Bengals1181 Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 Not sure if anyone may know the answer to this, if you record something that is in HD (on an HDTV) with a VCR (yea, I know, that ancient thing) and play it back on the HDTV, will it show up in HD-quality or not since its not an "HD-VCR" (which I doubt even exist). My assumption would be no, but thought I'd ask some guru's on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-GoBengals- Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 nope. you assumed correct. not even close to capable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slim15 Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 whats a VCR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 [quote name='slim15' post='629303' date='Feb 2 2008, 11:29 AM']whats a VCR?[/quote] Damn whippersnappers.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Burger Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 I think it plays those big black tapes that we used to have............but i'm not sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 I finally splurged and got an HD set. It's a Toshiba LCD 37" Regla (or whatever it's nicknamed). Are HDMD cables really worth the price? I don't have HD programming yet; I am picking up a DVR/HD box from Comcast on Monday and hooking it up. Is the HD automatic? By that I mean do I have to do anything to get the TV to receive the signal, like change an aspect ratio or something? Finally...my DVD's look great and I have a normal cheap DVD player...how much improvement is HD/Blue Ray? Is that improvement all strictly pixel based? This TV says it's 720p but can receive 1080i. What does that mean? I figured a set could either reproduce a certain resolution or it can't. Any other tips on HD sets are appreciated for maximum performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-GoBengals- Posted February 2, 2008 Report Share Posted February 2, 2008 [quote name='Fat Burger' post='629352' date='Feb 2 2008, 02:18 PM']I think it plays those big black tapes that we used to have............but i'm not sure[/quote] racist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorclaws Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 [quote name='Bunghole' post='629418' date='Feb 2 2008, 05:54 PM']I finally splurged and got an HD set. It's a Toshiba LCD 37" Regla (or whatever it's nicknamed). Are HDMD cables really worth the price? I don't have HD programming yet; I am picking up a DVR/HD box from Comcast on Monday and hooking it up. Is the HD automatic? By that I mean do I have to do anything to get the TV to receive the signal, like change an aspect ratio or something? Finally...my DVD's look great and I have a normal cheap DVD player...how much improvement is HD/Blue Ray? Is that improvement all strictly pixel based? This TV says it's 720p but can receive 1080i. What does that mean? I figured a set could either reproduce a certain resolution or it can't. Any other tips on HD sets are appreciated for maximum performance.[/quote] For a 37" TV it might not be worth it to you to upgrade to an HD/Blu-ray player. Once you get HD programming, then you can decide if that looks better than regular dvd's to your eyes. If not, save your money. To get the HD programming, you're going to need either a component cable or an hdmi cable. I would suggest purchasing cables from monoprice.com. Stores like bestbuy will charge you 10-20X the price for essentially the same cables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 [quote name='gatorclaws' post='629446' date='Feb 2 2008, 08:55 PM']For a 37" TV it might not be worth it to you to upgrade to an HD/Blu-ray player. Once you get HD programming, then you can decide if that looks better than regular dvd's to your eyes. If not, save your money. To get the HD programming, you're going to need either a component cable or an hdmi cable. I would suggest purchasing cables from monoprice.com. Stores like bestbuy will charge you 10-20X the price for essentially the same cables.[/quote] Wait...I'm pretty sure my Dad gets HD programming through his Adelphia cable (not all channels are in HD, obviously) with a straight coaxial connection and it looks great. He has a 37 and a 32 inch LCD HDTV in different rooms and a 162" HD projection TV in his media room, which also looks great as long as the lights are kept fairly dimmed. I could be wrong about that, but won't I get an HD signal with an HD cable box plugged via coax into my new HDTV? And won't it look good? Do I HAVE to buy HDMD cables? I thought the biggest benefit of those was not having seperate audio/video connections like a standard A/V setup. I've heard from some people that HDMD is a waste of money. The only HDMD connection I would have is when I get the COmcast DVR/HD box, my Wii and DVD player don't have them. And remember my HDTV is 720, not 1080i, although it says it accepts 1080i input...what does that mean, exactly? That it converts 1080i input into a 720 format? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ickeyshuffler Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 [quote name='Bunghole' post='629449' date='Feb 2 2008, 09:15 PM']Wait...I'm pretty sure my Dad gets HD programming through his Adelphia cable (not all channels are in HD, obviously) with a straight coaxial connection and it looks great. He has a 37 and a 32 inch LCD HDTV in different rooms and a 162" HD projection TV in his media room, which also looks great as long as the lights are kept fairly dimmed. I could be wrong about that, but won't I get an HD signal with an HD cable box plugged via coax into my new HDTV? And won't it look good? Do I HAVE to buy HDMD cables? I thought the biggest benefit of those was not having seperate audio/video connections like a standard A/V setup. I've heard from some people that HDMD is a waste of money. The only HDMD connection I would have is when I get the COmcast DVR/HD box, my Wii and DVD player don't have them. And remember my HDTV is 720, not 1080i, although it says it accepts 1080i input...what does that mean, exactly? That it converts 1080i input into a 720 format?[/quote] i have an extra set of component cables that i would gladly trade for a car wash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 [quote name='whodey24k' post='629451' date='Feb 2 2008, 09:17 PM']i have an extra set of component cables that i would gladly trade for a car wash.[/quote] Do I need those? I would gladly trade you a couple carwashes for them if you can convince me that hey are necessary...I am new to the HD scenario... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 I keep saying HDMD when I mean HDMI....I think....I can't keep these acronyms straight...and I was in the Army, the KING of acronyms! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ickeyshuffler Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 [quote name='Bunghole' post='629453' date='Feb 2 2008, 09:19 PM']Do I need those? I would gladly trade you a couple carwashes for them if you can convince me that hey are necessary...I am new to the HD scenario...[/quote] you can use component cables to hook up DVD and cable boxes for 720p. Look on the back of your dvd player and see if it has a red,green,and blue hook up. It a major upgrade from RCA cords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorclaws Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 [quote name='Bunghole' post='629449' date='Feb 2 2008, 09:15 PM']Wait...I'm pretty sure my Dad gets HD programming through his Adelphia cable (not all channels are in HD, obviously) with a straight coaxial connection and it looks great. He has a 37 and a 32 inch LCD HDTV in different rooms and a 162" HD projection TV in his media room, which also looks great as long as the lights are kept fairly dimmed. I could be wrong about that, but won't I get an HD signal with an HD cable box plugged via coax into my new HDTV? And won't it look good? Do I HAVE to buy HDMD cables? I thought the biggest benefit of those was not having seperate audio/video connections like a standard A/V setup. I've heard from some people that HDMD is a waste of money. The only HDMD connection I would have is when I get the COmcast DVR/HD box, my Wii and DVD player don't have them. And remember my HDTV is 720, not 1080i, although it says it accepts 1080i input...what does that mean, exactly? That it converts 1080i input into a 720 format?[/quote] I guess you can use the coaxial cable for the HDTV. I didn't even think about that. I'm used to working with dvd players/gaming systems that don't have the coax output. I would buy component (red/blue/green) cables for the dvd player and Wii though. You spent a lot on the tv, so it's worth investing in the <$10 cables to make everything look the best it can. Here's for the Wii : [url="http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10830&cs_id=1083001&p_id=3566&seq=1&format=2"]http://www.monoprice.com/products/product....=1&format=2[/url] For the DVD : [url="http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10235&cs_id=1023502&p_id=960&seq=1&format=2"]http://www.monoprice.com/products/product....=1&format=2[/url] or [url="http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240&cs_id=1024009&p_id=2412&seq=1&format=2"]http://www.monoprice.com/products/product....=1&format=2[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted February 3, 2008 Report Share Posted February 3, 2008 Bung- The HDMI cable can be a big plus if your DVD has an HDMI output. I just got my first HDTV, and a new DVD player that has an HDMI connection, and it made a nice difference in pic quality. No, it's still nothing like HD/BluRay DVD, but it's better than using component or S-Vid cables. Another item that can greatly improve your picture quality is a surge protector with a line conditioner on it. The line conditioner filters out noise coming through the power cable. An example: [url="http://www.panamax-sales.com/m8c-pro.htm"]http://www.panamax-sales.com/m8c-pro.htm[/url] I hooked up a similar unit to my folks' HD set over the holidays, and it made a HUGE improvement in the picture quality. It freaked my folks out how much better the picture was. My folks didn't have an HDMI cable, but I can't imagine that the cable would have provided more improvement than the upgraded surge protector would have. Hope this helps. Enjoy the new TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer_Rice Posted February 4, 2008 Report Share Posted February 4, 2008 Get the HDMI cable. I spent $11 for mine. It doesn't need to be fancy. You won't regret it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 [quote name='Homer_Rice' post='629938' date='Feb 5 2008, 02:37 AM']Get the HDMI cable. I spent $11 for mine. It doesn't need to be fancy. You won't regret it.[/quote] $11? The cheapest cable I could find here was $100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 [quote name='WhoDeyUK' post='630098' date='Feb 4 2008, 07:16 PM'] $11? The cheapest cable I could find here was $100. [/quote] I just got my HD cable box/DVR and it has an HDMI connection input, but so far so good with thick component cables. HD is kind of a sham...I get a certain number of channels that broadcast it by ordering the box and service, but I can get more for an addittional cost...but those channels aren't necessarily the same program rebroadcast in HD...it's a completely different format...like ESPN HD. I opted to not pay for the addittional channels for now as adding the HD DVR and keeping my old cable box for upstairs is setting me back an extra $20 a month, so now my bill is about $160 per month, with a bazillion channels, a few in HD, a DVR, unlimited long distance and relatively speedy cable internet. The channels that are in HD look great, the channels that are in SD look reasonable in stretched theatre picture, so I guess I am happy...especially since the HD TV was an early anniversary gift. I just wonder at the difference in HDMI cables versus component ones. And as for my Wii, I don't see the corresponding color-coded inputs.outputs that the back of the DVR box and TV have...nor an HDMI output. Is there a special cable just for the Wii? And I will need to buy a 21st century DVD player to take advantage of this setup, as my current one was a $50 cheapie, although the picture quality is vastly improved over my old 32" Sony Trinitron tube TV...that clocks in at about 250lbs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 [quote name='Bunghole' post='630114' date='Feb 5 2008, 12:37 PM']I just got my HD cable box/DVR and it has an HDMI connection input, but so far so good with thick component cables. HD is kind of a sham...I get a certain number of channels that broadcast it by ordering the box and service, but I can get more for an addittional cost...but those channels aren't necessarily the same program rebroadcast in HD...it's a completely different format...like ESPN HD. I opted to not pay for the addittional channels for now as adding the HD DVR and keeping my old cable box for upstairs is setting me back an extra $20 a month, so now my bill is about $160 per month, with a bazillion channels, a few in HD, a DVR, unlimited long distance and relatively speedy cable internet. The channels that are in HD look great, the channels that are in SD look reasonable in stretched theatre picture, so I guess I am happy...especially since the HD TV was an early anniversary gift. I just wonder at the difference in HDMI cables versus component ones. And as for my Wii, I don't see the corresponding color-coded inputs.outputs that the back of the DVR box and TV have...nor an HDMI output. Is there a special cable just for the Wii? And I will need to buy a 21st century DVD player to take advantage of this setup, as my current one was a $50 cheapie, although the picture quality is vastly improved over my old 32" Sony Trinitron tube TV...that clocks in at about 250lbs...[/quote] If Homer can tell you where to land an HDMI cable for $11, I'd go for it in an instant Not sure about the Wii. Don't have one yet, and as they go for $400 here for the basic set, you can bet I'll be waiting a while before I take the plunge. As for your DVD player, if you're happy with what you have, I'd stick with it until blu-ray (assuming it indeed wins the format war) becomes reasonably priced. Bluray discs will look great on your HD set. I've only seen a few demos of the HD discs, and the results have been spectacular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-GoBengals- Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 [quote name='WhoDeyUK' post='630098' date='Feb 4 2008, 07:16 PM'] $11? The cheapest cable I could find here was $100. [/quote] newegg.com they are like $7... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalsOwn Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 I can tell you from lots of experience that you probably won't notice much of a difference switching from Component to HDMI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorclaws Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 [quote name='Bunghole' post='630114' date='Feb 4 2008, 08:37 PM']I just got my HD cable box/DVR and it has an HDMI connection input, but so far so good with thick component cables. HD is kind of a sham...I get a certain number of channels that broadcast it by ordering the box and service, but I can get more for an addittional cost...but those channels aren't necessarily the same program rebroadcast in HD...it's a completely different format...like ESPN HD. I opted to not pay for the addittional channels for now as adding the HD DVR and keeping my old cable box for upstairs is setting me back an extra $20 a month, so now my bill is about $160 per month, with a bazillion channels, a few in HD, a DVR, unlimited long distance and relatively speedy cable internet. The channels that are in HD look great, the channels that are in SD look reasonable in stretched theatre picture, so I guess I am happy...especially since the HD TV was an early anniversary gift. I just wonder at the difference in HDMI cables versus component ones. And as for my Wii, I don't see the corresponding color-coded inputs.outputs that the back of the DVR box and TV have...nor an HDMI output. Is there a special cable just for the Wii? And I will need to buy a 21st century DVD player to take advantage of this setup, as my current one was a $50 cheapie, although the picture quality is vastly improved over my old 32" Sony Trinitron tube TV...that clocks in at about 250lbs...[/quote] I wouldn't watch SD programming in the stretched mode. Just set it up so there are black bars on the side. I put the links for the Wii cable and cheap hdmi/component cables in my previous post. Remember that the Wii is not a HD system, but this cable will improve the quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bengal Migration| Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 [quote name='GoBengals' post='630157' date='Feb 5 2008, 03:21 PM'] newegg.com they are like $7...[/quote] Now you tell me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer_Rice Posted February 5, 2008 Report Share Posted February 5, 2008 [quote name='WhoDeyUK' post='630231' date='Feb 5 2008, 09:54 AM']Now you tell me...[/quote] Last year, when I got the HDTV, I walked through a CompUsa or Best Buy or someplace like that, and they were offering HDMI cables for like $30. When I called the cable company to order HD programming, I asked about it and they sold me one for $11. I'm with you, Bung, on the tier thing. Two weeks ago, I called to drop the Encore movie tier and they said I'd also lose ESPN HD and about 6 or 7 other HD channels, none of which were movie channels. I said, "WTF? What's the relation between HD, which I already pay you $20 per month for, and the movies I want to drop, none of which have HD offerings?" The answer I got was, "Well, you have to buy this in order to get that. The other HD channels are a separate tier." My doorbell rang this morning. Whaddaya know, it was the Dish installers coming out to set me up. Same amount of money per month, lots more HD, and no bullshit stories from the cable company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer_Rice Posted February 13, 2008 Report Share Posted February 13, 2008 [url="http://www.amazon.com/Super-Resolution-Cable-DVI-Gear/dp/B0002L5R78/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1202777417&sr=8-1"]HDMI cables on sale Amazon $2[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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