S3 Questions from an SD S1'er ..

[MirclMax]

Okay, the price of the S3 is finally becoming interesting enough that I need to consider it a bit more, so I was hoping I could get some questions answered that are specific to my situation.

I currently use DirecTV and basic cable .. and have an SD only television set. I fully understand that the S3 has nothing to do with DirecTV (I mention it just so you know what I'm doing now and can advise better). At *some* point I do expect that I will get an HD Television set. At *some* point I expect to obtain HD television sources .. be it via an OTA antenna, through bumping up my cable service .. or perhaps through DirecTV.

Going with an S3, I would not be abandoning the DirecTV service completely, as the DirecTiVo would still be there .. but I acknowledge (again) that I could not use it as I do with the SA S1 which currently blends cable + sat.

SO ... here comes the big question ... Living in the SD world that I currently live in .. both in analog cable and the non-HDTV television set that I'm viewing things on.. Is the S3 a good thing to have or not? Would replacing my S1 with an S3 be foolish at this point .. or would I obtain *at least* the same quality of display with my only loss being the ability for it to record the sat feed? Or am I MUCH better off sticking with what I have until other things are upgraded?

As a follow up question .. given the same setup .. if I got an OTA antenna installed .. and used the S3 to record HD signals .. how would it playback on my SD set (or would it?) ...

Thank you to whomever gives some feedback on this .. obviously it would be ideal to upgrade everything ..but that's not always possible.. and I like the idea of taking advantage of a good deal when I can. I just don't want to be in a worse position tv-viewing then I currently am.

-MirclMax

[lessd]

Getting a Series 3 will future proof you for when you do get HD. The Series 3 will run a SD TV without any problems and you can use the Series 3 for OTA and cable (analog only). When you are ready you can get your HD OTA or go the Cable co. way using cable cards. I do not know when your going to upgrade but if it more than a year from now i would do nothing now as the price of things like the Series 3 will come down (I would be shocked if in a year a Series 3 cost more than $400 after rebates). I do not think you will see many $799 (no rebate) Series 3s being sold any more anywhere after this $200 rebate is over.

[LifeIsABeach]

I currently have a Series 1, a Series 2 DT, and a Series 3. From my experience the analog picture quality is as folows. Of course YMMV.

Series 3 > Series 1 > Series 2 DT

[MirclMax]

Series 3 > Series 1 > Series 2 DT

Is that Best > Worst?


Also, just to re-ask a part from my initial post again ... what happens if via an OTA antenna, an HD program is recorded .. would it be able to be played back on an SD set? And would there theoretically be *any* difference between it and its analog counterpart? (other than hard drive space used)

Thanks again for your responses ... and as far as waiting and assuming the price won't jump back up .. or at least will fall back down again .. its true, probably that will be the case, and while I have no idea when the other components would be added, it always helps to take a first step. If I had an S3 + OTA antenna .. odds are I could convince myself to get a new TV much easier than if I had neither.

-MirclMax

[moyekj]

Also, just to re-ask a part from my initial post again ... what happens if via an OTA antenna, an HD program is recorded .. would it be able to be played back on an SD set? And would there theoretically be *any* difference between it and its analog counterpart? (other than hard drive space used) Yes, using the S-video output of the S3 to your SDTV you will be able to view any recording - HD or SD. The downside for HD recordings is that unless your TV is widescreen (16:9) you will either have to live with a vertically squeezed anamorphic picture or letterboxing (black bars on top and bottom to maintain a 16:9 aspect ratio on a 4:3 screen). If you don't mind the letterboxing you will find the picture looks MUCH better than the analog counterpart (of course at the expense of hard drive space as you noted). What looks pretty bad is SD programming on an HD channel which via S-video output will be both letterboxed and pillarboxed (black bars on the sides, bottom, top) so you lose a lot of TV real estate.

[LifeIsABeach]

Is that Best > Worst?

Yes, the Series 3 has the best analog picture followed by the Series 1 and the worst is rthe Series 2 DT (not that it is bad, just not as good as the other two).

[rodalpho]

Is the S3 better than the S1 if you only watch SD? Sure, it's better. Whether the upgrade is worthwhile depends on how price-sensitive you are. I certainly wouldn't buy a S3 for SDTV. When you buy a HDTV, evaluate your options then. Prices will continue to drop.

[dianebrat]

Is the S3 better than the S1 if you only watch SD?

It's also hugely dependent on your output device,
I had a newer S2, and a 240x S2, on a 42" plasma, it was a clear difference between the quality of the 2 units, on a 32" ED CRT, I could barely tell.

So yes an S3 would look better for SD (especially in the 42" plasma), but if I was still using my 32" ED CRT, the S3 would be a waste of my money...

That's what I would do if it was my money, save the S3 for when you go HD, live in blissful SD now.

Once you move forward and see the higher quality, you can't ever go back IMNSHO, sometimes living without that knowledge is safer :) Just like it's impossible to "untell" someone a secret.

Diane

[MirclMax]

... but if I was still using my 32" ED CRT, the S3 would be a waste of my money...


Just to clarify, you're not suggesting that the S3 is any worse at displaying the analog on that television (than an S1).. just that any benefit that there might be is not worth the $$ in your view .. right?

-MirclMax

[dianebrat]

Just to clarify, you're not suggesting that the S3 is any worse at displaying the analog on that television (than an S1).. just that any benefit that there might be is not worth the $$ in your view .. right?

Correct!
While there is a difference and the S3 does outperform all the S2's, when I was at 32" ED CRT, it wasn't huge, visible? yes, worth $800? no

My experiences with the 2 different quality S2's showed me that a slightly older CRT hid a large number of flaws that were easily apparent on a 42" plasma.

You've not mentioned the set you're viewing this all on, and that would be a big piece of this equation. If you have a 32" or smaller SD CRT, IMNSHO I'd not be considering an S3.

Not to say you won't get an improvement, just that you're not going to get that "gee whiz, drop dead" comparison to a Series 2 that you would see on an ED or HD unit 40+ inches.

Diane

[Krellion]

What looks pretty bad is SD programming on an HD channel which via S-video output will be both letterboxed and pillarboxed (black bars on the sides, bottom, top) so you lose a lot of TV real estate.If you tell the S3 you're using it on a 4:3 TV, you can use the Zoom aspect setting to avoid this.

[SugarBowl]

I would not buy an S3 before owning an HDTV. Get the TV first, and by then, the prices are likely to have come down more.

[jtown]

Honestly, the S3 is not worth the extra money if you don't have HD. The SD picture's a bit better but it's not hundreds of dollars better.