VeeshanVault

I'm probably going to be buying a HD Monitor (i have to keep myself apprised of technological advances in media, so certainly will have to treat this as an unreimbursed business expense ) some time this year, and their are obviously 2 costs involved, the TV itself, and any satellite/cable box/DVR combo.

At any rate, wonder if anybody knows of some good forums where i can lurk to learn not only about good new products, but peoples' opinions on service providers (Voom, Comcast, etc).

Voronwë wrote:I'm probably going to be buying a HD Monitor (i have to keep myself apprised of technological advances in media, so certainly will have to treat this as an unreimbursed business expense ) some time this year, and their are obviously 2 costs involved, the TV itself, and any satellite/cable box/DVR combo.

At any rate, wonder if anybody knows of some good forums where i can lurk to learn not only about good new products, but peoples' opinions on service providers (Voom, Comcast, etc).

This is the best forum for computer hardware:

http://www.hardforum.com/

and for Audio Video stuff:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/

I recently purchased an HDTV. Personally, I didn't find anything I could recommend you couldn't google yourself. This was mainly for budget reasons; under $1500 for HDTV your choices are slim:

47+ projection
30' or SMALLER CRT
20's or SMALLER LCD

Best advise I can give is do the rounds Best Buy, Circuit City, Frys ect... and pick the sales guys brains. After a while you'll learn the lingo and be able to see who's a bullshitter and what is really a good price.

Also, whatever you do don't buy an extended warranty.

thx info.

yeah i'm going to be looking at the 32"-36" CRT range i think.

Voronwë wrote:thx info.

yeah i'm going to be looking at the 32"-36" CRT range i think.

I'd go with DirecTV. They will have the capability for 1,500 HD channels within 6 months. They also hold the exclusive rights to NFL Sunday Ticket for the next several years in case the NFL appeals to you.

For sports in general, DirecTV is the best choice as well.

New equipment is coming out for DirecTV due to the switch from mpeg2 to mpeg4 encoding. Make sure you get the new stuff! : )

This breaks it down 1st day at McDonalds style.

http://www.comcast.com/UserIncludes/HDT ... oMovie.asp

What Winnow says is true but as of right down... Directv doesn't offer dick for HD. Comcast is the way to go for my region, Pacific Northwest.

In my opnion, unless your a sports fan, pass on HD for now.

I don't know about passing on HD. For the past two years, HBO-HD has been worth it by itself allong with the ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS local HD channels. HDNet and HDNet movies have been pretty good as well as HD Discovery Channel. DirecTV will have the most HD channels and capability out of any provider soon so they are a good choice for future proofing.

There's no way you should be buying anything other than a HD monitor of some sort at this point and HD receivers for DirecTV are as cheap as 299.00 and probably cheaper if you get it through DirecTV. The DirecTivo-HD will set you back a grand but that's why I'm making the text small for this part.

Consider a projector if your price range is 1600.00-1800.00 and the room won't have direct sunlight (or the light can be controlled). The best picture/size/value is in projectors atm for HD content as well as being able to use them for PC and Console stuff as well. 1280X720 10' screen.

yeah HD projectors are nice. my house has a lot of windows though =).

yeah i agree with Winnow regarding the programming. HBO is one of the channels i watch the most, and after that sports programming is huge to me.

and that is exactly where i am coming from too winnow. i am not gonna buy a new analog TV. i just don't see how it makes sense.

Direct TV's DVR is like $1K for HD.

Dish DVR for HD is more in the realm of $550.

DVR is non-negotiable!

If you're looking for HD Home theatre information then http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/ is a good site to go to.

Stalker Vacio wrote:Best advise I can give is do the rounds Best Buy, Circuit City, Frys ect... and pick the sales guys brains. After a while you'll learn the lingo and be able to see who's a bullshitter and what is really a good price.

Also, whatever you do don't buy an extended warranty.

Ok, worst advice of this thread... those fucking idiots that get paid $5-10/hr at whatever big box B&M place around you generally dont know shit... Find out where you local serious A/V store is, and pick thier brains, even a Tweeter (or maybe still sound advice in your area) will generally have a higher education level than the managers at any BB, CC or whatever.

If you looking for biggest bang for your buck, Id recommend a 42/43" rear projection LCD/DLP TV.. right now they are about 2k... but with the financing options and such out there, maybe you can fit an extra 500 into your budget.

As for the extended warranties... look at what they cover, if you find one for less than 10% of the total cost of the set for 4 or 5 years, you might want to consider it.. any of these new technologies can have issues over time.. and the first time you need a video board replaced or a lamp doesnt light... youll pay more than the warranty cost..

Kguku wrote:If you're looking for HD Home theatre information then http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/ is a good site to go to.

wtf? I referenced that link the second post in this thread : )

As for DirecTivo-HD costing 1,000.00

It's worth every penny! It rocks.

One thing to be aware of is DirecTV is ending their relationship with Tivo. They are going to have their own DTR and are gong to replace everyone that owns a DirecTivo-HD or normal DirecTivo with their version for free.

It's part of the move to mpeg4 taking place this year for those that want to watch the new HD channels which will come in bucketloads the end of tis year.

HBO-HD and HD NFL Sunday Ticket has been enough for me. Everything else is icing on the cake.