I have Direct TV. We have 2 recievers, one with DVR; one without.

I am considering getting a HDTV for the installation w/o the DVR.
I rent the equipment from Direct TV, ( recievers/ dish).

It appears that HDTV access costs $10 above whatever plan you are on.

What other costs can I expect if I want HDTV?

Do HDTVs, themselves, draw more current than conventional sets? Is this likell to be a significant, or insignificant additional cost?

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

I think the plasmas draw more juice than the LCDs.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Can't say it's an actual "cost" but you'll be spoiled by HD and think SD looks like crap... Something else to keep in mind too is that you probably have a good selection of off-air HD programming available via antenna. The only trouble is that you'll need a HD recorder in order to record any programming...

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

Once I started watching TV on a Sony 4" HDTV, I don't even like to go to the movie theater anymore. THAT'S spoiled!

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Recording HDTV content to a DVR will eventually make you want more drive space. Compared to SD, HD content takes up considerably more drive space. Most HD DVRs come with 160GB drives, but it won't be long before you're adding 500GB, which gets you 60 more hours.

Plasma is an energy hog but the picture is oh so nice.

Sony 4" HDTV?? How did that spoil your theater experience!!??

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2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

He fell for the old "size doesn't matter" pitch . . .

#2) It's mounted inside his welding helmet.

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-Marty

1986 300E 220,000 miles+ transmission impossible
(Now waiting under a bridge in order to become one)

Reading your M103 duty cycle:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showpost.php?p=831799&postcount=13
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showpost.php?p=831807&postcount=14

Most of the technology out there draws next to nothing. LCDs draw less than plasma. My LCD's draw is almost insignificant ... much less than my parents' tube TV that's actually a little smaller.

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1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)

Average plasma uses around 350 watts of power. LCDs use somewhere around 200 watts. Generally DLP, especially ones with LED technology use the least power.

With DLPs you have to replace the light source but with LEDs nowadays the light source last something like 20 years instead of every other year. The LED DLPs seem like a pretty good deal to me. No plasma burn in risk or high initial cost, no ghosting of images like with some LCDs and lower power consumption. I wonder how they'll evolve from here.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

Really no different than when synchronized sound came to movies, color film replaced b&W and the networks switched to color broadcasts. We've had a 50" plasma panel for about 10 years now. Even back then it was great checking out the details, like the brands of beer that Joey and Chandler kept on the top of their fridge or the cereal boxes that Ray and Debra Barone had in the kitchen.

$0 for me since I don't have one.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

The cost is in the viewing. I have two DVRs on HD TVs, I have two sets of movie channels through cable, and I have all the HD channels through cable - $150 a month. Amazing what I can get used to.

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

I swapped over to HD from Dish Network and it added 5 bucks a month to my bill with an initial 50 for equipment. After seeing the quality now I'm looking at a Blueray player or a PS3 with BR. The most expensive part is the initial outlay of cables and upgrading equipment to take advantage of the technology.


rear projector: 0.13 watt per square inch
LCD: 0.28 watt per square inch
Plasma: 0.33 watt per square inch

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6475_7-6400401-2.html

If you build your own DVR you can have as much disc space as you want.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=how+to+build+a+dvr+computer&aq=2&oq=how+to+build+a+dvr

If you think HD is too much try blueray!

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1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

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