Do high definition TVs make a huge difference on dvds or do you need special dvds made for a high definition TV. Also, do you need digital cable or a special cable box to get high definition on television broadcasts.

I'll try to give you simple short answers to your questions. I have the new Toshiba 65" HDTV (16x9). To receive the high definition signal you need something like DirecTv. They have HBO, Showtime, & pay-per-view high-def channels. DirecTv now offers local stations, however they are NOT the high-def signal. For local HDTV (ABC, CBS, etc.) you need an antenna to get the signal over-the-air. I'm moving Thursday & will finally get everything installed on Monday (dish & antenna). Right now I have Comcast (local company) Cable's Digital cable & that is not high-def at all. I couldn't tell any difference between digital & regular cable. You also need the DirecTv receiver (built in to my Toshiba) & an HDTV decoder (also built in to the Toshiba). Hopefully over the next few years regular cable will be broadcasting in HDTV. As far as dvds, they don't look really better on an HDTV. If anything they look a little worse. I had to get a new progressive-scan player to make them look better & that did the trick. The only thing the HDTV does is give you a huge, clear, widescreen picture. They're supposed to be working on HD-DVD players, but they won't be ready for quite a few years. It's just that the resolution of dvds (480) isn't as high as the HDTV (1080). The HD-DVDs & HDTV shows are either 720 or 1080 & look much better. I can't wait to see my first Monday Night Football game with Dennis Miller in HDTV!

I have a toshiba sd5109 progressive scan dvd player hooked up to my toshiba tw40x81 hdtv-ready rptv. The picture is breathtaking on most dvd's. Dvd's like The Green Mile show intense detail. Dvd's like Bug's Life look 3-dimensional. To get HDTV I will have to buy a set top box (STB) for $600-$1000. The STB's receive Direct TV Plus (HDTV) and terrestrial (antenna & cable) HDTV. STB's also require an additional 24inch elliptical dish.

1) There aren't any high def DVD's; that standard has not been finalized. 2) Assuming a good transfer, conventional DVD's look great on HDTV's. Especially if you have a line doubler that supports 3:2 pulldown (or inverse telecine as it's sometimes called).

We bought our set for the sole purpose of watching DVD's.

Pioneer has shown a HD-DVD prototype for over a year now. It requires a new lazer to get that much info on the disk. The system is based on a 27.4 GB DVD using blue-violet laser.

The standard is just resolution 1080i or 760p.

Just like to give a little shout-out to the Dishnetwork for HDTV. Currently DirecTV carries HBO-HD and the PPV/Demo channel. Dish currently has HBO-HD and Showtime-HD. (FYI, the showtime content is minimal at this time and it is not unusual for them to have a day of no true HD -- just upconversion).

I'm finding that the more HD I watch the more I notice the lower resolution of DVDs. That doesn't mean DVDs are "bad" or that all HD is better than DVDs. Just that I now notice scan lines on even progressive anamorphic disks -- kind of like looking through a screen door. I never noticed this until I recently got the two HD-movie channels and substantially increased my HD viewing.

Can't wait until HD-DVD!

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Dave
My DVD List