I may have a chance to pick up a new plasma 51" TV for an exceptional price. It would be a high-def unit. I currently use a standard-def PVR to watch my ol' brute of a tube set, and, while I'd eventually get an HD decoder box, I was wondering if I could just use the SD box until I do. I can't see why I couldn't, and , yes I'll have to make arrangements for an HD box sooner rather than later, but, if HD isn't that important to me, would the SD box suffice for the nonce?
You definitely can, although the picture quality will obviously not be that great.
I don't know about the offerings out east but here in Western Canada, I find that the new Shaw Gateway boxes do a pretty decent job upscaling standard definition channels for high definition channels. It's not high def but it looks just a couple steps below DVD quality.
Your standard definition receiver will work fine with a high definition television, though you'll want an HD receiver eventually. High definition content looks best on high definition televisions for obvious reasons. Some HD televisions do a decent job of upscaling standard definition though. I have a Samsung that does this quite nicely, though the difference between SD and HD is still night and day, particularly at such a large screen size.
Try it and see. But if you compare the resolution of an HD channel on an HD screen to SD versions of the same, you'll be shopping for an HD receiver pretty quick. Some cable companies even give you a free receiver for a time to get you hooked.
Thanks for the comments, guys. Yes, I'm sure I'll be getting an HD box pretty quickly, if I get this new set, but it might take a few weeks for me to get organized, and I just wanted to be sure that the SD box will work. It made sense that it would, but I wanted to get some independent confirmation.
I'm with Bell Expressvu, or Bell TV - whatever they're calling themselves now - so I know that I may have to press a bit to get an upgrade deal. It'll happen, eventually, but I know it'll take some time.
Thanks again to everyone for your thoughts! :clap:
If you look, you can find an HD box for Bell TV in kiosks they have at malls or at The Source outlets for $99 on sale. I own three and got them all for $99. Don't let them sell you a PVR or rent one. All you need to do is plug an external HD into them and it instantly becomes a PVR. That too with the price of PVRs, is a cheap alternative now.
Then just phone Bell and they will walk you through the set-up which is dead easy and no service calls or wait time and it's up and running in about a half hour.
I've been on Bell satellite service for 15 years without many issues at all.
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