[rickcr42]

Quote:

Is it not possible to get a set top convertor and still be able to use an analog TV with the digital feed?

yes but with the new screen perspective you will have an unwatchable TV if the screen size is below 32 inches and that is marginal.Think "letterbox" on steriods and stretched out even wider

It does not beneift the companies yet to publisize the fact that all present sets being sold will be mostly obsoloete,they want your money and this is a great way to sell off all old stock but one day you will wake up and go to your local Tv dealer and ????????


"where did all the TVs go ??????"

at that time the salesman will be rubbing his hands thinking about that fat commision he is about to make on your purchase of the "new" technology that will be the only game in town................

 

[rickcr42]

aspect ratios :

Regular TV as it has been since before i was old enough to watch

:

4X3 , close to square in viewing surface

"letterbox" is 14X9 which on a small screen is annoying but on a big screen just right

HDTV is 16X9 which is even wider and will not play well on a 4X3 screen television.

I am kinda lucky in that even though my TV is fairly new (a few months old) and the screen is the 4X3 shape I have the ability to change aspect ratios in the TV menu plus being 37 inches I don't seem to lose anything when switching though the full resolution may not be there.

has anyone also considered all the armoires and television cabinets that will be made obsolete along with the actual televisions ?

No way a wide screen hi def set that is all left to right and little top to bottom fits in any traditional cabinet so a lot of nice installations will also be screwed by the change.

 

[450]

I actually like 4:3 better than 16:9...oh well.

We got a $400 LCD TV for our kitchen last year...max res. (as a computer monitor) 1024 x 768... its really a normal NTSC television otherwise.

 

[Zanth]

Recently my wife and I made a decision....a decision to get rid of our cable subscription. Why? Because collectively we watch about 8 hours/week of tv - I watch L&O, she watches friends reruns and Reba. To facilitate the transition we bought the Friends and L&O series on DVD. Cable was running us 80/month with all the bells and whistles. Way too much for nasty content. We will never actually buy another tv. Our goal is to buy a projector for the DVD's and any viewing we need to do will be via online content. Save for the news (if one can call it that) there is really nothing I want to watch on tv that I can't get later on DVD. I'm not in a social group that discusses tv programs so it is not as if I will have ruined endings etc.

Let the governments do what they want. I prefer music, and even if 10 zillion laws are passed for various DRM schemas, there is still all that used vinyl out there. Oh yeah baby, I'm planning for the future!

 

[AlanY]

Zanth, that's exactly what I'm planning too! Actually, I cancelled my cable subscription two years ago, and have borrowed a projector from work for watching DVDs a few times already. It's great. Now that home theatre projector prices are finally reasonable, I can't wait to get one. Probably in the fall. Then I can ditch my TV completely.

 

[rickcr42]

Quote:

Zanth, that's exactly what I'm planning too! Actually, I cancelled my cable subscription two years ago, and have borrowed a projector from work for watching DVDs a few times already

Well i got part one down at least !

i tossed cable in favor of Satellite years ago and being a news junkie my sets are on all day and night as background noise.

Each one tuned to a different cable news channel or CSPAN-1/CSPAN-2

(someone has to keep an eye on those knucklheads in congress

)

And yes it has had an effect on my sanity

 

[AlanY]

Hehe, that's great, but I meant I got rid of TV programming entirely, not just cable. I only watch DVDs. I think that's what Zanth was aiming at too.

 

[remilard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyrion That is a scary statistic. I think I watch about 3 or 4 hours when the new seasons of Alias and 24 are out. Otherwise, I watch even less. Sorry, not quite on topic.

I feel the same way. I knew I was below average but 55-57 hours? Wow. I watch Late Night with Conan O'Brien, 24 and Law and Order during the fall spring. I replace 24 and L&O with tennis during the summer and sprinkle a little news in intermittently. I think I average 7-8 hours per week.

 

[Distroyed]

Who's even got 55+ hours a week of spare time?

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Distroyed People still use television as a primary source of entertainment? Why? It's such a passive activity...

Well, when the average IQ is 100, you really can't expect much better...