[dwarner]

I'd like a nice widescreen 1080i set, but at the moment. I'd be wasting all that space and resolution.

1. Satellite: Not an option, can't drop Charter cable because my internet connection is bundled with it. (DSL too slow here).

2. OTA: Not an option. Stations are in many different directions, and I'm in a low area. Standard analog VHF/UHF reception was lousy.

3. Cable? Charter doesn't offer HD yet.


So, short of some major telco infrastructure improvements (to enable faster DSL), or HDTV over cable, my only options seems to be prerecorded video. Any ideas when it will arrive?

 

[Josh Z]

HD-DVD, no time soon.


D-VHS is available now, however. It's hard justifying the expense for a tape-based product, but it is the only High Definition software available currently.

 

[peter0302]

Nobody really knows how soon HD-DVD will be. It could be next year, it could not be. Nobody can agree on a common format is the problem.


Sony already sells BLU-RAY DVD recorders/players, but they're mainly for production. No consumer models yet. What has to happen is the MPAA and the technology companies need to agree on one standard for the hardware, software, and, of course, copy protection. Then everything will get rolling - but that hasn't happened yet.


One of the lingering questions too is how these will work with older HDTV sets. Will they figure out macrovision for component outputs so that we can use them? Or will they force DVI/HDCP only? No one yet knows.

 

[ptrubey]

I'm in a low area too with lousy analog TV reception, yet I can get good OTA HD reception with some ordinary UHF antennas. Try a direction UHF near your TV, or a bigger UHF antenna or two inside your attic (that's what I did), or a roof mount - the antennas don't have to be necessarily big.