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hdtv questions answered
by Greg Gibson
October 24, 2003
 NextGenElectronics'
resident HDTV expert Greg Gibson answers your questions about HDTV and
what you should do about this exciting emerging technology. If you have
a question or comment you'd like Mr. Gibson to comment on, please feel
free to email him personally by clicking
here. All inquiries are subject to publication, however, no personal
information will be given away or published.
Scott R. : I came across your column on
the Internet looking for information regarding a Mitsubishi WS TV. The
column said to ask you directly if I had a question. I'm considering purchasing
a used Mitsubishi HD 1080 Series wide screen television. Other than having
seen it and getting the information (HD 1080 Series) off the front of
the TV and knowing the dimensions are approximately 45" wide and
4 feet tall with base, 16:9 ratio, flat, glossy screen, I don't know anything
about it. It does look very nice. Can you provide me with any further
info or web sites with info? I've searched the Internet including Mitsubishi
sites but haven't been able to turn up anything. I'm curious to know about
how old of model it is, if it is HDTV or HDTV ready and what I should
pay for it? Thanks in advance for taking the time to reply to my question!
Greg Gibson : The 1080 series is only to
reflect that the set is capable of projecting a 1080i picture -- i.e.,
High Definition (HD). This is not the model number.
Mitsubishi changes the model number each year, and each
configuration has a particular designator. For example, a Mitsubishi 65803W
designates a 65" widescreen set, with a model number of 65803. You
can then go to the website and download their product catalog or the users
guide, and read about the characteristics of that model (such as age).
I do have one question for you - "What are you thinking!
Buying a USED set?" If so, you are nuts if you don't get an EXTENDED
WARANTEE for several more years. When I got my Mitsubishi, and everywhere
in our columns, I got a 5 year warantee... this is critical in HD and
big screens and Plasma's - because the technology is changing so much
we don't have "experience" in how these sets will perform after
the first few years (plasma tv is particular unknown)... So before you
buy, get the complete model number (see the rear of the set for the manufacturer's
nameplate (near the inputs), and then check the age!
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 Carlos
G . : Thanks for the great column. this my problem: i recently
purchased a philips hdtv and promptly switched out my time-warner digital
box for a time-warner hd cable box. i get great reception and my dvds
look awesome. my problem is since i have the cable box connecting directly
to the tv via monster cables, i cannot videotape programs when i am away.
philips explained to me that my tv has no digital to analog converter
to support monitor-out taping. time-warner said i might get an a/v splitter,
but they weren't very knowledgeable. what are your suggestions?
Greg Gibson : There are several configurations
you can use. Unfortunately, I don't know how many inputs your TV takes,
so let me just make an assumption that your television has (1) an HDTV
input (the output from the HD cable box goes there), (2) a 480p input
(frequently labeled DVD INPUT) cable signal, (3) one or two TV IN for
normal analog input from a cable. For this configuration, split the cable
PRIOR TO the cable HD box (use a good signal splitter like Monster) and
run the additional split line to your recorder (TIVO, VCR) and then output
the recorder to the TV IN. You will have to coordinate your TVs INPUT
SELECTION (like you do now when you watch DVDs) - and you might have to
activate this feature in your TV menu to add the "antenna A or B".
As a side note, you have hit on a MAJOR problem with current
manufacturer's sets - they are too damn complicated to hook up and run.
If you know anyone at MICROSOFT, have them contact me - I can make Bill
Gates an extra Billion dollars with the solution.
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Brendan B. : I am interested in buying
a plasma TV. I love the slim design and the rich vibrant colors. Which
is where my question comes in. I herd that the plasma TV's leak a plasma
gas, (the same gas that maked the color so great) and that diminishes
their life expectancy to about 5 years. Is this true? If so is there any
way to prevent this process, or even slow it down? Is it worth it, or
should I go the DLP route?
 Greg
Gibson : YES! No one knows the long term performance issues associated
with PLASMA sets. Now gas leakage is one I have not heard of, and neither
has anyone of our technical contacts... but there are problems with failures
of individual cells (fail in the ON position) - so you get a RED DOT or
another color in the middle of the picture. That can be very distracting.
Because PLASMAs are (1) very cool, (2) very "room friendly",
and (3) very expensive... we STRONGLY recommend that you also purchase
an extended warantee (max years) for your "new technology set".
We have a Mitsubishi projection set and we got a 5 year extended warantee
(one service call so far for a loose convergence connector)... you really
ought to consider it. Although many will tell you that the extended warantee
will ensure that your set runs fine (Murphy's Law - if you buy insurance
you never need it, if you don't buy it you need it)... it is something
for you to think about.
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Fran N. : We recently built a small log
home in the northwoods of Wisconsin. We have speakers in the ceiling greatroom
and purchased a new receiver and CD/DVD player but found our old tv isn't
compatible with these new devises. We live about halfway between two broadcasting
cities and our garage attic antenna does a fairly good job even though
we live in the tall timber. We decided to purchase the new HDTV so we
would be ready for the future but after some web research discovered our
built-in entertainment center is not large enough to ever have an HDTV
-- the space allowed is only 37 inches wide by 29 inches high. My question
is this: If we buy a nice flat screen analog TV to fit our entertainment
center will we still be able to get local channels five-ten years from
now and what will the picture look like on a 32 or 36 inch screen OR what
do you suggest we do? Thanks so much for any information you can give
us.
Greg Gibson : You ask several questions,
so let us answer in a different order:
1. In a few years, your "normal" over-the-air
analog 2-13 channels will be removed from service - replaced by OTA transmissions
in HD using channels 14+ (UHF). At that point, the picture will be in
HD and the older sets will be "compatible" but have a top and
bottom "bar" on the picture... sort of like what they see now
when playing a widescreen DVD.
2. Broadcasters are rapidly moving toward 16x9 widescreen
HD broadcasts. When they do, and stop using the analog (4x3), then their
signals will be in 16x9.
3. You should DO YOUR HOMEWORK! You need to check will all
your local broadcasters and your cable company (and DIRECTV/DiSH) and
see what your options are --- your local broadcaster can tell you whether
they are moving their HD-UHF broadcast antenna to another location, and
whether you should be able to get the signal... YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET
THE CURRENT SIGNAL BUT NOT THE UHF if they are in different locations.
My "gut level" feeling is that you will likely go cable or satellite
for your viewing pleasure (note that if you can not receive OTA signals
from the networks then DIRECTV will offer you the network feed - soon
to be in HD).
4. Once you have decided how you will watch tv (OTA, cable,
and/or satellite), then you can make an informed decision on what set
to buy.
5. I absloutely don't understand why you are limited to
a width of 37 inches... and you don't mention the depth... anyway there
are some plasma sets that would fit in that space...
Sony 32" Plasma WEGA Television - KE32TS2 HDTV Monitor or Zenith
L30W26 30" LCD Widescreen 16:9 HDTV Monitor or NEC LCD4000 30-in.
HDTV LCD Display or TOSHIBA 32HL83 32-IN THEATERWIDE HDTV LCD DISPLAY
or Sony 32" Plasma WEGA Television - KZ32TS1 HDTV Monitor.
There are lots of options - remember that you will be watching
this set for the next 5 to 10 years - so you might want to get a bigger
set for those long Wisconsin winter nights!
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Ronnie S. : What do I need to receive HD
tv from local over air broadcasters. Also I am currently subscribing to
Direct TV.
Same question here. Also, would it be advantageous to change to Dish Network
as equipment changes are anticipated. I just purchased a 32 inch Sony.
Greg Gibson : You don't say what your current
configuration is... if it is a DirecTV satellite receiver (Scientific
or Hughes) then you have an input connector into the receiver (labeled
antenna)... you can then receive OTA HD broadcasts from your OTA antenna.
You must remember that your OTA broadcasts are on UHF, so I would STRONGLY
urge you to call your local broadcaster to ask about where the antenna
is, and whether they believe you will even be able to GET a signal from
their OTA HD broadcasts (a lot better than spending time and $ to put
up an antenna and then not get anything).
Dish and DirecTV are in a muddle right now and I can't get
them to respond nor provide a coherent reply. I spent $900 for a DirecTV
receiver (Mitsubishi) and used it about 6 months and then switched to
cable... anyone wanting a new rarely used mitsubishi turner should write
me (maybe I should sell it on eBay). I couldn't get CBS, ABC, NBC via
satellite so I dropped them! They also could not provide any information
on when they would carry the networks... and notwithstanding that I begged
my local channel ABC to release DirecTV to provide me the analog network
feed (I can't get a damn thing OTA because of local mountains) - they
refused (and the consumer has no appeal process). So I dumped $900 worth
of equipment in favor of cable.... says a lot doesn't it.
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Jose S. : Sorry forgot to add this to my
earlier question also I have noticed that my DirecTv feed seems to loose
clarity when played on the HDTV versus the 38 inch tv with the same hook
up. I am almost forced to watch regular programs on the smaller tv and
only HD programs on my HDtv. Any advice on how to correct this problem?
Greg Gibson : The DirecTV receiver should
have 2 outputs (component output which goes to the HDTV inputs of the
set; and an antenna out or SVideo out)... try running the second output
to the TV's normal signal input (i.e., antenna in or s-video in)... you
can then watch the analog signal as a separate analog input -- that sometimes
clears up picture issues.
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John K. : Hello, in a past answer to a
question, you commented that DIRECTV's HD
programming was about to die. I currently have the DISHNET service, and
am
considering buying an HDTV, or an HDTV ready set. What is your opinion
of the
DISHNET's HD programming, if you have one? Also, I recently spoke to a
salesman about
buying a set, and was told by him that in the VERY near future all new
HDTV
sets were going to be built with the HD tuners already inside, and that
they
would be compatible with all sources of HD signals. What is your response
to
that statement?
Greg Gibson : The DirecTV and Dish satellite
systems have lots of problems with network HD broadcasts... and they have
not yet gotten their act together. I would suggest that you check with
them and make a listing of what you can receive in HD from them (focus
on more then ShowTime HD, DIscoveryHD, PBSHD, and HBOHD)... then check
your cable company for the same data...
As to tuners built-in by manufacturers - there is a move
to increase built in turners, but it is slowed by problems with Satellite,
cable, and OTA issues. You might be lucky and have a good local cable
company (like mine) that offers HD of CBS, ABC, NBC, HBO, DIscovery, PBS,
and a spare channel for special broadcasts... with their digital cable
box - the outputs go to HD Input and to Antenna A (I switch between HD
and analog broadcasts) of the TV.
Commentary By: Greg Gibson - email
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