Newbie Receiver Question

[hikerak]

Hello,

I just ran across this site this weekend and am I glad it exists...  

Well I have not purchased a HDTV but am planning on it by the beginning of February.  I currently have Dish network w/o the locals and plan on keeping it that way.  I do not plan on ordering the HD channels from DISH so I am looking for a pure OTA receiver, I think.  That is the back ground.....  

So in all my reading I really am havng a hard time figuring out the features that I should be looking for and the features that I don't really need or just features in general(do I sound confused?):confused:  I don't want to pay much more than $200.00 I think, but I could be swayed if the feature would be worth it.  

I am planning on buying a Pannasonic 34in HDTV (Which has A DVI input) because it will fit into my cabinet and it seems to be a good T.V. for the money from my research. (The cabinet stays, my wife will NOT budge)

It doesn't do 720p, I am a football fan, should that concern me??  

Any help is appreciated....  :hug:

I guess I am looking for a list of (4-5)different receivers ($200-$300)which would be reccommended to look at with some features noted..  and that 720p issue might be a concern...  

BTW I live in Wauwatosa

Thanks,

Matt

[Gregg Lengling]

I wouldn't worry about the set not doing 720p....this just means it won't display the native 720p but up-converts it 1080i.  I don't think you'll notice much difference.  

I'm not familiar enough with the OTA only STB's as I've got the Sony with Directv built-in. I like it much more than the old RCA DTC100 I had before.  I would recommend it to anyone.

[hikerak]

Only reason I bring up the 720p is that I was reading one of the sites and it said that the football games are in 720p and that it looks better than the 1080i...  

Would that  probably be for the professional T.V. guy with an eye?  
I think the 34 hdtv is going to blow my 27in RCA with only RF away wether it is 1080i or 720p....  

[StarvingForHDTV]

It should blow away your old analog TV.

If I had to do it all over again, I would look at fixed pixel displays.  Maybe DLP, LCoS, LCD, or Plasma.  Why fight with convergence and geometry issues if you don't have to?

Try to make sure your new TV will not have glare issues.  If it has something that looks like a piece of glass in the front, find out if it is removable.  That is important IMHO.

With the $200 set top boxes, it's going to be tough to find one with DVI output in that price range.  Even used.  I guess if you are shopping at that price level, Ebay might be your best bet.  Make sure you don't buy one with a known bug.  Check the AVS forums before you buy and search for your model.

Good luck,

Starving

[Malamute]

Hikerak,,  First welcome to the list and Chat!!!!!:D

I have a Samsung SIR - T165 OTA recevier it dose have a DVI output on it.  I have a 34in 16:9 Sony HDTV and it works great with it.  Not much glare but some if the sun is just right. The T165 recevier did cost me about $600 NEW:mad:  but worth it. You might want to look at the Samsung SIR T151 model cheaper but don't know the features on it, I went with the best out there.

Malamute