33klfan

I think it's just the dvd. I tried Troy hd dvd and the picture is phenomenal. No noise or artifacts. Simply stunning. The regular dvd is noise and not near the hd dvd. I watched v for vandetta on regular dvd and it has a lot less noise, so i guess it depends on the dvd recording.

Well, we were going to get set up with directv friday, and i got the hd package and all of that, but the guy said that he couldn't get strong enough signal for hd. I don't think the young kid was real knowledgeable but i don't know. We have trees around our house and to get it above the trees the angle was too severe and wasn't strong enough. I read about this on the internet and someone else said this happened to them so it sounds kind of funny. Dish network came out to the same people and they were fine. Now, i wonder if i should try dish. I also read that people have a lot of problems with the directv hd dvr. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with this?

I have all 8 outlets filled on surge protector and that is plugged into a 15amp receptacle, but it is shared with other outlets on the same circuit. I could run a separate breaker myself but i don't know anything about the filter ordeal. I wonder how much that would cost. I still need another surge protector. O, and to answer my question, if it's filtered then is it ok to just buy a regular surge protector. If i leave it the way it is now, should i just buy another cheap surge protector or something else. My signature shows what i have in my system.

I have used a regular GE surge protector for the past 5 years. I haven't had any problems with it. I do need more outlets now since my audio/video collection seems to keep growing. I don't want to spend over $200 which seems low budget, but at this time that's the most because i can't figure out if it's worth it spending a lot or not. I'm just looking for good protection, no spikes, and at least 10 outlets. I have a problem now with when i turn on a light on the same circuit it will flicker the tv signal. Also, when i turn the receiver on, it makes the cable look really bad like wavy lines, so there's some interference there. I don't know if a power conditioner would help that or not. I want something where it will be able to handle all the power of the equipment without any power drawing from another component like i read how a sub can do that. Would a computer surge protector with battery backup work or is it better to get a regular power conditioner like furman or something.

I have the toshiba 42hl167. I love everything about it except regular dvd's have a sparkling noise to them. It does it played through a regular panasonic dvd player and through the toshiba hd a20 hddvd player, so i know it's not the source. Is it the quality of the dvd that the toshiba is picking apart or is the tv not reproducing it well. This is bothering me but i don't know how other hdtv's would look like. I didn't know if this was the toshiba or an lcd issue. I have it hooked up hdmi with a monoprice 24awg cable. Anyone have any thoughts. Thanks.

While i'm doing system calibrations should i just get the spl meter and avia disc or should i get a test cd to, or isn't that really necessary.

I found it. It's on svs website.

I can't remember what site had this, but you could buy both for a discount. I thought it was partsexpress but i couldn't find it. Does anyone know about this. Thanks in advance.

Is it normal for the regular dvd's to have some noise. It's more noticeable in the background when something is in front is focused, but sometimes the whole picture is slightly noticeable. It depends on angle and color. I didn't know if that's the dvd or what? I tried different settings on hddvd player with resolution output and it looks close to the same between 480 and 1080p. Is the avia calibration disc the best?

Wow, i am impressed. I can't wait to get directv. Hopefully their quality is pretty good. I thought my local cable company would look pixelated, but it's mainly just noisy. We actually get some hd/digital channels and they are really clear and awesome. My toshiba hda20 came and regular dvd's look pretty darn good. I'm not sure if 1080p is what i should set the upscaler to or not for regular dvd's even though my tv is 1080p. It depends on the dvd but slightly older dvds like stargate with kurt russell look pretty noisy. Now new dvd's like star wars and remember the titans looked clear. I noticed slight motion blur hear and there on remember the titans but it was mainly with fast movement of faces turning, but the actual game wasn't blurry. The only complaint of the toshiba 42hl167 is the off angle. I guess all lcd's have issues and this is toshiba's problem. Now i am only about 9' away from it and when you go to the side you can notice lighter color. The only thing i have to do is get a calibration disc. I have the picture pretty decent but if the calibration is a must then i'll have to get it. Sometimes picture looks too green or too red and blue. Those seem like the picky colors that need adjusted. Overall, the picture quality and value is amazing.

Well, i figured by the time i get an upscaling dvd player, i practically just got the dvd player for free. Since it can upscale and play hddvd's. I figured i didn't have much to lose. It's still up in the air, the format war, but i heard bluray will win because of the porn industry. Sad if true. I wasn't intending to buy hddvd player but the package deal was almost a steal. I paid $1939 for both purchases and the tv is regular $1800. I have to wait to get the calibration disc because the picture isn't quite right yet. Part of the deal was firedog coming out and hopefully i can get the picture really good with that. I don't know if this is the tv or the way it's set, but as you move to the right or left, the picture gets a little lighter. The viewing angle is suppose to be good so i don't understand that.

Is it hdtvantennalabs.com? I then found antennaweb.com which lets you know what channels are accessible. It only shows a few local channels and there are a few different tower locations so you have to have different antennas to point them to each tower. It doesn't look like it would be good for my area. I think only 2 of the 6 were showing digital.

How do i know if i am in an hdtv area. I must be because my my local internet provider has digital channels. I didn't know this until my tv found them. The signal went from really good to no signal at all on a couple channels. I'm guessing you have to buy an hdtv antenna at lowes or somewhere but how do you know where to mount it for best signal? Will that pick up a variation of hd channels or don't you know until you try it?

Should i get the 24awg or 28awg? There's about $10 difference. The 24awg looks like it's made better.

I went shopping to look at hdtv's today, and was debating between samsung 4042 and mitsubishi lt-46131. I just couldn't quite justify the price though, so i was going to settle for the toshiba regza the 42" like my uncle has. They are selling fast and reviewers on CC rate them pretty well. I read about the hddvd player sale and i thought it was getting the toshiba hd-a2 for $200 with the purchase of a toshiba hdtv, but there was this package deal with toshiba 42hl167, toshiba hda20 and firedog installation all for $2000. With tax it was around $2200 but then we have AAA and you get a 10% discount and we didn't think it would work with that special package, but it did so i got everything for like $1939. I would say that's one heck of a deal. The tv at original price alone would have cost that much with tax. It was $1710 down from $1800. In an odd way i got the hddvd player and installation for free. I like to install all of my stuff myself but you have to get that to get the group price or everything is regular price. I guess they calibrate the tv and all too, so i want to see how this all goes down. It all went well until i couldn't get the tv in my car. I didn't realize the box was going to be so thick. Also, the dvd player will take 8-10 days but i'm not complaining for the price. You also get 5 free hddvd's with mail in. Anyhow i'm excited. Everything is 1080p now, well the tv and hddvd player at least, haha. I can't wait to see everything hooked up. My cable is probably going to look like crap though. Now i have to decide between directv and dish network. I know dish has more hd channels but i don't know difference in quality. I always hear directv is better, but i don't know. Also, what hdmi cable should i get that is good. I didn't think i was going to have to spend as much as the monster cable ones, but what's good for a good price?

I appreciate all this information. I learned a lot with all of this. I went from knowing nothing about it to really understanding a lot about hdtv's now. MAS, you do write a lot, but i find it all interesting and i enjoy reading your information. Now i just have to decide what to do.

Is the hdmi protocol a big thing or reason to keep from buying now? What's the difference going to be?

So the main reason to not buy now is the something with hdmi and the lower prices in the future? What's the difference going to be with the hdmi?

This is not helping me get rid of the hdtv bug. HAHA. So, from what i understand, i need to look for a 720p tv. For regular non hdtv channels do they look pixelated to you or are they clear on your hdtv? Now i just have to pick through the millions of choices of brands and models. Is the contrast ratio important because i read that can be over and underrated. I guess it also goes by what your eye can see with the individual tv. I have read good things about the samsungs, sharp, lg, and toshiba. They are more in my price range.

That oppo looks like a good choice. Even though the 1080p is more right now, would it make sense to buy it now so in a couple years when everything supposedly should be 1080 then you would already have it. Is that a good or bad assumption i wonder. I'm just wondering if it would save buying again down the road. Although a 1080p tv now will probably be outdated by then anyhow but maybe not. My main concern is just getting satellite and however the best way to hook it up so that channels look clear because i can't stand that pixel look.

He sure made me happy with my scott 233. It's still playing fine BTW. I've been enjoying it. Now i'm spending money in getting factory cd's to hear the best recordings instead of burning music. I've been listening to it often since it's been fixed.

WOW, thanks for all the info. I finally understand the resolution part now. Now what dvd player do you have to get to get the best picture besides bluray and hddvd because that technology seems too new. Now if i want the best picture quality like 1080p with full 1080 dvd and cable going through the tv i would have to wait a couple years? Also, i watch cable more than watching movies, so is it possible to get every channel or most, clear with hdtv's like 720p for example. I've always seen channels that look pixelated. I would think the hd channels look fine but what about the non hd channels. MAS, you were saying about using an outdoor antenna for hd channels. Does that pick up a lot of just hd channels or regular channels too? Do you need directv when you have that?

First of all, the resolution thing is confusing, like 720p/i, 1080i/p. From what i gather 1080p is full HD, but i don't know. My uncle just bought a 720p toshiba lcd, but even though the hdmi input says 1080i, the screen resolution under specs says 720p, so i'm guessing it's not outputting full 1080. The 720's are cheaper but is there a noticeable difference? Can even a dvd player output 1080 for a 1080 tv. Like is regular dvd fine on a upscaling dvd player as composed to bluray/hddvd. I guess for cable you have to get hd channels to see good picture or do regular channels look good too, because my uncles tv looks pixelated with most channels from comcast. I am just asking this to clarify things because i want to know if the next few months are a good time to buy with technology advancing. I would either buy a lcd or dlp rear projection, but lcd because of nice size. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

I wish i could find a klipsch theater. I wonder where there is one in PA?

I heard that the harman kardon twin powered receivers like the avr430 or avr730 are a really good match for klipsch. Just make sure in the search it's not the new models. I like my pioneer sx-980 but after listening to tubes it's just way too bright and forward for me, but it all depends on one's own ears.