Editor's Note: GUYS, WE ARE BACK AND WE ARE BACK HARDCORE.By now, many of you loyal readers out there must be wondering what the deal is with this high definition digital stuff going on at your local electronics retailers. I am going to try to explain this as best as I can, and try not to slide into gushing hyperbole with regards to my new HD television set.
Yes, I got one. Yes, it is awesome. No, you can’t borrow it.
Basically, high definition is the future. The price is really starting to come down on these things (though in these difficult economic times, it may still be out of reach for many) and with that whole thing where the FCC got paid off to allow everything to go digital, now is probably the time to start checking these TVs out. Heck, you can use it as a big computer monitor if you want, it's got a jack for it in the back. Pretty neat! Here are a few tips from wiser fellows than myself, who have advised me in the following mystic arts of HD specs:
1080p. I cannot stress this enough. 720p, 1080i, they are garbage. Do not consider a TV that is not 1080p unless you are purchasing a cheap gift for someone you don’t like, like John Travolta. 1080p is the most important spec.
After 1080p, there are a lot of other specs you can look into if you want to get a higher-end TV. A good idea is to look for a TV with a speed of 60 – 120Hz. This spec will likely be found on the more expensive TVs. Contrast ratio used to be important, but a lot of brands are now saying 1,000,000:1 which makes no sense and now the spec is pretty much useless. Samsung and Sony, the two best brands to buy, might still use sensible contrast ratio numbers; 50:000:1 would be pretty good.
As far as brands, Sony and Samsung are probably your top brands. LG is creeping up there, as well. I’m told that Visio makes a pretty good TV, but has nonexistent customer service if there’s ever a problem.
Okay, so you went out and got a high-def TV set and it’s all awesome, but now what?
There are a number of options.
Are you a cinephile who watches an average of 5 – 10 films a week and desperately needs the best picture possible? Get a Blu-ray player. The prices have gone down considerably, and now the newer models can be connected to the internet to download firmware updates. These updates are important, since Blu-ray is still an emerging technology (read: it's STILL not ready yet and they're working on getting the bugs out with running changes. Also known as The Microsoft Method). Also, you don’t need to throw away your old DVDs, because the player will upconvert them to as HD a picture as it can. Pretty neat! I have not watched the upconverted Star Wars Holiday Special. I am afraid.
Are you a gamer, or do you hope to be? Get a PlayStation 3. PS3 has (supposedly) all the best games, and plays Blu-ray discs. Also, you can jack it in to the internet to download those pesky firmware updates.
Are you going to watch crazy amounts of sporting events and occasional films? Digital cable or satellite may be for you! However, my experience with satellite has shown that reception is affected by weather conditions and forest creatures, and some friends of mine have AT&T’s digital cable and it is The Worst Thing EVAR. But hockey looks AMAZING in HD. Holy cow.
But for the average consumer who doesn’t care a whole lot about any of this stuff, I would suggest not purchasing a Blu-ray player. Basically, Blu-ray is shaping up to be another LaserDisc, a relatively expensive prestige format. List price for Blu-ray discs are exorbitant at best; $39.99 for Fantastic Four? Are you serious? Even at discount places like Best Buy or Amazon, you’re looking at $27.99 for Iron Man. If you look around you can find some deals, but I don’t think the format is going to catch on unless the prices for the media go down considerably.
The best bet for the average person with a new HD set would be to purchase DVD conversion player. They retail for around $100 and will upconvert your DVDs to approximate HD. It’s not as good as Blu-ray, but it still looks pretty amazing and the average person won’t notice the difference.
Another reason why the average person shouldn’t get a Blu-ray player is Moore’s Law. Within the next few years (if the infrastructure doesn’t break down completely), broadband will be at a bandwidth capable of effortlessly streaming HD media off the interwebs. NetFlix has already started making this service available, and even some Blu-ray players now have integrated NetFlix players, as does the Xbox 360. The only problem with this option is that the bandwidth isn’t available everywhere to do this yet. If you’re fortunate enough to have some kind of crazy fast broadband service, I’d say go with this option immediately. But Moore’s Law says that it’ll be everywhere soon, so for those of us who have to wait, streaming video is the future!
2 comments:
We upgraded to an amazing tv and already owned a PS3. Bluray is the most awesome thing there is. But pricy.
Very true! I bought a whole bunch of Blu-rays from Amazon during their Black Friday sale and I guess I got some amazing deals, because today I went back and the prices on everything were "normal"(?), which is just ridiculous. The problem is the MSRP on these discs is generally around $39.99. This is insane. There isn't a movie in existence that's worth $40 (except maybe Blade Runner, and that's a 5 disc set), and places like Amazon can only mark the discs down so much. I got all excited when I got a 40% coupon for Borders; then I went there and found out all their Blu-ray prices were so out of whack that I wouldn't save a dime compared to the Best Buy across the way. I came home empty-handed. Responsible spending ahoy!
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