Thinking of purchasing an HDTV. Wondering how the picture would be if just connecting to regular cable line.?

Question

I was told by TV saleman that if I don't have a special cable box, subscribe to DirectTV, buy a 1080 ect that the picture would not be good. Wondering if all this is true. Doesn't sound Kosher.

Answer 1

He's sort of right.  Right now, the best TV signal that you can get is 1080i, so you don't need to buy a 1080p TV if all you're going to use it for is watching TV.  Get a 1080p TV if you plan on using it to watch Blu-ray movies, playing PS3/360 games.  

Most TVs are HD ready, which means that you will need to get a HD cable box if you want to watch TV in HD.  If you don't have a HD cable box or DirectTv, the best that you'll get is 480i, which is the same as a regular TV.

Answer 2

Your salesman is right.  In fact, if you hook up your TV to ordinary (analog) cable it could look worse than an old tube-type set.  There is no point to getting an HDTV unless you can receive digital TV.  For that you need a special cable box.

However, you don't need a 1080 set to get HDTV--720 is also HD and looks quite good, especially on TVs 37" or smaller.

Answer 3

The sales man just wants to make a sale. Cable network can only broadcast in 720p. All you would need is a HDTV 720p to view TV.

Answer 4

He's right.  To get the best quality picture out of your purchase you need to (1) subscribe to a HD programming package.  Cable has them as well as DirectTV or Dish.  (2) You need a HD receiver to decode the incoming signal so that the TV can use it.  Actually it's decompressing it.  (3) Have an HDMI cable connecting your TV to the receiver.

Standard def signal looks pretty crappy on HD TVs.  What you can do is have the salesperson show you what the picture is like on a non-HD channel/signal in the store.  Then you can make up your mind from there.