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HDTV questions

I have some questions about HDTV. Every individual at best buy, circuit city, and soundtrack gives a totally seperate answer, and magzines seem to skip over alot of this stuff.

I live in colorado, Comcast is our digital cable company, and they are now advertising HDTV with thier service.

1) If you have a dish or cable company that sends an HDTV signal, to you need to buy a HD decoder to see HD? Or do the cable boxes do the decoding?

2) Do you need an HDTV to use progressive scan?

3) What types of inputs are requred for progressive scan? the RGB? or does Svider work as well?
slappy
blueswan
211 posts
 
Thedautch, I view all channels through the 1080i input on the back of my set. The 5100 sends all channels through the RGB output. He may have set you up this way because he knows that the basic channels are a bit grainy when viewed through RGB. Try running your cable directly to the 5100, and use only the RGB. If you can live with it, as I can, you only need one video input setting on your TV. If you cannot, use the 5100's S-video out, or RCA video out, for your basic channels. You will still have to use 2 video inputs, but you will eliminate using your TV's tuner for the F-pin input.

Note 1, my Sony Wega is not a true HDTV set, it is "HDTV ready". Note 2, S-video, and RCA video, cannot carry an HD signal. Note 3, I bought the best RGB cable I could find, Tara Labs RSC... expensive, but worth every penny.
slappy OP
903 posts
 
The difference between HDTV and HDTV-ready is weather or not the TV has an on-board HD decoder right?

Without the decoder you use the cablebox as a decoder?
thedautch
329 posts
 
Thanks for all the info, Blueswan! Hugely helpful!
egrady
138 posts
 
Slappy,
Correct.
theaudiotweak
2,801 posts
 
On some HD tv's you can delete unwanted inputs. This you would use to cycle between the 2 inputs in use versus having to switch thru the 6 or seven total provided on many tv's..Tom
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