[vdr] HDTV - 2B or not 2B

[Alasdair Campbell]

VDR User wrote:
> On Nov 22, 2007 7:30 AM, Füley István <aironet at tigercomp.ro> wrote:
>> To be clear: I did not say, that we don't need HD at all. I just said,
>> that normal TV stations should stay in SD, and only a couple of premium
>> (PPV, etc) channels should go HD. But the situation is more clear: not me
>> is gonna be who decide the future of television but the market :)
> 
> If HD is no better or not real increase in quality then why switch
> from SD at all?  If it's not any better then how have these providers,
> hardware makers, etc. all tricked soooo many people into believing HD
> -IS- better quality?  Maybe it's simply because it is and all the user
> needs as proof is his own two eyes.  Like it or not HDTV is here to
> stay, and it's taking over.  H264 is here to stay.  Change is nothing
> to be scared of, especially when it's for the better.  The only thing
> scary about it is being left behind and wishing you would have done
> something about it sooner.
> 
>  Btw, do you still prefer music on cassette tape?  ;)  (just kidding)

I certainly prefer listening to music on dmm 180g vinyl to a poorly 
mastered compact disc, and I've never seen a cheap CRT look anywhere 
near as bad as some LCDs I've seen over the years..

Shops in Britain kept the CRT and LCD displays apart, so shoppers with a 
limited short term memory failed to notice the washed-out colour and 
lack of black in the BULK of lcd TVs sold in the last 5 years. Now 
there's fortunatly no CRTs to compare with. (I understand the contrast 
on the latest FullHD tvs can be superb).

I do believe HD for films, concerts & wildlife docs must be amazing to 
watch, but as it is terrestrial HD in the UK is still two years away, 
and will require DVB-T2 receivers. At the point when my cards stop 
receiving a signal I might start worrying about being 'left behind'.

UK Terrestrial HD plans: 
http://www.ukfree.tv/fullstory.php?storyid=1107051325
SD bitrates to be reduced, 3 HD channels for 9 hours a day, more people 
without a proper signal. Progress! and a few billion pounds in OFCOM's 
coffers. (To be paid off by people replacing their IDTVs and set top 
boxes on redundancy..)