Monday, June 25, 2007

If you're getting a new HDTV set

I have a Samsung Electronics 40" 1080p LCD HDTV (LN-S4095D). You can pay up to $2,300 for this thing. Amazon's price now is $1,750 and this place onsale.com (which I can't vouch for) has it now for $1,399, with free shipping. That's a great deal. With HDTV service via antenna or cable or satellite, it's a fantastic picture. Get yourself two HDMI cables from ebay (about $20) instead of paying $100 at the electronics stores, and you're good to go. They connect to a DVR and CD player.

Response to comment: As far as I know, they can still charge for TV boxes. I pay per month for the box and HDTV service. The wrinkle comes when the law allows them to get rid of analog signals entirely. You'll need a converter box just to use non-digital TVs since all signals will be digital. So the federal government is going to subsidize folks to get those boxes. Then you'll be able to keep the old 27-inch 4:3ratio set or the 13-inch set in your bedroom without upgrading to digital sets everywhere.

I think the comment was actually a reference to the new law that just took effect, which is designed to create more of a market for retail cable boxes (with cards to activate them). See http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=12100DQDRA2Q

2 comments:

BIGDOGDAVE said...

joe i cant talk my wife into getting one.i think the pictures are great tho.oh bye the way do you know anything about FCC ruling to cable co. digital channel boxes conversion,they cant charge rent for the boxes after JULY 1,2007

Anonymous said...

Right, over the air high definition TV is free of charge and is great! Don't know what resolution is broadcasted by most networks, I think it is a true 1080i high def. I've got one of these small indoor terk antennas and can receive about 8 digital channels in my area.

The first step to choosing the right hdtv antenna is to check what stations are vavailable in your area, this can be done at AntennaWeb.
Those channels that belong to the yellow color code area can probably be picked up with an indoor antenna. For others, an outdoor antenna is necessary.