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More OT - HDTV - SDTV Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Wed, 2 Jan 2008 05:42:41 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I've never gotten a good answer to this from the 'sales' folks at stores, so I'll go to the Bottomless Well of TSN Knowledge -
I may have to shortly replace my beloved but aging Sony SDTV. The last time we went looking, salesmen wowed us with the depth and clarity of lovely HDTV sets. All fed with broadcast HD signals, or from HD DVDs. When we asked about SDTV channels, they all act like we had stepped out of a horse-drawn buggy. The best they would do is go to a SDTV channel, then set the TV to fill the screen, resulting in a distorted, awful, blurry/blochy picture. When we said that we'd be hard pressed to spend any money for such an abomination, they tell us to watch the HDTV channels.
(1) We have digital cable, and get every channel known to man and beast. We have a slew of HDTV channels available. But not every channel we want to watch is in HD. If I want to watch SciFi or FSNE or Comedy Central or CNN, I'm stuck with SDTV. And we watch a lot of channels not available in HD. Also, I've got some old videotapes and non-HD DVDs.
My present set is a Sony XBR, 27 inches. The XBR has a very nice picture, so that's the standard I'm shooting for. And 27" is quite big enough - I don't have it in a large room. I figure I'd get a 37"-40", as that would give me a screen a couple of inches taller than my present screen, but not make me feel like I'm going for home theater. I'm not. I just want a TV set.
(2) I'm OK with not filling the screen. Really. Right now I prefer watching movies in letterbox format on my 4:3 screen. so I can live happily with black bars on the tops or sides. I don't feel like I'm wasting my money.
So - here's the question (finally) - If I get an HDTV, can I still get a good SDTV picture if I'm willing to watch it in 4:3 format and live with bars on the sides? Are there other considerations I should look for?
Thanks-
posted by 192.249....
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