POLL: Do you own an HDTV?

[DeToxRox]

Was discussing this with some buddies. We're all under 25 and all of us have bought an HDTV within the last year or so. It just seems like for people my age that is the next logical (or illogical depending on how you look at it) purchase.

Every few months HDTV help threads pop up here and it seems like a lot of people own them, but is that the vocal minority talking or the silent majority just not bothering?

Personally now that I have HD I will never go back. I'm an elitist snob who won't dare stoop back to that level, but I am curious if there is anyone out there who has one and regrets it?

[samifan24]

I'm planning on picking up my first HDTV when I find regular work again.

[Sun Tzu]

I've owned an HDTV of some sort since 2005. I started with a CRT HDTV, then moved to a LCD 720p a couple years later, and for my birthday last year I got a 52" 1080p Samsung LCD.

Let me tell you something. This thing is BEAUTIFUL. If you a movie person, it will completely change your experience. Baseball games look like they're being played in your living room it's so clear, and video games (especially MLB 09) are just...rediculous.

My grandfather in-law was over this weekend, and for a solid 5 minutes we had him convinced he was really watching a live Baseball game when it was really MLB 09.

The price tag can be rough off the bat, but if you have decent credit you can get a Best Buy card and they usually have some kind of long term no interest financing. My TV was something like $2,300-2,400 and I just paid it off this last month. If you're any good at saving money, it's not hard to put away an extra $100 every month towards this kind of purchase. I would stick with LCD's, and definitely onlhy 1080p. Samsung, Sony, Sharp IMO are the top 3. Whether you go 60hz or 120hz is really a matter of personal preference. I had the option when I made the purchase last year for minimal price difference, but the 120hz just didn't look or feel right. I felt like I was going to get motion sickness just from watching seinfeld.

[Lathum]

I do but I'm not sure this is the place to find an accurate sampling for this poll

[Noop]

I blew the first check from my scholarship money on a HDTV.

[Logan]

I think it's inching pretty close to a vast majority, at least in my area. I live with 3 roommates and we have 5 HDTVs between us, with the smallest being 37 inches. Pretty much every guy I know has one.

More importantly, my parents will be getting one soon and all of their friends have one (late 50s/early 60s). That's how I judge how well technology is being embraced.

[molson]

I'll get one the next time I buy a TV, which probably won't be until my current one breaks.

I've definitely been tempted, but its just not a priority right now. And I live in an apartment and am saving for a house. I would feel guilty buying a fancy TV for an apartment.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Noop

I blew the first check from my scholarship money on a HDTV.

I like you Noop but this shit pisses me off.

I'm 34 and in school full time and despite making the Dean's list, being published and getting 2 letters of recommendation from tenured professors I was declined for all 3 scholarships I applied for because my wife and I make to much money.

Now I realize it is a jump from A to B, but glad to see your scholarship money went to something productive and educational.

[JonInMiddleGA]

One out of five TV's in the house is, simply because it was the last one purchased. It's a relatively small one & hasn't really affected my TV viewing at all really. There's some difference in the picture I think but since 95% of my non-gaming viewing is spent listening & occasionally glancing at the TV the difference is largely lost on me. It's pretty rare that I actually watch TV while facing it (as opposed to turning in that direction occasionally while being online or gaming at the p.c.) so I think I probably just don't actively watch enough for it to matter to me.

Wife wants one of the wall mounts for the den, but I personally couldn't care less.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I like you Noop but this shit pisses me off.

I'm 34 and in school full time and despite making the Dean's list, being published and getting 2 letters of recommendation from tenured professors I was declined for all 3 scholarships I applied for because my wife and I make to much money.

Now I realize it is a jump from A to B, but glad to see your scholarship money went to something productive and educational.

I already had books, classes, and apartment paid for when I spent that money. Whatever is left over is given to the student and they are free to do with it as they please. Sorry you got denied your scholarship.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Noop

I already had books, classes, and apartment paid for when I spent that money. Whatever is left over is given to the student and they are free to do with it as they please. Sorry you got denied your scholarship.

I'm not telling you what to do with your money, but IMO buying a TV with it isn't in the spirit of the award.

[Tekneek]

I own one, however I would not further say that it is "a waste of money" or that I "couldn't live without it." It is nice to have, but not necessary for life. If it died tomorrow and I was not willing to repair it or have it replaced, I would survive just fine.

[Ryan S]

I have an HDTV, but I have not upgraded my satellite TV package yet.

I have a PS3 hooked up to it, so I have watched a few blu rays, but I do not expect to buy many until the price drops a bit.

[Noop]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I'm not telling you what to do with your money, but IMO buying a TV with it isn't in the spirit of the award.

Not sure of what you're trying to get at.

[Oilers9911]

I voted Yes, Can't live without it. A better option for me would be...Yes and I like it a lot but I could live without it if I had to.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Oilers9911

I voted Yes, Can't live without it. A better option for me would be...Yes and I like it a lot but I could live without it if I had to.

+1.

I have a 50" plasma. It is stunning for video games, sports and movies, but totally unnecessary for almost any other viewing. Nate, Kate, and the other 8 all look just as annoying in SD as they do in HD.

[MJ4H]

Have owned one for 2 years now and never displayed an HD image on it. When it becomes something more standard and not something I have to pay extra for, ok, but I have seen it in action at friends' houses and many, many other places, and while it is an obvious improvement, it is not worth a recurring monthly charge. To me, anyway. I'd get HD programming if it were cheaper, though. It's just not that big of a deal to me.

[lighthousekeeper]

I voted: No - Doesn't seem worth the money. I still have my 32 in crt bought in 1999 and that suits me fine. If they were selling for $100, I still don't think I'd get one. My hesitation is in all the related costs such as the related HD cable package that I'd need to upgrade to (which I assume would cost be hundreds of dollars each year), expensive wires, probably a new entertainment center, etc.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Noop

Not sure of what you're trying to get at.

nothing.

threadjack over.

[lighthousekeeper]

dola,

and for reference, here's the poll conducted here about 16 months ago on the same topic. news flash: more people are switching to hdtv!

Do you own an HDTV? - Front Office Football Central

[Lathum]

heh.

nice find

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Oilers9911

I voted Yes, Can't live without it. A better option for me would be...Yes and I like it a lot but I could live without it if I had to.

Yep. Love my HDTV for video games and Blu-Ray movies, but that's pretty much all I use it for because I don't get an HD feed for regular TV that I've seen. Then again, the last time I watched TV on it was back a few months ago.

[MJ4H]

Hard to find non-HD TVs for sale these days.

[JonInMiddleGA]

{scratches head for a minute}

I'm trying to remember from my last shopping trip for a TV, can you even find anything at normal retail larger than maybe 17" that isn't HDTV any more?

[stevew]

Maybe at wal marts.

We don't sell any non hdtv's any more at work.

Most of my viewing is lying in bed watching sdtv on this 25" Sanyo tube that will not die. In the living room we have a wall mounted Aquos with the HD package. I'm never home so I don't get much use out of it.

[johnnyshaka]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Hard to find non-HD TVs for sale these days.

Exactly, and when I'm allowed to buy a new TV I'll finally be allowed to join the HDTV Club. For the moment, we're still sporting an 8-year old 37" JVC that I'm praying will die ASAP!!!

The other issue is we don't have digital cable yet so that would be another purchase/increase in monthly charges that the wife won't like. I have to find a channel or two that she'll enjoy/can't live without so I can make that move at some point. Mind you, the big plan is to move next spring so I'm sure I'll be able to remedy everything at that time.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Have owned one for 2 years now and never displayed an HD image on it. When it becomes something more standard and not something I have to pay extra for, ok, but I have seen it in action at friends' houses and many, many other places, and while it is an obvious improvement, it is not worth a recurring monthly charge. To me, anyway. I'd get HD programming if it were cheaper, though. It's just not that big of a deal to me.

Here comes my soap box (or whatever).

For $30 you can at least get HD on the broadcast channels. I have a set-top antenna and no cable. I get stunning HD on all the networks. You are the one paying extra for SD cable.

(the caveat being you may need a roof-top antenna if you are farther from the broadcast antenna than my city-dwelling self)

[Passacaglia]

If you get a DVR box first, those are usually HD-ready, so you've basically already paid for your HD monthly charge.

[JediKooter]

We've got two (one where I'm at in Cupertino and one in San Diego) and sometimes I wonder if it was worth it because comcrap's and timewarner's signal is just horrible a lot of the time. However, playing xbox, wii and playstation is quit enjoyable now.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

Have owned one for 2 years now and never displayed an HD image on it. When it becomes something more standard and not something I have to pay extra for, ok, but I have seen it in action at friends' houses and many, many other places, and while it is an obvious improvement, it is not worth a recurring monthly charge. To me, anyway. I'd get HD programming if it were cheaper, though. It's just not that big of a deal to me.

If you have cable, and your HDTV has a qam tuner in it, you can usually re-run the channel search for both digital and analog channels(regular cable ones). You may have several HD channels you can pick up for free(usually the networks). These are usually in the 80-90s range, come in as something like 83.11 .....something like that.

My parent's don't pay for HD at all, and are able to get at least a few channels this way.

[MJ4H]

I have dish network and getting an over the air antenna for HD and putting it on the roof is not something I'm willing to do just to get HD signal sometimes on a few channels. I'll just wait until it is super-standard everywhere and I don't have to pay extra for "HD channels." It really just doesn't do much for me.

[Schmidty]

I don't have one, and don't care to until prices go down even further. I've watched HD at other people's houses, and didn't impress me as much as most people I guess.

[thesloppy]

I bought an HDTV like 5 years ago. I loves it, it was the absolute cheapest 'big' HDTV available at the time, and one of the last projection behemoths. It's a 52" RCA, which I think everybody came to realize was TOO big for a projection TV, and it's like the size of a house. It's like 2 feet deep, and 5 feet tall. And it's got a single DVI input. A good amount of standard-def stuff looks like absolute horseshit. But, on the plus side, it's built like a freaking tank, and will likely outlast a lot of finicky plasma/lcd/dlp sets of the same generation, so I'll be lugging this behemoth around for the next 20 years. Yay? Also, the hi-def (and DVD) picture quality is surprisingly good.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by MJ4H

I have dish network and getting an over the air antenna for HD and putting it on the roof is not something I'm willing to do just to get HD signal sometimes on a few channels. I'll just wait until it is super-standard everywhere and I don't have to pay extra for "HD channels." It really just doesn't do much for me.

It's like 10 bucks extra per month for HD on dish, although if you have to upgrade receivers, etc, it does get pricy.

I think I'm paying like 70 for one dual tuner HD-DVR, locals, hd, and the americas 200 package. I'd save 5 bucks if i had a phone line.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Oilers9911

I voted Yes, Can't live without it. A better option for me would be...Yes and I like it a lot but I could live without it if I had to.

Put me in this boat.

[MJ4H]

Originally Posted by stevew

It's like 10 bucks extra per month for HD on dish, although if you have to upgrade receivers, etc, it does get pricy.

I think I'm paying like 70 for one dual tuner HD-DVR, locals, hd, and the americas 200 package. I'd save 5 bucks if i had a phone line.

Yeah we've looked at the pricing. It is annoying and expensive enough for us not to bother with it.

[Suburban Rhythm]

I am in the "No- doesn't seem worth it to spend that much right now but the next purchase will be because that is the standard now" group.

We have 2 TVs that are each probably about 7 years old that work fine and have no real reason to buy HD for the sake of having HD. I don't watch very much TV to begin with outside of Steelers and Pens games, and have no gaming systems, so it would get wasted anyway.

Factor in 2 kids under 5 who would probably ruin it if they somehow got their hands on it, it's far from a necessity right now.

[Marc Vaughan]

Got one - can't really see much difference between shows in HD and those in SD to be honest though.

The only thing I can recall watching which made me go 'Wow' was the Cars film on BluRay.

Apart from that well its a bigger set (inch wise) than my other one so I like it ... but thats about it.

[terpkristin]

I desperately wanted to be in the "yes - not really worth it though" category, but after traveling to New Jersey and reverting to satellite on a 27" standard def tube TV, I can tell you, I really do like my flat-panel (LCD) HDTV.

I think I'm spoiled, I have a 52" Bravia XBR with FiOS. For regular TV, I only really watch sports in HD and I can tell the difference. However, in gaming, I definitely noticed an upgrade in my picture quality (my old TV was ~40" standard def tube that was from 1997 or so). As for movies, I don't watch too many in full HD so it's hard to tell.

/tk

[lynchjm24]

Originally Posted by Lathum

I like you Noop but this shit pisses me off.

You are reading scholarship when I'm guessing he means loans.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Got one - can't really see much difference between shows in HD and those in SD to be honest though.

Seriously, are you sure you have your settings right? A lot of people make the same mistake of not outputting HD.

[Balldog]

Got a 52", 42" and a 36"

now I can't stand watching non-HDTV though.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by Logan

Seriously, are you sure you have your settings right? A lot of people make the same mistake of not outputting HD.

I'm sure - but do bear in mind my eyesight is far from 20-20 which probably has a bearing as I don't sit 'on top'' of my television by any means ....

[Mac Howard]

I bought a 42 plasma about 12 months ago and the other four tvs moved down through the house. The 68 cm Sony, previously the best tv, moved to the living area (plasma in tv room), the 51 cm set to the outdoor dining/bbq area, another one in my daughter's bedroom and a small 34 cm set right next to my monitor here in the computer room. I have a video distribution system so that I can watch and control my sat tv from any of the sets.

But watching the crts, even the Sony, is so much inferior to the plasma that I hardly ever do it now. Admittedly I like to watch sports and the likes of Nat Geo so they benefit but even the occasional SD 4x3 pictures (CNN etc) are significantly better on the plasma tv.

If it came to losing the four crts or the plasma HD set I wouldn't hesitate to lose the four crts.

However, I have to agree with Marc - the big step up is from the 4x3 crts to the large wide screen plasma than from wide screen SD to HD.

[MizzouRah]

Yes and I can't watch much that isn't in HD anymore.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

+1.

I have a 50" plasma. It is stunning for video games, sports and movies, but totally unnecessary for almost any other viewing. Nate, Kate, and the other 8 all look just as annoying in SD as they do in HD.

I agree as well.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

+1.

I have a 50" plasma. It is stunning for video games, sports and movies, but totally unnecessary for almost any other viewing.

Also agree

[sooner333]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

I'm sure - but do bear in mind my eyesight is far from 20-20 which probably has a bearing as I don't sit 'on top'' of my television by any means ....

So if the poll was "Do you own eyeglasses?" would you respond "No, but I really want them!"?

[Chief Rum]

A couple weeks ago, a friend and I were blowing off time waiting for a movie to start by going into a Best Buy's TV corner. We pretty much stared in awe at one of those Blue-Ray/HD running ads that shows clips from blockbuster movies on a big screen TV. We were literally enthralled. It was...awesome.

I, however, cannot afford this.

[lordscarlet]

Originally Posted by Marc Vaughan

Got one - can't really see much difference between shows in HD and those in SD to be honest though.

The only thing I can recall watching which made me go 'Wow' was the Cars film on BluRay.

Apart from that well its a bigger set (inch wise) than my other one so I like it ... but thats about it.

Originally Posted by Logan

Seriously, are you sure you have your settings right? A lot of people make the same mistake of not outputting HD.

I'm with Logan here. I just don't see how it's possible to not see a difference. There's also a good chance your color/contrast/etc settings are not set correctly. Believe it or not it can make a HUGE difference.