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In Reply to: Petew ; i have some questions. posted by zuki on April 1, 2002 at 19:50:14:
http://www.antennaweb.org
in the top left corner click on "choosing an antenna" then enter your address.you are going to need a "set-top box", a digital receiver/tuner/decoder that inputs the coax feed from your UHF antenna and outputs RF, composite video, S-video, component, VHS 15pin Dsub, and maybe RGB. The audio out will be L + R stereo on RCA and either a coax digital or optical digital or both. You can use the RF F-connector to downconvert to the NTSC standard and receive a perfect analog video and audio signal too--as if you had a perfect analog cable TV feed, which is an oxymoron. If you get a digital airwave signal it will be perfect, so converting it back to analog is cool too. Confused? Me too.
All the new TVs will have something to decode the airwave digital broadcasts, and probably a tuner for cable and Directv satellite. I don't know if you can get just an off-the-air digital receiver/decoder. Let us know if you find one.
the digital broadcasts are in Dolby Digital audio, but I don't like that decoding algorythm so I use one of the "movie" or "music" or even mono options on my audio preamp. Pro Logic doesn't seem to work at all--I get no dialog , at least on my rig, but maybe that's my problem.
as for video, the networks are sending something around 500 lines of resolution in 4:3 format most of the time. If there's something very special, like Jay Lenno (please) or the Olympics they will send it in High Definition, a sub-catagory of digital tv that has it's own standards.
High Definition means 16:9 format and at least 720 progressive lines of resolution or 1080 interlaced lines of resolution (540 of every other line is shown, followed by the 540 "missing" lines). {That's the reason that a 42" plasma TV is not, by definition, High Definition. the current generation of 42" plasmas can only do 480 horizontal lines of 854 pixells ( 854x480 ), which is not enough, but close.}
When looking at digital TVs, monitors, projectors you can get a mish-mash of confusing jargon. It's not High Definition if it ain't 16:9 and capable of AT LEAST 720 lines of horizontal.
The High Definition signal broadcast mostly by your local PBS stations is superb. That alone is enough to make most normal people go bonkers and buy into the technology. The picture is so good you won't care what you are watching. I'm not kidding. No, really, I'm not kidding.
anyway plain old digital is pretty darned good, and it's free. now just to make things more confusing, just because you receive a digital broadcast doesn't mean you get a good picture. It depends on the source. if you take a show like "Star Treck the Next Generation" which was recorded on video tape and broadcast on the analog NTSC standard, your digital conversion ain't gonna look nearly as good as the old 1965 "Star Trek" shows that were filmed. As a result, the only things that will look really good on a "digital ready" tvs or monitors are the old TV shows that were filmed. Video tape sucks.
anyway I got you started. check out this website to see if you are in range, and then you'll have to find a decoder box. RCA and Sony make them, and Pioneer and Panasonic used to but for some reason took them off the market--I think because they were burning down people's houses. The things have fans because they get so freakin' hot. There's alot of calculations going on inside there...
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Follow Ups
- then tell RodM to put this website on the FAQ list: - petew 14:36:16 04/02/02 (2)
- Petew: So that's why TNG looks like crap !?!? - Iguana Man 10:44:09 04/04/02 (1)
- yes, isn't that wild! - petew 13:09:36 04/04/02 (0)
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