kimchicowboy

if i get an HD-Ready TV, i have to order HD cable to get channels right? i'm guessing my cable-box would have component or hdmi/dvi output for the tv?

__________________
"I pick my nose too but never eat it." - bachviet, 3/30/04

if anyone wants to go scuba diving in oahu or wants to learn who to scuba dive in oahu, PM me.

bachviet

HD cable or sattelite would work for you.

__________________
Dell Dimension 9200 | Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4GHz) | 4x1GB DDR2 | 256MB nVidia GeForce 8800GT

Dell Studio 17 | Intel Core i7-720QM (1.6GHz) | 2x2GB DDR3 1066MHz | 1GHz ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4650

Intel P4-C 3.0GHz | ECS 865PE-A | 3x512MB PC3200 | 128MB PNY GeForce 6600GT

InfiniteNothing

You are correct in your assumptions. HDMI capability (on the TV side) is preferable because of the stupid ICT flag.

zippyjuan

"HD Ready" does not have its own HD tuner so you need another source to view HD material- whether that is from your cable company or satelite or whatever. If you want to view over the air HD signals, you need a seprate recieve and antenna for that. An HDTV should include tuners for OTA signals. Some HDTVs include a cable card (or can have one added) so you do not need a cable box.

__________________
I add new pictures to my photo gallery pretty regularly. You can see them here if you are interested: http://www.pbase.com/jeffryz

kimchicowboy

ah...got it. thanks y'all. i think i may get the cheap-o $5 HD local channels upgrade to get "lost" and "24" in HD. w00t. now if they only added espn and the discovery channel too.

oh, i need to get the tv first.

spigidygak

Just a note OTA HDTV is a better picture quality due to compression that cable and satellite companies use. So not only is it free... you get a better PQ! And since it's digital you either get the signal or you don't, none of that snowy stuff of the old analog days to deal with.

__________________

kimchicowboy

how would i know if i get a signal before getting a tv?

InfiniteNothing

Analog reception isn't a good indicator. Get a HDTV tuner (borrow one?) and pass it to a SDTV.

blueindian

that's what everyone said about digital phones when they first came out too.

__________________
yeah, pretty much we missed the boat on that one. but it's still here. get you some.

redcolours

where is that documented?
i know satellite and cable HD signals are not compressed at all. They cant be. There is an FCC mandate in that regards as to the output of not just digital transmissions, but high definition digital transmissions. They can NOT be anything less. Cable AND satellite providers go to great lengths to prevent you from copying the streams (by putting high encryption), because its pure and unadulterated and uncompressed. They are under pressure from the big hollywood and TV companies that own the rights to the films and shows that are broadcast, since those digitally broadcast shows can be recorded and resold without any degradation in quality. The best way to prevent any copies is to prevent you from making one in the first place.

at any rate im certain that cable and satellite hi-def transmissions are NOT compressed at all.

__________________
there are pictures, but no,nothing happens on my site.

spigidygak

They are compressed I've seen both and it is compressed everyone on AVSforum has also confirmed both feeds to be compressed. Mandates shmandates the companies don't care and it's all compressed. OTA reception is the highest quality HD currently available to the consumer. Cable is compressed via modulation and satellite is compressed via MPEG-2/4. The broadcast signal is uncompressed.

Back to topic to find out how far and the location of the broadcasts go check out these sites.

http://www.antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx
http://www.2150.com/broadcast/default.asp
http://www.juggling.org/bin/do/map-find

kimchicowboy

apparently, all the major local stations (pbs, fox, nbc, abc, cbs) are located <5 miles from me. would it make a difference if i can't get on the roof of my apartment to set an antenna? also, there are a bunch of tall buildings around me. how would that affect the signal?

thanks for all the help.

spigidygak

This is just speculation on my part, but you might be fine with an indoor one as long as it has enough power. However HDTV is basically a UHF signal so you need line of site to get the best reception without dropouts. So the buildings could be an issues depending how densley packed and in the way they are. http://www.antennasdirect.com/ they make some good antennas.

InfiniteNothing

I recieve digital stations from 70 miles away better than some at 20 miles away because of "ghosting" and such. Any ghosting on an analog sation will get you drop outs on a digital channel. To combat this you need a highly directional antenna that isn't too powerful. Again, you really need to try it to know if you can pull it off but your odds are good. If you don't anticipate ghosting issues I believe your best bet is a bow tie antenna, a dipole, or a <<<< looking antenna will work best

BTW all OTA HD broadcasts are MPEG-2 compressed. Uncompressed the streams would be enormous. They have decent bitrates though. Some shows (late night and primetime) are especially well mastered.

Conversely, some cable/sat companies do recompress the signal to a lower bitrate. They interpret than "changing the broadcast" law to mean like editing. AFAIK not all companies do recompress network channels. Most cable exclusive channels tend to have low bitrates to begin with.

redcolours

ah, then colour me corrected.

if thats the case, then its just a matter of how well the display is going to output those feeds. I was gonna say, get the best HDTV you can get out there, but thats not the question here (hes already got one).

OTA HD tuners are the best way to get HD feeds, with no more $$$ to spend. Just the equipment. NO rental fees, no recurring monthly subscriptions, no extra boxes to install.

But if you have premium channels, and you like Entourage or The Sopranos on HBO, Or want to watch Monday Night Football (on espn now), or simply want to watch those educational shows on Discovery HD, you WILL need an HD satellite receiver, or an HD cable box. Unless you have a cable card slot you can use. But then again, that also requires a subscription to your cable company.