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1 edit | reply to btclaz
Re: Training! 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. | |
1 edit | 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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