While only a limited number of brands receive HDTV on the cable at the present time (see next paragraph), that will change very soon. Also, many more local channels will be added. See the article ar the right.
We have found that only the Magnavox, Polaroid, Hitachi, Sony, Phillips, Sceptre, and RCA HDTV sets appear to be capable of receiving the nine present local HDTV programs without an external tuner. Sets from other manufacturers, while often capable of receiving ATSC digital-signal off-air, lack the ability to pick up these signals on standard cable channel frequencies.
Newspapers are gradually starting to designate HDTV programming in their published guides, however the Internet is often the best outlet for locating HDTV programs. The following links may be helpful:
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SF Ind. |
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SF CBS |
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SF ABC |
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SF PBS |
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SF NBC |
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Sacto. CBS |
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SF Ind. |
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Sacto FOX |
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SF CW |
HDTV SUPPORT
You will find answers to many HDTV questions, including Home Theater, on the HDTV support page.
High Definition TV (HDTV)
HDTV Programming
Local and Sacramento DTV Channels
At the present time, the only HDTV programs on the cable are local Digital Television (DTV) channels. These channels are part of our Expanded TV service so there are no additional fees to receive the nine local HDTV broadcast channels. That means that you can unpack a HDTV set, connect it to the cable, do an auto-program cycle, and you are ready to enjoy HDTV programming.
Not all HDTV sets function out of the box, however. That's because we have had to move the HDTV signals that we receive to cable channels, which are assigned to different frequencies than broadcast channels. We have done this in a manner that preserves the original ATSC format. While all HDTV sets can be expected to receive analog channels on both broadcast and cable channels, many can only receive ATSC on broadcast frequencies. (See the sidebar for recommended TVs.)
This situation will change soon. New HDTV processors are will be installed soon that will require QAM tuners, which are present in nearly all of the new digital TV sets. Many new HDTV channels will be added as well. See the announcement and temporary lineup prepared for the Valley Vibration.
HDTV National Cable Channels
We expect to be able to offer may more HDTV cable channels in the future, depending on availability from our vendors. Some of these will work without cable boxes, but many will require HD-compatible cable boxes or cable cards. Please bookmark this web site for those announcements.
HDTV Set Selection
The explosion of interest in HDTV and the dramatic reduction in the prices of these sets has resulted in many articles that can help in deciding the best set for a given room. Here are some brief pointers that Lucas Valley Cable customers should pay particular attention to.
Display Technology
Please be aware that HDTV demands a much larger screen than regular TV viewing because of the greater detail that it presents. Select a screen size that is about one half the distance between the screen and the viewer; smaller screens don't allow you to see the detail that you are paying for when buying a set with HDTV capability.
If you watch regular TV in addition the HDTV, as most people do, you need to be sure that your HDTV set looks good when displaying regular TV. This is best done in the "4:3" (non-wide screen) display mode because forcing regular TV into a wide screen creates an over-magnified image that can be quite unpleasant. For that reason we recommend displays that will not burn in, such as DLP, LCD panel, or LCoS (Sony "SxRD"). We do not recommend Plasma sets for this reason. Even with your set in the 4:3 mode, however, you may need to adjust your viewing distance. Regular TV should be viewed at a distance of about six times the screen size.