High Definition?

[SheepCow]

I'm just wondering how many people here have bothered to get a high definition TV?

If you have, can you post why -- i.e. "needed a new TV so may as well get the best", or "I always buy new tech!"

 

[Jonty]

Hi SheepCow

I haven't purchased a HDTV, but I'll give you my reasons:

• HD movies (and TV) are still in their relative infancy
• I don't own a Xbox 360 or PS3 for HD gaming
• I have a nice HD computer monitor instead

I think the people who have purchased are probably for the reasons you gave, especially given the falling prices of many HDTVs.

Are you feeling tempted to go shopping?

Kind regards

 

[SheepCow]

I'm not planning on getting one myself until I need to get a TV (after I graduate / get a job / a real place to live).

I was just curious since my parents bought a shiny new HDTV. The only reason they got one was because they needed a new TV and the price was good. They don't have any HD sources yet but I'm sure they'll get one once the price of blu-ray / HD-DVD players and discs goes down.

I am taking my xbox home this weekend to try it out

 

[TdC]

Hey guys, I haven't one, though I hear the 2407 dell I have can do 720 if pushed. I warrant that the poota at the end of next year that I'll prolly be getting will be equipped with a high def gfx card and possibly a matching monitor, but atm the Dell 24"is still a hawt item imo.


having said that, I enjoy watching movies at home. as long as my aging dolby reciever will play 5.1 sound, I may consider the TV and new DVD player upgrade.

 

[Jonty]

Hi TdC

Your Dell 2407WFP should have a native resolution of 1920x1200, right? That will handle 1080i/1080p via component inputs (and obviously the same via DVI if your computer can manage it)

As for your parents, that's good SheepCow! With regards a HD movie player, I'd personally wait for the combo HD-DVD/Bluray players to become more common (and cheaper, like you say).

Kind regards

 

[TdC]

Yeah Jonts, that's right, though I'll need a card that can pump it out, or an xbox360/other next gen that runs it. I just don't like consoles (sorry peeps) enough for it. Sure, I have a pc like a tiny god, but besides games I can do a zillion other things with it. a console I can play games on and that's about it

atm I run games at native rez, due to my gfx card being a 7950GX2 and that's great, though at times I note that cpuwise (FX/57 (!)) the system is starting to struggle. I am unsure how a full HD movie would behave cpuwise.

 

[Jonty]

Hi TdC

With that kind of setup you should be able to handle HD movies, but it may take up a lot of your system resources. nVidia's PureVideo HD technology does a good job of lightning the load, particularly the 8-series cards.

Kind regards

 

[nath]

Simple reason for me, I was getting a projector, it was gunna project to roughly 100" and I wanted the best I could afford. That happened to be a 720p infocus jobby. I've got an upscaling dvd player which is quite nice, but where it really shows its stuff is the X360 and HD content I download and pipe out from my pc via DVI.

Fortunately I've never seen 1080p on a 106" projection screen otherwise I might start feeling like I need one of them. As it goes, I'm still very happy with the 720p

 

[dysfunction]

i would like an LCD HD TV but my current TV is working fine so I'm not inclined to buy one right now...

 

[Moriath]

I have panny 37 px60 plasma for the living room for the 360 gaming

And a Sammy 26 inch R87 for the bedroom with a Sammy HD 870 upscaling DVD player .. The movies look awesome with it

Mostly cause I can I guess but I love a big screen along with the v+ box the BBC Hd channel put out some nice programs

Can I vote yes twice cause i got 2 ?

 

[JBP|]

I clicked no but i'd like to think i may have one with the next 12 months or so.

 

[Clown]

I have a HDTV because my old TV broke and I had nothing better to spend my money on. Much like all of my other shit.

 

[Kryten]

No.
Couple of reasons -
1. Can't afford one! Using a freeby 28" Beko CRT thing
2. Can't really see the need for it. I've got a quick computer and spangly screen which is higher resolution anyway - should I have the urge to watch anything in HD, I can do so on here. But I don't.
3. Even if I wanted one, we're moving back in with the In-Laws (!) and our room isn't small enough to swing a kitten in :/

 

[KevinUK]

My TV died so I went HD. I have a 360 and HD DVD player. For gaming theres an immediate improvement but films / the xbox menus I didn't really notice the difference until owning it a couple of weeks and then going back to seeing it on a standard TV. Its like broadband and 56k, you don't mind 56k until youve been on broadband for a week and would never want to go back.

It really is at the point where I HATE playing 360 on a standard TV, its so much worse. And watching DVDs all I see now is how grainy they are! Mine is 32" 1080i. I would like to see 1080p to compare.

 

[Ch3tan]

I got a HDTV becuase I wanted to run my 360 on a big screen. The 24" on my dell monitor just did not quite cut it. I also had the HD-DVD drive for the 360 and needed something better to watch it on.

Once I had the HD-TV it was a slippery slope towards ps3 for blu-ray and a HD virgin box.

I had a very good CRT TV, and it took me a lot of forum reading and demos to be happy that I had chosen the right TV.

 

[Yaka]

how is the hd virgin box? apart from bbc hd what other chancs can yer get ch3ts?

 

[cHodAX]

Had my 50inch HD DLP for a year now and wouldn't be without it, my Xbox 360 looks fantastic on it and I have my PC hooked up over DVI/HDMI for watching HD porn!

 

[leggy]

I clicked no.

1) I don't generally spend enough time in front of my TV to warrant the cost.

2) my 360 over RGB on a standard CRT is good enough for my minimal needs.

3) I've tried the 360 on a 42" LCD at 720p and I really wasn't as impressed as I thought I'd be.

4) If I buy one, I'll need a new AV amp, speakers and a whole host of other shit which I don't want to spend money on.

5) I need a new stereo first.

 

[yaruar]

how is the hd virgin box? apart from bbc hd what other chancs can yer get ch3ts?

Quality is good, there is some on demand stuff and a few pay movies, but not much yet, the quality is good though.

I have a 37 inch tosh X series 1080p it's very nice, even with SD, going to build a HTPC later in the year to drive it properly. bought it because my old 100htz 28 inch crt took up 1/4 of my living room and we needed space (thats what i told the missus anyway..)

 

[Rubber Bullets]

That's interesting Yaruar, I intend to use exactly the same argument when our 28" CRT finally dies (the bloody thing still works fine though).

The 37" flat screens are about 6"-8" wider than the existing telly, and a bit taller, does the lack of bulk at the back make enough difference? The argument will undoubtedly work for a 32", but I'm not sure if I will get away with the 37", Sharon has very little interest in TV and quite a lot of interest in saving money

RB

 

[yaruar]

That's interesting Yaruar, I intend to use exactly the same argument when our 28" CRT finally dies (the bloody thing still works fine though).

The 37" flat screens are about 6"-8" wider than the existing telly, and a bit taller, does the lack of bulk at the back make enough difference? The argument will undoubtedly work for a 32", but I'm not sure if I will get away with the 37", Sharon has very little interest in TV and quite a lot of interest in saving money

RB

It made a difference to us because the tv sat in a bay window and took up the whole thing. If it was in a corner it wouldn't make a difference, but now we've got the tv flat against a wall with a slim unit housing the gubbins below and it's opened up the room and added about 25 percent more space.
I'd pour coffee into the CRT, that will hasten it's death

 

[Ch3tan]

How is the X series? I was a bit gutted that they announced that just after I got the Sharp. Love the sharp, but the Tosh has better features and we have always had Tosh tv's in our house until now.

Yaka: What Yaruar said, the quality is very good, box is noisy but so is sky+/ hd. Ability to record two sources while watching a third is nice.

 

[Clown]

I would be more annoyed by how slow everyone is saying it is (the V+).

 

[Ch3tan]

Yeah it can be slow to respond, but it's not really too much of a problem.

Oh and for anyone going the HTPC way to HD, this may be a good buy Pioneer BDC-202BK 5x BD-ROM + 12x12 DVD±RW Serial ATA Dual Layer ReWriter - (Black) - OEM

 

[Clown]

Can you play Blueray movies in MPC? Do you need decent hardware to watch BDs, like you do when you're watching HD rips?

 

[Ch3tan]

Yep, if you read the reviews for that drive it states the specs you need. You'll need a beefy computer capable of HDCP.

 

[Jonty]

Can you play Blueray movies in MPC? Do you need decent hardware to watch BDs, like you do when you're watching HD rips?

Hi Clown

With the right codecs installed, in theory you can playback Bluray movies in Media Player Classic, but I haven't tried it myself (for lack of a Bluray drive, if nothing else ).

As for the hardware, yes, you still need a powerful computer. The Bluray/HD-DVD drives themselves don't do any of the processing, they just give you access to the data. As such, a powerful CPU, GPU, and decent software is a must. PowerDVD Ultra and other such software, although not cheap, may provide a better experience than other Media Player Classic (although not as streamlined, so obviously there's a trade-off).

Kind regards

 

[Tom]

The only reason I'd buy HD gear is for film releases. Theres very little shot on television that I would consider good enough to be sourced on HD right now.

 

[leggy]

But it won't make the film any better.

I hate the fact that the only HD movies (legally available) are absolute shite. And they cost 20-30quid.

I have had this argument countless times with widescreen and 5.1. If you're watching american pie 3 in HD with 7.1 it doesn't make it any less shit.

My opinion only.

 

[Ch3tan]

That is not true leggy, look at the blu-ray and hd-dvd catalouge, there are many great movies out now. And many of them look absolutly stunning in HD.

As for the price, just import them from Australia, same region codes for blu-ray and still no region locking on hd-dvd. Comes in at £12-£15 a title.