HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

My wife and I will be purchasing a new HDTV set soon. A true "Home Theater
Experience" is not our goal. We have the following priorities (in no
particular order).

1) Minimum "muss/fuss" setup. We will be using Time-Warner cable as our
primary source.

2) Our TV room is pretty bright (lots of windows, although they do all face
north -but still pretty bright). We have to use a glare filter to be able to
use our conventional CRT-technology TV in the afternoons.

3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'. She
is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)

4) Our viewing distance is 8-12'. But we are willing to put up with a 37"
HDTV set simply because it would fit into our existing TV cabinet (see #1
above)

My fundamental questions a

1) I am assuming that, given a very bright room, LCD is the obvious choice
(over plasma, etc). Is that right? If there is a priority in the above
requirements, this is it.

2) Are there any differences in the base TV audio among the manufacturers. I
am guessing no, since Home Theater is the direction here. But there are
various "sound level controls" that deals with differences in show vs.
commercial volume levels, LG has their "Clear Voice" technology, which (in
theory) would be helpful in hearing voice-range frequencies when the 'other
frequencies' were all over the map, etc. And maybe some speakers are better
than others. It is tough to judge these things in a showroom with tons of
ambient noise and no control over what show you are hearing.

3) "LED sets" typically seem to "be LED" in the technology that provides the
LCD a backlight. In principle you might get a better "true black" in these
cases as you could dim the LED's in that area (assuming a 'large area of
black'). But really true blacks is not a priority for us. However the
lifetime of the backlight source might well be an issue for us. Is LED
backlight lifetimes better than whatever "not LED" LCD sets use?

Any comments would be appreciated - thanks.

dave

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...
| My wife and I will be purchasing a new HDTV set soon. A true "Home Theater
| Experience" is not our goal. We have the following priorities (in no
| particular order).
|
| 1) Minimum "muss/fuss" setup. We will be using Time-Warner cable as our
| primary source.
|
| 2) Our TV room is pretty bright (lots of windows, although they do all
face
| north -but still pretty bright). We have to use a glare filter to be able
to
| use our conventional CRT-technology TV in the afternoons.
|
| 3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'.
She
| is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
| speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
| built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
| solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)
|
| 4) Our viewing distance is 8-12'. But we are willing to put up with a 37"
| HDTV set simply because it would fit into our existing TV cabinet (see #1
| above)
|
| My fundamental questions a
|
| 1) I am assuming that, given a very bright room, LCD is the obvious choice
| (over plasma, etc). Is that right? If there is a priority in the above
| requirements, this is it.
|
| 2) Are there any differences in the base TV audio among the manufacturers.
I
| am guessing no, since Home Theater is the direction here. But there are
| various "sound level controls" that deals with differences in show vs.
| commercial volume levels, LG has their "Clear Voice" technology, which (in
| theory) would be helpful in hearing voice-range frequencies when the
'other
| frequencies' were all over the map, etc. And maybe some speakers are
better
| than others. It is tough to judge these things in a showroom with tons of
| ambient noise and no control over what show you are hearing.
|
| 3) "LED sets" typically seem to "be LED" in the technology that provides
the
| LCD a backlight. In principle you might get a better "true black" in these
| cases as you could dim the LED's in that area (assuming a 'large area of
| black'). But really true blacks is not a priority for us. However the
| lifetime of the backlight source might well be an issue for us. Is LED
| backlight lifetimes better than whatever "not LED" LCD sets use?
|
| Any comments would be appreciated - thanks.
|
| dave
|
LCDs are still best for bright rooms. 37" is kinda small for your viewing
distance IMHO. It might be worth your while to peruse the Consumer Reports
for August and October 2009 at your library for detailed comparisons. They
have some info at their website but most is by subscription. As for sound,
none are rated "excellent" and the few that are "very good" seem to fall
down in some other category.

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"iws" wrote in message
...
"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...
| My wife and I will be purchasing a new HDTV set soon. A true "Home
Theater
| Experience" is not our goal. We have the following priorities (in no
| particular order).
|
| 1) Minimum "muss/fuss" setup. We will be using Time-Warner cable as our
| primary source.
|
| 2) Our TV room is pretty bright (lots of windows, although they do all
face
| north -but still pretty bright). We have to use a glare filter to be
able
to
| use our conventional CRT-technology TV in the afternoons.
|
| 3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'.
She
| is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
| speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
| built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
| solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)
|
| 4) Our viewing distance is 8-12'. But we are willing to put up with a
37"
| HDTV set simply because it would fit into our existing TV cabinet (see
#1
| above)
|
| My fundamental questions a
|
| 1) I am assuming that, given a very bright room, LCD is the obvious
choice
| (over plasma, etc). Is that right? If there is a priority in the above
| requirements, this is it.
|
| 2) Are there any differences in the base TV audio among the
manufacturers.
I
| am guessing no, since Home Theater is the direction here. But there are
| various "sound level controls" that deals with differences in show vs.
| commercial volume levels, LG has their "Clear Voice" technology, which
(in
| theory) would be helpful in hearing voice-range frequencies when the
'other
| frequencies' were all over the map, etc. And maybe some speakers are
better
| than others. It is tough to judge these things in a showroom with tons
of
| ambient noise and no control over what show you are hearing.
|
| 3) "LED sets" typically seem to "be LED" in the technology that provides
the
| LCD a backlight. In principle you might get a better "true black" in
these
| cases as you could dim the LED's in that area (assuming a 'large area of
| black'). But really true blacks is not a priority for us. However the
| lifetime of the backlight source might well be an issue for us. Is LED
| backlight lifetimes better than whatever "not LED" LCD sets use?
|
| Any comments would be appreciated - thanks.
|
| dave
|
LCDs are still best for bright rooms. 37" is kinda small for your viewing
distance IMHO. It might be worth your while to peruse the Consumer Reports
for August and October 2009 at your library for detailed comparisons. They
have some info at their website but most is by subscription. As for sound,
none are rated "excellent" and the few that are "very good" seem to fall
down in some other category.


The LG ClearVoice works very well by boosting mid range, but not much bass.
Very popular among the older crowd. If you find a LCD with analog audio out
(good luck!) the sound can be improved greatly by adding a set of 2.1
(w/subwoofer) computer speakers.

D

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"iws" wrote in message
...
"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...
| My wife and I will be purchasing a new HDTV set soon. A true "Home
Theater
| Experience" is not our goal. We have the following priorities (in no
| particular order).
|
| 1) Minimum "muss/fuss" setup. We will be using Time-Warner cable as our
| primary source.
|
| 2) Our TV room is pretty bright (lots of windows, although they do all
face
| north -but still pretty bright). We have to use a glare filter to be
able
to
| use our conventional CRT-technology TV in the afternoons.
|
| 3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'.
She
| is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
| speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
| built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
| solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)
|
| 4) Our viewing distance is 8-12'. But we are willing to put up with a
37"
| HDTV set simply because it would fit into our existing TV cabinet (see
#1
| above)
|
| My fundamental questions a
|
| 1) I am assuming that, given a very bright room, LCD is the obvious
choice
| (over plasma, etc). Is that right? If there is a priority in the above
| requirements, this is it.
|
| 2) Are there any differences in the base TV audio among the
manufacturers.
I
| am guessing no, since Home Theater is the direction here. But there are
| various "sound level controls" that deals with differences in show vs.
| commercial volume levels, LG has their "Clear Voice" technology, which
(in
| theory) would be helpful in hearing voice-range frequencies when the
'other
| frequencies' were all over the map, etc. And maybe some speakers are
better
| than others. It is tough to judge these things in a showroom with tons
of
| ambient noise and no control over what show you are hearing.
|
| 3) "LED sets" typically seem to "be LED" in the technology that provides
the
| LCD a backlight. In principle you might get a better "true black" in
these
| cases as you could dim the LED's in that area (assuming a 'large area of
| black'). But really true blacks is not a priority for us. However the
| lifetime of the backlight source might well be an issue for us. Is LED
| backlight lifetimes better than whatever "not LED" LCD sets use?
|
| Any comments would be appreciated - thanks.
|
| dave
|
LCDs are still best for bright rooms. 37" is kinda small for your viewing
distance IMHO. It might be worth your while to peruse the Consumer Reports
for August and October 2009 at your library for detailed comparisons. They
have some info at their website but most is by subscription. As for sound,
none are rated "excellent" and the few that are "very good" seem to fall
down in some other category.


Thanks for the feedback.

dave

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"Deke" wrote in message
...

"iws" wrote in message
...
"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...
| My wife and I will be purchasing a new HDTV set soon. A true "Home
Theater
| Experience" is not our goal. We have the following priorities (in no
| particular order).
|
| 1) Minimum "muss/fuss" setup. We will be using Time-Warner cable as our
| primary source.
|
| 2) Our TV room is pretty bright (lots of windows, although they do all
face
| north -but still pretty bright). We have to use a glare filter to be
able
to
| use our conventional CRT-technology TV in the afternoons.
|
| 3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'.
She
| is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
| speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
| built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
| solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)
|
| 4) Our viewing distance is 8-12'. But we are willing to put up with a
37"
| HDTV set simply because it would fit into our existing TV cabinet (see
#1
| above)
|
| My fundamental questions a
|
| 1) I am assuming that, given a very bright room, LCD is the obvious
choice
| (over plasma, etc). Is that right? If there is a priority in the above
| requirements, this is it.
|
| 2) Are there any differences in the base TV audio among the
manufacturers.
I
| am guessing no, since Home Theater is the direction here. But there are
| various "sound level controls" that deals with differences in show vs.
| commercial volume levels, LG has their "Clear Voice" technology, which
(in
| theory) would be helpful in hearing voice-range frequencies when the
'other
| frequencies' were all over the map, etc. And maybe some speakers are
better
| than others. It is tough to judge these things in a showroom with tons
of
| ambient noise and no control over what show you are hearing.
|
| 3) "LED sets" typically seem to "be LED" in the technology that
provides
the
| LCD a backlight. In principle you might get a better "true black" in
these
| cases as you could dim the LED's in that area (assuming a 'large area
of
| black'). But really true blacks is not a priority for us. However the
| lifetime of the backlight source might well be an issue for us. Is LED
| backlight lifetimes better than whatever "not LED" LCD sets use?
|
| Any comments would be appreciated - thanks.
|
| dave
|
LCDs are still best for bright rooms. 37" is kinda small for your viewing
distance IMHO. It might be worth your while to peruse the Consumer
Reports
for August and October 2009 at your library for detailed comparisons.
They
have some info at their website but most is by subscription. As for
sound,
none are rated "excellent" and the few that are "very good" seem to fall
down in some other category.


The LG ClearVoice works very well by boosting mid range, but not much
bass. Very popular among the older crowd. If you find a LCD with analog
audio out (good luck!) the sound can be improved greatly by adding a set
of 2.1 (w/subwoofer) computer speakers.

D

I assume that the 'analog out' requirement is to get the actual "TV sound"
(from the ClearVoice technology) sent to the external speakers. Or is there
another subtlety that I have missed here.

Thanks.

dave

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

On Wed, 7 Oct 2009 18:21:03 -0400, "Dave Lee"
wrote:

3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'. She
is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)

4) Our viewing distance is 8-12'. But we are willing to put up with a 37"
HDTV set simply because it would fit into our existing TV cabinet (see #1
above)

With the requirement for a good but, apparently, unobtrusive audio
setup, you might consider getting a powered sound-bar. Not one of the
ones that tries to simulate multichannel but just an array of decently
sized and directly aimed speakers. This can be mounted directly below
the TV and can appear to be a part of it.

Kal

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

On Wed, 7 Oct 2009 18:21:03 -0400, "Dave Lee"
wrote:

1) Minimum "muss/fuss" setup. We will be using Time-Warner cable as our
primary source.

This is the variable that seems hardest to resolve. I want my TV to
automatically pick the optimal display - which means true color and
best resolution with absolutely no stretching of the picture.

I have Comcast, so YMMV. Maybe you can ask questions based upon my
experience.

My Cable Box has Comcast's HDTV stations in the channel 400 range. The
old versions of the channels are down in single digits. This sucks.

My wife's TV doesn't use a cable box. But it still uses Cable. She
has to remember to change from channel 7 to 7-1 and from 13 to 30-1.
Worse, she watches The Food Channel 95% of the time, and we haven't
been able to find the HDTV version of that without using a cable box.

But she can watch picture-in-picture if she chooses. I have set up
the main TV so we can switch to cable only (like hers), which would
enable us to do picture-in-picture as well. But the premium channels
are not available in HD without using the cable box.

--
"In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found,
than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace
to the legislature, and not to the executive department."

- James Madison

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"Dave Lee" wrote

3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'.
She is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)

Do you ever use closed-captioning? Indispensible, sometimes.

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

In article ,
says...

My wife and I will be purchasing a new HDTV set soon. A true "Home Theater
Experience" is not our goal. We have the following priorities (in no
particular order).

1) Minimum "muss/fuss" setup. We will be using Time-Warner cable as our
primary source.

For setup, ease of use and most channels, you'll want a HD box, cablecard or
DVR. A cablecard may be just as easy as a box without a DVR, normally
cheaper and you won't need space for the box. You may have trouble getting
the cablecard installed. If you're serious about the card and know your
provider will rent you one, get a set that supports it.

You'll pay more for a box, DVR or cablecard than hooking the cable directly
to the TV and scanning for the analog SD stations and any clear QAM digital
stations you can get. Most systems will at least carry the local broadcast
HD stations in clear QAM. Clear QAM can require you to get used to weird
channel numbers and having to rescan channels fairly often, as the cable
companies tend to move the channels around.

2) Our TV room is pretty bright (lots of windows, although they do all face
north -but still pretty bright). We have to use a glare filter to be able to
use our conventional CRT-technology TV in the afternoons.

LCD is what you want.

3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'. She
is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)

4) Our viewing distance is 8-12'. But we are willing to put up with a 37"
HDTV set simply because it would fit into our existing TV cabinet (see #1
above)

As another poster said, a larger set is optimal, but if the cabinet
limitation is important, then get the 37".

2) Are there any differences in the base TV audio among the manufacturers. I
am guessing no, since Home Theater is the direction here. But there are
various "sound level controls" that deals with differences in show vs.
commercial volume levels, LG has their "Clear Voice" technology, which (in
theory) would be helpful in hearing voice-range frequencies when the 'other
frequencies' were all over the map, etc. And maybe some speakers are better
than others. It is tough to judge these things in a showroom with tons of
ambient noise and no control over what show you are hearing.

I agree with other poster's suggestions to look at TV reviews. However,
almost all the sets can have pretty limited sound range with their onboard
speakers compared to an outboard home theater setup. I still think going to
a store and listening to sets hooked up to your cable provider with and
without a cable box is a good idea despite any background noise. You should
also check picture peformance for the analog SD cable channels. Many HD flat
panel sets are pretty abysmal in this respect. Most sets and cable boxes do
provide digital as well as analog audio outs. A separate sound bar was also
suggested - a good suggestion. Using closed captions was suggested too.
Another option is wireless headphones, but there can be a fatigue factor
wearing headphones over a long time.

whosbest54
--
The flamewars are over...if you want it.

Unofficial rec.audio.opinion Usenet Group Brief User Guide:
http://whosbest54.netau.net/rao.htm

Unofficial rec.music.beatles Usenet Group Brief User Guide:
http://whosbest54.netau.net/rmb.html

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"Kalman Rubinson" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 7 Oct 2009 18:21:03 -0400, "Dave Lee"
wrote:

3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'.
She
is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)

4) Our viewing distance is 8-12'. But we are willing to put up with a 37"
HDTV set simply because it would fit into our existing TV cabinet (see #1
above)

With the requirement for a good but, apparently, unobtrusive audio
setup, you might consider getting a powered sound-bar. Not one of the
ones that tries to simulate multichannel but just an array of decently
sized and directly aimed speakers. This can be mounted directly below
the TV and can appear to be a part of it.

Kal

Is there such a thing where some reasonable amount of base is included.
Based on my "shopping to date" (and my info is what I was getting from
various sales-types) it seemed that only a sound bar would pretty much
totally exclude any sound below a few hundred hertz. Maybe I misunderstood
or maybe they didn't understand, but...

dave

ps. I AM NOT looking for some kind of couch-shaking base. I just don't want
to have a speaker system with no response below 500 hz.

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

In article ,
says...

3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'.
She
is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)

With the requirement for a good but, apparently, unobtrusive audio
setup, you might consider getting a powered sound-bar. Not one of the
ones that tries to simulate multichannel but just an array of decently
sized and directly aimed speakers. This can be mounted directly below
the TV and can appear to be a part of it.

Is there such a thing where some reasonable amount of base is included.
Based on my "shopping to date" (and my info is what I was getting from
various sales-types) it seemed that only a sound bar would pretty much
totally exclude any sound below a few hundred hertz. Maybe I misunderstood
or maybe they didn't understand, but...

ps. I AM NOT looking for some kind of couch-shaking base. I just don't want
to have a speaker system with no response below 500 hz.

The OP can respond too, but I think the soundbar suggestion is a good one
when you compare their sound quality to many onboard TV speakers. You should
listen in the store to both and see if a soundbar improves things.

whosbest54
--
The flamewars are over...if you want it.

Unofficial rec.audio.opinion Usenet Group Brief User Guide:
http://whosbest54.netau.net/rao.htm

Unofficial rec.music.beatles Usenet Group Brief User Guide:
http://whosbest54.netau.net/rmb.html

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"whosbest54" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...

3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'.
She
is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)

With the requirement for a good but, apparently, unobtrusive audio
setup, you might consider getting a powered sound-bar. Not one of the
ones that tries to simulate multichannel but just an array of decently
sized and directly aimed speakers. This can be mounted directly below
the TV and can appear to be a part of it.

Is there such a thing where some reasonable amount of base is included.
Based on my "shopping to date" (and my info is what I was getting from
various sales-types) it seemed that only a sound bar would pretty much
totally exclude any sound below a few hundred hertz. Maybe I misunderstood
or maybe they didn't understand, but...

ps. I AM NOT looking for some kind of couch-shaking base. I just don't
want
to have a speaker system with no response below 500 hz.

The OP can respond too, but I think the soundbar suggestion is a good one
when you compare their sound quality to many onboard TV speakers. You
should
listen in the store to both and see if a soundbar improves things.

whosbest54

Now that I think about it, the best solution might well be a 2.1 soundbar
with a woofer behind my chair where my wife is unlikely to hear it.

dave

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...


"Deke" wrote in message
...

"iws" wrote in message
...
"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...
| My wife and I will be purchasing a new HDTV set soon. A true "Home
Theater
| Experience" is not our goal. We have the following priorities (in no
| particular order).
|
| 1) Minimum "muss/fuss" setup. We will be using Time-Warner cable as
our
| primary source.
|
| 2) Our TV room is pretty bright (lots of windows, although they do all
face
| north -but still pretty bright). We have to use a glare filter to be
able
to
| use our conventional CRT-technology TV in the afternoons.
|
| 3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound
system'.
She
| is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
| speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
| built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
| solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)
|
| 4) Our viewing distance is 8-12'. But we are willing to put up with a
37"
| HDTV set simply because it would fit into our existing TV cabinet (see
#1
| above)
|
| My fundamental questions a
|
| 1) I am assuming that, given a very bright room, LCD is the obvious
choice
| (over plasma, etc). Is that right? If there is a priority in the above
| requirements, this is it.
|
| 2) Are there any differences in the base TV audio among the
manufacturers.
I
| am guessing no, since Home Theater is the direction here. But there
are
| various "sound level controls" that deals with differences in show vs.
| commercial volume levels, LG has their "Clear Voice" technology, which
(in
| theory) would be helpful in hearing voice-range frequencies when the
'other
| frequencies' were all over the map, etc. And maybe some speakers are
better
| than others. It is tough to judge these things in a showroom with tons
of
| ambient noise and no control over what show you are hearing.
|
| 3) "LED sets" typically seem to "be LED" in the technology that
provides
the
| LCD a backlight. In principle you might get a better "true black" in
these
| cases as you could dim the LED's in that area (assuming a 'large area
of
| black'). But really true blacks is not a priority for us. However the
| lifetime of the backlight source might well be an issue for us. Is LED
| backlight lifetimes better than whatever "not LED" LCD sets use?
|
| Any comments would be appreciated - thanks.
|
| dave
|
LCDs are still best for bright rooms. 37" is kinda small for your
viewing
distance IMHO. It might be worth your while to peruse the Consumer
Reports
for August and October 2009 at your library for detailed comparisons.
They
have some info at their website but most is by subscription. As for
sound,
none are rated "excellent" and the few that are "very good" seem to fall
down in some other category.


The LG ClearVoice works very well by boosting mid range, but not much
bass. Very popular among the older crowd. If you find a LCD with analog
audio out (good luck!) the sound can be improved greatly by adding a set
of 2.1 (w/subwoofer) computer speakers.

D

I assume that the 'analog out' requirement is to get the actual "TV sound"
(from the ClearVoice technology) sent to the external speakers. Or is
there another subtlety that I have missed here.

Thanks.

dave
Nope, you are exactly correct. The problem with current models is that
audio out is going to be
digital out via TOSlink (fiber optic) and not analog out via RCA jacks.
Analog out is easy
to adapt, TOSlink is a PITA, requiring digital processing (expensive).
As for sound bars, youre talking in the 200-300 dollar range for an
inexpensive one, and they STILL have to have an external subwoofer to get
any bass.
As I said, if you can find a LCD with analog audio out, you can buy a good
set of 2.1 computer
speakers, they can be very small, some have adjustable tone controls, and
cost under $100.
The TV remote will control the volume, with sound bars, you need another
remote. BLEH!
HTH!

D

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"Deke" wrote in message
et...

"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...


"Deke" wrote in message
...

"iws" wrote in message
...
"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...
| My wife and I will be purchasing a new HDTV set soon. A true "Home
Theater
| Experience" is not our goal. We have the following priorities (in no
| particular order).
|
| 1) Minimum "muss/fuss" setup. We will be using Time-Warner cable as
our
| primary source.
|
| 2) Our TV room is pretty bright (lots of windows, although they do
all
face
| north -but still pretty bright). We have to use a glare filter to be
able
to
| use our conventional CRT-technology TV in the afternoons.
|
| 3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound
system'.
She
| is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
| speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
| built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
| solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)
|
| 4) Our viewing distance is 8-12'. But we are willing to put up with a
37"
| HDTV set simply because it would fit into our existing TV cabinet
(see #1
| above)
|
| My fundamental questions a
|
| 1) I am assuming that, given a very bright room, LCD is the obvious
choice
| (over plasma, etc). Is that right? If there is a priority in the
above
| requirements, this is it.
|
| 2) Are there any differences in the base TV audio among the
manufacturers.
I
| am guessing no, since Home Theater is the direction here. But there
are
| various "sound level controls" that deals with differences in show
vs.
| commercial volume levels, LG has their "Clear Voice" technology,
which (in
| theory) would be helpful in hearing voice-range frequencies when the
'other
| frequencies' were all over the map, etc. And maybe some speakers are
better
| than others. It is tough to judge these things in a showroom with
tons of
| ambient noise and no control over what show you are hearing.
|
| 3) "LED sets" typically seem to "be LED" in the technology that
provides
the
| LCD a backlight. In principle you might get a better "true black" in
these
| cases as you could dim the LED's in that area (assuming a 'large area
of
| black'). But really true blacks is not a priority for us. However the
| lifetime of the backlight source might well be an issue for us. Is
LED
| backlight lifetimes better than whatever "not LED" LCD sets use?
|
| Any comments would be appreciated - thanks.
|
| dave
|
LCDs are still best for bright rooms. 37" is kinda small for your
viewing
distance IMHO. It might be worth your while to peruse the Consumer
Reports
for August and October 2009 at your library for detailed comparisons.
They
have some info at their website but most is by subscription. As for
sound,
none are rated "excellent" and the few that are "very good" seem to
fall
down in some other category.


The LG ClearVoice works very well by boosting mid range, but not much
bass. Very popular among the older crowd. If you find a LCD with analog
audio out (good luck!) the sound can be improved greatly by adding a set
of 2.1 (w/subwoofer) computer speakers.

D

I assume that the 'analog out' requirement is to get the actual "TV
sound" (from the ClearVoice technology) sent to the external speakers. Or
is there another subtlety that I have missed here.

Thanks.

dave
Nope, you are exactly correct. The problem with current models is that
audio out is going to be
digital out via TOSlink (fiber optic) and not analog out via RCA jacks.
Analog out is easy
to adapt, TOSlink is a PITA, requiring digital processing (expensive).
As for sound bars, youre talking in the 200-300 dollar range for an
inexpensive one, and they STILL have to have an external subwoofer to get
any bass.
As I said, if you can find a LCD with analog audio out, you can buy a good
set of 2.1 computer
speakers, they can be very small, some have adjustable tone controls, and
cost under $100.
The TV remote will control the volume, with sound bars, you need another
remote. BLEH!
HTH!

D


One last thing....if you use a cable box, it may have analog audio out, so
that would be usable with an external analog audio system. It would,
however, mean you couldnt use the ClearVoice feature on your TV.

D

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

On Thu, 8 Oct 2009 13:40:54 -0500, "Deke" wrote:

Nope, you are exactly correct. The problem with current models is that
audio out is going to be
digital out via TOSlink (fiber optic) and not analog out via RCA jacks.
Analog out is easy
to adapt, TOSlink is a PITA, requiring digital processing (expensive).
As for sound bars, youre talking in the 200-300 dollar range for an
inexpensive one, and they STILL have to have an external subwoofer to get
any bass.
As I said, if you can find a LCD with analog audio out, you can buy a good
set of 2.1 computer
speakers, they can be very small, some have adjustable tone controls, and
cost under $100.

Many computer speaker setups will accept a digital input.

Kal

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

On Thu, 8 Oct 2009 14:39:56 -0400, "Dave Lee"
wrote:

Now that I think about it, the best solution might well be a 2.1 soundbar
with a woofer behind my chair where my wife is unlikely to hear it.

The Boston Audio TVee Soundbar plus wireless subwoofer might suit you.
There are two models and both are heavily discounted. They both
require analog audio (2xRCA input).

There are others with digital input but, frankly, this (the original
TVee) is the only sub-$500 bar I have heard.

Kal

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

On Oct 8, 12:20�pm, Kalman Rubinson wrote:
On Thu, 8 Oct 2009 14:39:56 -0400, "Dave Lee"

wrote:
Now that I think about it, the best solution might well be a 2.1 soundbar
with a woofer behind my chair where my wife is unlikely to hear it.

The Boston Audio TVee Soundbar plus wireless subwoofer might suit you.
There are two models and both are heavily discounted. �They both
require analog audio (2xRCA input).

There are others with digital input but, frankly, this (the original
TVee) is the only sub-$500 bar I have heard.

Kal

My Sceptre 42" Naga has analog audio out. I am using it to power two
Radio Shack speakers (via Sceptre internal 10W amplifier). They make
smaller sizes which may also have analog outs. Take a look.

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"Kalarama" wrote in message
...
"Dave Lee" wrote

3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'.
She is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)

Do you ever use closed-captioning? Indispensible, sometimes.


My wife uses it on occasion. Would love to get rid of it.

dave

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

Howard Brazee wrote:
On Wed, 7 Oct 2009 18:21:03 -0400, "Dave Lee"
wrote:

1) Minimum "muss/fuss" setup. We will be using Time-Warner cable as our
primary source.

This is the variable that seems hardest to resolve. I want my TV to
automatically pick the optimal display - which means true color and
best resolution with absolutely no stretching of the picture.

I have Comcast, so YMMV. Maybe you can ask questions based upon my
experience.

My Cable Box has Comcast's HDTV stations in the channel 400 range. The
old versions of the channels are down in single digits. This sucks.

My wife's TV doesn't use a cable box. But it still uses Cable. She
has to remember to change from channel 7 to 7-1 and from 13 to 30-1.
Worse, she watches The Food Channel 95% of the time, and we haven't
been able to find the HDTV version of that without using a cable box.

It may vary depending on hee you are located:
Try 75.5


But she can watch picture-in-picture if she chooses. I have set up
the main TV so we can switch to cable only (like hers), which would
enable us to do picture-in-picture as well. But the premium channels
are not available in HD without using the cable box.

That is because the premium channels are encrypted, and you cannot buy a
black box on ebay to decrypt it.

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

Dave Lee wrote:
My wife and I will be purchasing a new HDTV set soon. ...

All new sets come with a digital tuner built in, so for the Basic TV
stations you will not need a cable box - at all!


1) Minimum "muss/fuss" setup. We will be using Time-Warner cable as our
primary source.

That would be needed for the Premium Channels because they are encrypted.


2) Our TV room is pretty bright (lots of windows, although they do all
face north -but still pretty bright). We have to use a glare filter to
be able to use our conventional CRT-technology TV in the afternoons.

LCD screens are quite anti-glare. (Plasma screens are glass and so have
lots of glare problems.)


3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'.
She is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional
TV speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)

Get her headphones - and/or a wireless audio system.


4) Our viewing distance is 8-12'. But we are willing to put up with a
37" HDTV set simply because it would fit into our existing TV cabinet
(see #1 above)

Should be perfect.


My fundamental questions a

1) I am assuming that, given a very bright room, LCD is the obvious
choice (over plasma, etc). Is that right? If there is a priority in the
above requirements, this is it.

yes.

2) Are there any differences in the base TV audio among the
manufacturers. I am guessing no, since Home Theater is the direction
here. But there are various "sound level controls" that deals with
differences in show vs. commercial volume levels, LG has their "Clear
Voice" technology, which (in theory) would be helpful in hearing
voice-range frequencies when the 'other frequencies' were all over the
map, etc. And maybe some speakers are better than others. It is tough to
judge these things in a showroom with tons of ambient noise and no
control over what show you are hearing.


Not much!


3) "LED sets" typically seem to "be LED" in the technology that provides
the LCD a backlight. In principle you might get a better "true black" in
these cases as you could dim the LED's in that area (assuming a 'large
area of black'). But really true blacks is not a priority for us.
However the lifetime of the backlight source might well be an issue for
us. Is LED backlight lifetimes better than whatever "not LED" LCD sets use?

YES! LED backlight is much less prone to catastropic failure! ANd it
uses less power too.

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"RickMerrill" wrote in message
...
Dave Lee wrote:
...
3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'.
She is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)

Get her headphones - and/or a wireless audio system.
...

Or leave her in peace and get _yourself_ an
unobtrusive audio system and some great
headphones. The best defense, rather than
offense, is sometimes "a strategic withdrawal
to prepared positions."

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

Anthony Buckland wrote:
"RickMerrill" wrote in message
...
Dave Lee wrote:
...
3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'.
She is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional TV
speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)
Get her headphones - and/or a wireless audio system.
...

Or leave her in peace and get _yourself_ an
unobtrusive audio system and some great
headphones. The best defense, rather than
offense, is sometimes "a strategic withdrawal
to prepared positions."

Good strategy. My suggestion was based on the fact that many hearing
challenged people just do not do well with distributed sound as produced
by a 5.1 speaker system.

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...
My wife and I will be purchasing a new HDTV set soon. A true
"Home Theater Experience" is not our goal. We have the
following priorities (in no particular order).

1) Minimum "muss/fuss" setup. We will be using Time-Warner
cable as our primary source.


Surely this means you'll be using an STB. What about other
devices: DVD, Blu-Ray, AM/FM or HD radio, CD player, etc.

2) Our TV room is pretty bright (lots of windows, although
they do all face north - but still pretty bright). We have to
use a glare filter to be able to use our conventional
CRT-technology TV in the afternoons.


In our main TV room we have a screened door and 10 East and
South facing windows plus a skylight over the bar - quite bright
before dusk. An inexpensive, 4 year old, and rapidly shrinking
Westinghouse 42" matte finish LCD monitor does wonderfully here
in daytime - very good black levels, BTW. We have another Westy
in a bedroom but it's only used in daylight hours by rarely
visiting grand and great-grand children. Their opinions don't
mean much;-0)

3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound
system'. She is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble
with conventional TV speakers and hearing conversations in all
cases. So a TV with a good, built-in sound system is a
priority (even though there are FAR better solutions IMHO -
she just isn't receptive to them)


My flatmate dislikes surround sound (I too find myself rising to
answer the door or phone when it's just TV sound)??? The
Westy's built in speakers are surprisingly good (we're in the
septuagenarian crowd) but we've a 6.1 audio system with bass
which will rattle the dishes in the neighbors' kitchen
cabinets - although neither of us likes much bass (most of the
time). We adjust the output of the side, rear, and bass to a
fairly low level - but will change that for Bond-like Blu-Ray
videos and just immerse ourselves in mindless, bone-jarring,
lowrider-like volume;-0)

We also use wireless headsets: Sennheiser, driven from stereo,
and LTB, driven from fiber. Individual volume controls are a
blessing (all together we've 8 headsets because octo and
nonagenarian neighbors sometimes visit). The 6.1 comes from the
PC, which is the main source of our video/music playback. Our
personal main use of the headsets is for those hard-to-catch,
almost English programs - usually overpopulated with sopranos
and bassos speaking Cockney or Aussie. They also come in handy
during summer evening viewing when our audio might disturb
others (those young whippersnappers) who are having a life!!

4) Our viewing distance is 8-12'. But we are willing to put up
with a 37" HDTV set simply because it would fit into our
existing TV cabinet (see #1 above)


At 42" we're roughly 7' away from the screen - I sometimes pull
a tad closer, she sometimes retreats under a lamp to do crafty
stuff while somehow still keeping track of the story?? Although
I often hit pause and ask, "Did you catch that?;" she always
replies, "Yes, I did."

My fundamental questions a

1) I am assuming that, given a very bright room, LCD is the
obvious choice (over plasma, etc). Is that right? If there is
a priority in the above requirements, this is it.

2) Are there any differences in the base TV audio among the
manufacturers. I am guessing no, since Home Theater is the
direction here. But there are various "sound level controls"
that deals with differences in show vs. commercial volume
levels, LG has their "Clear Voice" technology, which (in
theory) would be helpful in hearing voice-range frequencies
when the 'other frequencies' were all over the map, etc. And
maybe some speakers are better than others. It is tough to
judge these things in a showroom with tons of ambient noise
and no control over what show you are hearing.


We notice an incredible difference in innate audio volume among
the many sources of a/v. There is no contemporary audio codec
used in Blu-Ray or the rest of the video world we've tried that
our system won't/can't handle but we're pretty much constantly
adjusting the volume between programs. The best listening, in
low volume cases, is through the wireless headsets. Since all
of our TV watching is first cleansed of commercials, we do not
have to deal with that inconsiderate volume variance.

3) "LED sets" typically seem to "be LED" in the technology
that provides the LCD a backlight. In principle you might get
a better "true black" in these cases as you could dim the
LED's in that area (assuming a 'large area of black'). But
really true blacks is not a priority for us. However the
lifetime of the backlight source might well be an issue for
us. Is LED backlight lifetimes better than whatever "not LED"
LCD sets use?


Our old, cheap Westy sets - rated at 30,000 hours of lamp life -
are obviously not LED. We typically set their lamps to output
60% of full power. More than adequate for enjoyable daylight
and nighttime viewing.

Any comments would be appreciated - thanks.

dave

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...


"Kalarama" wrote in message
...
"Dave Lee" wrote

3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater
sound system'. She is somewhat hard of hearing and has some
trouble with conventional TV speakers and hearing
conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good, built-in
sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)

Do you ever use closed-captioning? Indispensible, sometimes.


My wife uses it on occasion. Would love to get rid of it.

dave

Really? Have you no empathy?

We find them indispensable, when all else fails at hearing what
is supposed to be English or when the musictrack was created by
some buffoon who thought he or she was the star of the show;-)

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

CLicker wrote:

Any comments would be appreciated - thanks.

dave


I've only one comment. I'm approaching 60, and I just hope I have my
stuff together as well as you do at 70.

--
Jim

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"Anthony Buckland" wrote in message
...

"RickMerrill" wrote in message
...
Dave Lee wrote:
...
3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'.
She is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional
TV speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a good,
built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR better
solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)

Get her headphones - and/or a wireless audio system.
...

Or leave her in peace and get _yourself_ an
unobtrusive audio system and some great
headphones. The best defense, rather than
offense, is sometimes "a strategic withdrawal
to prepared positions."


I can live with virtually any audio system on the planet - just can't find
one that works for my wife.

dave

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"CLicker" wrote in message
...

"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...


"Kalarama" wrote in message
...
"Dave Lee" wrote

3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound system'.
She is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with conventional
TV speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a TV with a
good, built-in sound system is a priority (even though there are FAR
better solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)

Do you ever use closed-captioning? Indispensible, sometimes.


My wife uses it on occasion. Would love to get rid of it.

dave

Really? Have you no empathy?

We find them indispensable, when all else fails at hearing what is
supposed to be English or when the musictrack was created by some buffoon
who thought he or she was the star of the show;-)


Some really good entertainment is the closed captioning on The Golf Channel.
I don't know why, but these things can sometimes be hilarious.

The only thing that I can recall that ever came close was some automated
"Japanese to English" copyright and/or patent stuff that I received in the
late 1990's. Hilarious on occasion.

dave

ps. She is the one who wants to get rid of closed captioning. If it solved
her audio problems, I would be thrilled.

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...


"CLicker" wrote in message
...

"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...


"Kalarama" wrote in message
...
"Dave Lee" wrote

3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound
system'. She is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with
conventional TV speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a
TV with a good, built-in sound system is a priority (even though there
are FAR better solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to them)

Do you ever use closed-captioning? Indispensible, sometimes.


My wife uses it on occasion. Would love to get rid of it.

dave

Really? Have you no empathy?

We find them indispensable, when all else fails at hearing what is
supposed to be English or when the musictrack was created by some buffoon
who thought he or she was the star of the show;-)


Some really good entertainment is the closed captioning on The Golf
Channel. I don't know why, but these things can sometimes be hilarious.

The only thing that I can recall that ever came close was some automated
"Japanese to English" copyright and/or patent stuff that I received in the
late 1990's. Hilarious on occasion.

dave

ps. She is the one who wants to get rid of closed captioning. If it solved
her audio problems, I would be thrilled.

My parents moved to a retirement village some years back. My father was hard
of hearing and my mother would shriek at him to 'turn the GD volume down',
and it was getting so bad she was thinking of getting a separate apartment.

I hooked up a nice little RS amplifier and some cheap open-air headphones
and all was well again.

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"Kalarama" wrote in message
...
"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...


"CLicker" wrote in message
...

"Dave Lee" wrote in message
m...


"Kalarama" wrote in message
...
"Dave Lee" wrote

3) My wife abhors the sound of any kind of 'home theater sound
system'. She is somewhat hard of hearing and has some trouble with
conventional TV speakers and hearing conversations in all cases. So a
TV with a good, built-in sound system is a priority (even though
there are FAR better solutions IMHO - she just isn't receptive to
them)

Do you ever use closed-captioning? Indispensible, sometimes.


My wife uses it on occasion. Would love to get rid of it.

dave

Really? Have you no empathy?

We find them indispensable, when all else fails at hearing what is
supposed to be English or when the musictrack was created by some
buffoon who thought he or she was the star of the show;-)


Some really good entertainment is the closed captioning on The Golf
Channel. I don't know why, but these things can sometimes be hilarious.

The only thing that I can recall that ever came close was some automated
"Japanese to English" copyright and/or patent stuff that I received in
the late 1990's. Hilarious on occasion.

dave

ps. She is the one who wants to get rid of closed captioning. If it
solved her audio problems, I would be thrilled.

My parents moved to a retirement village some years back. My father was
hard of hearing and my mother would shriek at him to 'turn the GD volume
down', and it was getting so bad she was thinking of getting a separate
apartment.

I hooked up a nice little RS amplifier and some cheap open-air headphones
and all was well again.


My father used something similar when he was alive, and I believe that my
Mom still has them. I'll bring them home on my next trip - we'll see if my
wife will put them on or not :-)

dave

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

On Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:58:10 -0400, RickMerrill
wrote:

Worse, she watches The Food Channel 95% of the time, and we haven't
been able to find the HDTV version of that without using a cable box.

It may vary depending on hee you are located:
Try 75.5


But she can watch picture-in-picture if she chooses. I have set up
the main TV so we can switch to cable only (like hers), which would
enable us to do picture-in-picture as well. But the premium channels
are not available in HD without using the cable box.

That is because the premium channels are encrypted, and you cannot buy a
black box on ebay to decrypt it.

Interesting though that you found The Food Channel on 75.5 non,
encrypted some places. I wonder what criteria they use to decide
which channels to encrypt.

--
"In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found,
than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace
to the legislature, and not to the executive department."

- James Madison

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

On Thu, 8 Oct 2009 18:34:06 -0400, "Dave Lee"
wrote:

Do you ever use closed-captioning? Indispensible, sometimes.


My wife uses it on occasion. Would love to get rid of it.

Huh? You would love to not give her the option to turn it on?

--
"In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found,
than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace
to the legislature, and not to the executive department."

- James Madison

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

"Howard Brazee" wrote in message ...
On Thu, 8 Oct 2009 18:34:06 -0400, "Dave Lee"
wrote:

Do you ever use closed-captioning? Indispensible, sometimes.


My wife uses it on occasion. Would love to get rid of it.

Huh? You would love to not give her the option to turn it on?


No - she controls the remote and CC.

WE would love to get rid of it. Any other conclusion on your part was not based on what I wrote.

dave

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

On Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:58:10 -0400, RickMerrill
wrote:

My wife's TV doesn't use a cable box. But it still uses Cable. She
has to remember to change from channel 7 to 7-1 and from 13 to 30-1.
Worse, she watches The Food Channel 95% of the time, and we haven't
been able to find the HDTV version of that without using a cable box.

It may vary depending on hee you are located:
Try 75.5

No luck (Comcast Boulder, CO)

--
"In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found,
than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace
to the legislature, and not to the executive department."

- James Madison

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

Howard Brazee wrote:
On Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:58:10 -0400, RickMerrill
wrote:

My wife's TV doesn't use a cable box. But it still uses Cable. She
has to remember to change from channel 7 to 7-1 and from 13 to 30-1.
Worse, she watches The Food Channel 95% of the time, and we haven't
been able to find the HDTV version of that without using a cable box.

It may vary depending on hee you are located:
Try 75.5

No luck (Comcast Boulder, CO)


Try http://www.fancast.com/comcast-tv-listings
and enter your zip code to find the call letters.
THen surf through the channels ...

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:54:13 -0400, RickMerrill
wrote:

It may vary depending on hee you are located:
Try 75.5

No luck (Comcast Boulder, CO)


Try http://www.fancast.com/comcast-tv-listings
and enter your zip code to find the call letters.
THen surf through the channels ...

That already knew my zip - I have entered it before. It gives me the
cable box channels, not the dash channels. We have the cable box on
one TV, and can watch HDTV Food channel there. My wife's smaller TV
next to her computer doesn't have a cable box, so she goes to 9-1 for
the HDTV version of 9. But she watches mostly the food channel,
and we haven't found it in HDTV without using the cable box.


--
"In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found,
than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace
to the legislature, and not to the executive department."

- James Madison

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

Howard Brazee wrote:
On Sun, 18 Oct 2009 16:54:13 -0400, RickMerrill
wrote:

It may vary depending on hee you are located:
Try 75.5
No luck (Comcast Boulder, CO)

Try http://www.fancast.com/comcast-tv-listings
and enter your zip code to find the call letters.
THen surf through the channels ...

That already knew my zip - I have entered it before. It gives me the
cable box channels, not the dash channels. We have the cable box on
one TV, and can watch HDTV Food channel there. My wife's smaller TV
next to her computer doesn't have a cable box, so she goes to 9-1 for
the HDTV version of 9. But she watches mostly the food channel,
and we haven't found it in HDTV without using the cable box.



In the US you can bypass the cable box and go straight to the tv digital
tuner - then you have to surf for the call letters to find out the dash
channels (I use dot myself).

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:54:52 -0400, RickMerrill
wrote:

In the US you can bypass the cable box and go straight to the tv digital
tuner - then you have to surf for the call letters to find out the dash
channels (I use dot myself).

Maybe in theory. In practice I haven't been able to find the Food
channel on my Boulder, CO Comcast cable.

--
"In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found,
than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace
to the legislature, and not to the executive department."

- James Madison

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

Howard Brazee wrote:

That already knew my zip - I have entered it before. It gives me the
cable box channels, not the dash channels. We have the cable box on
one TV, and can watch HDTV Food channel there. My wife's smaller TV
next to her computer doesn't have a cable box, so she goes to 9-1 for
the HDTV version of 9. But she watches mostly the food channel,
and we haven't found it in HDTV without using the cable box.

Go to Zap2it.com and enter your zip code and click on "LOCAL BROADCAST."
The "dash channels" will be given, not the cable box channels.

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

Howard Brazee wrote:

In the US you can bypass the cable box and go straight to the tv digital
tuner - then you have to surf for the call letters to find out the dash
channels (I use dot myself).

Maybe in theory. In practice I haven't been able to find the Food
channel on my Boulder, CO Comcast cable.

Perhaps the Food Channel is encrypted? Cable channels usually are.

HDTV Audio and Anti-Glare
 

On Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:01:16 -0700, UCLAN wrote:

Go to Zap2it.com and enter your zip code and click on "LOCAL BROADCAST."
The "dash channels" will be given, not the cable box channels.

Here's the odd thing - the Food Channel isn't a locally broadcast
channel, so we need cable to get it. But she can find it on channel
47 from Comcast without using the box. What we can't find is the
Cable Box 681, Food-HD.

They could be scrambling 681 but not 47. Or maybe it just is a
result of not being able to tune to stations that high.

--
"In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found,
than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace
to the legislature, and not to the executive department."

- James Madison