then why does shaw broadcast there HD at 1080i? I have the TV to support P, but the highest output availble from my HD box is 1080i.

And Sony, although I don't like sony, that what was bought for me, decided in there infanate wisdone to not allow there blue-ray player to push 1080p through componant, so if you want the p you have to use HDMI. so now I have to buy an new reciver and TV:mrgreen: mind you my Tv is starting to have issues anyways:cry:

Steve

Well, I really don't expect that to happen, but if it does I'll just tell the guy what I know about the cables (thanks to this thread) and that I'm in there to handover a fair whack of $ in exchange for a fair whack of equipment, good advice, and good service. No BS. BS...I go elsewhere. Probably wouldn't hurt to talk to my source and the manager too, if need be. Quite simple, really.

I have a friend who works at one of these big box electronic stores. he told me they are told to push the high end cables and get in heck if they don't, he has even seen some one fired for recomending cheep ones, I guess the TV is discounted so they make a bit off that but they make a wack of profit off the extras they push.

this is also why you will see the mega expensive cables right in the tv area, and the cheeper ones will be way across the store.

Steve

Atlas, if I'm allowed to say that. There. Free plug, FWIW.

So you're asking me that if I deliver at 1080p then why do Shaw broadcast in 1080i?

You'll have to ask Shaw why they choose to broadcast at lower than full HD.

The specification we delivery ALL our HD broadcast materials are 1920x1080 at 24 frames per second.

What they do with it once they receive it is up the individual network to decide.

Like I said before I dumbed it down a lot - perhaps too much for some.

.

Guess I don't understand why they would down grade it, aside from being able to offer a new "super Hi-def" package later. :mrgreen: sorry was just thinking outloud with my fingers hehe

Steve

It's probably to do with keeping down the bandwidth they use up as most people wont notice the difference between 1080p & 1080i.

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LOL...I am so lost now!

All I know is that I am happy with mine and agree with bullit67 that is the most important part :lol:

I left out the part that not only did I get the monster cable from Best Buy but I just ended up having them come and install the whole thing for me with new Blue Ray player and Surround sound, ect. I figured people would just tell me how much money I wasted on having them come do everything for me but I am very happy with what they did. Couldn't tell you much about what they did but I know my TV looks a million times better than when I had set it up. The only thing I haven't liked much is the Shaw PVR but that was my choice not theirs.

I also bought my cables from monoprice.com (about 1 month ago) ... 2 six foot cables, and 2 ten foot cables ... total delivered price $32US. At that price I didn't worry about our anemic exchange rate :mrgreen:. I'm very happy with their performance on my Blu-ray and 1080p LCD.

The issue of cables will probably never be resolved, as Monster has done a wonderful marketing job. Yes, their cable components are higher quality, but as the CBC Marketplace article shows, for sending and receiving a digital signal it can be overkill. Monster made their name in the analog world (e.g. speakers), where cable sizes and premium connectors make a difference.

That said, monoprice.com does have a range of cables to choose from. I went for the HDMI 1.3a Category 2 certified 28 AWG. The 24 AWG cables are suggested for lengths over 12 foot.

If Shaw broadcast at 1080p, I'd have to have a 1080p-compatible set (or a new box to handle the downconvert), and I don't. Neither do 99% of the other HD customers. Also, Shaw would have to double their bandwidth per channel, and there just isn't enough bandwidth availalbe to do that for all channels. It will be a long time (maybe never) before you see 1080p in broadcast. Incidentally, bandwidth conservation is the reason why Shaw (and most others) broadcast in 1080i instead of 720p, although many people prefer 720p. Never mind; these days, the real "quality issue" isn't lines or interlacing -- it is compression. All the carriers are compressing their streams mercilessly, and that means artifacts (like blocking) all over the place. It is much more noticable than lines of resolution (meaning you can actually see the effect). Whenever I get a chance to see an over-the-air HD broadcast of a hockey or football game, it is startling to see how much better it looks without compression.

1080p ("full HD") is just not a quality issue for the vast majority of HD set owners. Your bad setups, uncalibrated tvs, SD sources, bad lighting, and distance from the set all will be bigger contributers to your viewing experience than 1080p v 720p or 1080i. Very, very few people will ever notice the difference between 720p and 1080p, unless they've got a killer setup, and are pretty close to their sets. Our eyes just aren't that good. Of course, expectation bias will convince many people that the bigger number is better.

And that's really all that matters

actualy you can see quite a differance between 1080p and 1080i, its not as close as people think. but yes it is good enough for most.


Steve

as for needing the converter, the shaw HD box will down convert to 780p also, so that isn't an issue, but then again if you knew you couldn't suport HD would you buy the Shaw HD box? To get shaw HD you have to have the shaw box like the shaw digital, it is not a HD broadcast that everyone has access to with out paying more. Same as the satalite companies, different boxes more money, ect..


I used to tell myself this to justify not buying a new TV also, like I said in a different post there is quite a differance and you don't need a killer set up. go to a store which has a blueray on a couple LCD tv's tell them to change the output on one to 1080i and the other at 1080p and you can see a difference. no it is not hugh, and most would probably not worry about it but it is easy to see a difference.

Steve