The Digital Migration

[Mr. Analog]

Have you bought a digital television in the last year, have you thought hard about why you bought it? Was the main drive to buy it simply part of the quest to get a better picture or was it something else completely? My aim with this thread is to get some insight into why many of us are upgrading televisions at roughly the same time.

Remember this thread is not an indictment of your personal decision-making in general nor should it be a place where differing opinions divde us as friends. I simply would like to have a somewhat rational discussion about the subject of digital adoption.

My reluctance to buy a new television, particularily since the one I have is fine as far as I am concerned, should not stop you or anyone else from exploring new technology. Forgive me if I'm less than bedazzled by so-called Hi-Def, I'm blind, everything looks fuzzy. I admit I can place subtle jibes about the perception of quality into the subtext of some of my posts regarding HDTV but I can't help it. I see people fiercely clinging to their chosen technology or format as if it were some righteous thing to be defended to the death. DLP, Plasma, LCD, tube, HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, 1080i, 1080p, XBox, PlayStation. The little anarchist in me cannot help but poke at such baffling product devotion. For this I partially apologize, on one hand I shouldn't be trolling but on the other hand if someone flips out over the sanctity of their gizmo preference I recieve no end of personal enjoyment.

*cough* well, back to reality...

I want to make it very clear that I do think "a better picture" is always going to be a step in the right direction, what I find disturbing though is how many geeks in the last year have purchased a new television. I don't want to put a tin foil hat on here but I have this feeling that some really sinister marketing has been developed to appeal to us nerds (numbers, long important-sounding feature lists, roughly equivilant yet rival named technologies, strateigic oneupsmanship) all to drive the first wave of digital acceptance before the forced analog switch off (in the USA, February 17, 2009).

Am I the only one who feels as though I'm being forced to buy a new TV not just from advertisers or editorials but from peer pressure as well? If you plan on buying an HDTV in the near future, why? If you own one already how long have you had it and what was your initial reason for upgrading?

Thanks!

[Lazybones]

Well my decision was based primarily on two factors and influenced by several more.

Primary
- Old 27" Sony Trinitron that was over 7 years old has almost given up the ghost.. It will not tune RF properly any more and even with direct input it would make a buzzing noise and distort much like a monitor does when you degauss it.
- Future Shop had a boxing day sale price  that made a new unit almost 50% off

Secondary
- Old set was only 27" making it a little small for its current location. I had determined that a 42" unit of almost any technology would fit perfect
- Having seen the difference between standard definition and HD on good HD sources  (360 + GOW) I was interested in migrating in that direction. The Display unit is the obvious place to start.
- Space, going with a Flat TV makes sense for saving space. It would have been much harder to fit a rear projection 42" unit in the location I have, and projection units would have suffered from the lighting conditions.

As it stands I really don't have any true HD sources, other than maybe some downloaded content I might be able to get to play through my XBOX. I also don't plan on rapidly replacing my equipment to get HD content.. It just happened I had a very old set and also wanted something larger.

[Shayne]

It was very simple for me really.  I wanted a big TV for sports and gaming.  With prices coming down, technology reaching new heights and I had a bit of disposable income.Now looking back at the purchase it was probably a little ridiculous as I look at the 32-37" LCDs and they probably fit my needs a little better.

However when watching a movie in HD off an HD-DVD driver, or the NFL game in HD off the Digital Cable box, or the video game in HD off the Xbox 360 you can can get totally immersed.  I guess thats really all it is to me, immersion.  Having the ability to compare 2 sources be it HD-DVD vs. DVD or HD Digital Cable vs SD Cable it really is a massive difference and so much so that I couldn't even consider going back to SD.

I do think its the type of device though that if you don't have one or don't spend time around people with one you really wont have a clue what its all about.  If I had to do it again I would either go 50" Plasma or 37" LCD.

[Shayne]

Digital Exodus sounds incorrect to me as well.  Wouldn't that mean we are leaving Digital?

[Mr. Analog]

Interesting, so the things I'm hearing are (beyond the video quality)

• Form factor
• Replacing aging / failing hardware
• Price drops

I do think its the type of device though that if you don't have one or don't spend time around people with one you really wont have a clue what its all about.

Now this is particularly interesting because I've heard similar statements from a few others. There is some additional element that I'd like to isolate here and that is the social aspect of it all. To me it seems like there is a social trend towards buying a large, slim television. Something that can dominate a room, yet consume a small amount of space. Am I off the mark here? What do you guys think?

Thanks!

[Mr. Analog]

Digital Exodus sounds incorrect to me as well.  Wouldn't that mean we are leaving Digital?

OT, but changed anyway.

[Shayne]

To me it seems like there is a social trend towards buying a large, slim television. Something that can dominate a room, yet consume a small amount of space. Am I off the mark here? What do you guys think?

This makes more sense then a small, fat TV that takes up huge amounts of space.  TVs are just going down the same miniaturization path that all electronics go down with the exception of screen size that must increase while slimming down the overall form factor.

Personally I would prefer a TV that can still envelope the senses but not be the focal point of the room that its in.  A 50" plasma TV hanging on the wall I think could accomplish this.  Or a 37" LCD sitting on a small stand of sorts.

[Lazybones]

Similar factors are at play with LCD monitors.. Why change from a CRT to an LCD? You can reclaim desk space and get a larger screen at the same time.

[Shayne]

I also enjoy the lack of a filter and the addition of things like USB ports and Card Readers that they put into modern LCDs compared to the stale technology movement in CRT

[Melbosa]

As unfortunate as it sounds, I think the industry will slowly push us that way.  An example is Dead Rising for the XBox 360.  The game itself is great to play, except if you want to read the text on a regular Tube TV.  The text was designed for HD TVs, or a TV over the size that I have (27"), and is almost unreadable unless you are right in front of the screen.

Also I find as I get older, that 27" just isn't big enough for me anymore.  Small writing or small objects aren't as easy for me to see when I'm a bit tired or worn from a hard day at work.

I've been researching a TV for myself since the end of November, and still every week check out a couple reviews here and there to determine what I would want.  I also check out the stores when I'm in them to really compare the look and other factors already mentioned here.  I've also seen various TVs in action among many people here and outside of this forum.  When all said and done, I'll have to let you guys know which one I get in the new year.

Being an advid sports fan (especially hockey) I do like the HD TV stations that I've seen them on.  And being a Bell customer, I also have access to the largest HD listing of any of the Cable/Satellite providers in Canada.  As such, this is another driving factor for me, as I can't wait to watch DiscoveryHD and SportsNetHD, etc.

And then there is the 360, PS3, HD-DVD and Blueray technology, which is another driving factor for an HD TV.

Hope that helps from my perspective.

[Cova]

As one of the more vocal members around on topics related to AV stuff, I should probably go over my last TV purchase....

Yes, it's digital, and HD, and all that other good stuff.  But the reason that actually got me off my ass and down to best-buy was that I couldn't make out any text at all on my 26" set (and it is also HD, so SD wasn't a factor) without pulling my couch across the living-room.  My living room is 20' across, I needed a way bigger screen to be able to make out SD-level details, and I still probably can't make out full HD resolution from all the way across the room - but other factors prevent me from going even bigger.

I think this entire theory of "digital exodus" might be flawed though - a simpler explanation comes to mind at least.  Being that we are all geeks, we all like to research our decisions (especially any technology behind those decisions, LCD VS DLP for example), and we all like to have the best/fastest/newest.  I would say a combination of our own geekiness, combined with the industry pushing these new technologies, results in virtual certainty that any of us would go digital if we were to buy a TV - but the old factors of the age of the existing TV, needing bigger sets for big rooms, etc. are what actually get people into the research phase.

Also, semi-on-topic, you may find it interesting that I went big HD more for the "big" than anything else - but after having it for quite a while, I REALLY don't like watching SD content anymore.  It's not so bad on smaller screens (like 30" or less, preferably 20" or less), but going from HD to SD on a large screen, is like going from cable/satellite back to rabbit-ears.

And Mr. A - you just need a bigger HD screen to make out the extra detail.  Bigger like measured in feet instead of inches big perhaps - but still just a matter of size.

[Shayne]

Now that most of us have our new TV, what time line are you guys looking at for the "next one"?

[Mr. Analog]

Once my old TV dies, I think. It may become more evident if I'm moving this year though.

[Lazybones]

Now that most of us have our new TV, what time line are you guys looking at for the "next one"?

I'm not... Simple matter of need really... I might eventually go projection if I finish my basement but my next purchase will probably be made base on the same reason my current one was.... A simple need to replace a dieing unit. All the research and fancy feature research are just to ensure a good long lasting purchase for me.. The 27" Sony Trinitron I am replacing was probably one of the first Trinitrons and the largest size available at the time.. Come to think of it it is way older than 10 years....

As long as I don't burn in some odd image on the plasma and treat it well it should last up to 10,000 hours from what I hear.. When you think about it, that is a VERY VERY long time even if left on 24/7.

[TheDruid]

I figure i'd better add my two cents since i have bought 3 TV's in the last 4 years in the following order:

32" Sony Trinitron CRT
27" Viewsonic LCD flatpannel
50" Samsung DLP

And within the next year i will purchase 37" Viewsonic LCD
And within the next 5 years a Wall projector, possibly DLP but i have yet to do my research.

In Short, the reason why i adopted the technology like i did was really due to tripping over it in a quest to fill needs and a bit of luck and timing.

I started off buying my 32" Trinitron because at the time i did not own a TV, this was support to be my primary TV for a long time. And it was, kind of… i loved the picture and at the time high def was young and i didn’t see the point at all, being that there really was no HD sources so it was an SD TV. This TV remained my primary TV up until this fall.

I then bought my 27" LCD last year because there was only one TV in my house and between my wife and my sister staying with us there was always a battle for the TV. So I said “enough” we’re getting a TV for our upstairs bedroom. However I would not settle for anything less then 27”; and due to the limited space in our room we had to approach this intelligently. LCD was the only way I could see getting both of these worlds. It so happened that Costco had this TV on for $850; a 27” LCD for less than $1000 was un heard of last year at that time, the closest being some no name brand at $1200 and most averaging at $1600. Having used a ViewSonic monitor at both work and home I trusted the brand.

Shortly after I won the year MVP award at my work and was given $1200 for it. I couldn’t really figure out what I wanted to do with the money but my wife insisted that I should “treat” myself. Someone suggested an xbox360, which if I never had this money I would have never even considered buying a console. However PC gamming was/is dying fast with less and less games on the shelve and with my rapidly outdating computer it would have cost me a G-Note just to get my PC running these few games decently again. So I jumped to console, why xbox? Because it was the best thing at the time, It could easily had been Sony if they were out first, but as history goes…. (BTW, game cube was also under very serious consideration since I could relate more to the games, but then again I’m not one to buy “old” technology )

I hooked my Xbox up to my LCD 27” for two reasons, Xbox games output in Widescreen (yes I’ll get into the importance of widescreen soon), and my LCD was a 16:9 TV, and Xbox outputted in 720p HD which my LCD TV could also do to my surprise (was not a deciding factor when I bought it). I figured I should see what all this HD “who-ha” was all about, and OMG I fell in love immediately as soon as I saw that HD picture for the first time. The detail blew my mind and it took me over like a virus I wanted more.

Also the single most important factor IMO to the new digital TVs is the Widescreen. I buy all my movies in widescreen, my Xbox plays in widescreen, and more and more TV content is in widescreen (SD included). I watch a lot of Discovery Channel which actually outputs a lot of 16:9 programming. By the time you add the black bars to your 4:3 TV you’re only using 2/3 and sometimes ½ if the aspect ratio is 2.40:1. I’m sorry but your 32” or 36” 4:3 TV is no longer being used at that size. Nothing was more evident then this past week at my parents house where they have a 36” CRT TV, sitting 20’ away from the couch and we were watching a 2.40:1 aspect ratio movie, I couldn’t see a dam thing. Needless to say they buy all their movies in full screen. However I can’t stand how bad they butcher a movie when they chop it to fit. Prefect example, I watched Clerks II in full screen, and the shoot where Jay was doing the “Man Tuck” had his right side cut off and Silent Bob was totally not in the picture, unlike it’s widescreen counterpart. I also had to ply Xbox in 4:3 SD, very un-pleasurable experience since these games are designed for widescreen and HD. I had a really hard time reading the text in oblivion. And this was sitting 4’ from my old 32” Trinitron mention above which I sold to my brother after buying my 50” DLP.

Now on to the story for my DLP. I had always wanted to have a big screen plain and simple, and 32” by today’s standard is not big screen and once you consider watching movies in 2.40: ratio, it really is a small TV to sit 8 – 9 feet away from. My wife started complaining about the Xbox being in our bedroom, something about not liking me playing games while she was trying to sleep But I told her I refused to play xbox on our 32” 4:3 SD Sony Trinitron (see above for reasons why). So we struck a deal, I will only move the Xbox out of our room if I got to buy an HD big screen for the living room, she reluctantly agreed under the condition that this was my *Last* TV for this room for a long time so I better pick something I can live with for a while. Knowing this I went researching for a TV that full filled all my needs for the next wile to come, which meant that it had to be:

Widescreen,
HD (I opted for 1080p in anticipation of the upcoming HD movie seen with Blue-Ray and HD-DVD, so a little advice from Shayne factored in),
50”+,
It had to be attractive with a reasonable footprint and no speakers on the sides (makes a widescreen cabinet even wider)
Had to have all the future hookups HDMI etc.

Couldn’t go LCD since 50”+ would have put me in the poor house. I didn’t see the point in plasma due to issues like burn in and the fact that the foot print in my living room was no big deal since I still needed the space for DVD player, cable box etc. Didn’t like LCD projection at all, screen door effect turned me off. In the end I picked DLP because it offered the best picture for the price and a lots of my friends had DLP and I enjoyed watching their TVs.

I had my Samsung TV picked out months before I bought it, and the fact that I picked it up for a bargain was just gravy. I sold my 32” Sony Trinitron to my brother.

After getting my big screen TV I had HD fever, I wanted as much HD content as possible. So I got the Shaw HD PVR (The PVR is another story which has changed the way I watch TV for the better). I also got the HD-DVD player for Christmas for my Xbox and can barely stomach the thought of buying SD DVDs anymore. HD looks so much more superior and I truly do enjoy the movies much more as I constantly admire the quality of the picture as I watch in aw. I’m truly spoiled now and can’t go back.

So what began as casually getting into the technology for needs has turned into an obsession of wants. I will probably get Blue-Ray when it gets affordable, and another battle for the TV is brewing in my house, this time for the big screen between my wife wanting to watch HD content (HD cable box only on big screen TV) and me wanting to play Xbox. So my Xbox may get kicked from the TV again, but if it does, I want to buy that 37” ViewSonic LCD in Costco for $1000 and make a gamming room with one of the spare bedrooms. The projector will be for when I finish my basement an I want to create that “cinematic” experience, you can bet the projector will be HD as well.