Hdtv

[Danoff]

ODP,

Thanks for the input. That doesn't bode well that it's not HDCP compliant (they lied). It does look like the DVI is for computer connection...

I figured out what was causing most of the "bad" portion of my report earlier. The connection I was using with the PS2 was weak. I hooked my old DVD player back up to the TV and plugged in the component cables and all the pixilation and artifacts magically went away. So did some of my resolution though... I think I need a new DVD player (I guess it won't be one with DVI).

I'd like to check it out on a high def signal but I don't have one available yet. I should have one in another couple of months. The DVD's are looking great though.

I've measured the screen a few times and for some reason my DVD's are showing up at wider than 16:9 even though they should be that proportion. I don't quite get it... the images look good. I measured the Universal globe at the beginning of some of the movies and it looks like its in th right proportions.

The black levels look damn good but I haven't gotten to analyze it in great detail. I do see dark details on suits and things (it was Gattaca tonight). I still haven't felt the need to push the contrast to its limits.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Originally posted by danoff
ODP,

Thanks for the input. That doesn't bode well that it's not HDCP compliant (they lied). It does look like the DVI is for computer connection...

Actually, the DVI can be used with DVD players that have HD interlacers. Just imagine, a DVD player that will convert 480i to 1080i. You still have that option, but I don't. All I have is iLink, and someone at Sony told me they would make future devices with iLink, no matter what. That was a lie. Three months after I paid $4,500 for my HDTV, they had said they were dropping iLink for DVi, which was something they said they would never do. Everybody lies these days.

The black levels look damn good but I haven't gotten to analyze it in great detail. I do see dark details on suits and things (it was Gattaca tonight). I still haven't felt the need to push the contrast to its limits.

Most CRTs have horrible contrast, and that makes blacks on screne look like a solid black object. That's the problem I have with my set. I have to turn up the contrast and brightness high to see details of black objects. It tends to wash out some shows and movies I watch, so I have to adjust the level frequently. Especially when playing with the PS2. Oh well, at least my blacks look black. Some LCD, and plasm TVs have black objects that look dark gray, at best.

 

[Danoff]

It tends to wash out some shows and movies I watch, so I have to adjust the level frequently.

Can you recommend a flick that has some darks colors I can use to check? I'll be renting Matrix Revolutions this weekend to check it out, I know that one has some dark colors (neo and smith's suits)

Actually, the DVI can be used with DVD players that have HD interlacers. Just imagine, a DVD player that will convert 480i to 1080i. You still have that option, but I don't.

I don't quite understand this. Does this mean I have to get a DVD player for my computer and hook it up? I'm thinking of going shopping for a DVD player this weekend, but now I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for. I figured I'd just get a good one with a component hookup but if that's not the best I can do, maybe I shouldn't.

 

[Oliver DePlace]

danoff:

What do you mean by this?...

"I've measured the screen a few times and for some reason my DVD's are showing up at wider than 16:9 even though they should be that proportion. I don't quite get it... the images look good. I measured the Universal globe at the beginning of some of the movies and it looks like its in the right proportions."

Is the image being cropped? If so, maybe a geometry adjustment is needed.
Is it displaying black bars? If so, this is normal for anything with an aspect ratio greater than 1.78:1. Larger is wider (2.35:1 wider than 1.33:1).


Here is a link to the Momitsu V880 DVD player. It will convert DVD to 720p/1080i. It's compatible with your DVI connector and you can program it to display custom resolutions.
I've never purchased from these guys.
It's kind of "tweaky" (which will thrill some people) and somewhat obscure. There are other upconverting players, from more well known manufacturers, but the lack of HDCP will limit your choices.

I don't know if you want the best and are willing to go through a struggle or if you want to plug-in a competent player and live happily ever after. I am currently using a discontinued Panasonic DVD-RP82. I'm happy with the Panny, but am considering an upconverting player.
With so many players available, it might be easier to just go down to Circuit City and buy every player they have, watch them all, decide which is best and return the rest.

Oh and another thing. Is you current DVD player outputting a progressive signal? I'm not sure, but on some TVs, this will bypass the TV's internal scaler (which I believe is a Faroudja in your set and is, probably, better than the one in your player).
Anyhow, try both and compare.

BTW, a Home Theater Personal Computer is another way you could go. But, be prepared for a struggle .

Please keep us posted.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Originally posted by danoff
Can you recommend a flick that has some darks colors I can use to check? I'll be renting Matrix Revolutions this weekend to check it out, I know that one has some dark colors (neo and smith's suits)

Do you have a Lucas movie on DVD? He often has a TV test, and Audio Test in his DVDs. Others will have them too, like Nemo. Give it a try. This will help you determine proper coloring, contras and TV mode settings. You should note, most HDTVs don't get setup from the factory for great color and contrast. You, and I, could benefit from a visit from a TV tech that can better set-up HDTVs from optimum images.

I don't quite understand this. Does this mean I have to get a DVD player for my computer and hook it up? I'm thinking of going shopping for a DVD player this weekend, but now I'm not sure exactly what I'm looking for. I figured I'd just get a good one with a component hookup but if that's not the best I can do, maybe I shouldn't.

The one Oliver showed you is what I mean. It takes a regular DVD image, of 480i, and converts to a HDTV image. The process is often called scaling, by the scaler (de-interlacer). If you already have a DVD player, don't bother getting a new one just for the sake of HDTV quality output, unless you want to do that. I think Pako has one, so he might be more of help with how great the video quality is with one.

 

[Danoff]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm going to check in to the DVD players. The only reason why I'm even looking is because I noticed that the image quality from the PS2 seemed to be better than my DVD player... less film grain.

I'm not sure I'll want to buy the odd brand DVD player from a website, but I'm interested that there are DVD players out there that connect with my PC-DVI connection that don't have HDCP hangups. I'm going to go to the store today to check them out.

Is the image being cropped? If so, maybe a geometry adjustment is needed.
Is it displaying black bars? If so, this is normal for anything with an aspect ratio greater than 1.78:1. Larger is wider (2.35:1 wider than 1.33:1).

Since my TV is 25.5 inches by 15.5 inches (14.8:9). That means that vertically, a 16:9 image should be 14.3 inches - leaving a quarter of an inch of black on both sides of the image.

All of my DVDs are showing up at just under 11.5 inches vertically. The images don't look elogated... I verified this by measuring the globe logo that universal pictures starts their movie out with. It would be hard to tell, though, if the image was elogated by that much because it's close to 16:9... and of course that is the correct aspect ratio for some movies (2.35:1). On the dell website it says that their screen is 16:9 capable, but I haven't seen it do that yet. I've seen 4:3, 2.35:1,15:9 (zoomed) but not 16:9 yet.

Oh well, I'll call them up and ask about it. I think there might be an issue with my DVD player outputting in a format that the TV is not expecting to receive.




The matrix revolutions is for black images what Gladiator was for fire images - there are lots of them all the way through the movie.

I didn't have any trouble making out the texture of neo's black outfit. Morpheus' black leather outfit was almost not black it was so bright. The hardest to see was Smith's black suit coat in the rain, but I was able to see texture most of the time including seeing parts of the suit that were wetter than others. I usually didn't have trouble making out things like smith's black lapel against his black suit or the partial transparency of Seraph's sunglasses.

When looking at the black bars of the TV at night, you can tell that they aren't quite black - and that's as black as the TV gets... however, when you put this up against some of the bright images on the televesion it looks like an incredibly deep black. I was very happy with the contrast, resolution and color in the matrix.

Revolutions has an incredible amount of lightning and strobe effects, along with explosions and rich colors and detail. The machine city has detail everywhere with deep blacks and blue lightning. The part where the machines break into the dock at Zion also has a ton of color and detail. The image was spectacular(with the exception of a tiny amount of film grain that I don't fault the TV for). Now that I'm using the component connection I didn't see any pixilation or pattern trouble and no more white flecks. I couldn't find any thing wrong with the picture. I knew when I bought the TV that the picture was great, though. I thought that the Dell looked sharper than the Sony 30 inch LCD and had better colors, contrast and resolution than the Sharp models.

I looked hard for trailers during the dock scene when all of the gunfire is going off. I think I might have seen it as the trailers of the gunfire looked like they might have dimly started blending in to each other in places. I didn't find it noticeable at all and even when I was concentrating on it, I felt like it was my imagination.

I don't have any lucas films to test the TV with, but I'll run the direct draw test from the computer. I'll keep you up to date. Time to look at DVD players.

 

[Oliver DePlace]

danoff:

You won't see 16:9 (1.78:1) until you get HDTV.

DVDs are almost all wider than 16:9. They're usually 1.85 or 2.35:1 (Panavision standard).
The exception are the DVDs in 4:3 and some oddballs.
Your measurements describe an AR of 2.22:1, pretty close to 2.35:1.
Plus, there could be some overscan. 5% overscan is standard.
As is, it's pretty close. Close enough to dismiss.

 

[Danoff]

I went through 3 DVD players this weekend trying to get a little more resolution out of my picture.

The first one didn't work (it was broken) I found out later that it used HDCP, so that was no good anyway. The next one was no improvement (progressive scan via component connection). The last one was a substantial improvement... but I'm taking it back.

The one that ended up better was just a DVD rom drive that I played through my computer. I hooked the computer up to the TV through the analog pc connection (since my video card doesn't have DVI out). The resolution was clearly better, but the sound was far worse. I only have one little pc audio cable to connect to the TV, so I don't get surround sound. I'd break it up and transfer it to a different audio input but the TV won't let me split video and audio sources.

The only way out would be to hook the computer up to an audio receiver (which I don't have) and buy new speakers ('cause the dell guy said I might blow these speakers if I didn't use them with the TV directly).

Since I can't get good audio without dropping tons of cash I'm going to make due with my current DVD player. I was going to try to build a computer out of spare parts that would just be the DVD player but I'd need to pick up a few things.

Adding the speakers and an amp added quite a bit of cost so I figure I'll upgrade to the PC DVD later... when I do it I'll get a video card with DVI out. I guess my other option is the momitsu DVD player, but that one looks like it needs HDCP for the DVI connection and I don't know that the picture would be better.


Ah one more thing. I talked to one of the guys at the electronics stores and he said the HDCP is a thing of the past and that they're all going to HDMI. Go figure. He also said that he's noticed artifacts with the upconverting DVD players.

 

[Pako]

Not sure on the HDCP, but I am seeing a lot of the HDMediaInterface lately. It can handle your DVI signal as well as 8 channels of audio, with bandwidth to spare....from what I understand about the technology.

I am currently getting a DVI to Component adapter for my ATI video card for some good 1080i video gaming on my HD monitor. I have DVI on both, but they are different standards.... Why?!?!?!?! Anyways....Samsung makes a nice DVD player with standard DVI output for totally uncompresses video. They're not to expensive either from what I understand.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Originally posted by danoff
I went through 3 DVD players this weekend trying to get a little more resolution out of my picture.

The first one didn't work (it was broken) I found out later that it used HDCP, so that was no good anyway. The next one was no improvement (progressive scan via component connection). The last one was a substantial improvement... but I'm taking it back.

No, it was broken. HDCP converts HD signals to standard definition on non compliant devices, not completely stopping them. Remember, HDCP stops high-definition video sharing, not standard-definition.

I guess my other option is the momitsu DVD player, but that one looks like it needs HDCP for the DVI connection and I don't know that the picture would be better.

Yes, it would. DVI is the best way to pass signals to other devices, regardless if the machines are HDCP compliant. Remember, DVI is digital, and component is analog. The DVD player shouldn't have HDCP compliancy, because it's not a HD device. But, DVD players, like the one your looking at, have 1080i conversion, and might run the HDCP copy protection.

Ah one more thing. I talked to one of the guys at the electronics stores and he said the HDCP is a thing of the past and that they're all going to HDMI. Go figure. He also said that he's noticed artifacts with the upconverting DVD players.

Never listen to these guys! Most don't have a clue...

HDCP is here for ever, well, for a long time at least, but DVI is not. DVI is being replaced with HDMI. DVI might not be HDCP compliant, but HDMI is. DVI was "outdated" before a singal TV had it.

Just for your information, HDCP stands for High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection, and HDMI stands for High-definition Multimedia Interface.

 

[Giancarlo]

Considering how expensive it is to get those special HDTV channels and how bad it can make a game look, i'm gonna say it isn't great to buy one.

However, my brother in-law (knows his computers and electronics) told me that i believe by 2006 or 2008, everyone will need to have an HDTV.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Originally posted by Giancarlo
Considering how expensive it is to get those special HDTV channels and how bad it can make a game look, i'm gonna say it isn't great to buy one.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. It does enhance the limitations of video images, but it improves the images more than degrading it. Have you seen a HDTV broadcast? They're truly spectacular.

Regular, over-the-air, broadcasts have high-definition quality TV programing. It costs nothing to view them. Though, you might need to buy a digital tuner, if your HDTV set is one of those "digital ready" sets.

However, my brother in-law (knows his computers and electronics) told me that i believe by 2006 or 2008, everyone will need to have an HDTV.

No, but you might need a digital tuner, by then. The FCC plans to end analog TV broadcasting when over 75% of the homes can receive a digital signal, by either cable, or over-the-air. This could happen by 2006. Then, the FCC will move to all HDTV broadcasts several years after that, possibly by 2008. All regular TVs can display a HDTV image, but it wont be in HDTV. The image is converted to standard-definition, and then sent out by the digital tuner's analog outputs. This image will be better than the old analog TV broadcasts, and will have image quality equal to, or greater than, DVD video images.

My 2,500 post! Woo-hoo!

 

[Danoff]

Fellas,

My plan is to set up a computer with my LCD to play DVDs (and surf the web and do other computer stuff). My question is, if I buy a video card with DVI out for playing DVDs on the computer, am I going to get screwed with the HDCP?

 

[Pako]

I am just about to do that....

I have a ATI Radeon 9800 Pro with VGA and DVI outputs. The DVI output ont he card is NOT compatable with the DVI input on the TV. So what I did was buy a DVI to Component adapter from ATI which will allow me to run 1080i to my HDTV monitor from my computer.

You have to buy the adapter from ATI:
http://buy.ati.com/shopati/product....ption=Accessories&find_part_desc=&country=USA

This setup is going to a Samsung CRT HDTV, 16:9 aspect. There's dip switches on the adapter to allow for the different settings, 480i/p, 540i/p(not supported), 720, and 1080 as well as 16:9 aspect.

I'm just waiting on cables now, so I will have a review soon. ATI suggests to not extend a cable length of 50 feet.

 

[Pako]

Originally posted by danoff
Fellas,

My plan is to set up a computer with my LCD to play DVDs (and surf the web and do other computer stuff). My question is, if I buy a video card with DVI out for playing DVDs on the computer, am I going to get screwed with the HDCP?

I would verify that your DVI input supports computer based DVI outputs before I hooked anything up to it. It would be best if you could run straight DVI out to DVI in with no conversion inbetween, that would be sweet.

 

[Danoff]

I would verify that your DVI input supports computer based DVI outputs before I hooked anything up to it. It would be best if you could run straight DVI out to DVI in with no conversion inbetween, that would be sweet.

I think the whole purpose of the DVI in on my TV is for computers. In the manual, it only refers to computers being connected to that port on the TV.

It has a line in there about how if you have a DVI out on your video card, you should disconnect your analog connection and just do the DVI.

I wonder if there are HDCP issues that will prevent the computer from transmitting the data though.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Originally posted by danoff
I think the whole purpose of the DVI in on my TV is for computers. In the manual, it only refers to computers being connected to that port on the TV.

It has a line in there about how if you have a DVI out on your video card, you should disconnect your analog connection and just do the DVI.

I wonder if there are HDCP issues that will prevent the computer from transmitting the data though.

You should have no problem with issues of compatibility with DVI. DVI is like MIDI, but for video images. But, I have no actual experience with it, since I don't have it on my HDTV. I have DVI on my high-definition hard drive recorder, but I don't have a way to use it.

Again, HDCP will not interfere with standard-definition images, or block anything. All it does is check for HDCP compliancy with other electronic devices you might connect to, and if there is no compliancy, it converts the high-definition image to standard-definition. That's all it does. Nothing more. DVD is standard-definition (480i, 480p), so there are no worries for HDCP compliancy.

What I plan to do is take movies recorded, in high-definition, on my H-D DVR, and transfer them to my future PC for storing. However, I suck at computers, so I hope you, or Pako, will show me how to build my own PC for these purposes after you guys build one for yourselves.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Originally posted by Pako
I am just about to do that....

I have a ATI Radeon 9800 Pro with VGA and DVI outputs. The DVI output ont he card is NOT compatable with the DVI input on the TV. So what I did was buy a DVI to Component adapter from ATI which will allow me to run 1080i to my HDTV monitor from my computer.

You have to buy the adapter from ATI:
http://buy.ati.com/shopati/product....ption=Accessories&find_part_desc=&country=USA

This setup is going to a Samsung CRT HDTV, 16:9 aspect. There's dip switches on the adapter to allow for the different settings, 480i/p, 540i/p(not supported), 720, and 1080 as well as 16:9 aspect.

I'm just waiting on cables now, so I will have a review soon. ATI suggests to not extend a cable length of 50 feet.

WOW! You had DVI connecting problems from you PC to your HDTV? Damn! See, it's crap like this that really ticks me off, as has me intimidated about computers. I want to build my own "HDTV PC", but I ain't good at them damn machines. You end up spending two grand, on a one grand puter, just to make it do what you want, and it usually has a lot of limitations! Computers, Bah!

Yeah, post what happens! I want to build my own computer, because I hear you can build what you want the damn thing to do, an nothing else. Saves money, and frustrations on crap you don't need. All I want to do is surf the net, and play stored H-D movies, in 5.1 surround sound, on the hard drive, and store old tapes, DVDs and CDs as well. But, my HDTV has IEEE 1394 (iLink) digital inputs only, but I can use one of the wide-band component inputs. I aslo hope I can use the computer as a video switcher for wide-band component inputs/outputs, because I only have two on the HDTV, but need at least four. Is any of this possible yet?

 

[Danoff]

Let me know when you want to start building your machine. I've put a few together and can give you some pointers. I'm not up to date on all of the current components, but I know how they're glued together.

You will need a bootable copy of your OS though.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Originally posted by danoff
Let me know when you want to start building your machine. I've put a few together and can give you some pointers. I'm not up to date on all of the current components, but I know how they're glued together.

You will need a bootable copy of your OS though.

No, man, my stupid puter browned out about 1.5 years ago. I'll need to buy a new OS. I loaded the computer with a 1lb. can of Unique, (pistol powder), and a two minute fuse. *Ka-blooie!*



Good, I can ask you for some help. I bet I'll need it.

My problem is not knowing what is out there, hardware wise, to help me build what I want and need.

When my next puter takes a dumper, I think I'll use thermite.

 

[Danoff]

The system is alive and well.

I hooked up a computer made of old parts. Bought a video card with a DVI connection and am playing the DVD's through that. It looks great (although I'm not sure there is a difference between the DVI and the analog connection). I finally got a true 16:9 flick that takes up the appropriate size of the screen leaving a tiny black bar at the top and bottom.

I'm finally happy with the DVD setup. Now if I could just get some HD signals in here.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Originally posted by danoff
The system is alive and well.

I hooked up a computer made of old parts. Bought a video card with a DVI connection and am playing the DVD's through that. It looks great (although I'm not sure there is a difference between the DVI and the analog connection). I finally got a true 16:9 flick that takes up the appropriate size of the screen leaving a tiny black bar at the top and bottom.

I'm finally happy with the DVD setup. Now if I could just get some HD signals in here.

All you need next is a digital tuner, provide there isa local TV station near you that broadcasts HDTV programming. If you tell me what major city you live near to, I can tell you what stations offer a lot of h-d programming.

I'm sure a high-definition digital video recorder will be your next purchase. They have a digital tuner, and can record and playback high-definition recordings. The only two I know of are the ones made by Zenith, and Dish Network. I have the Zenith, and I would recommend the Dish Network DVR 921. The Zenith isn't bad, but it does have some bugs, and has a 80GB hard drive, while the DN DVR 921 has a 250GB hard drive. 1GB equals 1 hour of h-d recording.

Or, you can go with Voom, a pay HDTV satellite service from Sears. But, they will air HDCP movies pretty soon, if not already. Remember, don't beleive what a salesman tells you. I called Voom to see what they offered, and this guy was making up stuff left and right.

 

[Danoff]

All you need next is a digital tuner, provide there isa local TV station near you that broadcasts HDTV programming. If you tell me what major city you live near to, I can tell you what stations offer a lot of h-d programming.

I live near you... in LA.

At the moment I'm waiting for my apartment complex to install the HD stuff for directTV. They're supposed to have that done by the end of June... we'll see. I'll need some sort of receiver for that when they're finished.

The worst part about it is I'm not allowed to bypass the apartment and get my own dish (not that I'd really have anyplace to put it anyway). I also don't think I can make an antenna work either (though that would be perfect). My view of the sky is surrounded by an inner courtyard in my apartment building so I wouldn't be able to get the antenna to see much.

Anyway, they should have it set up in a few months and I'll need to get a receiver... possibly a DVR.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Originally posted by danoff
I live near you... in LA.

At the moment I'm waiting for my apartment complex to install the HD stuff for directTV. They're supposed to have that done by the end of June... we'll see. I'll need some sort of receiver for that when they're finished.

The worst part about it is I'm not allowed to bypass the apartment and get my own dish (not that I'd really have anyplace to put it anyway). I also don't think I can make an antenna work either (though that would be perfect). My view of the sky is surrounded by an inner courtyard in my apartment building so I wouldn't be able to get the antenna to see much.

Anyway, they should have it set up in a few months and I'll need to get a receiver... possibly a DVR.

OK, you are in luck. There are at least 18 digital stations, and 1/3 of them air h-d programming. What you need is an antenna that is UHF(Ultra High Frequency-channels 18-99) only. VHF(Very High Frequency-channels 2-13) will be going away, so there is no need for a regular TV antenna. If your TV antenna has FM reception, and I'm betting it does, then it could interfere with the UHF channels. There are some out there that are for indoors only, but they don't work very well. A regular pair of rabbit ears works just as good. Your apartment building has a TV antenna, correct? Check how well you get the UHF channels. Remember, digital TV broadcasting is sent over the same channels.

For DirecTV h-d service, your apartment building needs the bigger three LNB dish. If you get a new DirecTV h-d receiver, make sure it will convert "over-the-air" digital broadcasts, as well as DirecTV satellite programming. All you need to do is add your regular TV antenna source into the receiver, if your antenna has great UHF reception. If it doesn't, you wont get digital TV at all. You need to get at least 50% of the signal to the receiver. Storms will reduce the signal, so a big antenna with a lot UHF gain is needed. Maybe you should inform the aparment manager before he/she makes a TV antenna purchase.

 

[Danoff]

OK, you are in luck. There are at least 18 digital stations, and 1/3 of them air h-d programming. What you need is an antenna that is UHF(Ultra High Frequency-channels 18-99) only. VHF(Very High Frequency-channels 2-13) will be going away, so there is no need for a regular TV antenna. If your TV antenna has FM reception, and I'm betting it does, then it could interfere with the UHF channels. There are some out there that are for indoors only, but they don't work very well. A regular pair of rabbit ears works just as good. Your apartment building has a TV antenna, correct? Check how well you get the UHF channels. Remember, digital TV broadcasting is sent over the same channels.

For DirecTV h-d service, your apartment building needs the bigger three LNB dish. If you get a new DirecTV h-d receiver, make sure it will convert "over-the-air" digital broadcasts, as well as DirecTV satellite programming. All you need to do is add your regular TV antenna source into the receiver, if your antenna has great UHF reception. If it doesn't, you wont get digital TV at all. You need to get at least 50% of the signal to the receiver. Storms will reduce the signal, so a big antenna with a lot UHF gain is needed. Maybe you should inform the aparment manager before he/she makes a TV antenna purchase.

The complex has no television antenna on the roof other than the directv dish. I get my local channels through directv because the rabbit ears were next to impossible. This

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog_name=CTLG&product_id=15-1838

is the antenna I was using before directv showed up, and it wasn't working well at all. As far as I can tell, the apartment is not going to put an antenna on the roof, just get the satellite company to upgrade their service in order to get HD programming. Do you think any other indoor antennas would work better? I have a little space on my balcony but it faces an inner courtyard.

 

[Solid Lifters]

Nah, those things are crap. That "amplified signal" stuff is all a bunch of hooie. Antennas have something called gain sensitvity. A great antenna will have 15db of gain, or higher. Higher, the better. An amplifier does not improve the gain sensitivity of an antenna. It only amplifies the signal level after the antenna has pulled in the signal, and that's it. If the signal travels over a long distance to get to your TV, something called inductance will reduce the signal level. The longer the cable, the more inductance, and therefor a more reduced signal.

TV antenna signals need to travel about 200 feet before any significant signal level loss. At that distance, a gain level of 2db is needed. At 300 feet, about 2 to 4db of boost, and so on. If the signal gets too much amplification, it wont work at all. Try turning off the amplifier, and point the antenna array twords Mt. Wilson. The UHF portion of your antenna is that circle thing, maybe. Sometimes, that piece is added for "show" only. Check to see if it's a FM antenna as well. Remember what I said about those? Sometimes, FM signals interfere with UHF levels. They make filters to filter out FM frequencies, but they often reduce the UHF signal more than the interfering FM signals.

Radio Shak had a $40 UHF antenna that I beleive had 12db of gain. That isn't bad for $40, but too bad you can't put it on the roof of your apartment building. That would be the ideal place. Mine has 17 to 19db of gain, but it cost me $700. I had an other antenna, made by Winegard (HD 8200-P), that kept falling apart in the wind, even though Winegard claimed it was best suited for high wind areas. So, I would stay away from them. Terk makes an indoor h-d antenna that looks like a long yardstick, but I hear it has poor gain levels.

Try going to www.antennaweb.org and enter your address to see what you need. This a great web site if you're shopping for an antenna.

 

[Pako]

Well guys...my samsung HDTV experience is finally over. Though countless dissapointments, returns to the shop, multiple TV's, I hav finally thrown in the towel and requested (told them) to give me store credit on my purchase. I understand not giving me my money back..... All is well, I took my wife down with me to the store tonight, had her pick out the TV.... To my surprise, she picked out the one that I wanted as well. It was by far the CLEAR choice.

Here it is:
http://www.vanns.com/shop/servlet/item/features/455999754

It is a beautiful TV. I had him hook up a computer to the DVI input, flawless operation. And I must say...damn it looked good on a 42" display. The 50" is identical to the 42" that he was demo'ing for me, other than size. My wife opted to note that the 50" would be the way to go. I also made sure to check out the 4:3, non-HDTV programming. It was very good, unlike the samsung that made regular TV look like a badly compressed mpg file downloaded from the net.

So anyways....with my wifes blessings, I'll be calling them tomorrow to deliver it. I am really stoked about this one.... The PIP mode is also really cool. You can have a split screen of any input, HDTV or not, and resize each screen to what ever size you want. It's to hard to explain, if you can see one demo'ed, be sure to check it out.

Anyhow, I'll let you guys know....BTW - Stay awa from the Samsungs......

 

[Solid Lifters]

Hey, welcome to the Sony Wega club, Pako! Population: You, and I.

Isn't DRC great! It even makes old VHS video tapes look great! Though, the high quality picture detail might expose some tape limitations.

I Love that POP (Picture Opposite Picture), too. That's why I watch TV while chating here. Left side is TV, right side is this place. I can make one larger or smaller, like you said. I've had mine for almost three years, and you never get tired of it! What's great about it is you can choose what picture you want to have sound. For example, I play the PS2 with the left side screen (I have too, that's the component and digital channel side), and watch TV on the right side at the same time. The right side has the audio from the TV, and audio for the PS2 is coming from the stereo system, via optical cable connection, of course! Hee-hee! Just talking about it makes me giggle like a little school girl!

Do you have the surf function? Push the surf button and the screen moves to the far left. At the far right, a small screen is at the top, and below that are the surf channels you program to be listed.

I also have something called index. The same thing happens, but now all the channels scroll by automatically, four being able to be seen at once, but only one has moving images. Push the "nipple" button in once, at it stops the scroll. Push up on the "nipple" button, and it will scroll the cahnnels down. Push it in again to start watching the TV channel you stop on.

I aslo have a freeze button. It freezes the TV image, in case you need to get a phone number that flashes by too quickly, or to freeze a weahter forecast, sports scores, stock info, and my wife's favorite, to freeze the lottery results. Though, I admit, I don't use this feature too often.

Well, congratulations on your new purchase! I'm sure you'll be happy with it! I'm happy with mine. Well, not being HTCP compliant sucks, but oh well.

What digital tuner are you getting?

 

[Pako]

Well....I haven't actually gotten it yet. I was at the shop an hour past closing time. The store manager was really cool about it, which was good.....considering my mishaps with the Samsung. I wanted to go home and do some research on the TV's before I committed to it. Their pricing is the same as Sony's Store pricing. What that means is that they are making some huge margins on their products. On-Line, I have found the same TV for $700 less, +$170 for shipping, that's a net savings of over $500. I can get the 60" version for the price that they want to sell the 50" to me. So I need to go down there and see what he can do for me before I pay FULL retail, which I would hate to do. I'm kind of over a barrel with these guys now though because I have store credit of about $1200 with them....from the Samsung return. UGH... I'm sure it will all work out.

 

[Pako]

Solid Lifters,
Now you can congratulate me and my new ownership of a 60" Grand WEGA LCD Rear Projection HDTV. They deliver it on Saturday. It was $700 more for the 60" over the 50" model, but Sony has Deferred Interest till July 2005. I had budget for the 50" so really all I'm financing is the $700 or the next year for zero interest. I couldn't pass it up. To compliment the system, I am also rewiring my stereo with monster cabling and a monster 3500 power supply/conditioner/digital filter for better clarity on the audio side. It was odd, in my little poe-dunk town, the Senior Vice President of Klipsch happened to show up. He was staying at a guest house out here. I guess that he gave his host a complete Reference Klipsch system and they were looking for a receiver to go with his new speakers.... It was like seeing a celebrity.

Anyhow....I wish is it was Saturday already....