Is there some reason I should get HDTV instead of a display?

[BLINGMW]

considering upgrading the TV... is there really much reason to get a TV with integrated tuner if I (like most people) will be hooking it to a cable box with DVR or computer? For example, this "HD ready" plasma display just seems like a good deal:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.pcconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Product/Detail.htm?sku=8320851">http://www.pcconnection.com/IPA/Shop/Pr ... ku=8320851</a><!-- m -->

Is there something I'm forgetting? I can't imagine I'll ever hook up an antenna to the damn thing.

[Evan]

nto sure if i understand the question. are you debating between pc monitor and hdtv? or hdtv with or without integrated hd tuner?

[CaptainHenreh]

Personally, I don't think so.

My "TV" basically serves as a multi-input monitor.

[Evan]

fwiw, I dont have cable and use the antenna occasionally. It helps that being close to a metro area the OTA HD stations come in great.

but yeah, most people dont need an antenna.

just do your research on plasma vs lcd. there are positives and negatives to each.

the best thing that ive ever done for my home entertainment has been hooking up a home theater pc. 100 HD movies on the hard drive, download/stream any tv shows directly over the web.
play music from the pc over the stereo, etc.
this makes it very easy to cancel your cable, but then you will want an antenna occasionally for live events like sports, news, political debates etc.

[Evan]

oh one more thing I forgot, if your tv has a QAM tuner, you can often get unencrypted HD channels over cable without a box. depends on your cable company. I got a few (but not all) with Cocks cable.

[HAULN-SS]

Umm..sort of related...do they make PC tuner cards that have input and output, so I could run my current cable through my PC card and out to one of those displays, instead of having to buy a TV?

[Evan]

technically yes you could rig something up with a capture card, but its going to have some major drawbacks (like no fullscreen mode)

best solution is to get a CableCARD, which can be a pain since they are hard to get outside of OEM HTPC systems.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/05/12/how-to-install-a-cablecard-tuner-in-your-diy-media-center/">http://www.engadgethd.com/2009/05/12/ho ... ia-center/</a><!-- m -->

2nd best solution is to get a HD tuner card with QAM support and hope that you get most of your HD channels unencrypted. (SD channels will come through fine)

or just hook up your HD cable box to your monitor directly via HDMI -> Dvi

[BLINGMW]

ok thanks guys, and good thoughts Evan... it would be tempting to do away with cable....

[BLINGMW]

Well, since Evan brought it up, I realized this was a good chance to ditch cable. Just returned the DVR and canceled it today. :bootyshake:

Got my Toshiba mounted on the wall, with a Mac Mini driving it, and using the Logitech Dinovo Mini keyboard/trackpad to control it. :thumbup: So far I'm pretty happy, though there are still a few small issues I'd like to find solutions for before it's as easy to use as I hoped. I've tried Boxee, Plex, XBMC, all have something they don't quite do right. I'll try Front Row tonight and see if the hacks to get it to do Hulu and NetFlix actually work. I might have to return the keyboard too, the trackpad goes nuts sometimes, or won't let me press the down arrow key. I'm kind of surprised there aren't more small wireless keyboard/trackpads out there to choose from, heck, Logitech doesn't even claim this one works with OSX. But I guess this HTPC idea is still in its infancy. So far so good though!

Oh, and yes, I'm a mac fanboi, guilty. While I could have put together an "equivalent" mini ATX box for ~$350, the extra $150 bought me a well engineered box that I can trust and is very quiet, and it was important to me that this setup be as non-intrusive and reliable as possible. The only shortcoming of the Mini as an HTPC I've identified so far is that the sound output is a combined optical/analog plug. I wanted sound to go to both the receiver and the TV, and of course I wanted to use the optical for the receiver. Could get an optical splitter... but the TV doesn't have optical input. So I got a $3 USB dongle that gives me another headphone jack, and THAT goes to the TV. Problem solved! Almost. For whatever reason the OS doesn't support having the sound output to both at once. I'm confident I'll find a way to map a hotkey so I can quickly switch them without going into a menu, or I'll find some software that will allow output to both. We'll see.

I tried an old antenna and while I picked up a lot of stations, most wouldn't really come in due to pathetic signal strength. I haven't done much digging on what antenna to get, but I get the sneaking suspicion that I'll have to run a cable to the attic if I really want this to work right and not have some goofy antenna sitting my living room.

Anyway, I don't think I'm going to miss cable at all. And the savings from not paying for cable will pay for this setup in about a year and a half.

[WRXtranceformed]

Nice!

I didn't miss cable at all. But I would most definitely miss DirecTV if I had to get rid of it. DirecTV >>>>>>>> cable.

[Jake]

Oh, and yes, I'm a mac fanboi, guilty.

No shame there! It's a good club to be a part of... And here - *chugs* *passes Kool-Aid*

For whatever reason the OS doesn't support having the sound output to both at once. I'm confident I'll find a way to map a hotkey so I can quickly switch them without going into a menu, or I'll find some software that will allow output to both. We'll see.

There is a program to run sound from multiple outputs. I don't know if this is what I'm thinking of, but try it and let me know. It's called Sound Source, click here to download it for free.

Good luck otherwise! I'm gonna be setting up a Mac-based HTPC in my townhouse this fall. Probably a G4 Mini as a server, streaming to an AppleTV as a cheapo front end. Front Row can't be beat (on the Mac at least) for simplicity.

[BLINGMW]

There is a program to run sound from multiple outputs. I don't know if this is what I'm thinking of, but try it and let me know. It's called Sound Source, click here to download it for free.

If that program can do it.... well, I haven't figured it out yet. It gave me a nice little menu that makes switching a little faster, but I wasn't able to get it to do both at once. And the media center apps I've tried usually have their own choice which overrides the system choice anyway, so then it gets messy. I'll play with it some more.

Good luck otherwise! I'm gonna be setting up a Mac-based HTPC in my townhouse this fall. Probably a G4 Mini as a server, streaming to an AppleTV as a cheapo front end. Front Row can't be beat (on the Mac at least) for simplicity.

I was tempted by the AppleTV, but at least for now the hardware specs concerned me. Apparently it's not fast enough to run Silverlight (Netflix) and I read of stuttering problems with some codecs and services. Not a huge surprise, it's a stripped down 1GHZ Pentium something or other... I just wanted a little more headroom for potential future apps. If its replacement comes out soon and hardware is a little more up to date, I bet it'd be the way to go, but I still saw some value in having the DVD drive right there in the same box too.

I was pretty disappointed with Front Row last night, I wasn't able to get it to do Hulu OR Netflix well at all. I could play, but no fast foward, rewind, anything. Oh and Hulu wouldn't play fullscreen. And that Understudy app didn't add in all the streams... bleh. Tried Hulu Desktop on its own, and it's great! But I have yet to find one app that can do the few things that I want. :?