Have you made the switch to HD?

[AndrewAPrice]

There have been a lot of pressure here in Australia lately to encourage people to switch to digital HDTV. ABC and SBS have been broadcasting HDTV exclusive content (on ABC2 and SBS World News respectively) for a while, and the other network providers have announced they are going to being broadcasting HDTV exclusive content over the next few months (we already have HD channels, but they're just a clone of the channel's non-HD counterparts).

I'm all set, I have myself a HD LCD TV and my laptop and computer have digital HDTV tuner cards.

How many other people have made the switch to digital HD? How many of you own HD TV's (720p/1080i/1080p are included)? If you don't, are you planning on switching (eventually)?

What are everyone's thoughts on the subject?

I think it's good that the networks are broadcasting HD exclusive content since it encourages people to switch over, because:
- The old 480 (NTSC)/576 (PAL) line system is becoming outdated in terms of keeping up with technology.
- Most countries are stopping non-digital broadcasting over the next 5 years, so encouraging people to switch now is better than waiting until the cut off point comes and wondering why your TV isn't working
- HDTV's have been in the market for nearly a decade now, so the general public have had more than enough time to make the transition.

[Solar]

I voted "no, I don't own HDTV". Which is not quite correct since the DVB-T receiver / DVD recorder we purchased recently is HD-ready - but we don't use it for that.

Personally, I think the whole HD hype is mainly fueled by the pay-TV channels. When I look at the kind of stuff aired by the free channels, it's the 142nd recycling of old US soaps, the 74th recycling of mediocre holywood movies, really bad homegrown soaps, TV quiz shows that make me retch with the stupidity of their questions, "event" type news broadcasts, another "crime & punishment" label by Jerry Bruckheimer, soccer, or poker.

How lucky I am that my daughter is more interested in books, playing etc. than in watching TV. The programmes today have got to be causing brain cancer.

Honestly now, I cannot imagine what I would need HDTV for. Well, so the resolution is higher. Some day I might even have most of my favourite movies recorded in HD quality - I will sure as hell not give the media industry the pleasure to pay for them all over again.

That being said, of course any new equipment I purchase will be HD quality. It's one thing not to give a damn, it's another to be so stupid as to invest in electronics that are at the end of their useful life span (as any non-HD gadgets obviously are).

[AndrewAPrice]

Some day I might even have most of my favourite movies recorded in HD quality - I will sure as hell not give the media industry the pleasure to pay for them all over again.

I wonder what legal aspects will be involved if you bought a movie on DVD then downloaded a HD copy of the exact same movie.

[JackScott]

We have an HDTV, but only because we won it in a raffle. We almost never use the HD part, but I do use it when Channel Nine (Aus) do their cricket broadcasts over summer. It means I can actually see the ball.

The thing that really annoys me about HDTV technology is that somehow manufacturers have decided to build TV's capable of displaying HD pictures, but with no HD digital tuner built in. I don't see the point in that, to be honest.

[JamesM]

I don't have an HDTV. They're very expensive (I'm in Britain so take your price and multiply it by 1.5 (im still not sure why this is the case)), and I am a mere junior engineer / student.

I own a digital (PAL) reciever but cannot use it at the moment because reception is so poor. I live in a shared house containing about 40 apartments and it seems the TV aerial wiring was put in in the 1970s! They have someone that'll fix it (then maybe I'll start using my digibox again) but that won't happen until he comes back from Las Vegas. Grrr!!

[Solar]

I wonder what legal aspects will be involved if you bought a movie on DVD then downloaded a HD copy of the exact same movie.

Simple: It's illegal.

[AndrewAPrice]

I wonder what legal aspects will be involved if you bought a movie on DVD then downloaded a HD copy of the exact same movie.

Simple: It's illegal.

It seems like pay-per-pixel. But if that were the case, you could buy a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD copy then download the DVD and ask the company for the difference between the HD/DVD back.

The thing that really annoys me about HDTV technology is that somehow manufacturers have decided to build TV's capable of displaying HD pictures, but with no HD digital tuner built in. I don't see the point in that, to be honest.

I know! It seems silly. I think when the first HDTVs came out the broadcasting standard wasn't firmly set so rather than risk introducing technology that wouldn't work they just shipped it without a tuner expecting the consumer to responsible for the image to display on the screen. But that would have been back when HDTVs were targeted towards a small group of high-end videophiles. In this day when HDTVs are becoming the new standard and most countries have had digital broadcasts for years, there should be no reason why HDTV's should not come with in-built digital tuners (except to save costs in specific circumstance - e.g. you want to buy one for a console, or to connect to a computer, but then you might as well just buy a monitor).

[AJ]

Simple: It's illegal.

Here in the UK, it was recently announced officially that although it is still officially illegal, the authorities will not be persuing cases against individuals who have made copies of their own movies / audio for their own use (for example, putting a CD on to cassette for the car).

Whether or not this extends to downloading content, I don't know. If I get a chance I'll look for a reference to get the exact wording...

Cheers,
Adam

[inflater]

HDTV is not yet available in my small city
Also paying 35$ for a basic set of TV programs in Magio (that's the HDTV service called 90 kilometers away from this city ) sounds somewhat expensive. I do not use TV antenna broadcast, because there are so much tall trees around this flat housing; and the doorkeeper doesn't want to cut them off (what a !@#~^). We're using the cable television from a self-employer here. And the picture is so clean

Regards
inflater

[Zacariaz]

I have no tv and i dont intent to get one anytime soon.
All i ever watch is discovery anyway, too bad i cant watch it online...