HDTVs (Not HDTV service) for Dummies (me)

[BillScottCanRake]

Greetings!

 

My mother purchased us an HDTV for our anniversary. It is a SANSUI 26" 16:9 8ms 720p LCD HDTV HDLCD2600. She has the same model and it looks good hooked up to her digital, non-HD cable. So, while it doesn't look as good as HDTV, it's way better than a regular tube TV, and way, way better than our TV at home, so I was pretty excited.

 

I got mine home Saturday night and hooked it up to our digital, non-HD cable and my XBOX. Because I wasn't expecting to get the TV, I only had coaxial cable to hookup my cable to the TV. I used the component connector to get the XBOX hooked up to the TV.

 

When I turn the TV on, it is in 480i rather than 720p. Our cable in some ways looks worse than it did before, and my XBOX, while it looks better than it did, still doesn't look as sharp as others I have seen. I've gone thru the manual to see if there is a setting I need to change to get 720p and the only reference I see to 720p relates to using HDMI to connect your cable to the TV.

 

It's important to understand, too, that I know next to nothing about HDTV and HDTV service. From what little I do know, 720p should be find for me because I don't own a PS3, Blue-Ray or HD-DVD player. And, when the time does come to get HDTV service, most channels are broadcast in 720p anyways. That is pretty much the extent of what I know.

 

So, now for the questions!

 

1. Should I be able to set my TV to 720p to correct some of the issues I am having? I understand because I don't have HDTV service that I won't get thru HD while watching TV, but it doesn't look as good as my mom's does.

2. How much does my choice of cabling affect my picture quality? Should I look at S-Video or Component to connect my cable-TV? And what about the XBOX? A friend of mine uses an HDMI connection from his XBOX to his TV and it looks great. I don't want to spend the money on that, however, until I can either get my TV to run in 720p or I know that my lack of such a cable is why my XOBX isn't as sharp as it could be.

3. Is there anything else I should know that I don't?

 

Thanks!

[stoops17]

Is the switch on your component cable for the Xbox switched to HDTV? The switch is on the plug that inserts into the back of the xbox.

 

I don't know all that much more than you. But I know my HDTV switches from 480 to 720 to 1080 depending on what the source is sending it. So the tv saying that shouldn't be a bad thing. I don't know if you can set the tv to certain level.

[bjkrautk]

You're not going to get a full 720p image out of digital cable (which has a standard definition, 480i image). You might be able to tweak your display features to eliminate the bars on the right and left side of the screen - either by zooming in (cutting off the top and bottom of the picture) or stretching the 4:3 image to your 16:9 screen - but the TV is going to say its displaying 480i when you're watching cable TV (since that's what you're feeding into it).

I see the TV has a QAM tuner; have you tried plugging the HDTV directly into the wall (and avoiding the digital cable box)? Chances are, once you've scanned the channels, you'll find some of your local stations being broadcast in HD, even if you don't pay extra for HD cable. Alternatively, you may want to try plugging an antenna into the coax and see what kind of over-the-air (OTA) reception you can get in your area; every network in the country (with a few exceptions) will have to be broadcasting digitally by Feb '09, so chances are pretty good you'll find a few digital sub-channels you didn't even know about...even if you're just using an old pair of "rabbit ears". (Google 'AVS Forum' if you really want details about what stations would be available OTA in your area.)

If your XBox 360 has an HDMI port (the black one does, as does the Halo 3 special edition, and just about any 360 bought new in the last year would have one), I'd recommend using that for your HDTV. That would allow you to use the component connection for your digital cable box (leaving the coax jack open for either an antenna or the QAM tuner). If it doesn't have HDMI, then just use the best available connection into your TV for the digital cable (HDMI > Component > S-Video > Composite / RCA > Coaxial), and let us know if that makes any difference.

There are a wealth of options for improving what you have access to (I have a powered antenna to improve my OTA reception, for instance), but the goal should be to at least get you started without being on a first-name basis with the staff at Best Buy. (Which reminds me: NEVER buy HDMI cables from the store: monoprice.com is your friend, and you'll never notice the difference in quality between a $10 cable and the $90 cable they try to push on you.)

[BillScottCanRake]

Thanks for the recommendations. I'm a bit more excited again to have the TV.

 

I'll let you know how things went tonight after I have had a chance to play with things.

 

EDIT: End, it's a 360- I guess I forgot they even made a "regular" XBOX.

[endaround]

Is this an Xbox or Xbox 360? Both need to be set but the Xbox only does 480p. The 360 setup is on teh system blade while i think if you reset the Xbox (turn off anf on) the initial programmign will start up allwoing output change. If you don't have HGMI output but have a VGA input, you can go that way. I saw some 360 3rd party VGA cables on clearance for like $5.

[statman0007]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but I'm also a HDTV dummy in need of help. I'm trying to help someone purchase a TV in the $500-$600 range, and I don't have very much experience at all in the area. I'm open to additional suggestions, but from reading consumer reviews on-line these are my top two choices right now:

 

1) Samsung LN-T3253H

-32" LCD HDTV

-REFURBISHED

What mainly attracted me to this model was that we could get a good deal because it's refurbished, and it supposedly has PC connectivity. I've never had a TV that you could hook a computer up to. Do you have to have a certain type of computer to do this/is their additional cords that would need to be bought? Also, should buying a TV refurbished be a big worry?

 

2) Vizio VW32LHDTV10A

-32" LCD HDTV

-New

This one seemed to get great reviews, but the one negative was that the picture wasn't great from angles. Unfortunately, my friends set-up doesn't allow for seating straight-on, so that's the only thing that worries me about this one.

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

[bullox]

When making a big purchase like that, I personally would never buy a refurbished model. Keep in mind that it is refurbished because it has already failed. Sure it has been fixed, but it is very possible that it will fail again soon.

[BillScottCanRake]

I ran home for lunch and re-configured my 360, so now that runs in 780p. I've got an S-Video cable that I'll try tonight with my cable. I don't expect to get 780p-quality, but I hope to get better than the picture I have now.

 

I'm also looking forward to scanning for over-the-air HD. In talking to some guys at work, it sounds like I should get that no problem.

 

I'll keep you posted, and thanks for the help!

[OglivieHomePerm]

I bought a refurbished Vizio 42" back in February. No issues at all with it. I paid $850 (including shipping). That was about $400 off the regular price. That was the first large-ticket refurbished electronics item I've ever bought. But I've had nothing but positive experiences with refurbished electronics...mostly small items like mp3 players, and the like.

[bullox]

6 months does not a TV lifetime make...just sayin.

[berniebrewer4life]

6 months does not a TV lifetime make...just sayin.

Having worked in Electronics for a while, i can tell you new tvs fail about as much as refurbs do(on avg). If you are making that big of a purchase, you may as well buy the EPP(extended protection plan) and be safe no matter if it's new or a refurb.

 

. Do you have to have a certain type of computer to do this/is their additional cords that would need to be bought?

 

It's just a certain cord you need to connect the TV to your computer.

[FVBrewerFan]

I thought an HDMI cable came with the Xbox 360??? I know mine did.

[bjkrautk]

I thought an HDMI cable came with the Xbox 360??? I know mine did.

The 'Elite' (120 GB) version of the XBox 360 comes with an HDMI cable; the 'Premium' (20 GB and 60 GB) and 'Arcade' (no hard drive) versions of the 360 do not come bundled with the cable. Older versions of the 360 do not have an HDMI output at all, but any new models of the console you're going to find in the store will at least have the HDMI port.

[BillScottCanRake]

Thanks for your help, everyone. Everything is working great. I'm going to look into getting an antenna to get my local HD channels, and once my provider offers HD I'll look into that.

 

Thanks again for the guidance!

[danzig6767]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but I'm also a HDTV dummy in need of help. I'm trying to help someone purchase a TV in the $500-$600 range, and I don't have very much experience at all in the area. I'm open to additional suggestions, but from reading consumer reviews on-line these are my top two choices right now:

 

1) Samsung LN-T3253H

-32" LCD HDTV

-REFURBISHED

What mainly attracted me to this model was that we could get a good deal because it's refurbished, and it supposedly has PC connectivity. I've never had a TV that you could hook a computer up to. Do you have to have a certain type of computer to do this/is their additional cords that would need to be bought? Also, should buying a TV refurbished be a big worry?

 

2) Vizio VW32LHDTV10A

-32" LCD HDTV

-New

This one seemed to get great reviews, but the one negative was that the picture wasn't great from angles. Unfortunately, my friends set-up doesn't allow for seating straight-on, so that's the only thing that worries me about this one.

 

Thanks for any suggestions!

In most cases, a person will have their TV for 5-7 years, IMO, i'd tell people to spend an extra 100-200 dollars and get the nicer one because a month or two later you'll not even notice the extra money was spent and you'll have the product for years.