Did you buy an HDTV yet? I did. Did you know this.......?

Question

1. Does the TV's interal speakers have a way to turn off, so that it doesn't make your external stereo (suround sound) sound like crap? A quick fix is to plug a headphone adapter in the headset jack.

2. Closed Caption probably won't work on real HDTV (HDMI or DVI). You need to call the cable company. It will work, but not with the remote.

3. Local stations broadcast in HDTV, but not really exciting. It is the same picture. A big square with black columns on both sides.

4. Many new HDTVs come with VGA adapter. Hooray for big WindowsXP in the living room.

5. The HDMI/DVI cable costs $100.00, but ask your cable company for one. They usually give them away for free. Don't get scammed into buying one at the TV store, before you check with the cable company.

6. Unless you pay for HBO, CinaMAX, etc... You probably have about a dozen boring HD channels to choose from.

7. "Normal TV" on the HDTV looks good. Sometimes it even looks grainy, but that's what happens with analog.

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Yes, the Black lines are intentional. My local TV stations had to comply to the Dec. 31, 2005 deadline to provide HDTV. A cheap solution, until they update the rest of their equipment. On rare occasion the do broadcast HDTV widescreen when it is a sports event or "special show".

I don't buy TVs to keep up with the Jones, I buy TVs when one blows out. 15 years ago I bought my last one before the the HDTV.

Oh, the manufacture verified that there is no way to turn off the external speakers, even with a menu.

Answer 1

I will respond to your points; I have two HDTV systems.

1. Most TV sets except the cheapest have a connection for external speakers. There is also a menu selection to turn off the set's internal speakers.

2. Closed caption is implemented differently in digital television than in the current system. In digital television, it is the tuner itself that must supply the captions since they are encoded into the digital bitstream. How you access these captions depends on the tuner. If you have a separate tuner, you must use the tuner's menu to turn on the captions, not the TV's. In cable TV systems, it is the cable company that supplies the tuner, so you must use the cable remote.

3. Local stations transmit network programs in HD, and most network programs are now in HD. Local HD programming is still rare, but is starting to happen. A local station in the SF area has an HDTV segment in its news broadcast. If you are seeing black columns to the left and right of the picture, you are not watching HD.

4. Many high-end projectors use the VGA connector for RGB signals; some if these projectors can also be used as computer monitors.

5. You should be able to find HDMI cables for less than $100. Search the internet. There is nothing about an HDMI cable that justifies that high a price--the companies are just taking advantage of the fact that it is new and people don't understand it.

6. DirecTV HD package has far more content than I can ever watch: HDnet which broadacast sports and classic movies (as well as some old TV programs, which because they were shot on film, can now be shown in HD). Discovery HD, ESPN HD, and others.
Actually, the offering of HBO etc. are meager in HD.

8. What is normal? Sometimes analog looks worse on a HDTV than on the old type TV. The higher resolution brings out all the defects.

Answer 2

1. That's been true for the past 15-20 years. Another quick fix would be to turn off the speakers through the menu. Thanks for the groundbreaking news. Genius.

2. CC will work and you said as much in your question. Genius.

3. Not all stations broadcast in HD. All have to broadcast in digital, but not necessarily in HD

4. Again, has been for the past few years.

5. And the one at the cable company is probably a cheap piece of crap too. That's why it's free.

6. ESPN, ESPN2, not too boring for me.

7. Of course it will look grainy, you're plugging in an analog source into a digital medium, it's not going to look right. There are cables that can improve your quality, and there is digital cable and sat. avaliable. (Stop me if I'm moving too far in the current for you since you seem to be way behind most of the people here.)

Again, nothing new mostly, and mostly old news.

Answer 3

most stereo tvs can be turn off through the menu in audio the local are broacast hd from the news till the tonight show more and more programing is be shot in hd

Answer 4

Well, you pay for what you get, a tv that is good for maybe twenty channels of HD and you cant watch your favorite shows, example will and grace, on it because its grainy. and that leads to anger since you cant watch will and grace. i prefer to watch the simpsons myself. maybe they should release a HI-Def version so i can see the black columns like you do... HEHE... i see no sense in paying thirty billion dollars for a tv that i can only watch 2 channels on.... and miss will and grace....

Answer 5

Planning on getting one soon, thanks for the info. I'll keep it in mind prior to buying.

Answer 6

yes i have one thanks for the additional info i knew of most of them