High Definition TV

[Beans]

We got a 40 inch LCD 1080P HD TV for Mother's Day and my cable company wants $250 for a set-up box or $15/mo. rental and $32/mo for the basic HD package (250 channels) or $44/mo for 300 channels...

 

Is having high definition worth the extra cost...we don't use all the channels we get now...(70) ?

 

Can we purchase the set-up box elsewhere and cheaper ?

Edited May 16, 2012 by Beans

[mercman]

If you like watching WFN, NatGeo, or any outdoors or wildlife/nature shows, HD All the way

[chuckymcd]

I think It is, Now when I watch a show thats not in HD it looks awful. Also if you like sports HD all the way!

[doubleheader]

Beans, do yourself a favor and investigate Dish or DirectTV, personally I like Dish, but to each his own. Usually with a 1 year contract installation is free (around our area anyhow). The thing about HD is it spoils you. Sports are amazing on HD, and after trying it you won't want to watch a good movie on anything but HD. Value is in the eye of the beholder, but to me it's definitely worth it. We don't have all the movie channels like HBO, but we have the next package down, and for us we spend less than we spent on cable for a vastly superior product.

[lew]

We've got 5 of them Norm and their fantastic.

 

I don't watch too much of the regular programming but for anything with alot of scenery or outdoors type of things they really are worth the extra $$$$

[mike rousseau]

I'm wondering the same... I just got a 51 inch 1080 plasma smart tv...but still have regular cable... It sounds like a lot more money per month for hd box and programming....

[Fish4Eyes]

Every provider charges for the HD receiver so you certainly can't avoid that. Is the above mentioned price for a PVR receiver? Judging by the price, I would say no as they are even more money. Don't be afraid to haggle with them on the price of receivers, especially if you have been a customer for a while. I got a 200$ receiver for 50$.

 

Give Shaw Direct satellite a ring, I have a decent package for 55$/month. If you have a cottage or trailer, you can also set up a dish there for no extra charge other than the additional hardware required. Up to 5 or 6 receivers allowed.

Edited May 15, 2012 by Fish4Eyes

[bubbles]

Just for the record, Cable can only provide an image in 720 definition, not 1080. They do not have the infrastucture in place to broadcast in 1080. If you are shopping there is no sense paying the extra for 1080 over 720.

[Harrison]

HD for sure.

 

Powering a TV like that with basic cable is like runing a 9.9 on a 20ft lund.

[Joey]

Instead of renting per month, go buy an HD box at Costco. Will be about $500 but you won't need to rent each month, then get a package and bargain, bargain, bargain with your cable company. they usually will give tons of discounts of you tell them you might just consider another company if their prices are too high.

[Oryx]

I'll preface this by being a home theatre junkie....on a budget.

 

Cable will depend on the providor. They will send the signal in either 720p or 1080i. P = Progressive, meaning that ALL lines of the signal will be displayed on the screen at once. I = Interlaced, meaning that the information is being broadcast as 2 images, but flickering so fast it looks like a solid pic.

For a 1080P television, the pixels are 1920 x 1080.

 

Just like a fishfinder, Go with the best resolution you can get. your TV's software will 'enhance' the pic. If you have a Bluray player, get a 1080P. The pic on these is amazing. Try the BBC Earth series. Also, do not forget the HDMI cables.(monoprice.com) least expensive place by far, and good quality.

[Pikeslayer]

My 'somewhat expert' general opinion:

 

You will want at minimum a 'digital' cable box/package (I think these are now standard?).

Quality of digital channels on your HD LCD will vary according to the source/channel. Some are noticably better than others. With lower quality digitial channels, you may see small vertical red/green lines intemittingly during some parts of the program (they come and go based on signal strength/interference).

Your 40" has the same number of pixels as a 60" (on mid range HD tv's). So the good news is that a 40" tv will definitely give you a better digital picture than a bigger tv. Lower quality digital channels will look a lot more grainy on larger tv's.

Like Lew, I also have 5 HD tv's in the house/garage. Ranging from 26" to 52". I only run HD converters on 2 of them (46 & 52). The 42 in my man cave is on a digital box and this is where I watch most. I have no complaints about the picture quality when watching my favourite programming (A&E, NatGeo, History etc). Some 'secondary sports' channels (TSN 2, sportsnet) are not great for watching on digital, but CBC is okay.

 

My advice based on your tv size, would be to start with the digital package. You will never 'miss' HD programming if you never had it to start with (but you will have visitors who tell you how much better HD is). Also, the further the tv is from your sofa/lazy boy will also improve your viewing. Ideally, you would want at least 6 ft between you and your tv.

At any time, you could upgrade to HD but HD packages are significantly way more expensive than digital.

 

That's my nickel,

 

Simon

Edited May 15, 2012 by pikeslayer

[danbouck]

Personally I wouldn't pay that amount for HD. I have HD and it's great but I only pay $10/month extra

 

I had no HD for years on my 50" and it worked just fine

[gino]

best thing is to buy any used HD box from Kijiji...whatever it is Dish, Bell, Rogers...whatever is cheaper in the area you live for programs.

[BillM]

Once you watch HD, going back to SD is horrible.

[Freshtrax]

I work for one of the big 2 tv company's we usually have a free rental for a year or so when upgrading from basic.

[dave524]

HD all the way, I really noticed an improvement in the sound too if you got some external sound system hooked up.

[Pikeslayer]

I work for one of the big 2 tv company's we usually have a free rental for a year or so when upgrading from basic.

 

......and then we hose you

 

Sorry FT, couldn't resist.

[NAW]

I have bad eyes. Before HD I had to wear glasses to see the puck when watching Hockey.

 

Now that I have HD, I don't need my glasses to see the puck!.. If I wear my glasses, It crazy clear.

 

Worth the money IMO.

[mercman]

I'm wondering the same... I just got a 51 inch 1080 plasma smart tv...but still have regular cable... It sounds like a lot more money per month for hd box and programming....

 

 

Get it Mike.With a tv like that, you have no idea what you are missing out on.

[ch312]

you're looking at a minimum increase of $47 per month or $564/yr to watch tv with a sharper image. i dunno about you, but i can find quite a few thing's to spend my money on instead of hd programming that IMO makes very little difference unless you sit close to your tv. basically, the only way for you to decide if it's worth it for you is to view the same tv's side by side with one having HD and the other standard.

 

people complain about not having money and being in debt, yet many of those same people have zero problems handing over any extra money on stuff like this. i'll never understand the way some people operate...

[smally21]

upgrading my digital package to HD was something like 8$ a month. buy a couple of kijiji receivers (check the serial's with provider beofre buying) and you are off. or the 'pace' unit at future shop for 150$.

 

great increase in picture quality. dont know where the hundreds of dollars a year is coming from. its not that much.

 

what is a better use of money, buying HD tvs and not using them to their potential or paying a little extra for HD?

 

if a better image is worth it, spend it. its no one else's business how you 'operate'.

[Raf]

We got a 40 inch 1080P HD TV for Mother's Day and my cable company wants $250 for a set-up box or $15/mo. rental and $32/mo for the basic HD package (250 channels) or $44/mo for 300 channels...

 

Is having high definition worth the extra cost...we don't use all the channels we get now...(70) ?

 

Can we purchase the set-up box elsewhere and cheaper ?

 

Just to be clear Norm, you will not get 250 or 300 HD Channels. I'm speculating a little but the package pricing they gave you is likely for a digital package which includes a mix of SD / HD channels. The actual number of HD channels is less (depends on the provider). If you are already getting a digital package and wish to add HD content, it's typically $8-20 extra.

 

Shaw Direct (satellite) is actually one of the worst providers in terms of quantity of HD channels -- though that's supposed to improve this fall when they launch their new bird into space. Where they excel IMO is in customer service. Their support staff is knowledgeable and prompt. I suspect Rogers, Cogeco (cable), Shaw Cable and Bell (satellite) are the best in terms of quantity.

 

Also remember that there are other sources for FREE HD content (ie. Over the Air antenna) that the telcos don't want you to know about. Yes.. a form of rabbit ears that receives a digital HD signal.

 

There are many options and I'd advise you to look at your viewing habits.. if you watch specialty channels (I suspect you don't since you currently have a basic cable package), an OTA antennae will not work for you. If however, you're mostly interested in picking up local (southern ontario, WNY) HD feeds, OTA may be the ticket. Did I mention free? You may find that keeping your existing cable plan and supplementing it with a OTA HD antenna will be enough or, you may ditch cable altogether and be fine with OTA.

Edited May 15, 2012 by Raf

[BITEME]

X2 I went OTA a year or so ago and will not be going back to paying now if i can only get the dogs to run a bit faster on the treadmill another issue will be solved

 

 

Just my 2

[krixxer]

Went out and got a HD antenna for 50 clams; I get 9 channels. The rest I can watch on the net .....

 

Rogers used to rape for 200 a month.