Alright, so about this time a year ago I jumped into High Definition Television (HDTV). Jen and I bought a 47″ Panasonic HD rear projection TV. I was initially very impressed and I still am pretty pleased, but with a year over I’ve decided the weakness isn’t in the TV it’s in the source. HDTV is all the rage these days…society makes it sound like you MUST have it. Then there’s the surround sound system that needs to be paired up with your big screen…yeah, we got that too. Anyway, here’s the deal. A year into having HD and we still only have a handful of channels. There’s ABC, CBS, FOX, ESPN, TNT, Discovery and a few of other channels that we never watch. The thing is, only a small fraction of those shows on the HD channels are actually in HD…and the commercials? forget about it! Ok, so when shows are in HD I will admit that they look great…but there’s even a weakness there- most of the shows that are broadcast in HD, are not recorded in HD! I know that seems crazy, but it’s true! So, when it comes down to it there is not much true HD programming at all. to add insult to injury, the audio is rarely in surround sound and for most cases where it is, it shouldn’t be. ok, I know I’m spoiled and I’m complaining about such a vain thing, but I just wanted to get my opinion out there. HDTV just isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Archive for April, 2005
Ok, this is a pretty old story, but if you haven’t read it already, you really should. unless of course you are already paranoid about flying, then definitely don’t read this, because it really won’t help anything. It’s such a compelling story that it has became a series which is now up to part 13. I would suggest reading the first 5 columns and then part 9 and 13. The webpage organization isn’t very good so I’ll try to supply all of the links: