Putting High Definition in PerspectiveOne of the big questions today focuses on the emergence of high-definition television (HDTV). As a general rule with technology, buy what you need now. Don't try to time the technology industry. Never buy a product with the idea that you will grow into it; in the year or two it takes to get to that point, the technology may have shifted or come down dramatically in price. Similarly, never "underbuy" with the notion that you can upgrade easily; while doing so may be physically possible, changes in price often make it easier to buy a new unit when you need it rather than buying just an upgrade. Is HD right for me?A good question to ask is how big of a TV do you have now. If it is 27" (diagonal across the screen) or less, HD probably is not for you. If you have 27" to 36" TV, you're likely someone who enjoys the TV enough to make the move to HD. Also considering that you are accustomed to a larger TV screen, the improvement in quality likely will be very noticeable. If you have a TV larger than 36", you're missing a lot if you don't have HD. HD can be very noticeable for sporting events. Many networks are now developing new camera angles specifically for HD. Whereas on a traditional TV a particular shot looks useless, the clarity and depth of HD can make it feel as though you are right on the field. Isn't HD very expensive?Many mistakenly think HDTV is extremely expensive. It need not be. You need three things to enjoy HD:
In some cases, items two and three are combined into one HDTV with an integrated tuner. For most people, the expensive piece of the equation will be buying a new TV. But you don't have to buy one of those sleek and ultra-expensive plasma displays to get HD quality. Far from it, HD can come in many shapes and sizes. Sure, the flat plasma and LCD displays look nice, but there are many good projection HD TVs that are priced reasonably, some well under $700. In terms of the HD signal, this is the crux of the technology. The old analog TV signal in the US transmitted about 480 lines of resolution on your TV screen. The HD format transmits up to 1080. The greater the lines, the greater the resolution, the greater the detail. In the Greater Boston area, most of our local channels are available in HD. You can pick up these channels on an HD receiver simply by having an HD antenna. A good HD antenna could run you $100. Like any antenna, you might have to play with positioning a bit to get good reception on all channels.You probably don't want to rely on just the antenna for your HD signal; you're going to want to get HD over your cable or satellite provider. But having an antenna backup is a great idea HD or not. Cable and satellite providers do have down time. Also satellite providers may not carry all your local channels. At the least, an HD antenna represents little investment to see if it's that big of deal for you. HD cable vs. HD satelliteCable companies carry a good deal of HD programming for the movie and specialty stations. The nice thing with the cable companies is that in nearly all cases, they will provide you with the HD receiver. If you are a satellite subscriber, you often have to buy your own receiver (usually at least a few hundred dollars) and you might need to replace your existing dish (most satellite companies will offer some deal on this). The one upside is that satellite quality tends to be a little better than what you might get with cable. In general, HD should not be a factor in whether you switch from cable to satellite or vice verse. All things being equal, cable usually represents an easier buy-in over satellite mostly because you have less equipment to buy up front. That said, over the the life span of your dish system, the long-term cost of the additional hardware is minimal. Also, satellite providers often have promotions for free equipment. In short, if you have cable now, stick with cable for your HD. If you have a dish, stick with that. |