Phoenix, AZ - HDTV - Page 11

Yes, it is the Set: Picture Format optionin General Settings. You can use either Pass-Through or one of the Upconverts (1 if your HDTV does 1080i, 2 if it does 720p). The difference is that Pass-Through will let your HDTV convert the formats for your display whereas the Upconverts let the 8300 do it.

The keyword is "rooftop". You may or may not be able to get a good signal on all stations with an attic antenna. It all depends on how your home (attic) is oriented to South Mountain (where all the towers are) and the type of construction, etc., to avoid mulitpath problems.

You didn't mention what type of HD tuner you intended to use, integrated or standalone (satellite or OTA only) or if you intended to get satellite or cable for other channels, cable for internet, etc.

If you intended to get Cox for internet and you have an HDTV with an integrated tuner that can receive unencrypted QAM signals, you may not need an antenna at all. You may be able to receive the local HD channels through Cox at no added charge (over the cost of internet service) because basic cable is usually included with the internet service, including HD locals.

You just had to open that can of worms, didn't you?

They both have their pros/cons and a lot depends on what services you anticipate getting. I'll be up front and tell you I'm a cable guy, never had satellite, never had a Tivo. But, AFAIK the HD PQ on cable, satellite, and OTA is virtually the same. There can be minor differences due to different tuners/HDTVs, etc., but I think you'd be hard pressed to quantify a difference across the board. This is not to say that some folks don't see differences when switching from OTA to cable to satellite, but most of the posts I've read say they are all the same.

Now, one of the biggest drawbacks to cable is the PQ for the analog channels (HGTV, Food Network, and the like). Until cable starts broadcasting all digital, analog PQ will suffer and if you watch a lot of that, you may not be happy with cable for that reason.

The other drawback can be price. I have broadband internet, telephone, and total cable (HBO, SHO, MAX, et al, including HD DVR) and I pay less than I would with satellite (without HD DVR), Qwest telephone, and Qwest DSL (lower speed), but if you don't want the complete package, then satellite and separate internet/telephone services will probably be cheaper on a monthly basis.

One of the biggest drawbacks to satellite is the initial cost (I believe it's still about $400 to upgrade to HD) that has to be amortized into the overall monthly cost.

The other major drawback is the $1,000 cost of the HD Tivo. Even with some service discounts, it's still in the $650-$700 range and that is a lot IMO. To be sure, the HD Tivo is much better than the SA8300HD DVR provided by Cox, particularly the Wish List feature, but I timeshift 20 hours of HD just fine with Cox.

Yes, but most folks do not get good reception with that type of antenna and most folks say it's over-priced.

I do not know, but I'm sure a phone call will get you an answer and I think it all depends on how much you want to pay.

If you are hooked on Tivo and not just timeshifting, my guess is that you would probably be happier staying with DirecTV (though the $1,000 outlay to time-shift HD is steep in my book). I suggest you contact their retention folks and see what kind of a deal you can work out with them to upgrade to HD service when your house is finished. If you are simply hooked on time-shifting and not specifically the Tivo unit/interface, you could always try Cox and cancel it if you were unhappy with it. Once you get sucked into satellite, you're hooked for at least a year, so it's a bit expensive to try something else after the fact.

I'm sure others will provide additional comments and things to consider.

You didn't mention what brand/model HDTV you have or intend to buy or what type of HD programming you would subscribe to. That all makes a difference when discussing the pros and cons of OTA, cable, and satellite. Right now, Dish is the cheapest and DirecTV is getting ready to start adding HD locals and you may not even need an antenna here by the end of the year.

Cox does not offer NFL Sunday Ticket, they do offer MLB Extra Innings. Their DVR also does not offer Season Pass, though various Tivo-like features are in the works. Problem is most take an IPG update and there is no word on when that might occur here.

The HDMI ports are active though some folks seem to have problems with their particular setups from time to time. Don't always know if it's an HDTV issue, a bad tuner, or operator error. Whether or not that would be a problem for you is hard to say. Since you are leaning toward the Sony LCD, chances are you would see a slight improvement in PQ with HDMI vs Component, but Component is certainly quite good. In many cases, the PQ is simply "different" (color, contrast, etc.) and may not really be any "better", especially after you re-tweak your settings.

Firewire posts are not yet active on the SA8300HD DVR, but they are active on the SA3250HD, a non-DVR tuner. Unless you are archiving to a D-VHS recorder or something like that, Firewire should not be a concern.

So, based on what you've been saying, I still believe DirecTV would be your best choice, mostly because of the Sunday Ticket and other exclusive sports-related packages. My choice would remain Cox simply because of the outrageous cost of the HD Tivo. I can overlook inferior analog PQ (since most of what I watch is now HD) and don't much care about all the extra sports, but I can't do without the HD DVR and broadband internet.

Of course, you can still get Cox internet (which includes basic cable) and telephone service in addition to DirecTV, but you really need to do some price checking on the Cox and Qwest websites to see what works best for you. Cox online cable rates leave something to be desired because they are a bit misleading unless you know hpw things really work. They can be a good guide for comparisons, but they don't often correlate to the actual bill and I recommend calling them to get more exact prices for what you want.

Also, I'm quite sure you'll be able to get OTA reception, but it may not be with a wraparound or attic antenna. Many folks start out trying the Zenith Silver Sensor indoor antenna and move up if that doesn't work. Winegard, Channel Master, and Radio Shack bowtie's seem to be the best choices. Multipath problems generally occur because of all the wire mesh they use here to hold the stucco on the outside of homes here, not necessarily because of tress, 2-story homes, etc. The only reason I mention it is because you mentioned an attic antenna and that means the signal will have to go through the wire mesh, etc.