Well, my HDTV is coming today. Last night I went out to "Ultimate Electronics" and purchased an HDTV DirectTV receiver and dish. The manager of the store was simply amazing. He spent two hours with me explaining all of the issues involved in getting the system hooked up. There is a lot more to it than I realized. One of the most important things I learned is that you cannot do picture-in-a-picture where one input is HDTV and another input is not. I also learned that even way out where I live you can get an HDTV signal from an off air antenna in your attic. Since the HDTV signal is digital this is simply awesome. You either *do* get a 100% perfect digital signal or you do not. Nothing in between. On a scale of 0-100 the manager was getting a signal strength of 85%, and he lives further away from the city than I do!
The hook-up for this is going to be extremely complicated. My old Tivo and satellite reciever are now going to act as a slave; doing nothing but recording shows that I want 24/7. Never again will I get the 'do you want to change this channel' problem, because I can always watch live TV on the high-definition receiver.
To make all of this work I have to run a wire from my attic to the TV in the living room for the off-air high-def local channels. I have to install a high-definition satellite dish on my roof to receive the HDTV broadcasts from DirectTV. That brings 3 cables into the living room total. Right now DirectTV broadcasts a few channels in high-def. A 24 hour a day movie channel, Discovery network, HBO, and a few sports channels. In time I'm sure they will increase this dramatically.
The difference between normal TV and high-def is like the difference between 8 track and CD music. It's truly dramatic. I believe many, many, consumers are going to switch over in the next few years. All it takes is for a guy to walk into an "Ultimate Electronics" store while they are broadcasting a high-definition football game and people are most definitely hooked!
When I'm finished with this mess the wiring diagram will look like that of a Boeing 747 cockpit. But...I don't mind. This is all just way too fun for me. I sold my old miniscule, itsy, teeny, tiny, 55" projection TV to my friend and neighbor Lenny. Now I won't have to be emabarassed for him when we go over to his house to watch a game.
The hook-up for this is going to be extremely complicated. My old Tivo and satellite reciever are now going to act as a slave; doing nothing but recording shows that I want 24/7. Never again will I get the 'do you want to change this channel' problem, because I can always watch live TV on the high-definition receiver.
To make all of this work I have to run a wire from my attic to the TV in the living room for the off-air high-def local channels. I have to install a high-definition satellite dish on my roof to receive the HDTV broadcasts from DirectTV. That brings 3 cables into the living room total. Right now DirectTV broadcasts a few channels in high-def. A 24 hour a day movie channel, Discovery network, HBO, and a few sports channels. In time I'm sure they will increase this dramatically.
The difference between normal TV and high-def is like the difference between 8 track and CD music. It's truly dramatic. I believe many, many, consumers are going to switch over in the next few years. All it takes is for a guy to walk into an "Ultimate Electronics" store while they are broadcasting a high-definition football game and people are most definitely hooked!
When I'm finished with this mess the wiring diagram will look like that of a Boeing 747 cockpit. But...I don't mind. This is all just way too fun for me. I sold my old miniscule, itsy, teeny, tiny, 55" projection TV to my friend and neighbor Lenny. Now I won't have to be emabarassed for him when we go over to his house to watch a game.
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