Part 3 – Cables, DVD Players, Game Consoles – HD Accessories
Once you picked out your new HDTV, you may think you’re done. Unfortunately, that’s only half the battle. If you’re simply upgrading from one HDTV to another, you may already know about these hidden costs. But for new owners, this may be the most important information. To get the most from your new set, you will need to upgrade your cable/satellite service, maybe upgrade your DVD player and get some new cables. Not to mention how you are going to display your TV.
Broadcast High Definition
Just because you bought a new HDTV, doesn’t mean you’re getting HD. Most HD sets now have built in HD tuners that allow you to receive “over the air” (OTA) HD. If you have a cable or satellite provider, you will need to upgrade your service to receive HD channels. So what’s the difference between them all, and what will you need?
OTA
Over the air HD broadcasts are simple, and best of all, they’re free. You will need to purchase a specialized antenna to receive these broadcasts. There are indoor and outdoor antennas available. An outdoor antenna will usually offer better overall picture quality and signal strength. But if you live in an apartment, or simply would prefer not to install an outdoor antenna, an indoor one will work nicely. If you choose this option, be sure to research your areas local broadcasts. Find out how successful people in your area were with indoor and outdoor antennas to determine placement and position.
Left - Terk Outdoor HD Antenna, Right - Terk Indoor HD Antenna
Cable Services
If you have or are thinking of cable services, be sure to do some research. It’s not as simple as getting the service. Each company offers different HD packages, and not all of your favorite channels may be available in HD from every company. While all HD broadcasts are “compressed” (reducing the picture and audio quality to allow for easy broadcasting), some services compress them further to fit on their services. The new fiber optic services, made famous by Verizon’s new Fios service, will offer the best overall picture quality. Fios does not further compress beyond the initial channels compression. However, availability is limited to certain areas, and channel selection may not be all that great in your area. Satellite services, such as DirecTV and Dish Network offer mostly excellent picture quality. They do re-compress the channels to fit on their service, but usually the extra compression is fairly minimal. But service can vary widely based on your area. Cable companies, such as Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T U-Verse, will re-compress their channels more than satellite providers. They are working with a much more limited amount of available broadcast space. Picture quality will vary greatly between your areas when it comes to cable service. Again, do a bit of research to see what people in your area are saying about your local cable quality. If you have access to Fios, and the channel selection is acceptable, it will likely (but not always) be your best bet.
DVD vs. Blu-Ray Players
This is a slippery slope, and greatly depends on your set-up. However, chances are your current DVD player, especially if purchased more than 4 years ago, will suffice on your new HDTV. General rule of thumb, if you have a TV smaller than 30 to 40 inches, you can do just fine with a DVD player. If you go above 40 inches, a Blu-Ray player might be an investment worth making. But only if you truly wan the best picture quality possible.
DVD Players
If you decide to stick with DVD, here are some key things to look for. The player must, and I can not stress this enough, be a progressive scan player. Progressive scan allows your DVD’s to display all of its available picture quality. A better investment will be an “upconverting” DVD player. An upconverting player will improve the picture quality of your DVD’s so they can look their best. The advantage of sticking with DVD is that it is inexpensive, even with an upconverting player, as players can be found for under $100 easily.
Toshiba DR410B Upconverting DVD Player
Blu-Ray Players
Going with Blu-Ray has many benefits. For starters, all your existing DVD’s will work. There is no need to re-buy your movie collection unless you want to upgrade specific movies. Blu-Ray will also give you the best possible picture quality, allowing for full 1080p picture with nearly flawless video. Audio quality will also greatly improve as there is more space on the disc for theater quality sound. When buying, do your research. I would recommend buying a “Profile 2.0″ player as this will allow the player to connect tot he internet and use every available feature on the Blu-Ray discs. Going budget on a Blu-Ray player may not be the best idea. Cheaper players by no name manufacturers will usually never offer a player that takes advantage of the discs capabilities. If you are also into gaming, a PlayStation 3 would make a smart purchases as it is one of the best Blu-Ray players on the market. And if you aren’t afraid to shop online, Blu-Ray movies will rarely ever cost more than their DVD counterparts. Keep your eyes on sites like Amazon.com and Deep Discount for great movie sales.
Sony BDP-S360 Blu-Ray Player
Video Game Consoles
If you decide to get into gaming, there are great choices. Both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are capable of high definition gaming. The Nintendo Wii, however, is not, as it will output at a maximum resolution of 480p. The PlayStation 3, as mentioned above, has a built-in Blu-Ray player. The Xbox 360 does not, and has a fairly sub-par DVD player as well. The Wii will not play DVD’s or Blu-Rays. However, all three consoles now support Netflix streaming (the Wii starts in Spring 2010). The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 also offer their own pay download video services with rentable or purchasable HD movies and TV shows. These digital downloads will not be on par with Blu-Ray, but will usually be as good as or better than most broadcast HD.
From Left To Right - Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Cables
When buying a new HDTV, you will need to upgrade cables for your existing or newly purchased devices, such as a DVD or Blu-Ray player. Below are the different cables, what they are used for and what to look out for.
HDMI
The HDMI cable is a single cable that can push video and audio. It’s simple, neat and will allow for 1080p broadcasts from any compatible device. However, never, ever buy these cables from big box retailers like Best Buy, Target or even Wal-Mart. The biggest problem is that these stores sell ridiculously priced HDMI cables with little to no budget alternatives. If you are willing to buy online, go directly to Amazon.com where you will find 6+ foot cables for $5 or less. The expensive cables offer absolutely no advantage over these much less expensive alternatives. You may need a Digital Audio cable to setup surround sound when using a HDMI cable for video. Check the requirements of your audio setup.
Buy For: Blu-Ray Players, Upconverting DVD Players, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Less cable clutter
HDMI Cable
Component
With component cables, you can get full 1080p picture quality. However, not all devices will send their 1080p signals through component cables. Due to Digital Rights Management (DRM), many companies will only allow their products to display 1080p via HDMI cables. It’s a shame, but there’s not much you can do about it. However, it is still a practical cable choice for many devices. Plus the cables are relatively inexpensive almost anywhere you buy them. Unlike HDMI, cable quality can affect picture and audio quality, but it will likely be very hard to notice. Again, online will offer the best prices.
Buy For: Progressive Scan DVD Player, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii
Component Cables
VGA
Many HDTV’s allow for using the set as a computer monitor. Most computers currently on the market don’t come with HDMI outputs. However, many of these HDTV’s will have VGA inputs. These are the standard video inputs of home computers. Simply plug the computer into your TV via the VGA port, and you have your computer screen on your brand new HDTV. This comes in handy for people who want to surf the web, watch online videos or play PC games while relaxing on the couch.
VGA Cables
Composite and S-Video
These cables offer no benefits for an HD set. Though your TV will likely come with inputs for these cables, they are not capable of carrying HD signals. The composite cables are the standard red, white, yellow cables you are likely using now. If you have a device using these cables, check to see if it can use component or HDMI cables. If not, you will want to upgrade that device for your HDTV.
Left - Composite Cables, Right - S-Video Cable
Audio Systems
If you want to upgrade your audio experience, you may want to turn to a good home theater system. Many of these systems come with DVD or Blu-Ray players as well as the speakers. My main advice here is to test out the system if at all possible. Trek into your local electronics store and test out the bass, treble and speech quality of as many systems as you can. There’s nothing worse than spending big bucks on a surround sound setup only to hear cracking in the bass or having certain speakers with weak audio output. Make sure any system you buy can output in at least Dolby Digital 5.1. If you are investing in a Blu-Ray player, you may want to check out a 7.1 surround sound system with TruHD and DTS audio as well. The TrueHD and 7.1 audio setups are more expensive, but give you the best sound performance from high quality audio sources.
Panasonic - SC-BT200 7.1-Channel Home Theater System with Blu-ray Player
Final Thoughts
There is a lot of information here, and this is really only scratching the surface of what you can delve into. Bottom line here is a bit of research can go a long, long way to saving you thousands of dollars. Never let pushy sales people push you into a purchase that doesn’t fit with what you are looking for. Remember, not everything needs to be purchased all at once. Budget your expenses accordingly and make sure your new purchase will work well in your home space. You can save a lot of money shopping online, and don’t buy expensive cables in stores.
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Thanks a million, Joe… though I wish I had read this earlier… before buying that fucking HDMI cable from WalMart.