HDTV, some sick joke?  

OK, I'm like you. I love the beautiful image of 1080i. It's absolutely stunning. But the road to 1080i is a hard one. And the learning curve steep.

But the results look like some 1st grade science project. Some stations are cropped top and bottom as well as side to side; some are stretched out; others are in 720p, some in 480i (excuse me if I am getting some of the numbers wrong), and a few times a week, we get rewarded with 1080. WHERE IS THE FCC? You would think they would regulate this mess. I mean come on, if this isn't their sole purpose, what is? Fining Howard Stern and issuing CB Licenses?

It's no wonder HDTV isn't catching on. I can't even convince my friends that a $300 Tivo is a worthwhile investment. Here is what us HDTV newbies are faced with:

Costs:
HDTV, $1500
HDTV STB, $600
Oval shaped dish, $150
New antenna, $150
Multiplexers, extra LNB, etc. $200
Installation, $$$$$???

And the downside:
Forget about time shifting
$15 Bowtie antennas and popping rivits!
Hook up with multiplexers, multiple runs of cable
Finding out how to do all this in one place
STB's with noisy fans, slow responses, drop outs, running hot. Most of them are expensive and plagued with problems.
Only a handful of shows on the networks, HBO and HDNet
The prospect of losing our investments to newer standards: DVI and Firewire
Multiple mirror fees for DirecTV if you have Tivo

It's like going back in time. Big antennas, no time shifting, slow channel changing, really, really slow TV guides. All for the half-dozen 1080i shows on CBS.

Is it worth it for me? No. Will it be? I hope so. That's what I am holding on to. I imagine all my favorite shows in 1080i widescreen, on my HD-Tivo all waiting for me when I get home. All this in one box with all the simplicity of Tivo, all the elegance of one integrated system without multiple wires, boxes and gizmos.

I am not trying to ruffle feathers here. I just want to know if those in the "know" think it will improve, especially more HDTV content from NBC and Fox (I know Fox said they will never go Hidef). And what went wrong on the standards? If you have 6 standards, it's not a standard. There was NTCS in US and PAL in Europe. That's it. How did this happen?

Finally, I am stunned at what my projection TV is capable of. I am even more stunned that this comes over the airwaves through a pair of $30 Rat Shack "rabbit ears."

Jvos:
Yes, I agree. The DVD factor is a big one; I forgot about that! I do appreciate watching DVDs on my widescreen HDTV. Most HDTV owners do use their HDTVs for PS DVDs.

Tryg:
Yes it is a bitch. My biggest disappointment isn't with the technology, it's with the networks. It isn't handled professionally at all. Some shows cropped, some in 480, commercials get loud and then the show gets quiet, pops, clicks, glitches, and distortions abound. It's like a five-year-old is at the controls. NBC, the biggest network, only broadcast ONE show in high-def at at 11:30pm! HELLO?

Isrankel:
1. What exactly are 'artifacts', both visually and technically?

Visually: unwanted little pixels that distort a picture.
Technically: A digital picture (whether satellite or HDTV) is made up of pixels or little squares. Since a TV image is made up of thousands of pixels that rapidly make up a moving image they must be compressed (although HDTV is not I believe). The more compression, the more artifacts there will be.

2. What exactly is 'time-shifting?
Simply watching shows when YOU want, not when they are broadcast. You could time-shift with a VCR but Tivo makes it child's play.

3. What is so great about TIVO that warrants a $10 monthly fee as opposed to a S-VHS recorder?
I would pay $100 month for Tivo if I had to, seriously. With Tivo you don't watch live TV. Think of Tivo as Blockbuster in your house. With TV you are spoonfed 5 good shows a day at specific times. Tivo records these shows automatically while you watch other shows previously recorded. It lists them nicely in a NOW SHOWING menu. But here is what's truly great:
1. My 5 year old has 20 "Arthur", "Dragon Tales", and "Dora the Explorer" kid shows all at the ready and can play them herself on Tivo. And I don't have to worry about a show being too adult for her.
2. I haven't seen a commercial, stupid political slander commercial, or news teaser in two years.
3. All my favorite must-see shows are waiting for me when I get home. No need to rush home for prime time tv.
4. I get more out of HBO since it finds shows I would never stay up for. So if a Clint Eastwood movie is on at 2 am, it knows I like Clint and records it for me without me even asking it to!
5. If I want to watch Friends, I can start watching at 8:20 pm, start at the beginning of the show, skip the commercials and catch up to the end.
6. Bathroom break? Anytime with Tivo, just pause the TV.
7. Miss what that actor said? Just hit the "back" button to six second-back. It's like an instant replay. I wish DVD players had this.
8. Fast forward through a whole movie in, um, 10 seconds.
9. Search new shows by name, actor, channel, time, date, director, etc!
10. Store 30 hours of programming without tapes, labels, rewinding, indexing all with almost perfect reproduction, and simplicity. It's nothing like a vcr.

I recommend a DirectTivo which combines and records DirectTV signals with no loss in quality. Plus it can record two shows while you watch another! They can be had for $100 with a new DirecTV subscription (try Americansatellit.com or Orbitsatellite.com). Add either the $10 a month from Tivo or $250 for a lifetime subscription and you're set!

Is that lossless compression or lossy? When I watch Satellite I can see lots of mpeg artifacts; with HDTV it is perfect. So is HDTV a lossless compression?

aaronwt, when you use your hipix, is it as easy to use as Tivo? Is there at least a NOW SHOWING menu? Also, will it change the channel on your STB with an IR Blaster?