World Cup in Flinstone's Digital

BarMoo

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Every time I hear this Freeview SD crap I go Erggg'O'-red This outdated platform, designed for 30 channels, now offers 45 according to a friend of mine. Whatever.

The company behind the advertising digital switchover has decided to bring forward the next bout of advertising to before the World Cup footy. (Full story Media Guardian).

"It's a national family phenomenon and we hope they all will gather around a huge, flat-screen digital TV." said Digital UK chief, Ford Ennals

This is the part that made me spit into my tea.

Digital UK hopes people upgrading to flat-screen TVs will buy one with an integrated digital tuner that can receive digital TV signals.

WTF? The world cup is being broadcast in HD not Flinstone's Digital. Flat panels are crap at SD resolutions. Fact.

Meanwhile, the rest of Europe has been bounding ahead with its HD plans - off the back of, have a guess .......... yes, The World Cup.

I was in a typical TV shop the other day and every flat panel was HD ready. And all were showing the Astra HD promo. Stunning. I also counted no less than eight DVD players that came with an HDMI output, but, that's something different.

Outside the world of FreeView - so much is happening.:D

So, unless you have limitless pockets, only buy an HD ready flat panel (or CRT for that matter) and add the tuner toys as seperate boxes. That way, at least, you'll be able to jump into HD straight away and not have a living room full of FreeView legacy crap.

OR - you could save up for/wait for one of these SED beauties.:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Have Fun,

Mark.
 

BGonaSTICK

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LOL, your rants always crack me up... and are informative at the same time.

Is SED going to happen for Joe Public?

I'm waiting for the next generation, whatever it is - cos LCD and Plasma don't do it for me.

And as for Freeview.... well just don't get me started....
 

BarMoo

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BGonaSTICK said:
Is SED going to happen for Joe Public?....

IMHO, when SED hits the market, you'll be hearing little gasps of air - as those CRT'S hit the land-fill.

I guess prices will have fallen significantly by 2012 too, LOL :D

Just think - a CRT type flat monitor (180° viewing angle, 100,000:1 contrast, 2/3rds the power consumption of an LCD, Toshiba is onboard the project) ..... oooohhh, I get gout thinking about it.

Mind, I have also seen a very nice Panasonic HD LCD projector (usually a DLP fan) and that ROCKS. It was truly a cinema experience; albeit, the old wrinkly on the demo seat was getting on my nerves (she must have thought it was a rest spot).

Have Fun,

Mark.
 

rolfw

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I dunno, you top end jockeys just don't realise what the man in the street is really into and it aint HD.

We have had so far, several years of wailing and gnashing of teeth by the digital refuseniks. They have been complaining on being forced eventually to either go without, or spend £100 or so on three or four digital set top boxes.

Are they likely to jump on the HD juggernaut? Not bloody likely, this is one which will continue its slow plodding journey, leaving in its wake the vast majority of the British population who appear blissfully happy in their ignorance of the latest "Must Have" technology. :)

The Freeview platform in the UK has achieved superb uptake, bearing in mind the false start by OnDigital and more recent water muddying by TUTV, the vast majority of the general public are more than happy with the channel range provided by the free to air terrestrial digital package and I cannot see them finding it wanting for some time to come. :)

The industry led HD juggernaut is more likely to end up in the layby until it is perceived as a must have and that in my opinion, is a long way off. :)
 

Channel Hopper

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A number of my customers still have TVs dating back to the 80s, that still give a better picture than the latest offerings from Richer Sounds/Currys/Argos etc.

The idea of the HD compliancy doesnt work for many, if the 'like being there' sales pitch is in reality a piece of pitch with 22 overpaid fallboys.
 

BarMoo

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Saturday afternoon coffee and fag ramble reply warning.

rolfw said:
I dunno, you top end jockeys just don't realise what the man in the street is really into and it aint HD.

Well if HD is widescreen, then replace HD with SD. Still the same answer? Of course not - everyone's just gotta have a widescreen these days!

To make my point and still keep the peace, overall, I am simply implying that the UK has paid the price for being clever in the late nineties. To my knowledge, there isn't a single major territory in the world, where HD is now commonplace, that ever bothered with SD widescreen.

It saddens me that there are plenty of numb-nuts who will be cajoled into buying a flat panel (see that article). They take it home, they'll move everything from the flying ducks to the sofa and the motorbike spares to make it fit somewhere. And at the end of it all they'll just sit there and watch 24/7 squashed 4:3 - albeit very large.'O'-red 'O'-red

Its not clever - Its a disgrace. Hire Purchase should be outlawed.

The rest of europe, too, doesn't seem to give a toss about HD. HD might be the next thing, but, given the dire quality of most local stuff, why bother. Let's see what happens after the world Cup - when most of us will have seen the benefits of HD down the pub.

Flat panels are a big thing for me (sic) and an SED flat panel is the goal. However, I am in no position to jump on the HD bandwagon right now - I would either have to stop drinking for 18 months or kill the cat or both. Mind, I would probably turn to drink for killing the cat. [Based on €1,600.00].

OT: I was in luck recently when a friend* brought round the next episode of that US series based on an island (if you get my driftwood). I wanted to find out what was down that secret shaft. It was in HD and I watched it on my computer. Simply stunning.

P.S. as of Tuesday this week, guess which was flying off the shelves faster: 1). DVD player with HDMI/DVI o/p (for your PC monitor, yum) or 2). EffOff Large Expensive Flat Panel?

Mark.
 

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Funny stuff. O-Ha

I agree that the vast majority of the Great British Public won't have the stomach for HD after the preceding fiascos but there is a niche market very much alive and well that can't spend its money fast enough.

16:9 TV's didn't wipe out 4:3 IMHO.

What did that was the fact that manufacturers appeared to stop supplying retailers with 4:3 sets - and pretty quickly (in what I consider to be a double-quick timeframe for such a dramatic change in the TV sector) you couldn't buy one for love nor money!!!

Personally, I waited and waited, and then waited some more until my nerves couldn't hold out any more.... until there was only ONE 29" Sony 4:3 telly left in the shop - and then bought it for peanuts. That'll do me for 7 years I thought.

When those 7 years are up I'll go HD/flatscreen if at all possible, because I've seen it in the States too, and it makes SD look like an animated kids crayon drawing.

:D
 

BarMoo

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BGonaSTICK said:
.... until there was only ONE 29" Sony 4:3 telly left in the shop - and then bought it for peanuts. That'll do me for 7 years I thought.

Don't share your passion for bikes - but any bloke that can stand up for his 4:3 is a mate of mine :D Do do know what chassis it is - for extra worthyness, LOL.

A decent sized 50Hz 4:3 Sony is probably the next best thing to a projector IMHO. You can throw any format at it and it looks drop-dead gorgeous.

A work colleague once said of my drop-dead gorgeous picture quality - that it looked "just as good as the profi monitors at work" (also SONY and V. expensive). Yes, I said, the linearity is good isn't it.

I guess we'll be opting into SED at about the same time then, hehe:D

Have Fun,

Mark.
 
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