Slashdot Mirror
CNET's HDTV World
xerid writes "CNET.com has a collection of articles and videos on HDTV and related technologies. It looks like a good starting point for anyone interested in buying an HDTV in the near future. They also include Editors' Top HDTV picks. For top flat-panel HDTV plasma: Panasonic TH-42PHD7UY." From their Ultimate TV Buying Guide: "Since the first HDTVs appeared in 1998, high-definition television has been on the mind of every TV buyer. The big question is whether now is the time to pay a few hundred to a few thousand dollars more and take the plunge on an HDTV set. We can't answer that question for you, but we can provide some basic information that may help you decide."
Once you watch a football game in HDTV, you can't watch it any other way.
Heroscape, it's like legos combined with anachronistic wargames.
I don't think most people will mind .The amount of beer drunk whilst watching sporting events is sure to compensate for a low resolution; by adding motion blur and increasing the TVs attractiveness
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
Just throw out your TV and do something better with your time. And believe me, everything is better than watching those horrible reality shows, sitcoms with predictable jokes, news that makes you feel there are terrorists living in your basement, and soaps that seem to be designed to to make you stupid.
Really, TV is an insult to your intelligence. I'm boycotting them since 2004.
"It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton LaVey
Where are the options for smaller, cheaper sets?
I second that important question. (Set includes the required tuner, otherwise it's just a monitor)
Dorm dwellers, RV'er's, apartment renters, homes with kids (Dad has no interest in the purple dinosaur) and such. A one TV home theatre solution is not a solution for a house with a family. A multi thousand dollar set in each bedroom, kitchen, den, living room, etc are also not a solution.
Just where are the cheap small sets? Where is the over the air demo at the local electronics store? I keep looking. The demo is either for a subscription Satelite or Cable pay TV service, or from an in-store demo loop.
If it won't work in the store, how the heck do I expect it to work at home?
Show me the sets in operation! Don't show me a 5.1 sound system, monitor, tuner package. I have a good stereo. I'm just looking for a few small inexpensive TV's to replace my analog stuff for the local news. Don't try to sell me components. I just want a TV for after analog does dark.
If the sets don't show up, then the Internet will be my TV of the future.
The truth shall set you free!
That would be one of the key factors to which HDTV to buy, for any geek, I would think.
Just remember, in the future, no DRM = no content. A non-DRM set will not play DRM content. Are you expecting non-DRM content in the future? It will be as mainstream as NON-Macrovision VHS tapes, NON-CSS DVDs, NON-Reigon coded DVDs, etc. Sure you can play your old VHS stuff you recorded off analog TV in the 1990's, but not in HDTV.
For new content and the new format, not geting something that can play DRM would be a waste of money unless you use your HDTV camcorder to produce all your own content.
Most of my content comes over the Internet, not from traditional TV sources.
The truth shall set you free!
I have a 44" Mitsubishi rear-projection CRT set in my workroom. The picture is good, the set didn't cost too much, but it's really bulky and overly large for my room. Plus it's a hassle keeping the convergence adjusted. Plus there's the worry about "burn-in" when watching too much 4:3 aspect ratio material. And it's necessary to turn out the room lights before it can look really good.
Recently we got a new Mitsubishi LT-3050 for the living room, a 30-inch LCD panel. Man, I've been blown away by this set! I started to adjust it using my AV test DVDs and color filters -- but all the adjustments were already dead on the money, as it came from the factory. No "torch mode" like CRTs usually have, there wasn't even any red push in the color decoder. I've never seen that before, never imagined I'd see that. It just plain looks better that my old set, and HD material looks stunning.
Somebody complained that LCD panels have crummy black level, it makes them look washed out. That is true if you try to dim the lights in your room the way you would with any conventional CRT-based set. The LCD is so bright, it looks great in a normally lighted room, in the daytime. Then the black level is not a problem, glare and reflections aren't a problem. You have to take a completely different mindset, you actually want the room lit up, not darkened like a movie theater.
Having said all that. . . I'm not thrilled with HDTV in general. Yes it looks fabulous when everything comes together -- when you actually get some HD content showing, and it hasn't been compressed to Hell and back. But there are still no HD videodiscs (and when they arrive, they'll have crazy DRM). HD channels on the satellite are very limited, and they all cost extra. HD broadcasts over-the-air are often messed up in one way or another. And there's still not a whole lot of good stuff to watch on TV, going to high def doesn't really solve that age-old problem.
The transition to HD has gone a lot slower than I hoped and expected, and it's really been a disappointment so far. I think the lack of HD videodiscs is the worst, but the whole thing is just going badly.