btclaz
join:2001-01-02
Tucson, AZ | Training! COX Cable in Tucson/Phoenix have NO IDEA what HD is. DirecTV still charges $399 for a new subscriber to get HD/DVR equipment. Once big companies understand and offer better deals it will take off...but I doubt this year. They are just as ignorant as the people who are satisfied with older TV's.
I feel so far ahead of the curve with my HD TV and Home Theater systems. It's like talking to an AOL dialup tech if I need anything from a provider. They just don't understand the newer technologies and obviously haven't been trained on it. |
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They are just as ignorant as the people who are satisfied with older TV's
And that attitude is why some will hold on to their rabbit ears, 8 tracks, VHS, and dialup forever. Calling people "ignorant" because they don't own the same technology as you just smacks of elitism-big f*ckin deal. people who can't or won't afford to plop down the cash for this are "ignorant"? millions would disagree with you. |
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btclaz
join:2001-01-02
Tucson, AZ | The providers are ignorant. Like most others who WON'T go to newer technology. I see you're part of that latter group. I'm not elitism. I just have a newer TV for God's sake. I wonder if HD exisits in Kentucky at all? I'd be surprised with your attitude.
Training is still key whether you like it or not. |
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 japPremium
join:2003-08-10
038xx | reply to btclaz
said by btclaz:They are just as ignorant as the people who are satisfied with older TV's. I feel so far ahead of the curve with my HD TV and Home Theater systems. Please deflate self & recognize there is more than one curve. My curve is integration to PC: less hardware, less junk in my life, a single inexpensive provider, less time in front of the idiot box, and close proximity to several good theatres that serve beer and salad. So I'm way ahead of you. 
The reason many of us don't embrace HD is not ignorance, it's simply that TV is not a priority in life. |
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btclaz
join:2001-01-02
Tucson, AZ | That's great! I wish I could get out and have a few beers. I am stuck at home trying to recover from several cancer surgeries. I enjoy my TV and wireless laptop too with a 6 Mbps connection. My variety is more than one device. TV-->Laptop.
But seriously, MOST people have no idea what HD is. They assume it's for the rich people only. This likely due to the $20k TV's they USED to sell. Prices are down, very much lower. Even friends who tell me they have HD, really DON'T. They don't know what it is either. Just because you have Satellite TV doesn't mean you have HD. As a matter of fact, my cable company only offers 9 HD channels TOTAL here. Although they advertise many more. I hear DirecTV only has 16 in my area. I can only hope it grows in 2006, but we'll see. With the launch of a new DirecTV HD Sat. in 2006, it should speed things up a little. |
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1 edit | And most people who think they have HD, like yourself, don't realize that 50% of the HD content that they believe thay are receiving is just upconverted SD content.
I am one of the "Ignorant" bunch who will wait until almost all of the content is real HD content, and all of the "Non-Ignorant" early adopters have paid for the development of the HD equipment, and then and only then will I jump on the HD bandwagon.
I was an early adopter of SD content in 1994 and have reaped the benefits of that technology, but I have watched from sidelines as I have seen missteps and mistakes followed by more missteps and mistakes in the deployment of HD technology. HD is still not ready for primetime deployment, and I really appreciate that there are the "Non-Ignorant" users paying for its development and deployment.
And I will wait until the 100 hour HD DVR is available for $200 and the 36" LCD HD Capable Flat Screen is avaliable for $1000, and almost all of the content from most sources is actually HD content and not just upconverted SD content.
Extra Edit:
DirecTV has already launched their HD MPEG4 Satellite, but the others in the series will take a couple more years to launch and deploy. At the start of deployment the new DirecTV HD Satellites will be used to spread HD local content only and will MPEG4, which will require new equipment, which the DirecTV spokesman said will not be offered for free. Previous HD equipment will continue to receieve the current HD content until DirecTV has finished delopment of all HD locals by the end of 2007 or the beginning of 2008.
All users who bought into the early HD DVR for $1000 or just recently for $399, will have to buy the compatable MPEG4 DVR, which could cost somewhere between $200 and $400.
But even at the end of deployment of the HD locals on DirecTV, except for the wide spread local HD channels, there will still only be a small number of available HD channels (in comparison to total channels), and then only a small amount of true HD programming, and all of this will not even happen until almost 2008.
I still beleive, that except for sports programming, waiting for HD development and deployment is the only "SMART" thing to do. |
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btclaz
join:2001-01-02
Tucson, AZ | Great information. Thanks. Especially regarding DirecTV. I am likely to hold out even longer myself before I invest further. DVD's and HD Cable service will have to suffice till 2009. I had to buy a new TV, my 20+ year 21" (4:3)finally went bad.
I am fully aware of the channels that are claimed to be HD when indeed they are not truly. That is my point with the providers thinking they are HD now when they are a long way away from it. They advertise one thing, deliver another. Their Sales and Tech people have not been trained in this emerging technology. My cable provider has two REAL HD channels, INHD1 and INHD2, yet others are HD only "sometimes". It's great watching a concert in HD with 5.1 surround sound or football games in such great detail. But those are rare indeed. I wish providers didn't advertise so heavily that they have all this HD content and channels when in reality it is still VERY limited. I fee like the all lie cheat and steal to get the extra buck.
I guess I could run up to Best Buy and get an HD Antenna for $25 and cancel HD programming with the cable company. It'll be just like in the 70's but clear!
For those who don't WANT to go to new technology...There were many like you who only wanted dialup and did not want to make the move to high speed internet. But through time you probably accepted it and now say "I'll never go back to dialup". HD television will be much the same once completed in 2009.
...and there were those of us who said 40 MB hard drives is "all we will ever need", or better yet, 640k is all the memory you'll ever need. Times change, accept it and enjoy it. |
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japPremium
join:2003-08-10
038xx | reply to btclaz
said by btclaz:I wish I could get out and have a few beers. I am stuck at home trying to recover from several cancer surgeries. Yup! Stuck at home types are what TV is great for. Here's hoping you get back on the ale soon - if only for the occassional swallow.
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KearnstdElf WizardPremium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | reply to btclaz
i still use a standard def TV, but i have better things to spend my hard earned money on then replacing a perfectly working TV set. such as saving up to replacing my 10yr old pickup truck. getting a new more fuel efficent car is more sensable then junking a 3yr old TV set just because HD is available.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports |
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 rec9140Provoice just DO it
join:2003-07-29
Mulberry, FL | reply to btclaz
Re: KET Doing DIGITAL RIGHT! said by btclaz:
I wonder if xx exisits in Kentucky at all? I'd be surprised with your attitude.
Actually Kentucky Educational Television (KET) is doing the citizens of KY a great service:
1) Digital 8VSB Broadcasts »www.ket.org/dtv/faq.htm
2) EMWIN Weather Datacasting (»www.ket.org/dtv/datacasting.htm)
Brodcast sites
»www.ket.org/dtv/channels.htm
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1 edit | reply to btclaz
Re: Training! said by btclaz:For those who don't WANT to go to new technology...There were many like you who only wanted dialup and did not want to make the move to high speed internet. But through time you probably accepted it and now say "I'll never go back to dialup". HD television will be much the same once completed in 2009. In my case, I have had cable based broadband Internet service, since 1998 (my cable company was the 2nd Road Runner in the nation, in 1997, I waited about 9 months before installing and had a 3COM modem).
You should also understand that the digital bill just passed that has a deadline of Februray 18, 2009 does NOT MANDATE HD SERVICE, it just mandates digital service. And in the case of my cable company, they already switched to fully digital this last October. The switch to digital in Februray 2009 will not require that all broadcasters delivery HD content, just that they deliver a digital signal, and they will be required to quit broadcasting analog on specific frequencies, that the FCC wants to auction off. The analog TV signals use the 700MHz frequency band and the wireless companies are salivating over those frequencies.
So, remember that the February 18, 2009 cutoff HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH INCREASING HD CONTENT or BROADCASTS.
And you should also understand that some us early adopters, Betamax 1975, VHS 1979, various small computers from 1978-1983, IBM PC 1983, CD 1985, DirecTV 1994, DVD 1998, Broadband 1998, DVR (TiVo) 2000, and the DirecTV TiVo DVR 2003 (when the price dropped to $99), do not feel the need to buy into HD devices that should not only change a lot over the next decade but also drop to less than half the current cost. And during this same time period, the amount of HD content should increase to the point that investing in HD technology finally makes sense. |
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