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Fun with the new HDTV.
#153014 12/06/06 04:48 PM
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After having to return the first box I picked up from Comcast (DOA) I got the HDTV cable box hooked up and all the cables routed and the MX-700 programmed. Fired everything up and wouldn't you know the first thing that was on to check things out 5 minutes later was Saving Private Ryan on Cinemax HD. And Great Gogly Mogly what an amazing picture! I have read the hype and the various much better/not so much better arguments but holy cow is it great! Although I must say the more gory scenes are now truly stomach turning. Spilled guts on the sand now look very much like spilled guts on the sand as opposed to an indistinct bloody mass. Yech. And the Dolby Digital soundtrack sounded as good as you'd expect.

I also switched between the HD and SD channels during some prime time shows. Lets just say the SD picture I thought was so great before I got the HD tuner hooked up suddenly looks pretty darn blah. I'd say the difference is equal to that between the old CRT and the new TV in SD. It's like taking two order-of-magnitude leaps in picture quality in 3 days.

BTW flipping between 480i and 480p on the DVD player produces a noticeably but subtly sharper picture. I'm not sure if this is because the tv doesn't have to deinterlace the progressive signal before upconverting. I'm going to order the Oppo DVD-981h today. It's be interesting to do a side-by-side between it and the old Panny S35 since I'll be comparing the upconverting prowess of the Oppo v. the TV. Since the Oppo sends a 1080p signal the TV will do no processing at all.


"That's some catch, that Catch-22." "It's the best there is." M22ti VP150 EP350 QS8 M3Ti
Re: Fun with the new HDTV.
LightninJoe #153015 12/07/06 04:52 AM
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HD is freaking awesome.



Re: Fun with the new HDTV.
INANE #153016 12/07/06 08:29 AM
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I had a friend over last weekend to watch the UCLA/USC game on the new tv. hehehehehe...he was REALLY wowed. After watching the first half in HD, he asked to switch to the local SD broadcast. Holy smokes that looked bad. Once you go HD, there's simply no going back.

Re: Fun with the new HDTV.
spiffnme #153017 12/07/06 04:20 PM
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Indeed. First there's the "Crackberry," now there's "CrackTV."
I don't watch a lot of TV. The new set was bought with movies in mind, plus football. But now my wife and I can't bring ourselves to get off the couch. Most TV shows don't have a lot to recommend them visually, since they are shot on a tight budget and schedule, but even "House" seems more compelling just because of the HD picture. I'm just glad Discovery Health isn't in HD (on Comcast here in PDX, anyhow) since my wife LOVES to watch those surgery shows. Yech. Imagine a bowel resection in 56" HDTV.


"That's some catch, that Catch-22." "It's the best there is." M22ti VP150 EP350 QS8 M3Ti
Re: Fun with the new HDTV.
LightninJoe #153018 12/07/06 08:02 PM
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Quote:

Indeed. First there's the "Crackberry," now there's "CrackTV."


Assuming you don't mind looking like an idiot answering a graphing calculator.

I kid, I kid because I lov... well, no, usually because BlackBerry users will whip them out anywhere to show how important they are. True story - one guest at a wedding I was at was so important (he sells suits and ties... for a company... not a manager, just a floor salesman... shift work... you getting the vibe here?) he had to check his email during the ceremony. Wish I'd have been sitting closer so I could have black&blueberried him across the brainpan with it.

Bren R.

Re: Fun with the new HDTV.
BrenR #153019 12/07/06 08:55 PM
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Yeah, I'm not a big fan of public cell/pda use myself. And I don't get why some people think having and using one is a status symbol anymore. This isn't 1989. Heck, just last night I was waiting in line at a market and a lady in front of me was blabbing away on a Razr while paying for her purchases with a Food Stamp card. I don't have a blackberry but I do have a Treo. It's very useful for receiving messages from servers when there's a problem. I refuse to answer text messages from people who write things like "wut ru doing l8r?" I wish I had a license to take a hammer to anyones personal tech device who intrudes on my personal space with it. I don't need to listen to your salesmanspeak garbage while taking a leak at the local watering hole.


"That's some catch, that Catch-22." "It's the best there is." M22ti VP150 EP350 QS8 M3Ti
Re: Fun with the new HDTV.
BrenR #153020 12/07/06 10:23 PM
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Unbelievably I can one-up the wedding ceremony story: Ian and I were at a funeral this summer, and the mourners were waiting outside the church for the funeral cortege to pull away when our girlfriend's husband pulled out his blackberry to check emails. Really - were three more minutes going to make or break the emailer's life? Good heavens.

Like most things, it isn't the blackberry / cell phone / PDA that makes someone rude . . .

Re: Fun with the new HDTV.
Amie #153021 12/07/06 10:27 PM
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Quote:

Like most things, it isn't the blackberry / cell phone / PDA that makes someone rude . . .


And it's not the Mustang with the Calvin pissing sticker that makes a driver an idiot...

Bren R.

Re: Fun with the new HDTV.
BrenR #153022 12/07/06 10:35 PM
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Thing is with these beasties, they get you addicted. It's crazy. I mean, they buzz when anything happens, but if I'm wearing the thing on my belt, I'm checking it when it's not buzzing. If I carry it in my backpack, I don't even think about it. Hell, I don't check it if it is buzzing.


I am the Doctor, and THIS... is my SPOON!
Re: Fun with the new HDTV.
Amie #153023 12/08/06 02:31 AM
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A friend of mine works for RIM, maker of the Blackberry.
He gets the newest latest models each year, and free of course.
Think of his poor wife...


"Those who preach the myths of audio are ignorant of truth."
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