Sar-bear
Hi there,
So I am a total noob when it comes to T.V.'s, but I am planning on buying a new HDTV, I have the LG 42" PQ30 Series Plasma HDTV (https://www.visions.ca/catalogue/category/Details.aspx?categoryId=5&productId=4089&menuId=2&parentId1=2&parentId2=''&parentId3=''&menuLevel=1) in mind specifically; which I am going to purchase over the internet. We do not have cable, we have satellite T.V., and I was just wonder what else I will need to buy. We don't want to purchase HD channels or anything like that we want to stick with what we have; but will there be any cables or boxes or.. seriously anything you can think of; I want to know all I need to get it up and running, will our regularSatellitee service work on this tv? All input appreciated!
Answer
"... We don't want to purchase HD channels "
Then why buy an HDTV only to cripple it with standard def?
Upgrade the sat box to one that outputs HD signals. Your standard package probably already includes your local channels and these will become high def.
You will be shocked at the difference in picture quality.
If you upgrade to a HD sat box - consider the DVR versions which are a god-send.
Now - then you will need an HDMI cable. Order one from www.bluejeanscables.com or www.monoprice.com to avoid being ripped off. Have the cable there BEFORE the guy comes to install the new box.
Yes - your standard def Sat box will work with the TV - but the high resolution television will show you noise, grain, problems with the video you never saw before.
ALTERNATIVE:
Go to www.antennaweb.org and type in your address. It will show you the FREE HDTV towers around your home. If you are lucky enough to be able to use an indoor antenna - the Phillips Silver Sensor - classic is a good $20 antenna.
SETUP DISK:
Televisions are set at the factory to "TORCH MODE" to be bright and eye-catching. You need to turn down the brightness and contrast to sane levels.
Do you have a recent Pixar movie on a DVD? Go to the setup menu and they have 5 or so test-patterns with instructions. This will help you set the levels properly. Use Cars, Wall-E or some such.
Thats about it.
But i repeat: Upgrade your sat box to the HD version. You will be shocked at the difference.
"... We don't want to purchase HD channels "
Then why buy an HDTV only to cripple it with standard def?
Upgrade the sat box to one that outputs HD signals. Your standard package probably already includes your local channels and these will become high def.
You will be shocked at the difference in picture quality.
If you upgrade to a HD sat box - consider the DVR versions which are a god-send.
Now - then you will need an HDMI cable. Order one from www.bluejeanscables.com or www.monoprice.com to avoid being ripped off. Have the cable there BEFORE the guy comes to install the new box.
Yes - your standard def Sat box will work with the TV - but the high resolution television will show you noise, grain, problems with the video you never saw before.
ALTERNATIVE:
Go to www.antennaweb.org and type in your address. It will show you the FREE HDTV towers around your home. If you are lucky enough to be able to use an indoor antenna - the Phillips Silver Sensor - classic is a good $20 antenna.
SETUP DISK:
Televisions are set at the factory to "TORCH MODE" to be bright and eye-catching. You need to turn down the brightness and contrast to sane levels.
Do you have a recent Pixar movie on a DVD? Go to the setup menu and they have 5 or so test-patterns with instructions. This will help you set the levels properly. Use Cars, Wall-E or some such.
Thats about it.
But i repeat: Upgrade your sat box to the HD version. You will be shocked at the difference.
Recently cancelled cable and cannot get local channels?
Brad
I am an Arizona resident and recently cancelled my Cox cable service. For 3 or 4 months since I cancelled the service I have been using the coaxial cable to get local channels on both my digital televisions (the main tv being an Element and the smaller tv being a Westinghouse). Recently though on both televisions I have lost 2 channels and have done automatic channel searches on both the TVs (as well as other searches) and have not gotten them back (the channels are the CW and Fox). I bought a RCA Amplified indoor off-air HDTV antenna but it only found one or two channels and I made sure to do the channel search through the antenna. So I hooked up the coaxial cables again. Then today on the Element tv I can no longer get NBC or PBS but I can get it on the Westinghouse. I have tried different coaxial cables and as mentioned before the RCA antenna but both of those did not work. Does anybody have any advice? Also, if it helps I live on the bottom floor of an apartment complex.
Answer
It's truly sad how many people are led astray by junky indoor antennas that are supposed to work as well or better than anything else. Several in that category with the RCA brand can't be expected to work much better than a coathanger, if that.
With your given situation, your best hope is a top quality indoor antenna, and that would be the one in the link below. If I had to put out money for an indoor antenna, it's the only one I'd consider. If you can't get a channel with that one, it isn't going to happen with an indoor antenna.
Two side notes: (1), forget your cable wall outlet. You cancelled that subscription, so that resource is gone. And just FYI, (2), there are no "HDTV" antennas. Any time you see that in an ad or on the side of box, it's simply marketing baloney that's intended to make you think it will actually work. Absolute technical nonsense. A TV antenna is a TV antenna, period. They all work the same, whether the incoming signal is HD, SD, analog, or something else.
- - - - -
Followup per the other answer about San Francisco. The S.F. Bay Area is not a typical over-the-air TV market. The area is a major hotspot for OTA, thanks to transmitters high up and very nearby on Mt. Diablo, Mt. San Bruno, and especially Mt. Sutro in the center of S.F. itself. It's one of those places where the coathanger I mentioned would actually work. Or a cheap RCA antenna.
But this fellow isn't in one of the world's hottest reception areas for OTA. He's in Arizona, where reception can assumed to be more typical. And he's in a ground floor apartment. That means the coathanger--or the cheap RCA--isn't a good bet. Not impossible, but we can only go with the provided information. As long as he's spending money on something, $45 for an SS3000 is still a far better bet than $12 for the known poor performer.
It's truly sad how many people are led astray by junky indoor antennas that are supposed to work as well or better than anything else. Several in that category with the RCA brand can't be expected to work much better than a coathanger, if that.
With your given situation, your best hope is a top quality indoor antenna, and that would be the one in the link below. If I had to put out money for an indoor antenna, it's the only one I'd consider. If you can't get a channel with that one, it isn't going to happen with an indoor antenna.
Two side notes: (1), forget your cable wall outlet. You cancelled that subscription, so that resource is gone. And just FYI, (2), there are no "HDTV" antennas. Any time you see that in an ad or on the side of box, it's simply marketing baloney that's intended to make you think it will actually work. Absolute technical nonsense. A TV antenna is a TV antenna, period. They all work the same, whether the incoming signal is HD, SD, analog, or something else.
- - - - -
Followup per the other answer about San Francisco. The S.F. Bay Area is not a typical over-the-air TV market. The area is a major hotspot for OTA, thanks to transmitters high up and very nearby on Mt. Diablo, Mt. San Bruno, and especially Mt. Sutro in the center of S.F. itself. It's one of those places where the coathanger I mentioned would actually work. Or a cheap RCA antenna.
But this fellow isn't in one of the world's hottest reception areas for OTA. He's in Arizona, where reception can assumed to be more typical. And he's in a ground floor apartment. That means the coathanger--or the cheap RCA--isn't a good bet. Not impossible, but we can only go with the provided information. As long as he's spending money on something, $45 for an SS3000 is still a far better bet than $12 for the known poor performer.
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