"As any geek can tell you, HDTV comes in several degrees of resolution: 720p, 1080i and 1080p. Weirdly, Toshiba's HD-DVD player can't send out 1080p, which is the holy grail. (To be sure, this standard is still rare among TV sets, but it's the wave of the future.) You should know, too, that you're guaranteed the sensational high-resolution HD-DVD picture only if your TV set has an HDMI connector (a slim, recently developed, all-digital jack that carries both sound and picture). If you use S-video or component cables instead, you may see only 25 percent of the resolution you're supposed to get -- a maddening antipiracy feature that the studios can invoke at their option. The A1 does deliver the spectacular picture and sound promised by Toshiba. Should you buy one, then? Not unless you're an early-adopter masochist with money to burn." -- from N.Y. Times columnist Eric Pogue's 5.11 column, "Why the World Doesn't Need Hi-Def DVD's"

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on May 11, 2006 at 7:50 AM

comment #1

guy steele says ...

Time to weigh in on this matter as I see it...

Unless as the reporter stated above, you have $$$ to burn buying into HD either by TV or DVD Player right now to me is a waste of
$$$.

By the time broadcasters have to cast everyting in HD which is supposed to be 2009, prices will be at their lowest for TV's a Players plus The Tech aspects will have improved as well. I remember just over a year ago a friend of mine needed a new TV.
Ok... Because he actually needed a TV and had the money he brought a HD 27inch Monitor so he could watch cable, play X-Box and hook up his Mac to it. Fine. But will we shopped for the TV I found out that Samsung had not 1, not 2 but was just introducing their 3rd upgraded DLP TV Sets! And heck DLP had only been out what, a year?! 3 Model changes in that short amount of time?

That is the prime example... wait until most if not all programming is broadcast in HD then make the move because I know that the TV's available then will be better and more cost effective then now.

All that said, my TV is a Sony 36 inch WEGA Flat Tube and I am getting HD channels through my Fois service and I am able to watch them and they look spectacular and I have a normal though good TV. So I am waiting to replace what I have when the time is right and TV's are even more improved and cheaper.

Posted by guy steele at May 11, 2006 8:16 AM

comment #2

Domingo says ...

The link to the column is broken, so I can't read the original to check, but does Eric Pogue actually say you CAN usually get HD from an S-video connector. As far as I know, that is wrong. You can, of course, get it via component. The new hi-def DVD standards (HD-DVD and Blu-Ray) support HD over component. However, it is left to the individual studios to enable this capability on a per disk basis. The danger is that they will cut this off if they feel piracy has become an issue. This would leave early HDTV adopters up a creek since they did not have the newer HDMI or DVI inputs.

Guy Steele is wrong about 2009 being some sort of magic date for HD that will drive down prices. Of course, the longer you wait, the cheaper things become, but the current regulation only calls for stations to transmit digitally by 2009. Digital does not equal HD. Modern cable and satellite DBS systems are already digital, but not all their content is HD. For users of those current systems, the 2009 transition date is already a non-event. It will only hurt those currently using over-the-air antennas as their primary means of watching television. Those users will need to use digital converter boxes of some sort. The regulation actually calls for the government to provide these boxes since a great many of the users affected will most likely be folks who can't afford cable or satellite.

All-in-all though, I think the real story here is that the HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray battle is shaping up to be a rehash of the Beta vs VHS battle of yore. What the world really doesn't need is two competing standards of hi-def DVD.

Posted by Domingo at May 11, 2006 10:55 AM

comment #3

guy steele says ...

Hi Domingo

Perhaps I am wrong. I thought broadcasters had to switch over to HD and free up their analog channels so the Gov. could resell them.

That was one of the reasons I felt like waiting. My Sony still does a great job especially with the HD channes I get through Fios.

Also buying now would frustrate me, do I go with DLP? Plasma or LCD? I know I want at least 42 inch up to 50 I guess. I am ok with my 36 and was told that in HD 42 is the new 36.

Now with DLP-Let's say that is the best way to go in terms of picture quality and price for size. Well you have a bulb to change every few years but if you wait until this Christmas season Mitsubishi is coming out with new DLP TV's using Laser Light as a source, no more bulb.

So in your mind when is the right time to upgrade the TV?

Posted by guy steele at May 11, 2006 2:11 PM

comment #4

Domingo says ...

The broadcasters do not have to switch to HD, they have to switch to digital broadcasting. Basically what I am saying is that digital does not equal HD. However, you are right about the analog give-back. The FCC is anxious to get that back to resell to companies like cell phone providers who want to roll out new services.

The HD television marketplace is way too confusing right now for the average user. There is actually a fourth option called LCOS. Sony makes a set based on that technology. Laser is very new and I don't know if I would jump on that bandwagon yet. It does promise a better picture and long life and can be used in LCD, LCOS and DLP sets.

The answer is that the television market has become exactly like the computer market. Something better and cheaper is always coming down the line and you practically need an IT degree to know which one to get. Upgrading may become the norm until the market fully shakes out and matures as it did in the old TV market. That may not happen for 10 years though. I would wait at least until this Christmas to see what shakes out. Of course, I already own two HD televisions (a Sony HS-20 front projector and a 32" Samsung LCD flat panel) so I am not exactly objective.

Posted by Domingo at May 12, 2006 8:09 AM

comment #5

Keith says ...

Good design!
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