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Still happy about Pio SD533

385 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by mendes9, Nov 22, 2002

GG2

Discussion Starter · Nov 20, 2002

Iposted this in the other formu, but wanted to share with folks here, since this place was also a big help in mkaing my deciison.

I'm sure that I'm like most everyone on this list who's made a big purchase, but still needs to be reassured that he made the right choice.

That's how I feel about my SD533 which I got about 1 month ago after a 3 month decision process (and waiting on the 507 PB). I went through the same issues all the other newbies, comparing the same sets. In the end SD533 won out & I couldn't be happier.

The reason that I'm writing this now is to share what reinforced my opinion this week. For the first 4 weeks of the TV's life at home, I had no HD source hooked up - just a Comcast digital cable box & Pan RP82 DVD player (Also some DirecTV for NFL.) I remarked in previous posts how great the PQ was on both these sources, even on SD cable stuff. Digital cable channels & DirecTV were exceptionally good.

On Saturday, Comcast came out to swap out the regular digital box for the Mot 5100 HD box. Comcast currently shows HD - HBO, Show, NBC & ABC. While I was giddy with anticipation, when the box was installed, I was a bit surprised when the new HD channels didn't look that much better than the plain old digital cable channels. To me the difference in PQ wasn't as stark as my memory of watching DVD or other SD content in TV stores vs. their HD loops.

Today, I took a walk to J&R to see if they have the Samsung DLP for comparison (they don't). But I was still blown away from my experience. Usually, I gravitate to the plasma display wall and spend time in the RPTV room. However, I was amazed that the PQ of plasmas didn't impress me as much as they usually did. In fact, I noticed a lot more imperfections, fuzzyness, etc. Frankly, the HD stuff suddenly wasn't picture clear.

It dawned on me that the SD533's line doubler must be so good, that it made my regular digital cable look great. Now that I'm used to my Pio, the other RPTVs didn't hold a candle to it. J&R carries Sonys, Panys, & Sams. I haven't gone to other stores to see how I would now rate the Toshis & Hits, but I can guess what my viewpoint will be.

Absolutely no regrets on this end. (DVI? I don't need no steenkin DVI. The PQ makes up for no DVI)

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ianken

· #2 · Nov 21, 2002

Quote:

Originally posted by GG2
On Saturday, Comcast came out to swap out the regular digital box for the Mot 5100 HD box. Comcast currently shows HD - HBO, Show, NBC & ABC. While I was giddy with anticipation, when the box was installed, I was a bit surprised when the new HD channels didn't look that much better than the plain old digital cable channels.

Then something it wrong. Fuzzy analog cable, no matter how good the line doubler cannot hold a candle to 1080i material. Period.

I have a Pro520HD and HD looks dramatically better than SD via cable(analog or digital). Most Motorola boxes have a switch on the back to select output mode. YOu sure you set it to 1080i or "native?"

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GG2

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 21, 2002

in fact it's one of the quirks on the 5100 as far as choosing lesser of 2 evils of losing the program guide in the 480i output.

There is a huge difference between analog cable & HD. But not that much diff bet digital cable & HD. There was also a huge diff bet digital cable & analog cable, so my guess is that Comcast runs a pretty decent DC feed in my area.

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mendes9

· #4 · Nov 22, 2002

GG2, something has to be wrong.... you should see a very very noticeable difference. The only close comparison would be an HD channel VS. an anamophoric DVD, and even there the HD wins out. If you have someone near you that has an OTA digital receiver ask to borrow it so you can compare.

Good Luck

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