Ours was pretty simple back then. What spurred our desire initially was believe it or not “The Antiques Road Show” for a more accurate and detailed look at what they displayed. What about you? Any specific reason?
As TV screen width went larger and the bodies got smaller the 480p/SD was getting a lot more 'blurry'. My first experience that gave me that wow factor was a local shop here had large displays on with HDNet playing as demo content (remember the bikini girl shows? ) so maybe you could say it was partly Mark Cubans fault I wanted a HDTV
I wanted one because I needed something nice to play the blu-rays off the OPPO with. The option for 3D was just a bonus, but I was already rockin' 5.1 music so...why not.
I was inside a KABC control room in LA and they had a video monitor on the control board playing an HD loop of the shuttle blasting off. (Can’t remember the year but HD wasn’t out yet publicly) everyone in that room was fixated on the screen amazed at the quality. The talk was if this would ever see the light of day commercially.
Obviously seeing HD televisions in stores and at home theater events whetted my appetite. Saw the first Sony SXRD at a NYC HT Show and ordered one immediately.
Sports, something not frequently mentioned on the forum. Movies look darned good too, but the first time I saw Wimbledon and Tour de France not just high resolution but widescreen. Wow.
1998. I was dying for a widescreen display to play my newly-acquired anamorphic DVDs. At the time, I bought a Toshiba 40" widescreen standard-definition RPTV. We didn't know in '98 just how long before mass market HDTVs would come to market, and when/how we'd get real HD content. By 2000, it was becoming clear that OTA and a few satellite channels would be the best way to watch content, so in 2001 I invested in a Mitsubishi WS-55908 55" set. Had it calibrated and have enjoying HD ever since! That TV is long gone, but wow.. 21 years of HD and it's come a long way.
I got it because I had been reading about video compression and digital transmission for years and then I heard it was now being broadcast for free in my area by a couple of stations. I got a PC card to receive it and found some software to decode it. It was really exciting to see digital images appear out of thin air although hardly anything was in HD and I didn't like anything on network television at the time.
Around 2003 or 2004 there were finally some network shows I liked. Before that all I think I watched was Smallville and 24.
Sports, particularly the Olympic Games via broadcast television. I was working at a local NBC affiliate that just started local high definition programs. Someone earlier mentioned anamorphic widescreen DVDs.
The Olympics took a long time to get into high definition. For the 2004 summer Olympics everything was aired live in SD, then they edited together some highlights from the previous day and aired those in HD the next day. Even the winter games in 2006 still had some events in widescreen SD like all of the snowboarding.
The Phillies were playing Game 5 of the NL Division against the St. Louis Cardinals. Went out and bought our first HD tv before the game. Phillies lost and have’t been in a playoff game since..doh
Circa 2006 my analog Toshiba CRT died. I owned an Ikea wall unit that I didn't want to toss. Also, rear projection was still too cumbersome and flat screens were expensive. When I found the Magnavox 27" CRT monitor that could do 480p or 1080i over component or HD-15 I though it would be a compromise. The worst part of that set was how much of a tease it was. I know the geometry was goofy but when I saw a HD 1080i Phillies game on Verizon Fios the monitor detected a HD source and vertically compressed the scan lines into a small but jewel like picture. Even the Verizon installer was surprised. He said he had never seen a 4:3 HD ready CRT.
I guess the fact that I’ve been involved with using optics in critical applications most of my life from Astronomy to Photography to other types of varied terrestrial uses and all they entail, I desire a certain level of PQ out of a TV display. They’re getting there but there are still some problems and artifacts to overcome. Still, compared to what we used to deem acceptable we’re in a rather “golden age” in this area.
Was hosting a SuperBowl party & scored a 50" Sony HDTV & a new 1080i cable-box. Blew everybodys mind. 2005 I think...looked just like this one
I work in TV and was able to see quality NTSC video for nearly a decade and it was heartbreaking to come home and see cable and VHS. LaserDisc was pretty much it. My dad got a C-Band dish for his house. I opted for an Ampex VPR-2 ( 1" video) because I could bring home dubs of amazing-looking video. I first saw demos of HDTV in the late 90s(I believe 720p). Truth be told, I wasn't impressed. Later, seeing HDCAM/HDSR and D5 certainly turned my head around. Dan
