Suggestions and help are very much appreciated.
> >
> > I have had Sony 34HS510 for 11 mos now... I like it!
>
> Very good info. Thanks to all for the help. I'm also seriously
> considering a Toshiba 34hf84. Toshiba has something called "cable
> clear" which is supposed to clean up non HD tv signals.
>
> I'm trying to find out about the theatre modes where they stretch the
> video of a 4:3 to fit the full screen. I don't the their cinema
> series has this. Would anyone know off hand? Is this something I
> need if I watch a lot of 4:3 programming?


I'm too good on Toshiba Models...

But I thought the HFX/Cinema models had the Good
Audio/Speaker System and
HF had the 'lesser' speaker quality....

and the Case & Speaker location may be Different????

 

[Guest]

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

"stephjeff" <bag@centurytel.net> wrote in message
news:b15a3f2e.0408300943.66148cd2@posting.google.com...
jlj21710@hotmail.com (John) wrote in message
news:<c50b24e6.0408300202.1366d577@posting.google.com>...
> bag@centurytel.net (stephjeff) wrote in message
> news:<b15a3f2e.0408291704.54fa463f@posting.google.com>...
> > I've decided I want to get a widescreen Sony 34 CRT". They look
> > great
> > in the store on HD signal. But what will it look like when I bring
> > it
> > home and hook up to regular old Adelphia digital cable- non HD?
>
> A lot depends on how you set up the television. I had Adelphia
> digital cable on a Samsung DLP. The basic cable channels (2-99) look
> OK. I have it set so they are streched to fit the screen. The
> digital channels 101 and up look pretty good. They're also streched
> to fill the screen. I've recently switched the box to the HD box.
> Right now, Adelphia isn't charging (at least not where I'm at) any
> extra for the feed or the box. The HD channels look great. This
> weekend both CBS and FOX showed football in widescreen HD. Both
> looked great. NBC had olympic coverage and other than the fact that
> it was a day behind, it looked great. Give Adelphia a call and see
> about switching the boxes, especially if you like sports.


Thanx. Adelphia is charging more in my area. Bummer. My cable bill
is high enough! And I'm still on dial up!
--------
Adelphia charges $10 per month for HD in Santa Monica, CA. First month,
though, is free. ESPN-HD, which had a great feed of the USC-Virginia
Tech football game last Saturday, is another $1.50 a month. Worth it, if
you're a football fan.

HD pictures are superb, Digital channels pretty good, analog channels
acceptable. Other poster mentioning that non-HD channels look bad after
seeing HD pictures hits the nail on the head. Olympic pictures in HD
were excellent with very few commercials, but the day-old coverage was
disappointing.

Bill