What should I do to get HDTV? My Big Dish?

[Larry-Cleveland]

Ok Guys what should I do to get HDTV signal for a new TV. I got a new HDTV LCD flat screen for Christmas (It's not in yet).

I was told that the normal basic cable I have now will not work as good as on my old TV is now.

I still have my C-band system, but I do not use it all that much. This is a list of what I have:

10' Winegard Quad Mesh dish (in Ohio)

Chaparral Corotor II + that runs my C-band and Ku Band

Chaparral Monterey 90 receiver

JVC G1000 (DAL-G10u) projector 1365 x 1024

Everything works fine.

I have read on line that the 4DTV/ HD-200 will no longer work in a few years!? Is this true? When will it stop working? Will running my basic cable into a HD-200 display good on the new HDTV?

I am at a loss what to do with out going into big debt.

Thanks

Larry - Cleveland

 

[sksatellite]

Ok Guys what should I do to get HDTV signal for a new TV. I got a new HDTV LCD flat screen for Christmas (It's not in yet).

I was told that the normal basic cable I have now will not work as good as on my old TV is now.

I still have my C-band system, but I do not use it all that much. This is a list of what I have:

10' Winegard Quad Mesh dish (in Ohio)

Chaparral Corotor II + that runs my C-band and Ku Band

Chaparral Monterey 90 receiver

JVC G1000 (DAL-G10u) projector 1365 x 1024

Everything works fine.

I have read on line that the 4DTV/ HD-200 will no longer work in a few years!? Is this true? When will it stop working? Will running my basic cable into a HD-200 display good on the new HDTV?

I am at a loss what to do with out going into big debt.

Thanks

Larry - Cleveland

All you need is a good OTA antenna.

 

[gabshere]

you should look into your options. and by asking questions here.... your off to a start

now let me say to the forums

like answered above if you new HDTV has a tuner then you should be able to receive the digital channels.

also check with your cable company into a HD package .... the basic package will work on the HDTV but you won't gain the full advantage of it.

to upgrade your current c-band system you would have to add a 4DTV & HDD200 (price varies and some may only be available used but i would expect 200-300 range for the 4DTV and about 200 for the HDD200) these are subscription units.

you c-band system will work with with the HDTV but it won't be HD

you can also check into satellite services via direct & dish both offer HD packages.

 

[Larry-Cleveland]

Yes I do have a OTA UHF that should work fine for the 4 local HD stations. If not I will change it.

So none of the 4DTV is in HD??? Is it just 480 digital?

Do you think the running the basic cable into the HD-200 will make it a better picture on the HDTV?

All I read is how bad cable (SDTV) is on an HDTV.

Thanks

Larry

 

[jayn_j]

All I read is how bad cable (SDTV) is on an HDTV.

Welcome, Larry.

The reality is that this is all over the map. Frankly, the basic analog channels aren't bad here on Insight, now Comcast in Rockford.

However, the system does offer a digital package upgrade. What surprised me was that virtually all the analog channels were duplicated in digital on the basic digital tier. That makes for a pretty solid picture. I would definitely look into upgrading to this.

Comcast is offering a digital package, as are both sat providers. They tend to be fairly comparable over the long run, but there are short term differences where one gets ahead of the others for awhile. It kind of boils down to three factors in deciding between them. First, many carriers compress their signal and reduce bandwith/resolution. Currently, I would say the picture quality in descending order is OTA, DTV, Cable, DISH. This is likelyto be a controversial statement and others will express different opinions. YMMV.

Second factor is usability of the box. I would definitely recommend some form of DVR. Once you have one, you never look back and can't live without it. My personal preferences here are DISH, DTV, COMCAST in descending order of usability.

Third factor is HD programming choices. They mostly all have the same choices for SD, at similar prices. Right now DTV is the clear leader. I would say overall DISH is in second and COMCAST third, but this varies widely. COMCAST is promising a lot in the next few months here. DISH says "soon", and it is dependent on 2 satellite launches this spring.

Yes, you will notice a difference between HD and SD on your set. However, very little is currently available in HD yet and even the HD stations do a lot of upconverting. IMHO, nobody ever does upconverting right, and you are often better off looking at the SD feed.

OK, that's probably more than enough for now. Good luck on your quest.