[Brutton]

Hey Folks-

I'm crawling toward the 2st Century. I bought a 40" LCD HDTV that is being delivered this Saturday. Question:

How hard is the set-up? I bought it at J&R and it was recommended that I use a person who knows the technology. They recommended someine in their store, who was very professional, but wants $150 for the install. I don't want to be cheap with such an expesive device. Would the tech saavy folks out there recommend that I follow J&R's advice?

I've also ordered DirectTV. I simply cannot and will not deal with Time Warner. I see enough of the dishes to believe its a viable alternative. I'm in Park Slope in the historic district, so it is low-rise with no obstructions for miles to the southeast. Question:

Is anyone using this service out there? Is there degradation of signal in bad weather or other conditions? Is set-up easy? I'm on the top floor on my (4 floor walk-up) building. I'll have easy roof access. Any tips to make the install hassle-free?

Thanks-

[blogforlovxr]

Unless J&R's "installation" (of this relatively small) panel includes wall mounting, it's a rip-off. I or any other reasonably experienced HDTV owner (3.5 years in my case) can talk you through the basic set-up in a phone call or two.

Direct TV is not an option available to me, and if it were, I would skip it: the unfamiliar devil is no less evil than the known one (here, Time Warner). Direct TV has significantly more HDTV channels for now than almost any cable system. But there's a price to be paid in picture quality -- satellite systems typically compress the life out of HDTV programs, resulting in significant picture quality degradation (that might be apparent even on a 40-inch display), and satellite technology is inherently incapable of offering features (video on demand, being just one) that require two-way communications with the provider head-end. TWC offers that (to me, essential) capability with all its digital packages. By the end of 2008 or thereabouts, Time Warner (NYC) should be able to match or exceed the number of HDTV channels now carried by satellite, by eliminating its current analog channels (several uncompressed or minimally-compressed HDTV channels can fit into the bandwidth hogged today by a single low resolution analog channel) and adopting a fairly new technology called SDV (Switched Digital Video).

Finally, NYC's principal network stations broadcast high quality HDTV signals from their digital antenna atop the ESB without the intervention or cost of cable or satellite companies. You can probably receive these with an inexpensive indoor antenna (I certainly can and do). The most visually-stunning content, though, is typically found outside broadcast network channels.