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I'm going to try and do this without violating any forum rules as my intent is not to advertise, but rather, to inform. If I do violate one of the rules, please DM me and I'll be glad to change the thread to be in compliance.
Not only am I new to City-Data.com, I am also the new manager of a consumer electronics store in Winston-Salem (name withheld so as not to advertise). I know this can be a very confusing business with 1080i, 720p, 1080p, 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, DVD, Blu-Ray etc. etc. etc.
So I thought I would start a thread where anybody could ask any question about TVs, surround sound, custom remotes, stereo, home theater or anything else related to consumer electronics.
Are you confused about these technologies? Do you have questions about your new TV? Are you ready for Feb 2009?
By the way, I'm also new to Winston-Salem (my family and I live near Lake Norman) so please don't ask me anything specific about Winston-Salem.
Tip: If you didn't connect your new Blu-Ray player to your new 1080P LCD with an HDMI cable, you're not taking full advantage of that Blu-Ray player. And yes, to a certain extent, cable quality does matter.
(BTW: this was originally posted in a local forum)
Last edited by LKNMHiFiGuy; 07-31-2008 at 10:07 PM..
Reason: To help explain the Winston-Salem references (since this thread was moved)
Question 1. Can I have digital cable without the pain-in-the-neck digital converter box? My wife is handicapped with limited dexterity and cannot use those remote controls that seem to be a necessary evil with digital cable.
Question 2. The house was pre-wired for surround-sound, and I have it currently hooked up to the Dolby 5.1 receiver. In order to place a wider-screen TV, I'll probably need to relocate it to another wall of the living room where I had another cable outlet installed. Of course, then I will lose the ability to connect into the existing surround-sound. Can I replace the existing receiver with a wireless surround-sound system? Or, can I somehow relocate the receiver but still hook it into the existing connections without having to perform any new wiring?
Question 1. Can I have digital cable without the pain-in-the-neck digital converter box? My wife is handicapped with limited dexterity and cannot use those remote controls that seem to be a necessary evil with digital cable.
Question 2. The house was pre-wired for surround-sound, and I have it currently hooked up to the Dolby 5.1 receiver. In order to place a wider-screen TV, I'll probably need to relocate it to another wall of the living room where I had another cable outlet installed. Of course, then I will lose the ability to connect into the existing surround-sound. Can I replace the existing receiver with a wireless surround-sound system? Or, can I somehow relocate the receiver but still hook it into the existing connections without having to perform any new wiring?
1) Yes, you can have digital cable, per se, but you won't be taking advantage of it without the use of the converter box. I don't understand how the Time Warner remote (assuming they're your service provider) would be any more difficult for your wife to use than the remote that comes with the TV? Is the size of the remote buttons where the problem lies? If so, you can get remotes that have larger buttons.
2) Is the room you're talking about on the 1st floor of your house? If so, is there a crawl space underneath the room or are you on a slab? If you're on a crawl, anything is possible. If you're on a slab, anything is possible as long as you have an accessible attic directly above this room (1 story home).
Before you actually purchase anything new, let me know when you're ready and I can take a look at the room and give you your options. I can also help with equipment discounts. There would not be any charge or fee for my consultation (if you're in Huntersville)(because that's close enough to me). Feel free to DM me if you prefer to coordinate that way.
Before you actually purchase anything new, let me know when you're ready and I can take a look at the room and give you your options. I can also help with equipment discounts. There would not be any charge or fee for my consultation (if you're in Huntersville)(because that's close enough to me). Feel free to DM me if you prefer to coordinate that way.
What is the best option for viewing DVDs in high definition outside of Blue Ray?
Are there still HD DVDs?
I have a 1080p plasma but use an upconverting DVD player to 1080i.
The P stands for progressive. The i stands for interlaced. Think of your TV with 1080 horizontal lines on it, with each line either being an ODD numbered line or an EVEN numbered line. So line 1 is ODD and line 2 is EVEN and they alternate that way all the way to line 1080. When watching in 1080i, the ODDs and EVENs are displayed in an alternating fashion. It happens so quickly that the human eye can't really see it, however, motion will appear to be a little blurred. When watching something in 1080p, the odd lines and the even lines are displayed simultaneaously and the result is a clearer picture, even when watching motion.
High definition is defined as not less than 720p/1080i. DVDs are 480 lines of resolution. The original format is really what dictates your final image so 480 lines "upconverted" to 1080 isn't really 1080 lines of resolution. So you're not really watching DVDs in hi-def. Just make sure your DVD player is hooked up with component video cables (at least) which are the red/green/blue video connections.
You can probably find HD DVDs out there still, but, it won't be as easy as finding Blu-Rays (obviously). I'd look on Ebay and/or Craigslist.
I hope this answered your questions. If it didn't. please let me know and I'll try to re-address them when I get home from work tomorrow night.
And you say the OP won't be back because?... Do you know something we don't?
I don't pretend to know the reason, but you can see it says "not a member" under his name now. I do know what that means - he did something that got the administrators upset enough to ban him.
Actually that's to bad, seemed to give useful detailed answers.
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