Having a "Newbie" section.

[Ferd Berfle]

I saw this website in this mornings paper and came online to check it out. I suspect you will be getting a lot of people like me who are interested in getting HDTV but have no idea what we are getting into or what to look for or the proper questions to ask. We are at the mercy of the sales people who may be as ignorant as we are. I read a lot of your topics and was very interested in what others had to say abot equipment, cable and satelite services etc. Not being "up" on all the jargon used, I got lost very fast. I think it would be benificial if you had a "newbie" section for people like me so we can get our feet wet before we make a commitment of several thousand dollars and know what to look for and what questions to ask. In the near future I will be in the market for HDTV but I have no idea what to look for in hardware or satelite services. I want to cut the cord with Time/Warner. I live about thirty miles from the towers on the northeast side, down behind some hills in Hartland. That is why I'm leaning towards satelite service, but I don't know which has the better deal, service and local broadcasting in HDTV. I read some of the messages about recievers but when they use anagrams, model numbers and all sorts of technical stuff I was lost very fast. With the publicity you just got in the paper, I think this would help a great deal.

[Tom Snyder]

All of us were "newbies" at some point.

Between a couple clueless salespeople and misinformed Time Warner Customer service folks, it took me three months to FINALLY find the right answers. If we can help save you the time and frustration, we've done our job.  

Although we have Frequently Asked Questions area in our site.. there isn't anything quite like an old-fashioned dialogue.. that's why we have the forums. Your best bet will be to go to the Milwaukee HDTV Technical Issues forum and start a new topic.

In addition to explaining your geographic location, tell us a bit about yourself: programming preferences (Movies, Sports, Network programs, Nature, etc... ), the size of the room you'll be locating your TV in, your budget, etc...

Watch our "Good Samaritans" come to your rescue!

[tenth_t2]

And because of people like Tom, I ramped up in 3 weeks.  Next is 3 days, then 3 hours.  I'd think that in just 3 hours, we can turn any "newbie" into a better informed consumer.

Greg O.

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Mitsubishi 55859
Sony DA555ES Receiver
Sony DVP-S300 DVD
Mits U776 S-VHS
A few Sony WEGA's
A mix o'speakers (Infinity, JBL, Bose)
1- Black Rabbit
1- Wife

[Matt Heebner]

I agree. There is no such thing as a "stupid" question. Even if you don't understand some of the alphabet soup of acronyms, just ask. Everyone here is more than willing to answer questions and help out.


Matt

[mcq]

Many of us have our email addresses in our profile. I have no problem answering questions through this forum, by email or by telephone, if we strike up an email conversation. Been in the HDTV ballgame for nearly two years. I knew some going in, but learned most after the fact...no regrets. I still believe that my money was well spent. (Except the fiber optic cable connectining my DVD to my receiver--$apx. 125 at Flanners)



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Be sincere, whether you mean it or not!

[Tom Snyder]

Private email exchanges are great, but a posted public dialogue in the forums will be helpful to more folks.

[tenth_t2]

Absolutely right Tom!  If it were not for this and other forums, we'd all continue to make the same "mistakes" in parallel.

Seriously, I love you guys.... :-)

Greg O.

[This message has been edited by tenth_t2 (edited 03-13-2002).]

[mcq]

I'm just saying that I am a crappy typist. It's easier for me to have a ten minute dialog on a phone than on a computer.