OT: HDTV Question

conmebol · 02-01-2007, 11:47 PM

I'm thinking about getting one, but I'm kinda waiting to do some research on this.

jtd9046 · 02-01-2007, 11:50 PM

Don't rush it just for convenience. You have the good picture and audio already and the receivers will catch up with the TV technology and the prices will come down. Just in time for the next cable to come and replace HDMI!!!

conmebol · 02-01-2007, 11:53 PM

That's why I haven't really upgraded my receiver. So far, the hdmi switch and my receiver work fine for me.

brianhos · 02-02-2007, 07:54 AM

Originally Posted by conmebol

i always use monoprice.com for hdmi cable. Their 15ft hdmi is only about $8. Their hdmi switch is also very good.

I totally agree...monoprice is a great place. An HDMI cable is an HDMI cable, it is all digital, so as long as the cable is not kinked or the ends broken, you will be fine. You should not spend more than $20 on it.

I have 3 HD tv's and have never bought the expensive HD cables. Now speaker cables, that is a different story.

ISUFan22 · 02-02-2007, 09:58 AM

Congrats lennon! We just entered the world of HDTV last week and I love it!

Watched a few basketball games in HD and our primetime shows.

Also, we watched Saw III and the newest Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie on it - wow. That'll give you nightmares...

Here is a link (The time has come...) to a very similar CF thread to the one here. A number of members more experienced than I in HD gave some great advice on HD, OTA HD channels and more.

I suggest you read through it - it helped me a ton!

hursts · 02-02-2007, 10:16 AM

As far as I know Mediacom does not have digital on its channels 2-78, HBO, Starz, etc should be digital as well as all channels above 78. Those channels that area digital will come in much better than the analog ones that are 2-78.

zmanzbo · 02-02-2007, 10:43 AM

ahahaha HD and Mediacom, those two words go together so well..... Do yourself a favor and swith to dish now. Also the quality of cables do matter. You pay for what you get.

DevilDog · 02-02-2007, 10:56 AM

Depending on which HD or DVR box u get there is a difference between the analog tuners. The HD box and first generation DVR boxes the 6412 they have a poor analog tuner however the DVR 6412 phase III and the new 6416 have a better decent analog tuner.

aeroclone · 02-02-2007, 10:57 AM

If you are having Mediacom come out and setup you HD cable, they will have a set of component cables to hook it up with. Honestly, the quality of the cables they provide seems to be pretty good. If you would like to connect it to a receiver for surround sound, your installer may have an optical cable for you as well. Mine did not, but if you stop by a Mediacom office and tell them you just added HD and need an optical cable for sound, they will just give you one.

I have switched back and forth from HDMI to component and personally don't see a huge difference. The industry is just pushing HDMI because it has some nice anti-piracy features. I would just use whatever is most convenient for you.

As others have said, monoprice.com is the only place to buy any of your cables. With and optical cable or an HDMI cable, anything that works will do. It is all digital so no matter the "quality" of the cable you will get the same signal. This is not true with component cables, as these carry an analog signal that is subject to interference and degradation. In this case getting something a little nicer may be worth it.

madclone · 02-02-2007, 11:02 AM

I agree Dish Network is good for HD. However, if you are in central Iowa and try to get local channels (such as WOI-TV 5) over the air, I would suggest hooking the OTA antenna into the back of the TV. I had mine hooked into the back of the Dish 411 receiver for quite some time and channel 5 would go in an out causing me many headaches and different antennas. For some reason the dish receiver would degrade the signal just enough to cause problems. With the antenna hooked directly into the TV channel 5 works great with a $10 Radio Shack antenna.

conmebol · 02-02-2007, 11:03 AM

I can attest to that, I got 25ft component cable, and optical when mediacom installed mine. The quality is ok. It's not as much difference from analog to digital, but I noticed the difference between hdmi and component.

conmebol · 02-02-2007, 11:06 AM

Originally Posted by madclone

I agree Dish Network is good for HD. However, if you are in central Iowa and try to get local channels (such as WOI-TV 5) over the air, I would suggest hooking the OTA antenna into the back of the TV. I had mine hooked into the back of the Dish 411 receiver for quite some time and channel 5 would go in an out causing me many headaches and different antennas. For some reason the dish receiver would degrade the signal just enough to cause problems. With the antenna hooked directly into the TV channel 5 works great with a $10 Radio Shack antenna.

that's assuming you have tuner built in your tv. I got all the hd channel including kdsm (although kcwi is a little bit fickle) for the tv in my bedroom with just a regular antenna also.

mustangwinner97 · 02-02-2007, 11:56 AM

Don't rush into mediacom or Dish...DirecTV made a big announcement at CES. See the link...

http://directv.com/DTVAPP/global/con...setId=P4130030

ISUFan22 · 02-02-2007, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by mustangwinner97

Don't rush into mediacom or Dish...DirecTV made a big announcement at CES. See the link...

http://directv.com/DTVAPP/global/con...setId=P4130030

Wow...that's pretty big news.

alarson83 · 02-02-2007, 12:45 PM

As a note... i believe you might have to ask mediacom to be sure you get the HDMI if youre going that route. I believe only one model of their HD boxes supports it, and its their newest one, making it a little faster at other little things such as changing channels and the onboard software for VOD\guide\dvr and such (which is ungodly slow on the non-hd boxes).

its worth asking for the box with hdmi even if you just plan on using component.

and yes, get the cheapest cables you can on HDMI.. as far as HDMI goes, cables are cables. signal degredation is a possibility (even with digital, as theres no error correction built into the HDMI spec), but its not going to occur enough in the relatively short lengths of cable in a home theater setup to make a difference