HDTV with SD programming? Advice?
Lannah J asked:
Hello, I’m buying an Toshiba Regza 42″ LCD HDTV…problem is I only have SD programming. I’m buying this TV because it’s on amazing sale (reg. about $1,700; my price: $1,199)…so I’m looking for advice on whether there’s something that will make SD look better. I have satellite TV with non-HD programming and I live with my parents so I can’t exactly force them to pay extra for it. I want to know whether using some kind of special cable will make it look better, and also, just how bad WILL it look? I’ve read reviews on the TV and people who commented on SD programming said anything from “it’s great on SD as well as HD” “Some SD channel are better than other” to “SD sucks on this TV” but the people who said it sucked seemed to also have a lot of experience watching HDTV and I know that once you see HDTV, anything that isn’t HDTV looks like crap…so any advice?
I don’t know if this makes a difference but:
Hello, I’m buying an Toshiba Regza 42″ LCD HDTV…problem is I only have SD programming. I’m buying this TV because it’s on amazing sale (reg. about $1,700; my price: $1,199)…so I’m looking for advice on whether there’s something that will make SD look better. I have satellite TV with non-HD programming and I live with my parents so I can’t exactly force them to pay extra for it. I want to know whether using some kind of special cable will make it look better, and also, just how bad WILL it look? I’ve read reviews on the TV and people who commented on SD programming said anything from “it’s great on SD as well as HD” “Some SD channel are better than other” to “SD sucks on this TV” but the people who said it sucked seemed to also have a lot of experience watching HDTV and I know that once you see HDTV, anything that isn’t HDTV looks like crap…so any advice?
I don’t know if this makes a difference but:
Display Capabilities 480i/480p/720p/1080i/1080p
March 4th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
Because you have Sat tv. The picture will look ok as it is a digital signal. Certain tv’s will also deal with SD better then others (sony is generaly the best although in my experiance tosh does an ok job.) There are no special cables you can really use other then the best connection out of the sat box either component or s video depending on the box. The other thing i would recommend is an antenna that way you can get at least your locals in HD if you want.
March 5th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
The picture will not look very good. Old picture tube TV’s will look significantly better on SD then your new TV. This is because satellite companies “compress” the signal, which is how they can offer hundreds of channels. This compression will make a digital signal seem analog. Also, satellite is broadcast in either 480i or 480p. HDTV’s are made to process 720p/1080i and 1080p resolutions. With a 480 signal, the TV will have to “fill in” the empty pixel space. You WILL be unhappy with the picture quality and wonder why you didn’t just keep the old TV. You must upgrade to HD to get what you want out of your new TV. Then, you will be stunned by the quality of resolution.
DishNetwork charges $20 a month for HD programming. DirectTV only charges $10. If your parents dont want to upgrade just tell them that you will pay the extra cash for your programming.