Request: Inspect My Future: Tivo HD -> HDTV Set

[tivotivotivo]

Hello,

I have owned a Tivo since the beginning. Currently own a Series 2.

I am almost ready to make the jump to HDTV since the Tivo HD is now shipping.

Does anyone see any problems with the following setup I am looking at?

Tivo HD
Time Warner Cable (West Los Angeles) with 2 cable cards in the Tivo
Samsung HL-S4666W 46" DLP HDTV

Sorry. I can not link to the tv on amazon since I am new but if you paste the Samsung model above into the search it will find it.


As for the TV. I read online but could have been mistaken that _some_ plasma screens have problems with the Tivo Remote. wanted to see if anyone had problems with this HDTV tv. This TV is DLP though.

It has 2 HDMI inputs so I figure one for the Tivo and one for a new DVD I will buy later.. I would love a 3rd one for the Apple iTV thingy but that's next year.

I would call my level of use for this as average. (But I am a Tivo fanatic) I currently am using basic cable since I did not like how the digital cable box interacted with my old tivo. I figure now is the time to upgrade for me since (see note below) the cost of HDTV is the same and shows like Lost and 24 are HDTV.

I called Time Warner tonight and they knew about the Tivo and have no reported problems in my area. at least the very knowledgable person I spoke to did not and she told me she has talked to several Tivo HD cable upgraders.

I asked if there would be a delay to get the Cable Cards and she said no.

and as an FYI to people on the fence. Digital Cable with HDTV is going to cost the same as what I am paying for basic cable. Hmm...


Anyone see any problems in the above setup?

Anyone have this HDTV?

thank you in advance.

[Sy-]

I have a 42" sammy in my bedroom. One thing you should check for is to see if you are suseptable to the rainbow effect that DLP's are known for. I was only able to test drive the tv in the store and didn't notice the rainbows until I got home. Needless to say my next tv was a 60" Sony LCoS based set that doesn't have rainbows. Next time you go to the store try and bring a b&w dvd with you, like sin city. then when you are watching it try focusing on one side of the screen then look to the other side of the screen. If you see and color that would be the rainbow effect.

~Sy

[tivotivotivo]

Thanks!

I have NetFlix so I am going to put Sin City in my Q and will take it down to the store and perform the test.

This rainbow effect is a TV thing or a human thing where some people do not experience this.

THanks again!

[tivotivotivo]

One of the leading artifacts of DLP technology is color breakup, also called the rainbow effect. Fortunately, only a small percentage of people are affected by this artifact. I can see rainbows in images with a dark background and bright areas when I move my eyes quickly from point to point on the screen. It can be pretty obvious with fast eye movements when viewing certain black and white test patterns. The rainbow effect appears as a momentary flash of rainbow-like striping typically trailing the bright objects when looking from one side of the screen to the other quickly, or when quickly looking away from the TV to an offscreen object.

I see.

(I have a link but I need more posts.)

[tivotivotivo]

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1153392,00.asp

[bkdtv]

How far are you sitting from that TV? I hope it's 8 feet or less.

It has 2 HDMI inputs so I figure one for the Tivo and one for a new DVD I will buy later.. I would love a 3rd one for the Apple iTV thingy but that's next year.You can always get a remote-controlled HDMI switch from Monoprice.com. Get your cables from Monoprice.com too.

[tivotivotivo]

Thanks!

Monoprice.com seems to be the ticket multiple people have recommended them.

[snathanb]

Higher speed color wheels have done much to reduce or eliminate the rainbow effect. When DLP sets first came out, I definately saw the rainbow effect.

I've got a DLP projector now with a 4x color wheel and I never see rainbows on it.

[bkdtv]

tivotivo,

Just repeating again in case you missed it....For a 43" HDTV, your viewing distance should be less than 8 feet, preferably around 6 feet.

Be sure to shop around and wait for Black Friday. The Samsung 1080p 50" DLP can be had now for $1600-1700 (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000F2R5HO/ref=ord_cart_shr/104-6832708-5901510?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance), and that could fall to <$1500 on Black Friday and for post-holiday sales.

The Darkchip2 720p model you mentioned won't yield the best possible picture quality on 1080i HDTV channels, HD-DVD, or Blu-ray.

[ah30k]

I think this viewing distance (for instance < 8ft) is totally impractical for most homes. A 43" set at 6 feet would be pretty awkward in a family room (and if you ever sneeze, you'll need to wipe down your screen). If you have a dedicated home theater, you might be able to engineer it. For the rest of the population, setting up a family room with a less than 8 ft viewing distance is difficult.

That doesn't diminish in the least the pleasure if watching HD. I am using a 34" Sony HD CRT and am set up about 8 to 10 ft away. I'm sure this violates all kinds of recos, but when I sat down to watch the NLCS last night and switched the tuner from the SD channel over to the HD one I almost got goose bumps (I almost got something else too, but figured I keep it clean here).

[tivotivotivo]

bktv,

tivotivo,

Just repeating again in case you missed it....For a 43" HDTV, your viewing distance should be less than 8 feet, preferably around 6 feet.


Yes. Under 6 feet. Talk about a home drive in experience :)

[tivotivotivo]

ah30k, its just me mostly and have a small room for the new HDTV.

[tivotivotivo]

Higher speed color wheels have done much to reduce or eliminate the rainbow effect. When DLP sets first came out, I definately saw the rainbow effect.

I've got a DLP projector now with a 4x color wheel and I never see rainbows on it.

Not sure if its just marketing but this is from the Samsung Description. Hoping this is the latest, fastest spinning action.

Samsung's 2.6-inch color wheel spins at 14,400 rpm for smooth, fast motion video, and has five color segments for more accurate colors. It achieves film-like transitions without pixel breakup found in slower color wheel designs and slower switching LCD microdisplays. Air Bearing technology also makes it whisper quiet.

[bkdtv]

I think this viewing distance (for instance < 8ft) is totally impractical for most homes.That's for a 43" HDTV. The implication of my post was that if he intends to sit farther away, then he needs to go bigger. For a 12' viewing distance, a 60" display is more appropriate. For a >14' viewing distance, the choice should be a 70".

One calculation (http://archive.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=3574882#post3574882) posted to the AVS Forum:

from C. Poynton's 2003 HD video book, is:

distance ~= 3400/La X PH (picture height), where La = number of horizontal picture lines. The 3400 is from: 1/sin ( 1/60)º.
For a 70-inch 1080p HDTV, that's: distance ~=3400/1080 X 35 = 110" = 9.18'
For a 55-inch 1080p HDTV, that's: distance ~3400/1080 X 27.5 = 86.6" = 7.2'

For a 50-inch 720p HDTV, that's: distance ~=3400/720 X 25.0 = 118" = 9.8'
For a 43-inch 720p HDTV, that's: distance ~=3400/720 X 21.5 = 101.5" = 8.5'
For a 34-inch 720p HDTV, that's: distsnce ~=3400/720 X 17.0 = 80.2" = 6.7'

For a 34-inch 480p SDTV, that's: distance ~=3400/480 X 17.0 = 101.5" = 10'

In order for your eyes to resolve the full resolution of that 43-inch 720p HDTV, you would need to be sitting 8.5' away or less.

I'm sure this violates all kinds of recos, but when I sat down to watch the NLCS last night and switched the tuner from the SD channel over to the HD one I almost got goose bumps (I almost got something else too, but figured I keep it clean here).

I am using a 34" Sony HD CRT and am set up about 8 to 10 ft away.In order for your eyes to resolve more than 480p resolution from a 34" TV, you would have to sit closer than 10'. To resolve a full 720p signal, you would have to sit less than 6.7' away. To resolve a full 1080i signal, you would have to be less than 4.5' away.

Beyond 10', HDTV resolution offers no benefit over a pristine 16:9 480p signal on a 34" display. Of course, it still looks significantly better than standard channels, which are filtered and overcompressed, but you are seeing an image that falls far, far short of HDTV.

Some years ago, I was in your situation. I didn't think I was missing that much, but boy was I wrong.

[tivotivotivo]

I just mesured. It will be between 5.3 and 6 feet for me depending on if I want to keep the shelf currently in the room.

[bkdtv]

I just mesured. It will be between 5.3 and 6 feet for me depending on if I want to keep the shelf currently in the room.Either would be perfectly fine. I had a calculator error above, which I fixed.