New TV - Digital or HD?

Emre5 · 03-01-2007, 00:10

Can't seem to find a TV I like that has both features, so which would be best to get?

I'm thinking if I got an HD one, I could buy a digibox and wouldn't that be the same? Or is the picture quality much better with integrated digital?

I hate looking for TVs, but decided after putting it off for over a year I need a new one, lol.

Many thanks in advance!

kenshukai · 03-01-2007, 00:33

We have HD TV & Sky HD. BBC HD is totally amazing! Sky Installation is £300.00 approx. Hubby insisted on it for the world cup football! Who am I too complain? I never watch TV... On PC most of time!

JessicaFletcher · 03-01-2007, 00:35

I got one of the Sony HD Bravias, it's has intergrated freeview and the quality of reception and picture was way better then what I had before with tv and freeview box.

10past3 · 03-01-2007, 00:37

A TV with built-in digital will be Freeview, not Sky or cable. FV doesn't carry HD and won't for some years to come. You need a cable service that provides HD into a set-top box, or Sky HD with the Sky HD box.

You need to be sure that your new TV is labelled as HD ready, with the correct inputs & connection permutations. Google for it, read up on it. And ask for this to be moved to the TV HD forums instead - there are a lot of knowledgeable peopleon there (and a few less so.)

10past3 · 03-01-2007, 00:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by JessicaFletcher

I got one of the Sony HD Bravias, it's has intergrated freeview and the quality of reception and picture was way better then what I had before with tv and freeview box.

The best picture quality I've ever seen knocked me flat, and it was analogue. Analogue doesn't provide 'HD' though, or widescreen, or the vast choice that we must all aspire to apparently . But for absolute quality, I've never seen digital match what analogue can provide. Freeview is not HD. Virtually all of Sky & cable is not HD either. But we'll get there, one day.

JessicaFletcher · 03-01-2007, 01:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10past3

The best picture quality I've ever seen knocked me flat, and it was analogue. Analogue doesn't provide 'HD' though, or widescreen, or the vast choice that we must all aspire to apparently . But for absolute quality, I've never seen digital match what analogue can provide. Freeview is not HD. Virtually all of Sky & cable is not HD either. But we'll get there, one day.

Sorry I should have worded it better, I know freeview isn't HD I just meant the set i got with intergrated box was a hell of alot better quality.

kenshukai · 03-01-2007, 01:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by 10past3

The best picture quality I've ever seen knocked me flat, and it was analogue. Analogue doesn't provide 'HD' though, or widescreen, or the vast choice that we must all aspire to apparently . But for absolute quality, I've never seen digital match what analogue can provide. Freeview is not HD. Virtually all of Sky & cable is not HD either. But we'll get there, one day.

There's a few HD channels on Sky. Footie is and that's a must in this house for my man!

kimberleycat · 03-01-2007, 01:08

I've just bought a Philips HD ready tv with freeview built in. It's 26 inch, but I was told it's the equivelant to the old 28 inch tvs. I'm very pleased with it compared to my previous tv.

Grand Dizzy · 03-01-2007, 01:42

Emre,

Just some advice... I would seriously consider not bothering with built-in freeview and get a PVR.

My PVR changed my life! And it will change yours!

• You can pause and rewind live TV (great for if the phone rings or you missed a line).
• Record things with the touch of a button!
• Record the whole series easily.
• Set a TV show to record then come in half way and watch it from the start it while it's still recording.
• If you're watching something you find interesting, rewind it back to before you even turned the TV on!
• Record two different things while you watch a third you recorded earlier.
• Sometimes it's possible to record 2 things while watching a third channel live (with the Humax PVR)
• No more videotapes
• If you're new to freeview: no more TV guides!
• Skip adverts almost instantly by pressing one button a few times.
• Fast forward/rewind at 64x speed.
• Store all your favourite shows on the hard drive. Room to store hundreds of shows, all neatly listed without having to rummage through tapes.
• PVRs are so good, Sky even charge a monthly £10 subscription just to own theirs (plus you pay for the box)... thankfully, with a Freeview PVR, once you've bought the box, the complete service is absolutely free.

I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT MY PVR!

If you want the best one, it's the Humax 9200. The DigiFusion FVRT200 used to be a strong rival, but now they have stopped supporting it, and the Humax has been updated to feature chase-play, so the Humax is the best. Although the Humax only has a small number of onscreen listings at once, which is annoying.

Go to the PVR forums for more info!

kays_dad · 03-01-2007, 09:04

I've also got a PVR, the Humax 9200 same as Grand Dizzy, and I agree totally, completely and unreservedly.

My wife, who doesn't "do" gadgets, let me get one because I loved the idea of not having to faff about with tapes and a guy at work had been singing the praises of his PVR, although she couldn't really see the point. Now she is a PVR evangelist.

You might also consider the Topfield as an alternative to the Humax .. my colleague has one of those and our conclusions are that the Topfield has more scope to be upgraded by the user and so can ultimately be made into a better machine, but that the Humax is better "out of the box" and is easier to use.

chrisbartley · 03-01-2007, 09:09

Quote:

I just meant the set i got with intergrated box was a hell of alot better quality.

Are you sure your previous setup TV + settop box) was set to RGB and not composite, and /or had an RGB scart lead connecting them
thats the only reason I can think there would be a difference between external and internal freeview

I'll third the case for a Freeview PVR too, Inverto in my case

Last edited by chrisbartley : 03-01-2007 at 09:11.

03-01-2007, 09:24

I've just bought this TV, and I love it. It has both HD and integrated Freeview, although we have Sky+ so don't really need the Freeview, however it might be handy if the Sky ever goes on the blink.

The picture quality is fantastic and I haven't even seen it do HD yet. I haven't decided if it is worth getting Sky HD yet as there are only a handful of channels at the moment. The HD will be nice for when the PS3 comes out though

El Guapo · 03-01-2007, 10:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grand Dizzy

Emre,

Just some advice... I would seriously consider not bothering with built-in freeview and get a PVR.

My PVR changed my life! And it will change yours!

• You can pause and rewind live TV (great for if the phone rings or you missed a line).
• Record things with the touch of a button!
• Record the whole series easily.
• Set a TV show to record then come in half way and watch it from the start it while it's still recording.
• If you're watching something you find interesting, rewind it back to before you even turned the TV on!
• Record two different things while you watch a third you recorded earlier.
• Sometimes it's possible to record 2 things while watching a third channel live (with the Humax PVR)
• No more videotapes
• If you're new to freeview: no more TV guides!
• Skip adverts almost instantly by pressing one button a few times.
• Fast forward/rewind at 64x speed.
• Store all your favourite shows on the hard drive. Room to store hundreds of shows, all neatly listed without having to rummage through tapes.
• PVRs are so good, Sky even charge a monthly £10 subscription just to own theirs (plus you pay for the box)... thankfully, with a Freeview PVR, once you've bought the box, the complete service is absolutely free.

I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT MY PVR!

If you want the best one, it's the Humax 9200. The DigiFusion FVRT200 used to be a strong rival, but now they have stopped supporting it, and the Humax has been updated to feature chase-play, so the Humax is the best. Although the Humax only has a small number of onscreen listings at once, which is annoying.

Go to the PVR forums for more info!

Just one thing I have Sky+ but do not pay £10 per month extra to use it.

Grand Dizzy · 03-01-2007, 12:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by El Guapo

Just one thing I have Sky+ but do not pay £10 per month extra to use it.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. Most people will have to pay £10 a month to use a Sky PVR, but if you already subscribe to 2 or more premium channels (box office etc) then you get it free.

upnunder · 03-01-2007, 14:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by troublegum

I've just bought this TV, and I love it. It has both HD and integrated Freeview, although we have Sky+ so don't really need the Freeview, however it might be handy if the Sky ever goes on the blink.

The picture quality is fantastic and I haven't even seen it do HD yet. I haven't decided if it is worth getting Sky HD yet as there are only a handful of channels at the moment. The HD will be nice for when the PS3 comes out though

I have the same TV, and it is fantastic in HD as well.

Although the new N73 Samsung is better, it has 2 HDMI inputs and uses the same LCD panel as the Sony Bravias.

ILoveCats · 03-01-2007, 17:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grand Dizzy

Emre,

Just some advice... I would seriously consider not bothering with built-in freeview and get a PVR.

My PVR changed my life! And it will change yours!

• You can pause and rewind live TV (great for if the phone rings or you missed a line).
• Record things with the touch of a button!
• Record the whole series easily.
• Set a TV show to record then come in half way and watch it from the start it while it's still recording.
• If you're watching something you find interesting, rewind it back to before you even turned the TV on!
• Record two different things while you watch a third you recorded earlier.
• Sometimes it's possible to record 2 things while watching a third channel live (with the Humax PVR)
• No more videotapes
• If you're new to freeview: no more TV guides!
• Skip adverts almost instantly by pressing one button a few times.
• Fast forward/rewind at 64x speed.
• Store all your favourite shows on the hard drive. Room to store hundreds of shows, all neatly listed without having to rummage through tapes.
• PVRs are so good, Sky even charge a monthly £10 subscription just to own theirs (plus you pay for the box)... thankfully, with a Freeview PVR, once you've bought the box, the complete service is absolutely free.

I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT MY PVR!

If you want the best one, it's the Humax 9200. The DigiFusion FVRT200 used to be a strong rival, but now they have stopped supporting it, and the Humax has been updated to feature chase-play, so the Humax is the best. Although the Humax only has a small number of onscreen listings at once, which is annoying.

Go to the PVR forums for more info!

I totally agree! My PVR changed my life too! But I still bought a Humax LCD tv with freeview on Monday!
By the way, my PVR is the digifusion 200 and I am soooo happy with it!

Last edited by ILoveCats : 03-01-2007 at 17:28.

bobcar · 03-01-2007, 17:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grand Dizzy

Emre,

Just some advice... I would seriously consider not bothering with built-in freeview and get a PVR.

It's perfectly sensible to have both, this means you can watch one channel whilst recording 2 others (with a dual channel PVR). This applies whether you have a Freeview or Sky PVR.

ney · 03-01-2007, 19:03

http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbrowse/p....do?sku=358169

http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/stor...ory_oid=-30633

Also have a look at this thread.
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...=499434&page=1

Darren

ntlhellworld · 03-01-2007, 21:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emre5

Can't seem to find a TV I like that has both features, so which would be best to get?

eh, how many HDTVs dont have freeview?

Get a samsung R7.

-Chris

03-01-2007, 00:10	#1
Emre5 Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 1,545	New TV - Digital or HD? Can't seem to find a TV I like that has both features, so which would be best to get? I'm thinking if I got an HD one, I could buy a digibox and wouldn't that be the same? Or is the picture quality much better with integrated digital? I hate looking for TVs, but decided after putting it off for over a year I need a new one, lol. Many thanks in advance!

03-01-2007, 00:33	#2
kenshukai Forum Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Up My Own Backside! Posts: 1,297	We have HD TV & Sky HD. BBC HD is totally amazing! Sky Installation is £300.00 approx. Hubby insisted on it for the world cup football! Who am I too complain? I never watch TV... On PC most of time! Last edited by kenshukai : 03-01-2007 at 00:35.

03-01-2007, 01:42	#9
Grand Dizzy Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 7,132	Emre, Just some advice... I would seriously consider not bothering with built-in freeview and get a PVR. My PVR changed my life! And it will change yours! • You can pause and rewind live TV (great for if the phone rings or you missed a line). • Record things with the touch of a button! • Record the whole series easily. • Set a TV show to record then come in half way and watch it from the start it while it's still recording. • If you're watching something you find interesting, rewind it back to before you even turned the TV on! • Record two different things while you watch a third you recorded earlier. • Sometimes it's possible to record 2 things while watching a third channel live (with the Humax PVR) • No more videotapes • If you're new to freeview: no more TV guides! • Skip adverts almost instantly by pressing one button a few times. • Fast forward/rewind at 64x speed. • Store all your favourite shows on the hard drive. Room to store hundreds of shows, all neatly listed without having to rummage through tapes. • PVRs are so good, Sky even charge a monthly £10 subscription just to own theirs (plus you pay for the box)... thankfully, with a Freeview PVR, once you've bought the box, the complete service is absolutely free. I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT MY PVR! If you want the best one, it's the Humax 9200. The DigiFusion FVRT200 used to be a strong rival, but now they have stopped supporting it, and the Humax has been updated to feature chase-play, so the Humax is the best. Although the Humax only has a small number of onscreen listings at once, which is annoying. Go to the PVR forums for more info! Last edited by Grand Dizzy : 03-01-2007 at 01:50.

03-01-2007, 00:35	#3
JessicaFletcher Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Kettle is not Black Posts: 1,251	I got one of the Sony HD Bravias, it's has intergrated freeview and the quality of reception and picture was way better then what I had before with tv and freeview box.

03-01-2007, 00:37	#4
10past3 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1,371	A TV with built-in digital will be Freeview, not Sky or cable. FV doesn't carry HD and won't for some years to come. You need a cable service that provides HD into a set-top box, or Sky HD with the Sky HD box. You need to be sure that your new TV is labelled as HD ready, with the correct inputs & connection permutations. Google for it, read up on it. And ask for this to be moved to the TV HD forums instead - there are a lot of knowledgeable peopleon there (and a few less so.)

03-01-2007, 00:44	#5
10past3 Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1,371	Quote: Originally Posted by JessicaFletcher I got one of the Sony HD Bravias, it's has intergrated freeview and the quality of reception and picture was way better then what I had before with tv and freeview box. The best picture quality I've ever seen knocked me flat, and it was analogue. Analogue doesn't provide 'HD' though, or widescreen, or the vast choice that we must all aspire to apparently . But for absolute quality, I've never seen digital match what analogue can provide. Freeview is not HD. Virtually all of Sky & cable is not HD either. But we'll get there, one day.

03-01-2007, 01:03	#6
JessicaFletcher Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: The Kettle is not Black Posts: 1,251	Quote: Originally Posted by 10past3 The best picture quality I've ever seen knocked me flat, and it was analogue. Analogue doesn't provide 'HD' though, or widescreen, or the vast choice that we must all aspire to apparently . But for absolute quality, I've never seen digital match what analogue can provide. Freeview is not HD. Virtually all of Sky & cable is not HD either. But we'll get there, one day. Sorry I should have worded it better, I know freeview isn't HD I just meant the set i got with intergrated box was a hell of alot better quality.

03-01-2007, 01:08	#8
kimberleycat Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: The Woolpack Posts: 1,380	I've just bought a Philips HD ready tv with freeview built in. It's 26 inch, but I was told it's the equivelant to the old 28 inch tvs. I'm very pleased with it compared to my previous tv.

03-01-2007, 09:04	#10
kays_dad Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 1,492	I've also got a PVR, the Humax 9200 same as Grand Dizzy, and I agree totally, completely and unreservedly. My wife, who doesn't "do" gadgets, let me get one because I loved the idea of not having to faff about with tapes and a guy at work had been singing the praises of his PVR, although she couldn't really see the point. Now she is a PVR evangelist. You might also consider the Topfield as an alternative to the Humax .. my colleague has one of those and our conclusions are that the Topfield has more scope to be upgraded by the user and so can ultimately be made into a better machine, but that the Humax is better "out of the box" and is easier to use.

03-01-2007, 09:09	#11
chrisbartley Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: berks Posts: 1,643	Quote: I just meant the set i got with intergrated box was a hell of alot better quality. Are you sure your previous setup TV + settop box) was set to RGB and not composite, and /or had an RGB scart lead connecting them thats the only reason I can think there would be a difference between external and internal freeview I'll third the case for a Freeview PVR too, Inverto in my case Last edited by chrisbartley : 03-01-2007 at 09:11.

03-01-2007, 09:24	#12
troublegum Posts: n/a	I've just bought this TV, and I love it. It has both HD and integrated Freeview, although we have Sky+ so don't really need the Freeview, however it might be handy if the Sky ever goes on the blink. The picture quality is fantastic and I haven't even seen it do HD yet. I haven't decided if it is worth getting Sky HD yet as there are only a handful of channels at the moment. The HD will be nice for when the PS3 comes out though

03-01-2007, 10:51	#13
El Guapo Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: South East Posts: 4,638	Quote: Originally Posted by Grand Dizzy Emre, Just some advice... I would seriously consider not bothering with built-in freeview and get a PVR. My PVR changed my life! And it will change yours! • You can pause and rewind live TV (great for if the phone rings or you missed a line). • Record things with the touch of a button! • Record the whole series easily. • Set a TV show to record then come in half way and watch it from the start it while it's still recording. • If you're watching something you find interesting, rewind it back to before you even turned the TV on! • Record two different things while you watch a third you recorded earlier. • Sometimes it's possible to record 2 things while watching a third channel live (with the Humax PVR) • No more videotapes • If you're new to freeview: no more TV guides! • Skip adverts almost instantly by pressing one button a few times. • Fast forward/rewind at 64x speed. • Store all your favourite shows on the hard drive. Room to store hundreds of shows, all neatly listed without having to rummage through tapes. • PVRs are so good, Sky even charge a monthly £10 subscription just to own theirs (plus you pay for the box)... thankfully, with a Freeview PVR, once you've bought the box, the complete service is absolutely free. I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT MY PVR! If you want the best one, it's the Humax 9200. The DigiFusion FVRT200 used to be a strong rival, but now they have stopped supporting it, and the Humax has been updated to feature chase-play, so the Humax is the best. Although the Humax only has a small number of onscreen listings at once, which is annoying. Go to the PVR forums for more info! Just one thing I have Sky+ but do not pay £10 per month extra to use it.

03-01-2007, 12:58	#14
Grand Dizzy Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 7,132	Quote: Originally Posted by El Guapo Just one thing I have Sky+ but do not pay £10 per month extra to use it. Sorry, I should have been more specific. Most people will have to pay £10 a month to use a Sky PVR, but if you already subscribe to 2 or more premium channels (box office etc) then you get it free.

03-01-2007, 14:55	#15
upnunder Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Derbyshire, Uk Posts: 2,288	Quote: Originally Posted by troublegum I've just bought this TV, and I love it. It has both HD and integrated Freeview, although we have Sky+ so don't really need the Freeview, however it might be handy if the Sky ever goes on the blink. The picture quality is fantastic and I haven't even seen it do HD yet. I haven't decided if it is worth getting Sky HD yet as there are only a handful of channels at the moment. The HD will be nice for when the PS3 comes out though I have the same TV, and it is fantastic in HD as well. Although the new N73 Samsung is better, it has 2 HDMI inputs and uses the same LCD panel as the Sony Bravias.

03-01-2007, 17:26	#16
ILoveCats Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Birmingham Posts: 174	Quote: Originally Posted by Grand Dizzy Emre, Just some advice... I would seriously consider not bothering with built-in freeview and get a PVR. My PVR changed my life! And it will change yours! • You can pause and rewind live TV (great for if the phone rings or you missed a line). • Record things with the touch of a button! • Record the whole series easily. • Set a TV show to record then come in half way and watch it from the start it while it's still recording. • If you're watching something you find interesting, rewind it back to before you even turned the TV on! • Record two different things while you watch a third you recorded earlier. • Sometimes it's possible to record 2 things while watching a third channel live (with the Humax PVR) • No more videotapes • If you're new to freeview: no more TV guides! • Skip adverts almost instantly by pressing one button a few times. • Fast forward/rewind at 64x speed. • Store all your favourite shows on the hard drive. Room to store hundreds of shows, all neatly listed without having to rummage through tapes. • PVRs are so good, Sky even charge a monthly £10 subscription just to own theirs (plus you pay for the box)... thankfully, with a Freeview PVR, once you've bought the box, the complete service is absolutely free. I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT MY PVR! If you want the best one, it's the Humax 9200. The DigiFusion FVRT200 used to be a strong rival, but now they have stopped supporting it, and the Humax has been updated to feature chase-play, so the Humax is the best. Although the Humax only has a small number of onscreen listings at once, which is annoying. Go to the PVR forums for more info! I totally agree! My PVR changed my life too! But I still bought a Humax LCD tv with freeview on Monday! By the way, my PVR is the digifusion 200 and I am soooo happy with it! Last edited by ILoveCats : 03-01-2007 at 17:28.

03-01-2007, 17:32	#17
bobcar Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 14,718	Quote: Originally Posted by Grand Dizzy Emre, Just some advice... I would seriously consider not bothering with built-in freeview and get a PVR. It's perfectly sensible to have both, this means you can watch one channel whilst recording 2 others (with a dual channel PVR). This applies whether you have a Freeview or Sky PVR.

03-01-2007, 19:03	#18
ney Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Scotland, Dunfermline Area Posts: 10,704	http://www.comet.co.uk/cometbrowse/p....do?sku=358169 http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/stor...ory_oid=-30633 Also have a look at this thread. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/s...=499434&page=1 Darren

03-01-2007, 21:17	#19
ntlhellworld Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 2,649	Quote: Originally Posted by Emre5 Can't seem to find a TV I like that has both features, so which would be best to get? eh, how many HDTVs dont have freeview? Get a samsung R7. -Chris

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