Entering the modern TV age

[yesthattom]

Gone with the 19” Toshiba whose label reads “manufactured october 1987”!

In with the 37” Norcent HD-Ready television!

It has a built-in tuner (especially important since we have a non-HDTV tuner and are going to resist upgrading for a while; and resist the $5/month HD charge from Comcast).

We also bought a DVD Recorder.

We went to a 6th Ave Electronics sale that started at 8am. We got there just in time. Of course, the model that was super-duper cheap wasn’t available (isn’t their a law against that? Oh yes, but so-called “pro-business” politicians have de-funded any enforcement). However, the model we wanted didn’t have a tuner. So we found a model we liked better anyway with a slightly smaller screen but a built-in tuner.

Open issues:

• Call Comcast and get HD service (might wait a year on that)
• Call Tivo and find out how to get the remote to work with the Norcent (it isn’t in the menu)

Comments

[mrfantasy.livejournal.com]

TV PARTY!! TV PARTY AT TOM'S!!

[smbslt.livejournal.com]

I would definitely like my next TV to be a flat-screen but I need an "idiot's guide to buying a flat screen for those who don't speak techno babble". I don't need the biggest and greatest, but just want to know which features/specs are actually important versus what a videophile would care about.

[dr-memory.livejournal.com]

I cannot highly enough recommend a Harmony universal remote.

[n5red.livejournal.com]

It must be nice to be a rich and world famous author.

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

I wish! This came purely from salary.

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

You broke the code!

This was basically the last step towards making the first floor more party-ready. When you want to come over?

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

I talked to a lot of co-workers. Here's what I learned:

Tuners: Basically I figured out that if you have a built-in tuner you can tune in over-the-air HDTV signals, cable signals (old or HD), and just about anything. Otherwise (non-tuner) it is basically just a computer monitor. You can hook it up to a computer, a cable box that can be the tuner for you, etc. etc.

Quality: I was perplexed by the LCD vs. Plasma dicussions. So we just crossed our fingers and went LCD.

Cost: The LCD component seems to be made by 4 different companies in Asia... everyone just wraps them in a box, etc. So we went with a non-name brand figuring that we didn't need to pay the extra for going with a big name.

Hmm... and then we just crossed our fingers, spun around 3 times, and pointed at the first thing in our price range.

Tom

[thefoxes.livejournal.com]

What is the price difference between Comcast and Tivo? We don't pay the cable bill (yet) but I know that we got a DVR cable box (60 gig drive, can record HD) for $10 per month on top of whatever Comcast is already charging for service. Our LCD TV has a digital tuner, but we've never used it. We mainly just watch cartoons using a DVI cable from Taurin's computer anyway ;)

[mrfantasy.livejournal.com]

I think you made the right call. I've been covetous of an LCD TV since my in-laws are buying a 46 inch Sharp 1080p LCD, but our 32" CRT HDTV is just fine for now.

Plasmas are nice, but they use a lot more energy compared to an LCD, so you can feel good about that.

While the LCD screens are only made by a handful of companies, I'm guessing the coversion and DSP circuitry among different TVs would make a big difference, especially with analog signals which will be what your TiVo, cable box, and DVD player feeds. But if you like it that's all that matters.

I'm really holding out until they make a DirecTV-compatible Series 3 TiVo. Or until our TV dies.

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

Tivo is about $13/month. The difference is that I really prefer the Tivo UI and features.

Oh, and I already own the Tivo with the "life-time service" that they don't sell any more (so it's $0/month). Thus, anything is more expensive than that.

[dr-memory.livejournal.com]

The only problem with the standalone tivos right now is that they don't have any means of recording HD content. Allegedly comcast is going to start offering the Tivo software on their own DVR boxes Any Minute Now. (They were showing off beta screenshots at CES.)

[n5red.livejournal.com]

What part are you denying? You are a world famous author and rich enough to afford such cool toys!

[ntang.livejournal.com]

If you want to get over-the-air HDTV, I highly recommend the Terk HDTVa... I got mine from Amazon but it looks like they aren't stocking them nowadays:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007MXZB2/103-4088077-3227039

Still, at $35 it was the best accessory I could imagine for my own shiny new 37" LCD. The picture quality with HDTV is amazing. :)

[zonereyrie.livejournal.com]

Except the Series3, which records HD, but is much more expensive.

As for Comcast - the plans are to start limited roll outs in early 2007. They'll be rolling it out slowly, one area at a time. And only areas using Motorola hardware at first. (I run tivolovers)

[dr-memory.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm in San Francisco, where we're stuck with the gawdawful motorola boxes, so I'm hoping we get it sooner rather than later.

I run tivolovers

HI MEGAZONE, KNOWN YOU ON USENET SINCE 1992 AT LEAST. :) :) :)

(me = nathan j. mehl, former newsadmin for BBN and news.admin.* regular)

[zonereyrie.livejournal.com]

Heh, small world. That's almost as long as I've been online - September, 1989.

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

Ha! I've been online since Sept 1987. Though I don't think I had usenet access until 1988 or 98.

Tom

[zonereyrie.livejournal.com]

So we're all old fogeys. ;-) Kids these days with their SSH and BitTorrent and their Kazaa. We had to use telnet and FTP and Archie, 2400bps, uphill, both ways! ;-)