What is the appeal of HDTV?

[P-Dub]

I'd like to know what is the appeal of HDTV?

Now from what little I know:

Resolution:

I guess this is the main benefit, at 1080i, the picture become very clear. I've seen some demos on some HDTV sets and on FPTV setups. So yes the demo material is really impressive. The question is, why should I care? I mean if I break down my viewing habits. TV shows, drama's, comedies, etc. Will better picture quality really make a mediocore show better? I don't think so. Sure I wouldn't mind seeing Jenifer Anistin in HD, hmm, even that Alias chic, or Alysa Milano or Jenifer Aiba. Heh, maybe I'm talking myself into HDTV. But seriously, after the eye candy wears off, maybe it won't, will I stick with a show that has constant commercial interuptions? How can I record those shows so I can maintain that quality? I've only got a plain VCR, so even if I could record, I'll be downgraded to VHS quality.

News programs: Whoopee. I don't really get too excited about these and I don't know what would make them a HDTV standout. (nakednews.com)

Sports: The killer ap? I think it so. There's lots of different sporting events, and there's lots of people that would love to get a better and bigger picture. This is one area that could prove to be a selling point to a lot of people. But I really don't follow the major sports, NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB. I'll catch the finals, but that's about it. I'm an autoracing fan, so it would be really cool to see the cars in better detail.

Movies: Well, as long as there are commercials during movies, HDTV isn't going to cut it. Plus will they just format a 2.35 to 16:9? Probably.

Digital Sound:

Well is this part of the HDTV standard? or is it the DTV standard? Regardless 5.1 comedy, oh I can hear the audience laugh behind me, 5.1 drama's/action, hmm nice thumps and nice use of surrounds for enviornment effects. Movies, uh, can't stand commercials, 5.1 won't make me like them anymore. Sports, hmm, to feel the takles, that might be something. Could there be someone in the control booth that would send a nice 30Hz signal down the pipe when the receiver get's hit? How about a boxing match?

For myself, I can't really see anything that would compel me to upgrade to HDTV. Sure better resolution and better audio, but I'm quite happy with what is coming down my cable. Even if there is an improvement in picture and audio, would that make me change any of my viewing habits? No.




Paul

There are three kinds of people in this world; those that can count, and those that can't.

[Huskerduck]

Sports for sure, you can see the hockey puck,and when they show a football stadium you can see fans faces in detail across the field

My favorites are the PBS/Discovery type documentaries that are shot in HD ( HDNet & PBS have been showing quite a few of these ) once you sit down and watch one of these the answer to your question is quite clear

awhile after HD first came out I was watching King Of Queens one night and was flipping fron HD to standard and was amazed at the differance of seeing him talking to his brother in a hospital Bed with a little of the room bordering them and in HD you could see almost the entire room

I guess you just have to own one to see, I bought mine for Progressive DVD and got the added bonus of being in an HD plentiful area

Once you calibrate your HDTV widescreen, what you witness on TV looks better than real life ( much more vibrant)




Mark


Ducks Meager Theater

[George Bellefontaine]

Well my tv viewing is starting to get back to normal... about 6 or 7 hours a week, comprising of the news and maybe a Biography or Discovery Channel special once or twice a week, and lately I've taken to the crime show CSI, but that's it. So High Def wouldn't do me much good.Like Paul, I can't handle movies with commercials. My line doubled projector gives me a pretty darn good picture on dvd, so I'm happy.
Sports would certainly be good on high def, but I only watch hockey now and then until the Stanley Cup comes along, then I watch everything. But is that worth putting out those big bucks for high def ?




My Homepage!

[Chip]

HDTV is great! I guarrentee you wouldn't ask that question had you been to my crib for the Super Bowl.

- Chip




Chip Engle


"Concrete ain't a spectator sport"


<a href="http://www.htguide.com/bilder/index.cfm?fuseaction=arkivbilder&userid=0&selected userid=336" target="_blank">My HT

[Lex]

I can answer that in 2 words, and I don't even own HD.

Liquid Imagery Visuals so liquid looking that they look as though they could just ooze right out into the floor!

Lex

[Burke Strickland]

I was at a local demo of HDTV a while back, and someone exclaimed "this is more 'real looking' than reality". I wouldn't go quite that far, but it sure looked a lot closer to an "open window" than any other television-based technology I'd ever seen.

Too bad there's not enough really worth watching (for me) on broadcast TV -- with or without HDTV -- to make the HDTV investment appealling to me yet. (And all I have would have to do is add a tuner, since my front projector is already HDTV-capable.) My HT spending priorities the past couple of years have been elsewhere, mostly relating to higher end two channel music reproduction. I'll "make do" with anamorphic DVD for a while longer in the video department.

Burke

PS -- the sports broadcasts that I've seen in HDTV were visually stunning. But they still had the same lame announcers and commercial breaks every few seconds... :>)