Chronicles of a new HDTV owner

An HDTV is always in one of the wish lists of people who are really into watching TV and movies. That's why when the opportunity to get one arrived, I did not hesitate and decided right away to buy myself the TV.

The Samsung 32" LCD HDTV completed my home theater set-up. Less than a year ago, I bought a Yamaha 5.1 Home Theater System. Now it's all complete, and of course the make-over of our basement/den/home theater. Although there are still some small details missing, the immersion to the movie experience is complete.

DAY 1:
I connected the HDTV (I really can't call it a simple TV anymore), to my DVD player and my Home Theater System. I expected the regular cable signal not to have that Hi-Def feel, then I popped in a DVD into the player (Transformers the movie to be exact), but was disappointed to see that the details didn't come out as I expected. The pixels where so huge that details are not lost perhaps in a deserted island. I thought maybe, it was my connection, I thought perhaps I need an HDMI connection between my player and my HDTV, as I am currently using a COMPONENT connection. But then I realized that there is such thing as PROGRESSIVE SCANNING and it's printed right in front of the DVD Player. I researched a bit about it and dug up the user's manual for the DVD player. Lo and behold, after reading the manual, I was able to change the setting of the DVD player so it will output a progressive scan of the disc and should deliver a clearer and crisper picture to the HDTV. And to my liking, when I played the same DVD again (this time the PROGRESSIVE icon is lighting up on the player), the details were coming out as expected. Now, I told myself, this is High Definition experience. Even the DivX shows have improved a lot since I tested it a couple of hours earlier.


DAY 2:
I connected my Playstation 2 to the HDTV and, again, to my dismay, the pictures where again, pixelated. Though, of course, this is because I was using the regular AV cables that came with the console. So I decided to look for a COMPONENT cable that is compatible with the PS2.

It was on this day too that I tried to hook it up to my notebook pc's. I really wanted to hook it up, permanently, to my desktop PC but was constrained with not having a VGA cable that was long enough to connect the two devices. So I just connected an iBook and an ASUS eeePC to the HDTV, and again, to my utter liking, both gave out a stunning picture on the HDTV.

DAY 3:
I went to the mall to look for the PS2 Component cable, and of course, I wasn't able to find one. All the stores in the neighborhood mall had were Component cable for either the PS3 or the PSP. So, I guess I have to be contented with what I have at the moment and just pray that somewhere, on a different mall, I will be able to find that elusive cable.

DAY 4-5:
Were just days to appreciated the beauty of both the HDTV and the movies that I watched from it. These days were also spent in contemplating on either wall-mounting it or just leave it on it's stand.

DAY 6:
Finally, I was able to find a COMPONENT cable for the PS2. Good thing I tried to browse around the toy store even after the sales girl told me that they don't have the said item. She even insisted that it was for the PS3 and not for the PS2, even though it was clearly written on the packaging that the cable is compatible to both. Though I was still not sure if the PS2 and the PS3 has the same type of connectors, I still bought the thing.

When I got home, I right away hooked the cable to the console and the HDTV and gave a sigh of relief after I saw the high definition pictures come out on the HDTV from the PS2.

DAY 7:
People from Samsung came over to "install" the HDTV, then I decided to have it mounted on the wall. Now I've got enough space on the table for other stuffs.