The wife and I finally broke down and bought a HDTV. Now we just have to get programming. I want something that gives me an MLB package.
Does DirectTV offer a MLB package? I know DISH network does not. However, is the MLB going solely to MLB.TV this year?
Thanks guys.
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i don't know if direct tv has an mlb package
though i think they do… but mlb would never go solely to mlb.tv and lose all off their television contract revenue.
Yes, they do
They are the only satellite company that does I think.
https://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/sports/mlb
MLB and Directv are pretty tight – Directv owns a piece of MLB Network. I don’t think MLB is going to be pulling content from Directv.
How is the HDTV? I just bought one as well and I’m kinda disappointed the quality isn’t noticeably different than non-HD. I’m not tech savvy at all so I’m pretty sure I’m doing something wrong.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
I don't want to "that guy"
But are you sure you are watching HD programming? A lot of things are still not shot in that format, and anything more than a few years old almost certainly won’t be. Also, even programs that claim to be HD often have a lot of standard def in them, with HD bits.
by kcbottom9th on Nov 23, 2009 12:32 PM EST up reply actions
aren't there also two different resolutions?
like a 1080 and a 720. i desperately want to buy an hdtv, and am under the impression that the 1080 is “more” hd.
You want 1080i
and regardless of whether you currently have devices with HDMI outputs, make sure your TV has at least two, if not three, HDMI inputs.
This space for rent.
Aha
Do I need to feed it with the HDMI input? Because I have a coaxial feeding into my TV. It has HDMI inputs, but the cable box had a coaxial cable.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
by RoyalsRetro on Nov 23, 2009 12:42 PM EST up reply actions
For clarity
are you saying the cable box doesn’t have HDMI outputs, or just that they didn’t give you an HDMI cable?
If it’s the former, the problem is your cable box, which either isn’t HD or is freakin’ OLD. If the latter, invest in an HDMI cable and get rid of the coax from the box to the TV.
This space for rent.
No HDMi cable
Brand new cable box. Thanks for the advice!
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
RoyalsRetro
You do actually have to subscribe to HD programming. That usually entails your cable/satellite company coming out to give you an HD cable box, or upgraded satellite dish/DVR. My parents have the same problem right now, except the know it. They bought the flat screen 1080p TV, but refuse to upgrade to HD on their cable for some reason.
The coaxial cable should be capable of giving you at least 1080i (I think), but you probably want to go with an HDMI cable or Component Inputs (Red, Green, Blue Cables).
And Dish Network is pretty good (I really like their DVRs compared to the others I’ve used), they are cheaper than cable or DirecTV, but I think you have to get one of the top packages for MLB Network.
Blue-Ray Discs are in 1080p, but most broadcast stuff right now comes at most in 1080i.
i have time warner cable, just as RoyalsRetro has,
and when I added the DVR, i automatically got a HD cable box and free HD channels… even though I have a wimpy old tv. Time Warner’s whole thing is “FREE HD”… so he may not have to subscribe to anything to get HD… so long as he already has an HD box.
The Alex Gordon era - www.number4thesmirk.com
by CollininCalifornia on Nov 23, 2009 2:25 PM EST up reply actions
i have the same thing... but no hdtv
I’d say try the hdmi cable and you’ll probably love it. The coax is ok, but hdmi cables are made to give you the best picture quality.
sounds like you have all the right stuff, just no the best cable running from the box to the tv. You may have to buy a separate audio cable if you use the hdmi… i think it only runs the video out. But I bet it’ll be well worth the $20.
The Alex Gordon era - www.number4thesmirk.com
by CollininCalifornia on Nov 23, 2009 2:43 PM EST up reply actions
HDMI does include audio
If the box only has DVI out for some reason, you would also need to buy an audio (probably optical) cable.
HDMI includes the sound
for the cheapest cables, check monoprice.com.
When I first set mine up, I was using coax from the HD-DVR to the tv and didn’t notice any change. Switching to component (and later HDMI) made a huge difference.
Unless I'm wrong...
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Don't know much about that
My guess is he doesn’t have the correct cable box to pick it up, or his cables are bad then.
No, you want 1080p
I = interlaced = only half the screen refreshes each time
p = progressive = the whole screen refreshes
Sports need to be watched on the progressive screens otherwise you get the infamous motion blurs.
But if the TV is capable of 1080i, then it should be capable of 720p as well, which most people can’t tell the difference between 720p and 1080p.
resolution is not THAT important IMO, but...
1080 or 720 represents the vertical lines per image displayed. right now, only HD-DVD uses the higher resolution (though some cable companies say they broadcast in it, from what i’ve read it’s not genuinely there yet). some studies say the human eye can’t really detect 1080 vs 720, but many people say they can tell. i wouldn’t sweat it, though getting the 1080 vs the 720 is only a couple hundred bucks and then you’re covered even if 1080 becomes the standard in a couple years (780 still displays 1080, just without as much resolution)
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Actually 720p is higher quality than 1080i
720p, 1080i, 1080p are all damn good, and it is hard to tell the difference, though like I said above, you may catch motion blur on the 1080i.
It all depends on the screen size
If your screen is less than 32", you probably won’t be able to tell the difference between Standard Def 480p DVDs and 720p or 1080i/p. If your screen is less than 50" you probably won’t be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p unless you are only a couple feet away. For that matter, you won’t really be able to tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p unless you are that close either. That being said, if you have a screen 50" or bigger, it is definitely worth upgrading to 1080p. If you don’t have 1080p, then it doesn’t make sense to ever buy a Blu-Ray player (unless its a PS3 and you just want to have it for the games/internet access).
On a side note, if you are buying an LCD that is 50" or better I would highly recommend getting a set with a refresh rate of at least 120hz. This will drastically improve motion blur (as AxDxMx has noted is very important in sports). Also 120hz will allow your set to be compatible with polarized 3D content which should begin becoming available some time next year.
I think it's hilarious they keep coming up with incremental improvements to milk us for all our money
That being said, 3D is going to be freakin awesome!
James Cameron's Avatar movie
is supposedly releasing a video game version in 3D in the spring. Movie games usually suck, but hopefully the visuals are awesome at least.
1080 vs. 720
Per my buddy that works at Best Buy, the difference between the two is negligible until you get in the 40"+ range. Plus, I think most (all?) cable programming is still broadcast in 720. You might notice a difference with a BluRay player, but that’s about it.
I was set to get a 42" 1080 plasma but he talked me down to the 720 for a few hundred less.
Royals, NBA, Golden Hurricane, Hawkeyes, Chiefs, and KU basketball, in that order.
agreed.
sounds fishy – did you have HD activated by your cable service? costs about $8/month for us. and then there are only about 40 HD channels for my cable, compared to 300 non-HD. the non-HD channels look essentially the same, but the HD is certainly better and you would be noticing it (for instance, that the picture fills the entire 16:9 screen (or whatever the rectangular dimensions are).
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Supposedly we get them for free
Time Warner offers some 40 channels of HD for free and I’ve been flipping between NBC HD and regular NBC and I can’t see much of a difference.
Thanks for mentioning the aspect ratio. What should I be setting it at? If I do 16:9, then when I watch non-HD channels I notice I’m missing stuff on the margins. Do I have to change the settings every time I change the channel?
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
by RoyalsRetro on Nov 23, 2009 12:41 PM EST up reply actions
hopefully the TV will do it automatically
sometimes there’s a setting on the menu that will instruct the TV to change ratio automatically when you change channels from HD to SD. at least if the HD channel is fitting the screen correctly while the SD channel is zoomed in too much, you know that you’re getting the correct signals…now hopefully just a matter of getting the HDMI cable figured out.
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You're not missing anything on the margins
it’s just that non-HD programming is only in 4:3 aspect ratio rather than 16:9.
I would recommend simply leaving non-HD programming at the same aspect ratio and learning to live with the grey/black bars on the side, because there is NO way to adjust your TV to make it look “right” while filling the screen. You either chop off the top and bottom of the picture, or distort it. I have had a hell of a time trying to explain this to my stepfather, who insists on zooming non-HD football games (thus preventing him from actually seeing the damned chiron on the bottom of the screen which has the score…).
This space for rent.
I am missing stuff on the margins
The picture is bigger than the screen, so stuff scrawling on the bottom is no longer visible.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
Then you're not watching an HD broadcast
The aspect ratio on your cable box (or maybe your TV, too) is set to “Zoom” or “Stretch,” which, in my opinion, both really suck. All the box/TV is doing is taking a standard def 4:3 ratio (old school TV) broadcast and zooming in on the center of it, or “stretching” it to meet the 16:9/widescreen ratio of your HDTV. Which results in a really distorted picture where people look wider than they are, bottoms/sides/etc. of the picture are cut off, and things just seem off. I can’t for the life of me understand it, but some people actually like this.
Make sure that the aspect ratio of both your box and TV are set to 16:9. When you do that, then standard def broadcasts will have black or gray bars on the right and left side of the picture to fill in the screen gaps…but at least people will look normal. However, there are still some channels that actually BROADCAST their “HD” signals as simply standard def footage that is stretched. This drives me nuts, makes me want to ask “who do you think you are fooling,” and always results in me just flipping over to the standard def version of the channel so I can watch the show in regular 4:3 (with bars) so things at least look normal, if not as crisp as HD.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Nov 23, 2009 2:45 PM EST up reply actions
Right
I meant, I’m missing stuff on the margins when I switch back to non-HD channels. HD channels are letterboxed so I’m not missing anything.
Interesting point about networks trying to “fool” viewers. Perhaps that is what I am encountering a lot – pictures that are distorted because they’re trying to pass SD off as HD.
I guess 16:9 is the best way to go then unless I have a setting on my TV that automatically sets it depending on SD or HD?
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
If the aspect ratio is set to 16:9 on both box and TV
Then you should absolutely be seeing HD quality pictures in your true HD broadcasts (i.e. channels 10 _ _ and 14 _ _ for TWC). And there should not be any boxes (letter or otherwise) if you’re watching a true HD broadcast. The picture will fill the entire screen with no boxes of any sort (top/bottom, or left/right). And of course, the difference between the standard def broadcast should be dramatic and immediately noticeable (even to non-techies).
I think pretty much all HDTV’s have an automatic feature to their aspect ratios. Unless you set your box to display one of the crappy ratios as a default, then having it at 16:9 should give you full picture HD when it’s an HD broadcast, and 4:3 with side-bars/boxes when it’s not.
"Now…put that in your [BLEEP]ing pipe and smoke it." -Hal McRae
"I was doing this when BJ was in his father's nutsack." -Renzo Gracie
by Sweep_the_Leg on Nov 23, 2009 2:56 PM EST up reply actions
I know that Dish Network boxes
allow you to set a default aspect ratio based on whether the channel is SD or HD. I don’t know about other carriers, however.
This space for rent.
Yea, I know a lot of stuff that claims to be HD isn't HD
I know older programs aren’t. But I was watching the NFL on Time Warner’s HD channels and I wasn’t noticing a huge difference.
What I am confused about is resolutions. My TV is 1080, but I don’t know what my cable box is – if that even matters.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
by RoyalsRetro on Nov 23, 2009 12:40 PM EST up reply actions
if you have an HD cable box...
which you should have if you’re paying for HD from TimeWarner, then it’ll handle 1080 and 720 resolutions.
Some stations broadcast in 1080, like CBS. Some broadcast in 720… like Fox.
You made the right choice in buying a 1080 TV, but some stations do 720 and therefor it won’t look quite as good as you’d like. But if you watch football on CBS, you should be seeing a crisp, clean picture.
The Alex Gordon era - www.number4thesmirk.com
by CollininCalifornia on Nov 23, 2009 12:42 PM EST up reply actions
Close up shots look pretty good, but not great
Its the full field views that don’t really look that good. I’ve seen HD on my buddy’s TV and it looks way better.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
by RoyalsRetro on Nov 23, 2009 12:43 PM EST up reply actions
bummer, man.
what type of wires are you using to connect the cable box to your tv?
The Alex Gordon era - www.number4thesmirk.com
by CollininCalifornia on Nov 23, 2009 1:26 PM EST up reply actions
If you are using coax, really long cables, or faulty cables, the signal could be degrading by the time it gets to your tv
If it’s not that, or your cable box, it might be your tv.
If you just want to check out high quality HD
Over the air HD is the highest quality HD programming available aside from Blu-Ray. Broadcast signals are uncompressed and look awesome. If your TV has a built in ATSC tuner (most new TVs do) then you should be able to check it out without even going through the cable box. I promise you will notice a big difference in football games.
good point... i often forget that HD is just...
floating through the air… free for anyone with a nice tv to grab.
The Alex Gordon era - www.number4thesmirk.com
by CollininCalifornia on Nov 23, 2009 2:57 PM EST up reply actions
Its probably the coaxial
Thanks for all the help guys.
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
UPDATE!
The “automatic” function works pretty well, although it is a bit annoying in that it can change from commercial to commercial depending on whether the commercial is HD or SD I guess. Slightly annoying, but at least we are getting the full picture.
I am getting the HDMI cables tonight so hopefully that will improve the picture! Many thanks for all the help!
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
UPDATE PART II!
Just set up the HDMI cable – HUGE DIFFERENCE! This is what I expected with HD.
Again, many thanks!
Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com
this shows the power of the RR nation
a truly heartwarming story. Wait, I need to adjust the rabbit ears on my Magnavox…
"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell
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