Sony KDE61XBR950

[byron.behrens]

Help! Ignoramus here!

Am looking to purchase a 61" Sony KDE61XBR950 plasma tv. The system comes with Built-in ATSC tuner/QAM.

My question is - will I be able to receive and display HD signals with rabbit ears? Or will I need a cable (Charter in our area) or satelitte dish?

Any advice?

[Splicer]

Welcome to HDTVoice byron.behrens :cheers: ...

Yes, the 'rabbit ears' will work for LOCAL channels ONLY depending on your location...Nice TV!!!

[max]

Is it a must that you have a TV theat hangs on the wall? if not I think there are better places to spend the money, and alot of other choices to consider before laying down that kind of cash on a TV that produces a picture no better than many other more moderately priced units on the market...

just my opinion, if you have your heart set on this TV than pay no attention...

MAX,

[byron.behrens]

Max: I agree wholeheartedly about the investment. But, this particular one is an incredible deal, ~ 10% of a new one.

[max]

I hope you enjoy your new TV, I was thinking full price and for that kind of money I would have bought the Sony 70'' RPLCD a new "flagship" receiver or seperates and still had some change.

MAX,

[gparris]

The answer here is that you have a nice high tech and very expensive set. How you got it for so little is anyone's guess but good for you. So now you need to use that investment wisely and feed it what it wants...lots of HDTV reception.
The built in tuner will get HDTV locals only if you hook up an antenna that works for your area and the line from the back of that plasma will go to the antenna as well as the power cord and so on, so figure out how to make it look good hiding wires and all and still get the best number of channels. As for QAM, most providers, like mine, now scramble everything even local HDs. My built in HD QAM cable tuner is practically useless for me. So cable box run to the plasma (or its input box if separate) will be necessary. Where and who your provider is will depend on what you get unless you subscribe to a satellite service like Voom, Directv or Dish.
What with such a great set, it would be a great shame not to feed it enough HDTV channels...a great shame.

[byron.behrens]

Thanks. Your note has triggered another question for me. We are contemplating discontinuing Charter Cable and going to a satelite system. Am I correct in reading your note that DirectTV would work with this system? Another question - am I correct in the underlying assumption, that if I go with a satelite system, I will need a "special" HD hookup, not the basic satelite hookup?

[gparris]

IF Charter does not offer any HD locals or HD channels you desire, go with Directv and see also if you have any Owned and Operated network stations so you can get the HD network feeds like CBS and soon, NBC and FOX and eliminate that antenna and stick with the dish-only. :whistle:
Only if you have a O&O station will you be able to receive HD network from Directv...so few remember or now this, I thought I would mention it.
Otherwise, the Directv in your area will have your locals in SD delivery, which beats the cable local everytime. Hookup the output of the Satellite box's S-Video output to the interface box of your plasma for best picture on these non-HD sources...most would agree that this works best, again your preference. :)
As for hookups, the basic Total Choice is about $40-43 for and THEN you can add the HBO and Showtime HD by subsciption, then the $10.99 HD package for Discovery HD, ESPN-HD, HDNET, HDNET Movies and now, Bravo HD.
The only different hookup you might experience outside of the satellite dish is the interface with the plasma with the red, blue and green component cable from the Directv box out to your Plasma interface box in, plus a digital optical link for Dolby Digital/PCM surround sound from the Directv box to your surround receiver to complete the visual and audio thril that is only HDTV.
Hope this answers your questions...

[summerfun]

If you go Sat or Cable, you will need the HD setup.

If you go cable, you most likely will not need to use your internal tuner or have an antenna, the HD locals will be part of your cable package.

If you go SAT, you most likely will use the internal tuner for local HD and the SAT for all other channels. Some SAT setups can give you locals and or direct networks, but you need to investigate you location and availability.

[gparris]

Summerfun, you know that Charter is noted for its awful HD service, look in our area.
Not all of them can get the joy of Time Warner Cable.

[summerfun]

Summerfun, you know that Charter is noted for its awful HD service, look in our area.
Not all of them can get the joy of Time Warner Cable.
Great point. You should do a lot of investigating into your LOCAL area and availability of HD before investing any money into installs or equipment for SAT or CABLE.

[gparris]

Right on...I was only remembering that few cable providers offer everything,even in our time of competition with HD offerings. It depends on what you think is valuable and stick with it. Just make sure that plasma gets fed a lot of HDTV!

[HDTVBob]

Byron,
Before I saw your 10% of regular price I was going to suggest you consider my Sony 60XBR950 set which is 25% of the list price of what you got. However mine I believe is similarly configured with a built in tuner. Currently I am on Dish satellite but am switching to cable in 2 weeks due to a significant price break and dissatisfaction with the Dish 811 box software. I have no HD experience with DirectTV but switched from them to Dish 3 years ago because of a lower price and better customer service. I put in a new rooftop OTA antenna since my attic one did not bring in all the HD stations. With satellite this is a requirement but with cable I will still have it as back up if the service goes out or I can get better HD PQ with the antenna vs. cable. I have component video hookups and optical audio to my AV amp which is mirrored to my TV. I also have a direct antenna hookup to my TV and a coax digital hookup from my TV to the AV amp along with a normal RCA two plug hookup to the CD input of my AV amp. The latter is to cover non-digital channels from my antenna because the Sony tuner only sends digital audio signals through the coax connection not analog ones which will probably be the case with your set. With the money you are saving I would suggest looking at a Bell'o Plasma TV stand with component shelving below. I would also suggest, if you have not already, invest in a high quality AV amp with a minimum of 5.1 Dolby surround sound capability with commensurate speakers. I can vouch personally for the Denon 2805 AV receiver and Miller & Kreisel speakers but there are other good brands for each out there for you to choose from.