HDTV

The Huntsville Decatur area will get HD local channels from DirecTV starting in September according to a technician who came to realign my dish yesterday. He said September 9th was the date although TheReverend heard that it would be later in September.

Regardless, it is about time that one of the most hi-tech cities in the US and one of the most educated and well-paid communities finally get the locals in HD. Supposedly, the lag was due to the 7 or 8 cable companies in Madison County who have been fighting it.

This is great news for football fans.

And I'll be able to unplug my amplified antenna in the attic and watch those puppies from the satellite.

I'm finally going to take the big-screen HDTV plunge. For about 18 months now, I've made do w/ my 32" tube in the living room, and a 22" LCD upstairs for HD viewing. It's been fun, CRT, but I'm ready to make the switch, and I'm thinking Black Friday will be the day to do it.

For several months, I've debated on what technology to go with. And, for the most part, I've been settled on DLP. But nothing's set in stone, especially since I haven't seen all that BF ads yet. So, I thought I'd share my considerations with the Casket, and see if anyone wants to weigh in on the subject.

The primary reason I choose DLP, is the price-per-inch, paired with motion clarity. I like the idea of a flat-panel, but LCDs suffer from motion blur. I think sacrificing the ability to hang it on a wall is worth it to have higher motion clarity. Plasmas, on the other hand, are heavier, less energy efficient, have burn-in issues, and supposedly have a shorter life-span than LCDs. But, they perform much better with images in motion.

Lately, however, most of the drawbacks of the flat panels are being remedied. LCDs are dropping in price, and the 120Hz sets are more adept at handling motion than the old 60Hz sets. Plasmas report life spans just as long as LCDs, and they don't burn in as easily. As these issues are being addressed, the flat panels are becoming more and more attractive.

Whatever I end up getting, will need to have 1080p. The size I'm shooting for is 50+. If I find a killer deal on a 46" or 47" Plasma or 120Hz LCD, then I might opt for that, but I can probably find a 56" DLP for the same price. Hmmm, 10 more inches, or the ability to hang it above my fireplace? It's a tough decision.

It will probably come down to price. And I anticipate that I'll get the best bang for my buck w/ a DLP. If I find a 56" Samsung w/ an LED bulb (longer-lasting) for under 1k, then I'll probably jump on it.

Anyone have any Black Friday plans? In other words, what deals are too good to miss that you'll wake up insanely early, wait in line, and venture out into the madness this Friday?

I want to pick up an LCD TV, and am trying to find the best deal. Whatever you're in the market for, or if you come across something too good to miss out on, post them here.

When I first started learning about audio and video with my Playstation 2, which was super cool in 2000 because it doubled as a DVD player, I was rather intimidated by all the terminology involved with gaming and home theater audio/video. Only through constant internet forum perusing have I been able to keep semi-knowledgeable on the subject, and the problem has only gotten worse with the addition of tons of new connections/formats/signals since then. In an effort to help those who may be starting the venture fresh, this article seeks to demystify one of the main sources of confusion: connections and cables. I shall start with video connections. A small amount of basic knowledge may be required when we get into resolutions, HDTV, and bandwidth, but I will try to keep this as entry level as possible. Unfortunately, breaking down the many video formats is outside the scope of this article (the definition of 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p). However, I have linked you to the wiki on each topic, and there are plenty of resources available on the net to better understand video formats. The title of each section also links to the relevant wiki. Without further ado, the following is a comprehensive description of all video connections you are likely to encounter in North America in the year 2007.

[Disclaimer to video geeks: I am trying to make this easy for a beginner, so I am going to present some facts in a way that may not be 100% technically correct (e.g. 480p is SDTV at twice the speed). I am also going to ignore PAL. Spare me the nasty comments on what an ignoramus I am and try to understand the intent. If you think I am genuinely wrong then please point it out and we'll discuss.]

Click 'read more' for the full scoop.

I'm trying to find a way to view 1080p HD-DVDs for the lowest cost. Now that I have a 1080p TV (or will on Wednesday) I would like to take advantage of it for watching HD-DVDs. I currently possess one Xbox 360 Premium and no HD-DVD addon. However, even if I purchase the HD-DVD addon, the best I can hope for is 720p because it isn't an Elite with an HDMI output, and my TV (like most known to man) won't accept 1080p via component. The TV also does not have a VGA input to accept 1920x1080p60 via that route. The options I can think of:

1. Buy the HD-DVD addon for my 360 premium. Live with 720p HD-DVDs.