Nero

I don't have cable. I've NEVER had cable. I'm simply not going to pay those pirates for crap I don't want or need in exchange for a couple of things I might want.

I've always been the high-tech guy. My friends always knew that if they had a question about anything tech, I was the guy to talk to. Even more than that, I've always been the movie guy. I pretty much eat, breath and crap movies. So it would seem only natural to combine the two.

My friends always gave me crap for having an HDTV. Of course, they all have HDTVs now. And one thing above all others spurred me to buy a Toshiba HD-A1, my friend got HD programming. Since I've never gotten cable (and I probably never will), this got me jealous. He was a Johnny-come-lately and he just surpassed my ass. That just doesn't make sense in my world.

I've got a Toshiba 65" 1080i rear-projection HDTV and he just bought a Toshiba 54" 768 DLP. he then upgraded his digital cable so that now he has all the movie channels in HD along with several other things. He invited me over to check it out and I brought along Starship Troopers Superbit. When it hit the screen, my jaw dropped. I couldn't believe how fantastic it looked. I don't know how an HD disc could make it look any better frankly. It looked almost 3D.

That really ticked me off! I got home and spent 4 hours tweaking my set. I adjust manual and electronic focus, did convergenace till my eyes bled and even cranked the sharpness. I ended up with maybe half what he had through no effort at all.

He likes to call me up and say things like "Yep, I'm going to watch Battlestar Galactica in HD now" or "I can't talk long because Land of the Dead is coming on in HD". This more than anything made me go "Screw it! I'm buying HD DVD!" So today after work I'm driving an hour to the closest Best Buy with one in stock and taking the plunge.

My question is this: Will I finally regain my rightful place as King of All Things Tech?

I've heard that broadcast HD is mixed way down. Is this true? Can I rub that in his face? I have to say that when he showed it to me at his house....I was impressed. He can also record these things on a DVR. How is it possible people can record HD content prior to HD DVD and Blu-ray coming out?

Nimbus

I too have HD cable (with DVR), and currently have no plans of buying a hi-def disc format. What I've seen on the HD channels looks nice (I have a 30" Samsung, maybe 4 years old), but it's just not enough for me to take the plunge. Even if there wasn't a format war, I'd still likely not buy just yet. Maybe if they can do something really innovative with the extras, it might make me more interested.

Just another POV.

Augustes

Satellite HD is usually downrezzed to 1280x1080i and heavily compressed, but cable delivers in full 1920x1080i with better quality. Nonetheless, most HD DVDs look much better than anything I've ever seen on cable.

As for why that Starship Troopers DVD looks better on his set than yours, there's too many factors at play there regarding your different displays to draw a conclusion. CRT and DLP have different "looks" to them. His set is smaller, which helps with picture quality (the larger you blow up a picture the more flaws you expose). His set is also newer.

So we can tell you that HD DVD is a better source than cable HD, but that doesn't necessarily mean that HD DVD on your set will always look better than cable HD on his.

Nero

Hmmm, alright thanks.

It's been very irritating to me that I've had this HDTV for about 2 1/2 years and a 47" Panny HDTV for 2 years before that, yet the only HD content I've ever had access to is a some games on my XBOX. Of those only one, Dragon's Lair 3D, was 1080i.

Guess I was just sick of sticking my toe in the pool and decided to hit the high dive!

redford

I think it's a good bet that it will look better, though. Especially since it sounds like you are more PQ concious than average. Concensus is that HD DVD looks much better than cable HD because it has few (if any) artifacts... unlike heavily compressed sources such as cable HD or Blu-Ray discs.

Nimbus

Ok, that's essentially what I was looking for I guess, that HD over cable/sat is compressed a lot which causes artifacting.

I am PQ conscious and have my TV tweaked about as well as can be expected. It kind of steams my bean that he just decided one day to buy an HDTV and only had to plug it in to get a better picture than mine is capable of simply because it's new technology. Oh yeah, and his cost about the same as mine. Of course, mine's a lot bigger, so there is some semblence of balance in the universe.

Augustes

the bigger the better. Mine is blown up on a screen 7.5 feet wide. And it looks great. Much better than the display the used at BB (Westinghouse 42" 1080p plasma)... my 1024x768 projector smokes it.

Anway, let us know what you think after you get it running...

redford

7.5 ft. wide.......dayam.

I've been waiting for my local BB to get some in. Yesterday they teased me by saying there was a truck coming in. Today I called first thing and nope, nothing. I called the east side and again they teased me by saying there was a couple on the computer and they'd call me back once they located them. Nope, for mysterious reasons they didn't actually ship. So I just started calling around the state because I'm getting a goddamn HD DVD player today! I found one in Janesville about an hour away. I'll begin my quest in the next few minutes actually. Now watch, I'll get there and they'll be like "Wha? Who told you we had one set aside?"

Nero

Don't think of it like that. CRT and DLP have different looks to them, but one isn't necessarily better than the other. His DLP may be brighter and have more "pop", but I bet your CRT has richer black levels and deeper colors, which give it a better sense of depth to the image.

Each technology has its advantages and disadvantages. There isn't one available yet that's perfect.

Nimbus

It's not a CRT it's a rear-projection, as in 3 guns reflected on a mirror and converging on the screen.