Direct TV and HDTV Questions...

[CapzNCoilz 10+ year member]

Thanks for looking and hopefully you can provide some insight.

I have a Samsung 50" DLP 1080P HDTV. I want to get the most out of it.

I currently have an Xbox 360 w/ HD-DVD and now I am looking into Direct TV.

I know they "broadcast" in 1080i so it should look better than cable. But there is something that bothers me. There is an offer right now where you sign up for 2 years and you get the receiver for "free." They have 2 different receivers to choose from, DVR and HDTV receiver.

Would I need the HDTV one? The TV has HDTV built into it...but is that box still required?

They said in order to get the local channels in HDTV I need that box...but it doesn't make sense to me since the TV has it already.

If anyone could answer these questions for me I would appreciate it!

Thanks!

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[TXST8tj 10+ year member]

actually if you are going to want DVR, you will need an HDTV DVR box.

your TV is HD built-in, which means that it has an HD tuner built in; which in turn means that if hooked up to an HD antenna, it can pick up HD channels over the air. to receive them from your cable or sat. company, you will still need their box (takes the place of an antenna).

so...if you want HD channels you will need the HDTV box. if you also want DVR capability, you will need an HDTV box with DVR.

HDTV whether cable or sat. provided, is only 1080i/720p, so your 1080p set will not be pushing itself to the limits as far as that is concerned, but you will not know the difference.

you can take advantage of the full 1080p with your xbox 360 HD-DVD player, as it is a 1080p unit and HD DVD discs are formatted in 1080p.

edit: was just talking with my dad who has 'Dish'. he just bought a LCD tv this past weekend and had called to upgrade to an HDTV box with DVR. they are offering the same deal "free DVR or HDTV" box. this does not include an HDTV box with DVR. that is an extra $200. he said Direct charges $300 for their HDTV/DVR box.

i'm a cable person so i think all that is crazy rediculous. when you want to switch to an HDTV box, you just go in and swap it out...no charge. and they don't charge anymore for a HDTV/DVR box (you just pay the DVR subscription).

i'm trying to get he and my mom to switch to cable b/c we pay $119 every month for premium HD cable with DVR, showtime movie channels, digital phone (unlimited free long distance and local), high speed internet (both hardline and wireless).

they are paying $100 for Dish alone, plus $60 for their phone, plus $40 for internet.

 

[CapzNCoilz 10+ year member]

Good info, thank you very much!!

I live in an apartment where they govern what cable company we can use...Unfortunately it's the worst one out there and that is why I am looking into Direct TV and Dish.

The DVR just allows you to record shows and such right? Not to much of a big deal to me...You answered my questions and I appreciate that!

Thanks!

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

they govern the cable providers, but they're gonna let you have a dish?

and there IS a big difference between 1080i and 1080p

720P looks as good, if not better, imo, than 1080i

 

[2kchevy06civic 5,000+ posts]

what does 1080i mean? 1080p is progressive right?

 

[CapzNCoilz 10+ year member]

they govern the cable providers, but they're gonna let you have a dish?
and there IS a big difference between 1080i and 1080p

720P looks as good, if not better, imo, than 1080i

Little lesson here:

When buildings are being built phone companies, cable companies, bleh companies try and sell their services to whomever is the builder of the building...

in my case the apartments sold out to the cheapest cable provider "Convergent Cable." A big one in the neighboorhood is Cox Cable. The lines that were placed when everything was being built were lines for Convergent and not for Cox...

Anyone can put a sattelite dish on their patio...that's no prob //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[TXST8tj 10+ year member]

^^ back in my college apartment days, i went through exactly what you're talking about......except both companies in town were good, but the one we had to use at one particular apt. complex was twice the price of the other company for the same service.

unless you're standing right up to the TV, you won't be able to tell a real difference between 720p/1080i and 1080p. it's just not that huge of a difference. it's kinda why 1080p has become somewhat of a joke/afterthought. from 6ft. + back it's very hard to tell the diff.

and i agree, i do prefer 720p. not slammin 1080p, but when i bought my 720p set, i knew i would not benefit from 1080p......as most people won't.

 

[NebBlackshirts 10+ year member]

HD reciever is what you need. Thats what gets you HD Channels and stuff. We have one here.

 

[frzninvt 10+ year member]

DirecTV only currently offers about 7 channels in HD and that is it. A few more if you get the HBO & Starz packages

So only 7 channels will be broadcast in 1080i, the rest at about 450-500 lines of resolution. Still far better than standard cable and the miserable 200-260 lines.

Dish Network has around 25 HD channels and is quite a bit cheaper. The Gold HD package has 240 channels plus the HD channels to DTV's 175 and only 7 channels of HD.

Your call.

 

[CapzNCoilz 10+ year member]

^^ Good to know.

I am interested in getting my locals in HD as well since a lot of shows on ABC

DirectTV Charges a one time fee of $49 for that...

I'll look more thoroughly into Dish.

Thanks!

 

[wilzyx 5,000+ posts]

dish hd>comcast and directv hd

 

[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

Good info, thank you very much!!
I live in an apartment where they govern what cable company we can use...Unfortunately it's the worst one out there and that is why I am looking into Direct TV and Dish.

The DVR just allows you to record shows and such right? Not to much of a big deal to me...You answered my questions and I appreciate that!

Thanks!

the dvr allows you to record shows yes, directv should have an hd dvr if your interested

^^ Good to know.
I am interested in getting my locals in HD as well since a lot of shows on ABC

DirectTV Charges a one time fee of $49 for that...

I'll look more thoroughly into Dish.

Thanks!

also keep in mind dish is about to lose all their locals in hd since they have been violating the fcc laws regarding east and west coast feeds(la/ny)

as far as amount of channels, directv broadcasts all the channels currently broadcasting in hd. and they are adding more as they become available, if anyone else is "broadcasting" hd, its because they are upconverting them. if you want locals, i'd suggest the off air antenna, you'll pick up more channels than available via directv.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

there's HD local channels on digital cable

they're seperate channels, tho

even with the locals in HD, there's only 20-30 HD channels total, tho

but in the OP's situation, i'd definitely suggest an antenna

 

[joetama 5,000+ posts]

dish hd>comcast and directv hd

I would have to agree....

 

[1loudsuv 10+ year member]

dish hd>comcast and directv hd

true more hd channels and better picture quality

i dont own the xbox add on so i dont know how it compares to the hd-a1 but my a1 makes my cable hd channels look sd.

pretty much dont be dissapointed when your hd channels dont look as good as your hd-dvd 360 even with dish network and directv your gonna be really upset.