I am going to get a HD CRT soon. I am going to compare the sony XBR970 and the Samsung T2793 eventhough the Sony is larger than my room can accomodate and would also require the purchase of a new stand/rack. But if I get the Samsung I'll be buying the extended service plan just in case. I read here there were some issues with the older models, however the ones I have seen in the stores look fine to me, with no major noises. My question is Can any HD CRT get HD right off the cable line (ie if it is a program broadcast in HD) or do you always need the box, and come 2009 will you still need the box? Thanks for any help.

1. Get the Sony. You won' regret it. It's pretty much the best TV ever made, aside from the XBR960.

2. No, you can't get HD straight from cable without signing up for an HD service. But you can hook a decent antenna straight into the set and get all your local channels in HD right out of the box.

Sony xbr 970 has QAM build in meaning you can get HD channels from cable without a set up box. I don't know if Samsung has one though.

Sony xbr 970 has QAM build in meaning you can get HD channels from cable without a set up box. I don't know if Samsung has one though.
But that's only if your cable company chooses to give you free HD service.
Many cable companies do not, because they can make more money by encrypting the HD channels, thereby requiring you to rent a set-top box, and pay extra for the HD service.

I picked up 6 HD channels in my area, but I also signed up for the HD box so I can get ESPN/2 HD, INHD, HBO HD, and a few other channels.

I second getting the XBR970. It's hands down, the best CRT available, unless you have $1200 or so for the XBR960. I found a few places online that sell (or sold) the 960, but way out of my price range.



I need a new stand as well, as the one I have supports up to 30" TV's. It's well built, so for the time being, it will be suffice. I'm looking for the XBR970 stand locally...

CC has the 970 for less than $600 with FREE home delivery and setup. I cannot believe how incredibly sharp, clear and crisp the HD picture is. You won't regret your purchase, trust me.

No, you can't get HD straight from cable without signing up for an HD service. But you can hook a decent antenna straight into the set and get all your local channels in HD right out of the box.

I hooked up my xbr 970 to my old cable and got some HD channels without upgrading to HD service. I think, cable companies are required to broadcast some HD channels unencripted by law.

Sony xbr 970 has QAM build in meaning you can get HD channels from cable without a set up box. I don't know if Samsung has one though.
I thought it should be possible, I mean if the show "24" is broadcast in HD why would it not be viewable with the built in HD tuner.. I was asking the CC guy and he said you always need the box, even on the 970. Seems like its all a rig up for the cable companies (why else would the sony FS170 have the HD tuner only on the antenna connection and not the cable input).

Keep in mind, however, that the HD signal you can get from an over-the-air antenna is generally a higher-quality signal than the HD signal you'll get from the cable company. AFAIK the cable companies generally apply so much more signal compression (to reduce the amount of bandwidth used) that over-the-air is for the most part much better quality.

So if you're talking about getting your locally-broadcast channels via the cable company, you might as well just get an antenna and use the TV's built-in ATSC tuner. Unless you're too far away from the local broadcast antenna (in a rural area or something).

I don't know about the 970 - but some of the discontinued SFP Sony's -nsuch as my 36kd955xs have a cable card capability to allow you to get all the HD you are subscribed to from the cable company without renting a STB and in addition to the clear QAM channels you get off the tv's built in tuner

I have the Sony 970 and could not be any happier with my purchase. The picture is beautiful.

Right now we get our local PBS, ABC,CBS and NBC in high def with just the regular cable.

We also found a nice stand at CC made by Z-Line Designs. It holds tvs up to 36" and up to 260 lbs. I think it looks pretty good with this tv, almost like it was made for it.

After a bad experience with Best Buy and a stand we had to return I made sure I called Z-Line and asked questions before buying this and was told it indeed will hold 260 with a max of 310 lbs. At under $200 I thought it was a pretty good deal.
I dont know if I can post a link to the CC web page but if you check out CC's website just search for Z-Line Designs under TV Stands.

Here's a photo