I got a new Pioneer plasma tv HD

My question is...Do I NEED a HD cable box first or can use a non HD box.. before I go hooking everything up???

there was something on the news the other day that many of people arent ready for the change so there not going to switch over untill summer

Hhmmmm I would say call your cable company. You could just need to subscribe to HD channels. You shouldn't NEED the box to hook it up tho. You just won't get your channels in HD if you're not subscribed to it. That's my understanding of it anyway.

Well the whole house is under verizon FIOS but my the back room has an HD box but my bedroom does not, yet. So I wonder if I can still hook up and watch tv just not be that GREAT GREAT of a picture until I switch out my box.

You should still be able to.

I have an HDTV and I don't have an HD box.

It's my understanding that you won't need anything additional if you have cable.

I don't think she was talking about the digital switchover... Just whether or not she can hook up her HDTV to a regular cable box.

I would of gone with an LCD tv

Okay, I see. I don't have a clue about that.

I only know cuz I went thru it already

That's good. You can help her.

I think it is lcd?? IDK...

NOW I am going to have to go read all the stickers on it... ha ha...

I think I am going to go ahead and try to hook it all up then and see where it takes me... i thinkm I need a new UNIVERSAL remote though.. grr.

good luck

the only reason you would need a converter box is if you still use an antenna. rabbit ears, or the metal one outside your house..

if you have cable TV or satellite, it will work, although you won't get anything in High Def.. 720 or 1080i, you can hook it up to the coax plug in back and it will work like your old TV..and nothing spectacular either..

I haven't heard anyone broadcasting in 1080p yet.

from what I've heard all Plasma TVs are 1080..

the difference between 1080i and 1080 p is...1080p ( progressive ) refreshes every line instead of the 1080i which means (interlaced) and not every line gets refreshed.

if you want to take full advantage of your plasma TV, you need to upgrade to an HD Box.
if you get the HD Box, make sure you use HDMI cables with it, regular coax cable won't do the job.

keep in mind, not everything televised is high def..it may say the signal is...but you can tell the difference by the screen, they need to shoot the series or movie with a high def camera to give you a high def picture...makes sense...right?

Plasma makes for a good TV set in a bedroom, since it's not as bright as an L.C.D. and plasma ...like a light bulb wears out after 7-10 years..unless they've solved that issue.
when buying an L.C.D. TV make sure the refresh rate is over 120hz, and at least 20,000:1 otherwise your wasting your hard earned money
the higher the number before ":1" means the dark colors such as black are better represented.
I hope this helps, I hope I explained everything clearly..good luck with your new TV!

I have a HDTV in my RV and I watched it on dish, but I just had a new HD dish installed an it makes it a lot better in quality of the picture. But you don't have to have it in order to watch TV.

On HD box I ditto what BMWboy4u have said. Except that I have noticed no difference between HDMI cable and a good quality Component Cable. HDMI is so flimzy, it is either falls out or bends it's own plug if it "looks" toward the wall.





No need to read the stickers.

Turn on the light in the room. Do you see the glare (that light reflected) on the screen? Yes, - it's plasma. You've been had.

No? It's LCD, - congratulations! (also, the LCD screen is sort of soft to the touch).

I am a technology expert, an IT professional and a former electronics sales associate. You will be able to use your standard box on your HDTV, but the programming will not be in high definition. There are two ways to get HD on your HDTV. One is to get an HD box from your cable or satellite provider, the other is to use rabbit ears or an antenna to pick over the air local stations. Most HDTV's will allow you to either or both.