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CableCARDs and HDTV
An anonymous reader writes: "HDTV is the next big thing. I attended the NAB conference in Las Vegas last week and everyone was pitching HDTV or asking about it. DesignTechnica has an interesting article on CableCARDS, which allows viewing HDTV through a CableCARD compatible HDTV set without needing a set top box. Cable companies are required to enable CableCARDs with card-compatible HDTVs by July 1, 2004. So here's some questions: Has anyone heard of CableCARD? Is anyone planning on buying a CableCARD compatible TV? How many people actually get HDTV in their area, and how many channels? HDTV is so hyped right now but seems that there is barely any deployment."
There's maybe 3 or 4 high definition channels available right now. On my cable system in Oklahoma there are 6 full-time HD channels and 3 locals which carry a significant amount of HD programming. Just because you don't watch HD doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Go type in your zip code over at I Want MY HDTV.com and see how many channels are available in your area.
The problem with HDTV and digital broadcasting right now is there's very little HD content. Some examples..
PBS around here (San Jose/San Francisco) only broadcasts HD starting at 8pm. They however have pretty decent content and it's all HD when they say it will be. It looks great, it's just limited in what they show.
The rest of the broadcast networks have very little content. Maybe one or two shows a day at best and the occaisional sports event. NBC had the Kentucky Derby in HD yesterday, but it wasn't even advertised as such and I didn't know if it would be HD until I turned it on.
And one of the problems with some of the "HD" broadcasts is that a lot of the cameras they're using aren't even HD. They're standard definition that's then upconverted to either 720p or 1080i. Or if you're Fox, 480p 16x9. So a good bit of "HD" sports is actually just clean SD.
Then there's stuff like ESPNHD. They usually just take the ESPN feed and stretch it to 16x9 which is really lame. They have maybe 4 or 5 events in actual HD per week.
And then there's also the question of how do you get the content? I tried over the air with an antenna and that was just painful. Even a fairly high gain one didn't work too well for me. You can't get broadcast HD over any of the DBS services (Dish, DirecTV, Voom) except CBS. You have to generally get Cable TV for that. So I got Comcast out here and get all the broadcast stuff. But it's still more cost effective for me to have basic digital HD service on cable for HD broadcast content and also have Dish Network 200 service for all the other content.
And I hardly watch TV. Sigh. But I got a HDTV so I really want to watch HD content when I can.
The service I'm currently looking at switching to is Voom which is a DBS service from Cablevision that has something like 30 HD channels, many of which are their own content. It's about the same price as Dish Network, but has fewer channels. Luckily mostly the ones I watch from time to time. I'd have to keep cable for the broadcast channels.
Some people might say it's a waste of time. And they're probably right. But HD does look awesome so at least it's kinda fun.
What I missing here?
you are missing the word "am" between "What" and "I".
I signed up for DirectTV HDTV about two months ago. I was an existing directTV customer but I still talked them into selling me the equipment for 99.00 (normally 399.00). The equipment consists of a Samsung HD DTV receiver and a new dish to pick up the HD channels. (also picks up all the international channels DTV offers)
.02
Channel Lineup:
ESPN
Discovery HD
HDMovies (Movie channel showing various movies from classics to recent favorites)
HDNet - pretty much a worthless channel showing repeats of recent Nascar Races, Horse, Races, and concerts. They also have some original series on it (I think).
CBSHD - I live in Utah and they allow me to pick up the CBS HD feed from LA. This is great because I can watch my shows an hour later in HD without needing the off air ant.
If you subcribe:
HBOHD - The regular HBO in HD.
SHOWTime HD - The regular showtime in HD.
Cost: Basis HD is 10.95 a month. HBO is 12.00 a month and Showtime is 10.00 a month.
Is it worth it?
Hmm.... I can tell you this. I am a big fan of Sopranos and Deadwood (HBO series) and love watching them in HD. I also enjoy watching Golf in High def on the weekends. You can tell a HUGE DIFFERENCE between the shows in HD and regular shows. People come over and just say WOW to the sporting events. Movies are not that much different.
So, its worth the money (10.95 a month) to me just to get golf in HD on CBS on the weekends. Basketball playoffs are also great. Its hard to watch golf/basketball in non-hd now.
Cons:
No STINKING TIVO!!!!!! I can't wait for the HDTivo to be affordable.
Just my
I sort of have the opposite view. I think TVs should do one job, and one job only - display whatever is input to them (in fact, I think they should not have speakers either). Decoding of digital cable content (and in fact, tuning analog cable channels) should not be the job of the TV. TVs should have one single input (like a DVI port, or something to keep the image digital). Everyone should also have an A/V receiver so they can plug all their equipment into one central source - perhaps there could be a market for cheap stereo receivers, for those who don't need 5.1 dolby digital surround sound. Connections to the A/V receiver should be *fully digital* (maybe then they could have all audio/video data on one line).
Why do I think this is a good idea? Because it is much more simpler, especially for those who aren't inclined or willing to understand how everything works - there's only one connection to the TV, so you obviously plug the video out to the TV - anything else like your DVD player or digital cable terminal plugs into the A/V receiver. There would be no "changing your TV to channel 3 and changing your cable terminal to channel 56" nonsense, which is probably the root of confusion for most consumers. Also, it is much more modular - what if a new cable or satellite technology comes out down the road? Do you really want to buy a new TV? What if a new video techology comes out? What if you need more inputs? What if you want to upgrade your speakers? Upgrade the TV only? The multiple remotes issue could be solved by mandating a standard interface that the A/V receiver uses to communicate with all peripherals. That way, all communications would be between the remote and the A/V receiver, with the receiver controlling functions on other devices such as DVD playback or changing of channels on a digital terminal. The TV could have a power-save function that would turn it off when no signal is detected (or, an interface could be defined so that all A/V receivers would have control over the TV power).