HDTV and Digital Cable

[sid_freeman]

Have a concern and would like some advice/opinions on the matter.

I live in Ottawa Canada and am in the research stage of buying a new television. Likely will be a Toshiba or Hitachi RPTV HDTV. In the 46-51" range. Firstly though, I'd like to hear from anyone who uses Rogers digital cable service (not necessarily their HDTV service) with an HDTV of either of these makes. How is the picture quality with standard analog signal?

Also, given that I must use the remote provided by rogers to operate my digital cable box (and change channels) does this mean any picture-in-picture, or split screen options of the television are rendered useless? It would be nice to find out in advance if certain universal remotes with a particular brand of tv are able to operate the digital cable box but I find that unlikely.

Thanks in advance.

Sid

[57U]

The SD picture quality on Rogers Toronto is adequate for viewing on an HDTV. I have a 61" set and watch it from about 12'.

I believe that my Hitachi remote can actually control the STB from Rogers, however, there are certain functions that are not on the TV's remote, so it may be better to use the STB's remote to control the TV.

I actually use the remote that came with my Yamaha A/V receiver to control all my equipment. There are plenty of universal remotes that can also control the SA STB and the Hitachi or Toshiba TVs.

As for POP functions, those pretty well "go away". You could use the internal tuner to view an analogue channel and the external STB to view any channel POP (you'd need to split the cable signal to the TV and to the STB to do this). In order to view 2 digital channels you'd need two STBs feeding two inputs.

Now, check out the FAQ section, since you'll probably have more questions which may have answers there...

[DoubleDAZ]

Unless you buy one of the truly 'universal' remotes, you will probably find that you will switch remotes regularly. I keep mine in an end table drawer for easy access. Most universal remotes that come with TVs, etc., do not have some of the menu buttons for the cable STB, while the remote that comes with the STB may not have buttons for switching TV inputs, changing options, etc. They also don't control many options on higher-end audio equipment. They almost all have basic buttons though to control changing channels, volume, etc., so only 1 remote gets used most of the time.