HDTV is only half the fun...

[Marc]

So I've been loving HDTV since getting it after moving a month ago. I am, dare I say it, getting used to the clarify and brilliance of it. But where I mainly watch it, in my room on my 22" TV, I had the crappy 10-watt speakers from my TV.

Black Friday came around and I discovered a good deal from Circuit City for some Samsung 5.1 surround sound speakers that deliver 800 (!) watts of power. Hmm ... 10 watts to 800 watts of surround sound. It's made the viewing experience complete! I'm watching football in HD right now and I can hear ambient noises all around me, such as crowd noises and music, etc. And the subwoofer makes a big difference, too. I now notice the "boom" from things as simple as FOX's special effects for the on-screen scoreboard.

My advice? HDTV prices are dropping like a rock and many are getting one this holiday season. If you are getting one or have one, make sure you get 5.1 surround sound! Turns out all HD programming (i.e. sports) is broadcast with 5.1 surround sound, so the two complement each other nicely. Also, my entire audio setup cost $250 tops — pretty affordable!

Check out the "home theater in a box" packages from Circuit City and you can really enjoy the audio *as well* as the great video you already expect from HD. It just seems everyone makes a big deal about the video, but forgets audio. It's equally as important!

[doublee]

You cannot get HDTV without surround sound, it just defeats the purpose entirely. It is definitely a viewing experience. Just wait until you watch MNF I think they actually pump through DTS rather than the standard Dolby Surround. The sound is much more cleaner and crisper.

[Marc]

It's affordable and pretty easy to setup, so I'm just waiting until nearly everyone has it. It's so worth it! Anyone else planning on making the jump soon?

[boston_aloha]

I'm shopping now. Can't wait for Pats/Jets MNF now... :cheers:

[Marc]

boston_aloha: So are you shopping for yourself or family? And what kind are you considering? If you're not a tech person, the alphabet soup of letters can drive you crazy. I'm sure doublee and I would be glad to help.

[boston_aloha]

Uh, by family I guess you mean my dog huh? LOL. I actually wanted to hit circuit city next weekend. Not sure what kind I'm considering - thought I'd window shop first. Any recommendations? I'd like a 50-60 inch.

[Marc]

I would start at a site like CNET.com for reviews and more info. It's always good to build your knowledge before getting sucked into the allure of all the pretty pictures. First thing would be to consider what type: you have plasma (best for 42"+ flat panels), LCD (best for less than 42" flat panels), DLP (best bang for buck, not totally flat, but better than traditional tube TVs), and the old CRTs which are cheapest, but weight hundreds of pounds, and I doubt you'll want that.

I think you're looking at $3K-$5K for that size. I would look as plasmas for DLPs, depending on if you need flat or not. Panasonic, Samsung, Pioneer, and Sharp are all good.

[doublee]

It depends on what kind of HDTV you are looking for. You can get the generic (CRT) 50-60" HDTV for between 1,000-1,500. It looks like some of the LCD's are in the 2,000-2,500 range. Also, depending on how big of a room you have don't rule out the 42's you may be surprised at how big they are when you see them.

You also want to make sure you get one that supports the 1080p resolution and I don't think the old CRT TVs support anything higher than 720.

[Marc]

1080p? Not so fast, doublee. You're going to have to pay a huge premium for that, and there is zero content available for it. Many networks have yet to go into "regular" 1080i/720p HD, yet alone 1080p. I think that might be better five years from now, but there's little point in getting 1080p now.

If this has your head spinning, I don't blame you. But check this out: http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6361600-1.html

[boston_aloha]

Great info - thanks guys.

[doublee]

I highly recommend getting a DVD player that supports high-def upscaling. It is not true high-def but it is superior to normal DVD video. I just picked one up yesterday at Best Buy and it was well worth the $150 I paid for it.

[Marc]

I have one of those, and don't think it's a huge improvement over progressive scan ones. The problem is DVDs still only have 480 lines of resolution, at least twice as few as HDTV. It's kind of depressing that my whole DVD collection is now of significantly worse quality than the HDTV I'm used to. DVDs were great and exciting when I had regular TV, but they're so ... unsatisfying ... when they're actually a step down from TV.

[doublee]

I don't know, I think mine looks quite a bit sharper than my older DVD player did. The manufactures need to quit screwing around and settle on a standard HD-DVD format already.

[bama4256]

I've never seen it in person.

[boston_aloha]

Originally Posted by doublee

I highly recommend getting a DVD player that supports high-def upscaling. It is not true high-def but it is superior to normal DVD video. I just picked one up yesterday at Best Buy and it was well worth the $150 I paid for it.

Just got one this weekend... it rocks!