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Good Time to Buy HDTV?
with evolving technology, especially for HD displays, i suppose there's never a right time to buy. personally, i think this may not be the best time to buy a new HDTV because of 2 reasons: 1) cablecard 2.0 and DCAS are on the horizon; 2) the lack of HD content OTA and for cable. Do you guys agree/disagree?
if i were to buy a new HDTV, it'd be for the next generation gaming system (xbox 360, wii, ps3), and i'm not sure if i can totally justify that.
if i were to buy a new HDTV, it'd be for the next generation gaming system (xbox 360, wii, ps3), and i'm not sure if i can totally justify that.
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Good points...I only bought a 37" Sharp LCD that was on sale because my wife and I are currently living in an apartment and it is perfect for the space we have. By the time we have a house, it should be a good time to take the plunge on a larger screen and have the 37" as a secondary TV. That was just my thinking on the subject when I decided on this LCD. Also, I do not have any of the above mentioned gaming systems and am not really interested in the Cable Card Technology at this point...I love my HD-DVR, so CableCard never crossed my mind!
| Originally Posted by K-10 with evolving technology, especially for HD displays, i suppose there's never a right time to buy. personally, i think this may not be the best time to buy a new HDTV because of 2 reasons: 1) cablecard 2.0 and DCAS are on the horizon; 2) the lack of HD content OTA and for cable. Do you guys agree/disagree? if i were to buy a new HDTV, it'd be for the next generation gaming system (xbox 360, wii, ps3), and i'm not sure if i can totally justify that. |
Good points...I only bought a 37" Sharp LCD that was on sale because my wife and I are currently living in an apartment and it is perfect for the space we have. By the time we have a house, it should be a good time to take the plunge on a larger screen and have the 37" as a secondary TV. That was just my thinking on the subject when I decided on this LCD. Also, I do not have any of the above mentioned gaming systems and am not really interested in the Cable Card Technology at this point...I love my HD-DVR, so CableCard never crossed my mind!
Perhaps your thread should ask if this is the right time to buy a tv, in general. I don't think HD is much of an issue, at this point. In fact, most of the local retailers who sell tv's don't offer much that isn't HD. Where I live, the only tv's you ever see that aren't HD are usually very small sets for a kitchen counter.
In terms of the lack of content...More HD content is added every day. The reality is that there are some networks who broadcast their entire primetime lineup in HD. Technology will NEVER stop evolving and the next latest and greatest tv will always be on the horizon. Evolving technology is never a reason not to buy, in my opinion. I honestly think if people have this mentality, they'll never purchase anything, for the reason I already alluded to. Good luck with your decision.
John from Boston
In terms of the lack of content...More HD content is added every day. The reality is that there are some networks who broadcast their entire primetime lineup in HD. Technology will NEVER stop evolving and the next latest and greatest tv will always be on the horizon. Evolving technology is never a reason not to buy, in my opinion. I honestly think if people have this mentality, they'll never purchase anything, for the reason I already alluded to. Good luck with your decision.
John from Boston
This is the perfect time to buy HDTV. The price drops in flat panel sets have been very dramatic this year. You can buy now, and wait for a few years to upgrade to 1080P when prices have declined even further, and there may be more 1080P content to see.
And yes, there is a lot of HD content out there, particularly on the major networks. For example, every major sporting event is now broadcast in HD. That by itself is good enough for me.
And yes, there is a lot of HD content out there, particularly on the major networks. For example, every major sporting event is now broadcast in HD. That by itself is good enough for me.
the issue that is holding me back from purchasing an HDTV is with the cable company. i hate the idea of getting fleeced by the cable company for renting a STB for the ENTIRE life of my tv. renting a STB to watch HD content on cable shouldn't be a hobson's choice.
K-10 maybe if you rent a DVR box from your cable company you will feel better about your fee? At least you are getting an additional service.
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Well, you could always get an antenna and get OTA broadcasts, where the PQ is better than STB anyway. That doesn't work for me because of low signal strength in my area. Another approach is to buy an HDTV that can handle a CableCard. The cable company rents those a lot cheaper than an STB.
| Originally Posted by K-10 i hate the idea of getting fleeced by the cable company for renting a STB for the ENTIRE life of my tv. |
Well, you could always get an antenna and get OTA broadcasts, where the PQ is better than STB anyway. That doesn't work for me because of low signal strength in my area. Another approach is to buy an HDTV that can handle a CableCard. The cable company rents those a lot cheaper than an STB.
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I'm pretty shocked actually that many NFL games are not broadcast in HD. I'm not sure if every NFL game qualifies as a "major" sporting event, but if for example you live in the SF Bay Area and your local teams are the sucky 49ers and the even suckier Raiders, there's a good chance you're not going to see too many games in HD. Unless of course you get the Sunday Ticket from DirecTV, and even then you won't get to see the local teams in HD very often.
| Originally Posted by slksc For example, every major sporting event is now broadcast in HD. That by itself is good enough for me. |
I was able to watch my 49ers in HD here. It just depends on what the channel is doing. CBS broadcast the game in HD one week, then Fox did the next week.
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There are ways around that. The aforementioned antenna is one good example. If you plan on using your TV to watch sports most of what you want can be obtained by setting up a $35 antennae in your attic. Don’t forget that with an ATSC Tuner you will pick up all of the locally broadcast digital stations in your area. In my market (Dallas) the local ABC affiliate provides 8 ABC (regular SD feed), 8-1 ABC-HD, 8-2 Weather, 8-3 Downtown Dallas camera feed. Plus you can pick up free digital stations such as “The Tubeâ€, which is sort of like MTV and runs as a substation of CW in my market. If you live in one of the larger markets you can pick up all kinds of good content OTA.
I’m still shopping for my first HDTV, but I will be getting one with NTSC/ATSC and Clear QAM tuners. I plan to pull some new content (about 24 digital stations plus 30 digital music stations) from my cable company’s unencrypted feed with the Clear QAM and I’ll run a second coax to an antenna for better quality on my HD locals. Plus most of the HDTVs I’m looking at will let me hook up my Mac so I can play games, watch progressive scan DVDs, play MP3s, use the Mac as a DVR and all the rest utilizing a 32 inch screen and my home theatre.
My choice is easy because my 13 year old 27 inch Sony is dying. I purchased that Sony for $599.00 and now there are many 32 inch LCDs in the $699.00 to $899.00 range. It becomes easy to convince the wife that an HDTV is in order when you can point out that you will be getting a TV that will add 30-60 new stations and allow her to surf the web from the couch. In my case once I mentioned that the $599.00 we spent in 1993 is the equivalent of $790.00 in 2006 dollars my wife was sold.
There are many good reasons to buy an HDTV right now. In my case it happens to be the right product at the right time at the right price.
| Originally Posted by K-10 i hate the idea of getting fleeced by the cable company for renting a STB for the ENTIRE life of my tv. renting a STB to watch HD content on cable shouldn't be a hobson's choice. |
I’m still shopping for my first HDTV, but I will be getting one with NTSC/ATSC and Clear QAM tuners. I plan to pull some new content (about 24 digital stations plus 30 digital music stations) from my cable company’s unencrypted feed with the Clear QAM and I’ll run a second coax to an antenna for better quality on my HD locals. Plus most of the HDTVs I’m looking at will let me hook up my Mac so I can play games, watch progressive scan DVDs, play MP3s, use the Mac as a DVR and all the rest utilizing a 32 inch screen and my home theatre.
My choice is easy because my 13 year old 27 inch Sony is dying. I purchased that Sony for $599.00 and now there are many 32 inch LCDs in the $699.00 to $899.00 range. It becomes easy to convince the wife that an HDTV is in order when you can point out that you will be getting a TV that will add 30-60 new stations and allow her to surf the web from the couch. In my case once I mentioned that the $599.00 we spent in 1993 is the equivalent of $790.00 in 2006 dollars my wife was sold.
There are many good reasons to buy an HDTV right now. In my case it happens to be the right product at the right time at the right price.
Do HDTVs have a certain time of year that new models are introduced? Like how next year's cars come out in September. Or are companies just constantly cycling in new models?
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