Will We Ever Be Able to Get a HD Only Package?

Hi everybody!

Earlier this week, Dish Network announced that they will be launching 22 new HD channels. This will give Dish Network 95 HD channels, and DirecTV 104 HD channels. Even though cable companies are extremely far behind in the HD broadcasting department, this got me wondering. Will we begin to see HD only packages available to subscribers in the near future?

It seems to be a strange question at first, but here’s my reasoning. I currently subscribe to DirecTV and the only channels I watch (almost at least) are the HD channels. It just looks much better than their regular signal, regardless whether the channel is actually showing an HD program or not. Plus, almost every major network on Dish and DirecTV has a HD feed now. I doubt that I’m the only person that pretty much only watches the HD channels now that so many of the networks are broadcasting these HD signals.

Maybe it’s just a pipe-dream, but I’m hoping that this does become a package available as I would surely sign up. In my hometown, cable offers about 80 channels total (not including premium channels like HBO and Showtime). If you want all 80 of these channels they charge an insane $60 per month. Quite frankly, there are more HD channels in Dish and DirecTV’s line-up now if you include the premium channels and sports channels that I think they could easily offer an HD + Local channels only package for $60 to $70 per month.

Maybe some aggressive packages like that would get the big cable companies off their butts and start offering new HD content in order to continue competing. They’ve been lagging behind the technology curve for far too long, with prices far too high as it is.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this idea. Would you pay for a HD only package like the one I suggested above? Do you have any other ideas that may be even better?

The Best of the Current Blu-Ray Players

Hi everybody!

The last 2 weeks I’ve told you about what I thought the best budget LCD HDTV and the best of the 40″-50″ HDTV’s were. This week, I’m going to take a break from HDTV reviews and tell you what I feel the best Blu-Ray players are. To date, Blu-Ray players are a real hit or miss proposition. That doesn’t sit very well with me, since you can expect to pay in excess of $400 for a player. I’m a huge fan of high definition, and I want you all to avoid any negative experiences that may sour you on the new Blu-Ray format.

Currently, there are 2 players I feel confident recommending to you. They stand leaps and bounds above the rest of the competition, not only in quality, but features as well.

Playstation 3

This should come as no surprise to anybody. This is the player that nearly single-handedly defeated the HD DVD format in just about a year and a half. This is a very high quality product, and is much well-built than the Playstation 2 was. The PS3 handles any Blu-Ray out there with ease, and usually gets updates for future titles before the title is even released. Here is a list of the pros and cons.

Pros

• Easily updated. The PS3 has an Ethernet port for you to easily connect to your internet service for updates, as well as online play if you use it to play games on. It also has built in wireless if you have a router or modem that transmits a wireless signal, making the Ethernet cable unnecessary.
  
• Profile 2.0 player. The PS3 was the first to offer the final 2.0 profile for Blu-Ray playback. This enables you to access more content and games via the internet to add even more content to your Blu-Ray movies.
  
• All-in-one media center. The PS3 plays Blu-Ray movies, games, DVD’s, CD’s, and can stream content from your PC or iPod.
  

Cons

• Ugly. This machine will clash with anything that you currently own for your entertainment center. The shiny black coating on the outside is also a dust magnet.
  
• Loud. The PS3, while quiet most of the time will get quite loud if the fan kicks in to overdrive. In order to avoid this, you must keep your PS3 in an open area with lots of breathing room and away from anything that puts out heat. This makes it very hard to integrate into some home entertainment set-ups.
  
• Can’t use a universal remote. This doesn’t affect everybody, but if you use a universal remote so you only need 1 remote like I do it will drive you nuts (I use a harmony universal remote). The only remotes you can use so far without a major workaround is the PS3 controller, or a Bluetooth power remote you must buy separately.
  

Panasonic DMP-BD30

This player has the best reputation out of all the stand alone players, and with good reason. This player is by far the smoothest running stand-alone player out there. It doesn’t suffer from most of glitches the other players suffer from. Here are the pros and cons fro this player.

Pros

• Bitsreams HD Audio. For anybody who owns a newer receiver that can decode the HD audio itself, this player will bitstream the audio. This will enable your True HD lights on your receiver to light up.
  
• Updated Frequently. This is one of the problems that plague most of the stand-alone players. Nobody wants to buy or rent a new release Blu-Ray movie only to put it in their player and find it needs an update to play. Panasonic is on top of things in this department. When an update is needed, it is usually released the same day as the affected movie is. Some other manufacturers can take up to 3 months to release an update to get a movie to play.
  
• Runs silent and cool. This is a must feature for anybody that wants to put this player in their entertainment center. As with all electronics these days though, I highly recommend that the area it is placed in is not completely enclosed. It’s not worth the risk of having your electronics overheating due to lack of ventilation.
  

Cons

• No Ethernet port. This is a problem because it makes it more difficult to update your player. The manufacturer’s website gives directions on how to do this, but many people don’t read the directions and end up ruining their machines while attempting to update them. At least 90% of the time a player is ‘Bricked’, it is due to the consumer turning off their player before the update process is finished. They then need to send it in to Panasonic and wait for a replacement unit to arrive.
  
• Not the best at up-scaling DVD’s. All Blu-Ray players have the ability to up-scale your current DVD’s to a higher resolution. Unfortunately, this player is among the worst at it.

In the coming months after I’ve had a chance to look at the next wave of players, I’ll re-visit Blu-Ray players. Who know, maybe a new leader will emerge!

Would You Pay $3 to Watch a TV Episode From iTunes?

Hi everybody!

Earlier this week, HBO and iTunes announced that episodes of HBO shows would debut for download for $2.99. iTunes already had many TV shows available for download at the price of $1.99 per episode. Is it really worth it though?

Personally, there is no way I would spend my money on a download for a TV episode on to my iPod. For 1 thing, even $1.99 is way to expensive. For instance, if you want to watch an entire season of a show, and it is the average 20 episode per sean, then you are spending about $40 for the whole season. Now, if you buy the whole season on DVD, you can expect to pay anywhere from $30-$60 for a full season of the show (depending if it is on sale or not). That’s not a very big price difference for something you are going to watch on a fairly tiny screen.

The problems don’t end there for my argument against these digital downloads though. There are 2 more major problems that I can’t get past.

DRM

That’s right, the dreaded digital rights management. Unless you have some pirating software which will remove the DRM for you, then you are extremely limited to how you use these shows you download. You won’t be able to share it with a friend like you could a DVD or even transfer it easily to watch on your bigscreen TV.Plus, you can forget about burning it to a disc that you can play in your movie player. The DRM is very effective at making sure that only you can watch it, unless you let your friend borrow your iPod that is.

Re-Playability

When I pay money to watch something that is on TV for free, I want to be able to watch it whenever I want to, however many times I want to watch it. While it’s true that you can do this with the iTunes downloads, how many episodes can you keep on your iPod at a time? Certainly, not an entire season. Most likely, the episodes you’ve already watched will need to be deleted in order to get new episodes. So why pay for an episode that I won’t be able to do whatever I please with like I can with a DVD? My answer is simple. I won’t pay for it. If I pay for a TV show, it will be for a DVD that I have full control of. Otherwise, I’ll simply wait until they play the re-runs.

What are your thought on paying for TV show downloads from iTunes?

A New LCD HDTV With a Built-in Web Browser?

Hi everybody!

This week Sharp has announced 2 new LCD HDTV’s with a built in web browser. The new TV’s are aimed at commercial use (and priced for it as well), but it could lead to promising new and cheaper versions intended for the home consumer in the future. In fact, if these LCD HDTV’s were near the cost similarly sized sets I would certainly be looking in to getting one myself. I can envision plenty of uses for a HDTV like this one with its web browser. The first thing that comes to mind would be doing my online school work without needing to go into my office. This is important for me, because it would free me up from the limitation of working on my school work only after my son takes his afternoon nap. He’s not allowed in the office because there is too much he could get hurt on in there, and he’s only 2 so there is no way I will leave him alone while doing my school work. These new HDTV’s also have a pretty impressive set of features as well.

Both displays use Sharp’s proprietary Advanced Super View (ASV) panel, with a sub-6ms pixel response time and 176 degree viewing angles. The monitors feature 1500:1 (TL-M4600) and 2000:1 (TL-M5200) contrast ratios. Connectivity includes analog and DVI-D computer inputs as well as HDCP-compatible HDMI, and both the M4600 and M5200 have a built-in web browser.

The TL-M5200 is available now priced at around $4,995. The TL-M4600 will be available in June priced at around $3,995. Both have a three-year warranty which includes the backlight.

The TL Monitor series has a full, two-megapixel 1920 x 1080 HD resolution for exceptionally accurate and precise image reproduction. Sharp’s proprietary Advanced Super View (ASV) panel provides stellar picture quality for fast-moving video through its fast pixel response time of less than 6 ms, as well as high brightness and wide 176 degree viewing angles while maintaining exceptionally low power consumption. For a superior picture in practically any lighting condition, the monitors feature 1500:1 (TL-M4600) and 2000:1 (TL-M5200) contrast ratio, enabling viewers to discern details they might otherwise miss, particularly when viewing darker content. High image quality and color accuracy is ensured through Sharp’s advanced signal processing technology, providing an unparalleled image for a professional presentation of information, data and images.

Enhanced Connectivity

The new TL monitor series has an array of input connectors to show all types of content, from DVD to varying PC resolutions from both analog and digital (DVI-D) sources for all types of presentations. The monitors include an HDCP compatible HDMI input for access to premium HD content, as well as a built-in Web browser. The monitors are designed for landscape mode use, and also offer an optional stereo speaker system, which attaches across the bottom of the display, for enhanced audio during presentations.

If you were to own a LCD HDTV such as this, what uses could you find for it? Do you think that this will start a trend towards HDTV’s with internet connectivity?

What to Look For in a Home Theater Receiver

Hi everybody!

Yesterday, I talked about some of the benefits of owning a home theater receiver. If you missed the article, it can be found at:

Why Should I Own a Home Theater Receiver?

So you already know that a home theater receiver provides:

• Switching for all of your home theater system’s audio and video components
  
• Surround sound decoding
  
• Signal processing for simulated sound fields and bass management
  
• Amplifies the audio signals to drive the loudspeakers and controls the playback volume
  
• Serves as an AM/FM radio tuner
  

Today, I’m going to talk about how to go about looking for a receiver for your entertainment center that will fit your needs. As always, this is a beginner’s guide so I will try to stick to the things the average consumer should care about. However, this is a little more complicated, because what you want or need depends on what kind of components you have (i.e.: DVD player, Blu-Ray player, etc).

If You Own a Blu-Ray Player

If you own a Blu-Ray player, or plan to purchase one in the future there are certain things to look for if you are the average consumer. The first thing you need to find out is whether or not your Blu-Ray player passes the audio via bit streaming (i.e.: your receiver decodes the audio, not the Blu-Ray player), or if the player outputs the audio via PMC or LPCM (i.e.: your player decodes the audio, not the receiver). 2 of the more popular player for example both send the audio differently.

The Playstation 3 transmits audio via LPCM. So you only need a receiver that can accept LPCM from the player. This gives you a huge list of receivers to choose from, as well as allows you to choose from the less expensive receiver models. In order to receive the high definition audio codes, you must connect your player to your receiver with a HDMI cable. The only other thing you need to check on the receiver is whether it has 5.1 channel surround sound, or 7.1 channel surround sound. That selection is your choice, depending on how many speakers you want to have.

The Panasonic DMP-BD30 and DMP-BD50 players pass audio via bit streaming. In order to get the new High definition audio from these players there are a few more requirements. In order to receive the new high definition audio with these players you not only need to use a HDMI cable, but the receiver must be able to process and decode the HD audio formats. Another added requirement is that the receiver must have the more expensive HDMI 1.3 inputs on it. There are far fewer receivers capable of meeting these requirements at a reasonable price at the moment; however the new line of Onkyo receivers being released soon may fit the description.

What Else Do I Look For?

To be honest, if you are the average consumer there isn’t really anything else you need to worry about. Make sure that the receiver actually takes the audio and plays it on the speakers rather than the dreaded video pass-through some companies try to dupe you into. If the receiver is simply video pass-through, it acts like a middle man between your player and TV. Rather than passing the picture on to the TV and playing the audio through your receiver, it passes both audio and video to the TV making your receiver unable to play the HD audio.

The last thing to look for is simply the number and type of connections you need it to have on the back. For instance, I own an Xbox 360, HD DVD player, PS3, and an HD satellite box. Each one of these can use HDMI so I needed to be able to connect 4 HDMI cables. A receiver like that was out of my price range, so I got an Onkyo TX-SR 705 which has 3 HDMI inputs, and got 1 automatic switch that my PS3 and Xbox 360 share.

I hope you all found this article helpful! Friday, I’ll let you know what I’ve found to be among the best receivers on the market.

Why You Should Own a Home Theater Receiver

Hi everybody!

Today I thought I would talk about the benefits of a good home theater receiver. These days, companies are focusing more on all in one media hubs for your home. Some of the best examples are the current video game consoles. Both the Xbox 360, and the Playstation 3 are great examples of machines that can stream music and videos from your PC, play video games, and play movies all on your TV.

A home theater receiver is the heart of any decent quality home theater surround sound audio system. Home theater receivers perform many important duties as the central hub of your home theater.  Once properly connected to the rest of your audio/video home theater components and home theater speakers, an AV receiver makes it convenient to switch between your audio and video input sources at the mere push of a button or turn of a knob. The receiver can also expand the amount of equipment you can connect to you TV by making it possible to connect everything to the receiver, and then only running 1 connection to the TV. This also makes it much easier to hide the jumble of wires from all of your system components such as your video game consoles, DVD players, and cable boxes.

In addition to A/V switching, a home theater receiver also has built-in surround sound processing whose job is to decode the multi-channel digital surround sound audio soundtracks from Blu-ray Discs, HD DVD discs, DVDs, HD receivers, etc. This means that you will be able to enjoy the new high definition audio codec’s like Dolby True HD, and DTS MA giving you a much more movie theater like sound in your home when watching movies.

Lastly, a receiver includes a built-in AM/FM radio tuner, usually with dozens of radio station presets.  Many receivers today are also XM or Sirius satellite radio ready, or Internet radio ready, which means (with additional optional hardware and subscription to service) you’ll be able to enjoy unlimited digital radio programming.

The items listed above are just basic reasons for getting a home theater receiver. Tomorrow, I’ll give you advice on what to look for in a home theater system, and on Friday I’ll list what I think the top receivers for a first time buyer are.

How to Get the Most Out of Your HDTV

Are you thinking about buying a HDTV? Are you already an owner of a HDTV? Well, here are some tips that will help you maximize your HD experience. These tips are things that are completely optional to do, but they will make a big difference in your home television and movie watching.

Calibrate Your Picture Settings

The first thing you should do after setting up your HDTV is to properly calibrate the picture settings. This will help ensure that you are indeed getting the best HD picture that your new HDTV can give you. The easiest way to do this is to buy a copy of DVE (Digital Video Essentials). This DVD (also available in a Blu-Ray format should you get a Blu-Ray player also) will walk you through the step by step process of how to calibrate the colors, black levels, etc to ensure you are getting the best picture possible.

It’s amazing to see how much better you TV looks by using DVE rather than leaving the setting the TV was set to out of the box. It’s also much, much more accurate than trying to ‘Eyeball’ the settings.

Buy a Blu-Ray Player

Obviously, if you don’t ever rent or buy movies to watch then there is no point in owning a Blu-Ray player. However, a Blu-Ray player is the only thing right now that can even take advantage of that fancy 1080p display you may have on your HDTV. Television is broadcast at 720p or 1080i, never 1080p. Every Blu-Ray movie is 1080p by default (it is compatible with 1080i and 720p displays, so there is no need to worry about it not working on your HDTV).

Blu-Ray is also the only way you can currently receive the new high definition audio codec’s’. Keep in mind though, if you don’t have a receiver and instead hook you Blu-Ray player directly to your TV then it will still sound exactly the same as always.

Get a Good Surround Sound System

This will give you the ability to listen to 5.1 or 7.1 channel surround sound on your Blu-Ray movies with all the high definition audio codec’s. You need to make sure you do your research before buying a receiver though. Many receivers offer very gimmicky options which you will never need. Also, they may be lacking the options you need in order to enjoy the new HD audio codec’s found on Blu-Ray movies. I’ll give a full report on what to look for in a home theater system later this week.

Use HDMI Cables

This one is really up to you. Personally, I like HDMI cables because you use only 1 cable for all you audio and video. Also, it gives allows full 1080p signals and all HD audio to pass through it. A third benefit is that it allows all Blu-Ray players to upscale your old DVD’s, making them look noticeably better. Using HDMI cables is a must if you are like me and have many things hooked up to your HDTV. It really cuts down on the jumble of wires and chords connecting everything together.

These are just basic optional steps as I stated earlier, but doing the things listed above will greatly improve your enjoyment of your HDTV. Can you think of anything I’ve missed or have something to add? Let us know!