Welcome to HD
I finally crossed the threshold into High-Def. I’d been holding back for quite a while, what with HD DVD vs. Blu-ray, 1080i vs. 1080p, LCD vs. plasma vs. DLP… the list goes on. After much research I finally found a TV I knew I’d be happy with for a few years, the Samsung LN-T4661 . Glowing reviews from professionals and home users as well. I’ve gone through and did a quick once-over calibration with the new HD DVD version of Digital Video Essentials and it looks amazing. I can’t stress this enough: do not just plug in your TV and leave it like that forever. Get this disc or something similar and tweak those settings. From the factory most TVs are set to look good in a showroom and that means maximum brightness and overly saturated colors, which ruins the fine details in your favorite TV show or movie.
I knew that normal TV programming wouldn’t keep me satiated very long so I also picked up a Toshiba HD-A20 HD DVD player, capable of 1080p output. Although depending on who you ask, it might not be true 1080p. But, the next step up in players is their top-of-the-line HD-XA2 model which costs twice as much. I think I’ll wait for a firmware update for mine, or pick up a Samsung BD-UP5000 dual format player when it arrives in October.
Now for images. In a word: stunning. When you have a great set showing some great content (check out the Planet Earth series), it’s hard to believe that images from a television can look this good. There’s a scene in Planet Earth where the camera zooms out and you see litterally thousands of birds on the screen at once. Each is perfectly clear and identifiable.If you don’t plan on upgrading from standard definition any time soon, do yourself a favor and don’t go out of your way to find a setup like this. Ignorance is bliss! I can’t imagine going back to standard def now. I watched a couple scenes from King Kong in HD last night and I don’t remember it looking half this good in the theater. The colors are so rich, everything pops off the screen. You can make out individual flies buzzing around the T-Rex as it wakes up next to Naomi Watts in the jungle.
And maybe it’s just all in my head, but the sound seems that much better as well. HD discs are supposed to have more bandwidth for sound, so it should be better. I’ve got a Denon AVR-3805 receiver talking to 7.1 Infinity Primus speakers, and had this same setup even before the new TV. Sound was good before but it feels like a true home theater now. There’s a point in King Kong where he stomps off past the camera and you can hear him walking off to the side and eventually behind you, staying easily localized the whole time.
If you’re on the fence about HD, just go ahead and take the plunge, you won’t be disappointed. I’m not aware of any big changes to the specifications on the horizon so you should remain future-proof for some time. If you haven’t see a good setup yet, make it a point to go and find one. It will definitely push you over the edge.