The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible - Arthur C. Clarke
It has been interesting over the past five years to watch the pricing on LCD and plasma screen TV sets. When these first came to market around 2004, they were priced anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 for a 42 inch model. Prices slowly dropped down year after year, until they finally broke the $1,000 barrier in late 2008. From there it has really been a free fall on some models, as today you can find a 1080p HDTV for as little as $500 at a discount store like Wal Mart. But what about the HD content to really make that new flat screen look great? While most people still have cable in one form or another, other have made the jump over to satellite. Lets take a look at what Direct TV can offer you as far as high definition content.
Direct TV put a new satellite into service a few months ago, and this means they can offer more HD channel content, and they have also begun to broadcast 3D channels. Many of the advertisements from Direct TV claim they have the ability to offer 200 HD channels. While this may be true, what really matters it the actual high definition channel content. The reality is that you will actually get around 90 HD channels with Direct TV if you subscriber to the top package, which includes all of the movie channels.
In reality, Direct TV says they have 160 high definition channels, but many of these are pay per view. If you pay to watch a pay per view movie in HD, I don’t really think that qualifies as a channel. In addition, many of the regional sports networks are counted in that 160 number, but unless you get the sports pack you won’t get but one or two of these normally. So while the 160 number sounds great, its more for marketing satellite television services than anything else.
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