Which new TV to buy that is NOT HD?

[Vertnut]

To elaborate: I need a new TV (32" or so) that will not have HD from the satellite box. My other flat panels (plazma's) don't have a good picture without HD. Any idea's?

[Gargamel]

I don't think they even sell standard definition TVs anymore.

Are you speaking of a connection\connector issue from the satellite box?

[Vertnut]

I don't have the HD feature in one of the bedrooms. It shares a box with my media room. The box has HD on one channel and non-HD on the other. I'm with Dish if it matters. I had an old school Trinitron (with a great picture) that lightning took out Monday morning.

[Gargamel]

As far as I am aware, even the non-HD sgnal from the box should work on newer TVs as long as the "cableology" was correct.

In other words, making sure that the new TV had the correct input type: coax, composite, component, DVI, HDMI

(and yes, the standard def picture will probably look like crap)


An even better deal would be to pick up an old standard def TV from craigslist for next to nothing.....

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/ele/2914823618.html

http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/ele/2881595052.html

[FATHERFORD]

samsung tv's look good with SD signals... They just cost a shitload more.

[Vertnut]

I went ahead and got a new flat panel and ordered the "Hopper" from Dish. 4 HD sets off one receiver.

[Z06killinsbf]

I was gonna recommend CL or getting a smaller tv but seems like you took the high road!!

[Vertnut]

I was gonna recommend CL or getting a smaller tv but seems like you took the high road!!

The 32" Samsung I bought was $279 at Costco and I gave them $30 for five years of coverage. I figured what the hell. It was the only only old one in the house. Dish will be here at noon to swap out the equipment. The real hassle is programming the damn Harmony remotes to the new gear for my surround set-ups.

[Tyrone Biggums]

I went ahead and got a new flat panel and ordered the "Hopper" from Dish. 4 HD sets off one receiver.

I'm so glad you mentioned this. I've been a Dish customer for 11 years and have been waiting for something like the Hopper for a long time. Hopefully we can get it installed next week.

[mschmoyer]

Standard definition was designed for small TV's. The bigger the TV the worse it will look. I couldn't stand to watch a SD channel...even free over-the-air local channels are high def.

[Vertnut]

I'm so glad you mentioned this. I've been a Dish customer for 11 years and have been waiting for something like the Hopper for a long time. Hopefully we can get it installed next week.

We've been with them since '01, too. Called last night, and supposedly they will be here this afternoon. If you like, I can PM you a review. Sounds damn good over the phone: one main "Hopper" and 3 "Joey's" (small units about the size of a dollar bill that's 3 inches thick). Record 4 HD programs and 2 regular programs at the same time. The 4th set is a "slave", though, meaning you can't watch all 4 sets independently. The 4th set will share programming with the master set. We never watch 4 different programs, so it's not an issue for us. This is all hearsay at this point (per Dish rep), but I'll know by the weekend. By the time it's all said and done, I'm not paying anymore a month, but I'm signing a new 24 month contract. Oh, and it's a $75 one-time-charge for the new unit. They also tossed in some free programming for 6 months, like I need more channels.

[Tyrone Biggums]

We've been with them since '01, too. Called last night, and supposedly they will be here this afternoon. If you like, I can PM you a review. Sounds damn good over the phone: one main "Hopper" and 3 "Joey's" (small units about the size of a dollar bill that's 3 inches thick). Record 4 HD programs and 2 regular programs at the same time. The 4th set is a "slave", though, meaning you can't watch all 4 sets independently. The 4th set will share programming with the master set. We never watch 4 different programs, so it's not an issue for us. This is all hearsay at this point (per Dish rep), but I'll know by the weekend. By the time it's all said and done, I'm not paying anymore a month, but I'm signing a new 24 month contract. Oh, and it's a $75 one-time-charge for the new unit. They also tossed in some free programming for 6 months, like I need more channels.

As soon as I replied, I got the wife to set everything up and we're getting ours Tuesday. I would still like to hear how yours goes, so shoot me a pm if you don't mind. What I find interesting is your one time fee is $75 and ours is $100. I wonder if that depends on which package you currently have. Did they tell you each Joey will be $7 a month and that there will be an additional $4 per month "Enhancement" fee?

[Vertnut]

As soon as I replied, I got the wife to set everything up and we're getting ours Tuesday. I would still like to hear how yours goes, so shoot me a pm if you don't mind. What I find interesting is your one time fee is $75 and ours is $100. I wonder if that depends on which package you currently have. Did they tell you each Joey will be $7 a month and that there will be an additional $4 per month "Enhancement" fee?

The first "Joey" is free. The other two are $7 each. They allowed me a $25 credit for my other two units that are being picked up. I'm not sure why. The guy is here now. It sounds pretty high-tech and they actually install a lot of new gear. The whole house will have access to the internet and Blockbuster movies and games. I wonder if it's a little different because I pay a $6 "protection" fee? It's like insurance for all the equipment. I had a box go out a few months ago and instead of paying the $95 for the box, I enrolled for the service contract. Anyway, the guy walked in and told me I was "5 star long-time customer", which nowadays means I pay my bills. LOL!

I was paying additional money for my second HD box anyway, and the Joeys just offset that fee.

[Tyrone Biggums]

The first "Joey" is free. The other two are $7 each. They allowed me a $25 credit for my other two units that are being picked up. I'm not sure why. The guy is here now. It sounds pretty high-tech and they actually install a lot of new gear. The whole house will have access to the internet and Blockbuster movies and games. I wonder if it's a little different because I pay a $6 "protection" fee? It's like insurance for all the equipment. I had a box go out a few months ago and instead of paying the $95 for the box, I enrolled for the service contract. Anyway, the guy walked in and told me I was "5 star long-time customer", which nowadays means I pay my bills. LOL!

I was paying additional money for my second HD box anyway, and the Joeys just offset that fee.

Gotcha. Sounds like we're pretty even then. Let me know how it goes and what all the gear is. Hell, I'm excited for both of us!

[jluv]

Damn, that sounds interesting. I have 5 HD receivers in 5 different rooms. I don't have DVR or anything like that, though.