daveed wrote:I'm trying to make sense out of hi-def and all the myriad components before forking over the $$$$ for a HDTV. We have a Blu-Ray player (a recent gift), but that's it.
The blu ray player will play regular dvds on your existing television connected via standard rca cables, but to watch blu ray discs, you must have an hdtv and you would definitely connect it via hdmi.
daveed wrote:If I want to watch cable in HD, I'd have to have an HDTV and subscribe to my provider's HD channels, right? Typically, how much extra is it?
You are correct, cable in hd is only viewable on an hdtv after you subscribe to an hd plan. Hard to answer directly, since I have time warner's triple play deal, which is $129.95 for cable internet, cable phone, and hdtv. The best way to get a discount is to go the triple-play route for me, but you should see if Verizon FiOS is available where you live. It seems to offer more channels at a better price level. And always bargain with them!
daveed wrote: Do I need an HDMI cable to view regular DVDs on my Blu-Ray player and non-HD television? Do I need a second HDMI cable connecting the tv with the cable box in order to view channels in HD?
The HDTV will have multiple HDMI inputs and its remote will enable you to select which one to activate. If you have your HDTV Cable box connected via hdmi to "Input 1" and your blu ray connected via hdmi to "Input 2", then you'll switch between them to watch what you want. Be warned that blu ray will always be louder (because the signal is purer and of significantly greater bandwidth), so turn down the volume when you pop in a blu ray after you've been watching tv.
If you have an old receiver (pre-Dolby Digital), you will not be able to play the big beautiful uncompressed sound of blu ray, but you might be able to squeeze out a stereo mix. Probably time to upgrade. And the newer A/V receivers include hdmi switching, which would make it possible for you to connect your blu ray player and your hdtv cable to it and then it to your hdtv via hdmi. If you like big sound all the time, you'll be in heaven. I have my cable box connected directly to the tv and save "big" sound for blu ray playback. Movies are special to me, they should sound different than standard tv. That said, my tv's speakers are insanely great.
daveed wrote:The different models of just the Sony Bravia series is enough to make my head spin. About 80% of the specs is complete gobbledygook to me.
Is there a good online guide somewhere?
Sony makes overpriced hdtvs, and I believe they've completely switched to LCD panels, which are actually originally manufactured by Samsung. Samsung and Sharp make some excellent LCD sets that are generally more affordable. You'll want to evaluate options for yourself. I recommend going to a Best Buy that has a Magnolia Home Theater section. You'll be able to see the widest range of options for yourself. All of the tvs in the store have the brightness and contrast jacked up to blow your hair back. See if you can get a hold of the remote and produce a more natural looking image. Short of that, simply check out which sets produce an image that's close to looking through a window. Any set can make super vibrant colors, not all sets can generate convincingly realistic images.
LCD vs. Plasma: If you plan on using the set to play games often and for lengthy periods of time, conventional wisdom is that you'll be better off with LCD. Some of the newer plasmas incorporate technology that significantly reduces the chance of "image retention" which is obviously a risk with a game that has static HUD imagery. Even if you see "ghosts" of game images on your plasma, leaving a television on a station with no fixed images (stock tickers, stuff like that) will usually be adequate to eliminate that problem.
On the other hand, if you're primarily interested in the best possible playback of dramas/movies— authentic reproduction of skin tones and amazing dynamic range of color and no motion blur— plasma remains the gold standard. I don't play games. I have a plasma.
LCD specs involving the refresh rate of the panel's pictures are intended to impress upon you that you won't see motion blur. Though LCDs have improved dramatically, there is still perceptible motion blur with fast moving imagery, but it's less of a problem now than ever before, so hardly is a deal breaker for most folks. This never happens with quality plasmas.
The downside of plasma is cost. Plasma televisions are generally more expensive. You'll have to make up your mind about whether the extra cost is worth it to you. Panasonic and Pioneer produce the best plasmas, short of stratospherically expensive sets from Fujitsu and Runco.
At this stage of the game, there is simply no good reason to buy a set that isn't using a native 1920x1080 progressive scan panel, what is called a "1080p set." 720p sets or 1080i sets will often advertise that they're capable of playing back 1080p source material, which is what you'll get on blu ray movies. They're capable of playing blu rays at down-sampled resolutions... but you didn't buy an hdtv for a lower resolution version than the spec is capable of. Get a 1080p set, period.
I recommend looking at tvs in your price range and then researching what people are saying about them at avsforum.com. Of course, I'm always available to consult with you about any questions you might have as you get closer to making a purchase. Best of luck, dude!
I'd rather keep Optimum b/c our internet connect is amazingly fast and reliable, a far cry from Time Warner when I was living in Astoria.
