I want a new HD TV!

I want a new HD TV!
I just read that WalMart will stop selling HDTV sets, and go with Blu-ray. What are the implications there? Does Blu-ray refer only to playing movies on the TV set, or is it a different kind of high definition? What limitations are there, comparing Blu-ray and HD?

If you can hold out about six more months ( and I will do some research to back up this statement later tonight) there was a big to-do about the blue/ray VS high definition and apparently there will be a 'winner' so to speak.

And I do think it was Blue Ray. which means..most of the basic tv's now ( HD ones..) may not be able to show rented videos and other things.

but.. again.. dont quote me yet as I may be WAY off the mark with my memory here..

I do have to say though that I am not a gadget girl myself.. but we chose a TV that does mount on the wall and I can not believe how much easier it is to just watch it...let alone control it, clean it , and the floor space.. oh my.

We had to pick a very small apt ( less then 700 sq ft) and having a conventional TV would have taken up alot of space.
Not to mention that we dont really watch tv to begin with.
We watch rented moves 99.99% of the time.
In fact, we do not even own an antenna so we cant get local TV stations.

But having it on the wall?
I can program it easier because I can see the control buttons better.
I can reach them easier.
I have more floor space
AND the tv itself is lighter and smaller then a regular tv.

But, I dont want to sound like Im telling you not getting a wall mount is wrong.. we just saved alot of money by choosing one and it has just made what little 'tv life ' we have much easier..

Re: I want a new HD TV!


HD sets will not be mandatory. HDTV is high-definition. That has to do with the number of pixels used to create the display of the picture.

What will soon be mandatory is Digital TV. Digital TV is the signal transmitted from the source to your antenna or via your cable or satelite hook up.

HDTVs cost many hundreds of dollars. A digital converter box for an analog TV costs as little as $50 and has the added benefit of a $40 rebate coupon from the government to help pay for the conversion.


You can read more about all this here in this topic:

Digital to Analog Converter Box

I want a new HD TV!
I'm not in any great hurry, and am hoping that the Blu-ray thing will sort itself out. It may work out to something like PCs and Macs, where neither will do everything, but each will have its advantages. If so, I'll be looking for which advantages are the ones I want.

As for mounting on the wall, this is not an option. The only good place for the set is at the foot of my bed which means it's right in front of a window. This location doesn't cause a problem with light and/or air, as there are two large windows and a glass door, but it does mean there isn't enough wall space for the set.

I've lived without watching TV for several years now, and can certainly wait a few months till prices (hopefully) come down and I can decide what my preferences are. At present I have several cassettes - "Tootsie", one of the "Harry Potter" movies, etc - and I haven't watched any of them yet, but I gather that the new sets won't take cassettes, so maybe I'd better look at them one of these evenings.

Decisions! decisions!

I want a new HD TV!
Major problem: My current TV is about shot. I'm looking to replace it, regardless of HD, Blu-ray capacity, or whatever, but don't want to get something that will be obsolete in a year or two.

I have recently read that millions of rabbit-ears sets will be non-functional, even with the converter box. And who knows if the converter box would work with my present set anyway. This is something I'll have to look into.

Perhaps I should get a plain, non-HD set - I'm sure they will be coming down in price rather quickly - and just hitch up the box.

Since you don't watch much tv and don't care about it, my first question is why bother buying a set at all?

But since you're going to, why not get a cheap set, maybe something from the pawn shop even, to hold you over until the Blue Ray/HD situation is decided upon. Then, once that's worked out, buy a good set.

Just so you know, if you're buying an HD TV because you've been hearing the ads about what a far superior digital quality picture they have, you may be disappointed. I have one and I don't think it looks any better than the picture on my old TV. It looks a little different, but not necessarily any better. The fevered hype of superior quality is mostly just another bunch of horseshit that advertisers have put out there to sell more TVs, in my opinion.

I don't watch much TV either, but I do suggest if you invest in an HD to get one larger than 20"

Also...word on the street is cassettes are not coming back.

Once you see how much better the picture is, you will realize it is better getting a larger picture because it does really enhance viewing enjoyment. I'm not saying enormous, but bigger than 20"

Rabbit ears?

We were going to get a wall mount, the only reason we didn't was because a friend practically gave us his almost new flat screen.

Aestically, I would have preferred a wall mount, I was dreaming about how one could cover it up with a beautiful screen when not in use.

If you're not that into TV, it would be so nice to have one you don't have to look at all the time.

Bluray is a DVD standard not a television standard.
HD DVD is the other DVD standard that Walmart may no longer be carrying.


HDTV is High definition TV. Most new TVs will be HDTV of some kind.
HD comes in 780 or 1080. Most small screens are 780 resolution.

Digital TV comes in 3 basic formats 480, and the 2 HDTV line resolutions.

Most digital TVs come with 2 or 3 tuners on them ATSC, NTSC and sometimes QAM.

NTSC is the analog system presently in use for broadcast TV.
ATSC is what you need to tune in over the air digital
QAM is for unscrambled cable digital channels.

The new TVs will hook up to existing VCRs, DVD players just fine. They should have several different inputs on them and can even use channel 3 on the antenna input.

The new TVs will also hook up to standard cable just fine until the cable companies move to all digital, something they haven't announced yet. For digital cable you may need to get, which means rent, the cable companies tuner box.

One thing to remember is that a 22" widescreen TV won't have the same height picture as an old 22" TV. A 32" widescreen is about the same height as a 27" tube TV. As we get older bigger is better, so be aware the same size TV that you have now my make for a smaller picture if you go to widescreen.

I want a new HD TV!
What a lot of information to digest!

I'm leaning toward an el cheapo plus the converter box.

I assume that models less than 20 years old have interior antennas, so rabbit ears are no longer needed.

I want a TV because very occasionally there is something I want to watch - Charlie Rose maybe, or news analysis.

I got out of the habit of watching ANYTHING on TV because my husband was quite blind and very severely deaf; he couldn't watch, so I didn't bother.

I gotta disagree. When we got ours and watched movies on dvd, I saw details in clothing, room sets, backgrounds, etc., that I'd never ever seen before. It was a thrill!

Re: I want a new HD TV!
All new TVs sold today are required to have a digital tuner by law.
No, TVs do not have built in antennas. If you are in a major metropolitan area rabbit ears may work just fine.

I want a new HD TV!
I live in a large apartment building surrounded by lawns and a wooded area. There was some talk a few years ago about installing a central antenna but I don't think it came to anything, so rabbit ears it will probably be.

Of course, I can not find any information to support that statement now..

Parados is right on the money with his description, and the more I look into it, the more I realize I have no idea what is what.

I know that Blue ray is a type of CD format, and that if it becomes the standard in DVD format, some players and tv's now can not accommodate it.
Well.. that is the rumor I hear , but again.. unsure if it is a fact.

how about looking on craigslist or some other local publication for a cheap-ie tv that will last a few months or maybe a year?
Then do your big shopping.. ?

HD DVD is officially dead in the water as Toshiba has given up on the format and Universal Studios will soon follow suit (hate to say I told you so!) Blu-Ray is now the only hi-def DVD disc format.

What size screen are you thinking about? If you're going to get a DVD player, there are inexpensive upscalers which improve on a standard 480p DVD picture by upgrading it to 720p or 1080p.

If you're thinking of something in the 37" or smaller range, I believe you can still get a conventional CRT which is also not a flat screen as has a picture tube and, thus, some depth to the chassis. Check Amazon -- my niece has a Panasonic. These are 16:9 wide screens which if you're stuck with rabbit ears won't be an advantage unless you buy a DVD player.

It already been noted in this thread that your cannot purchase a new analog TV but I've still seen 4:3 ratio CRT tube digital TV's in supermarkets and the discount stores. That's the cheapest route but you're unlikely to find one over 24", and that's liable to be hard to find.

Check E Bay!

I want a new HD TV!
Thank you everybody. I got me a Samsung with Verizon HD box & service. I even bought a new stand (the old one was 30+ and shot0 The final (I hope) bit of setting up was done yesterday. So I think I'm good to go.

Let us know what you think about the new picture.

LCD, Plasma, CRT tube, or RP? The best HD programming mostly shot with HD cameras (important) is Discovery HD, but the upgrade HDNet, HDNetMovies and MOJO are also a super picture and sound. "Torchwood" looks absolutely spectacular, all shot with 1080p cameras and even down-scaled to 1080i, the best picture on TV.

BTW, SONY has introduced the new OED technology which utilizes the electroluminescent technology and his nearly paper thin. The first product is an 11" display, but both Sharp and Samsung have announced they will have large screen models using OED by 2009. The cost of manufacturing is also very low. With the actually electronics in a component box installed with your other equipment like a surround sound receiver, DVD player, cable or satellite box, et al, you can hang these displays on the wall like a picture with a ribbon connector for the wiring -- no more $400.00 to $1,000.00 labor costs for hanging a display on the wall. Also, the displays will have the truest color range yet and a response that will display no digital artifacts with fast motion. The depth of the black is the only question.

Hey Lightwizard,

I have a question for you on the HD converter boxes. The prices I've seen range from $40 to $80.

The question is what are the differences between the low end of the price range and the high end of the price range?

Don't they all have the exact same binary ability to convert or not convert the digital signal?

If so, what makes them different enough to cause the price differential, the materials the box is made of?