hdtv with basic cable?

Alright guys, I bought a 32" lcd hdtv as a chrismas gift for my grandmother (she has a old 28" tv). I saw a deal and bought it and after I got it I started to think maybe it wasnt a good idea considering she does not have cable tv, she still has the basic free tv. From what iv read a hdtv on basic cable has really bad quality, I dont wanna give her the tv and have a worse picture then what she has now...

Basically are there any tv experts on here that could help me decide if I should return it or give it to her and hope for the best.

The model of the tv is: LG 32LK450 32-Inch 1080p 60Hz LCD HDTV

 

you generally need HD channels to get the most out of the tv's quality.

 

Thats what iv read on some sites, others say not all channels and its not worth the upgrade to a hdtv. So I dont have a clue, iv bought her other gifts, but I wanted to get her something id know she would use rather then just sit on a shielf.

 

op, not sure if i'm understanding the concern here... buying an HDTV is the right thing to do, considering it will "future proof things", and the fact that OTA (over the air) broadcasts are now digital, many in true 1080i.. So you'll just need to make sure she has an antenna, ..you can just hook that up to the tv w/ coax (assuming the TV has a built in tuner) - and this will give you digital OTA, in HD...

 

I can get good HD over the air through an antenna at my place at the beach. Do have non-HD satellite but use an antenna for local channels there. Only have a 22" HDTV there but the channels that do come in HD look fine and I wouldn't know the difference.

 

You can buy something like an Apple TV or media server and then suscribe to online only netflix. It's $8 a month but its worth it. I'm streaming full 1080 HD on my 32" LED and it looks incredible via Netflix on my 360 wifi.

 

Biggest concern I had was giving her this tv and hooking it up and ending up with a worse picture then what she has now. Ill check to see if the tv has a built in tuner.

She will not pay 1 cent a month for tv, just how she is.

 

if you hook it up to an OTA signal, ...you'll get HD content/channels.. most of the local channels in the area should be in HD.. also, ..OTA HD content is probably less compressed (i.e. better clarity) than the supposed "HD content" that cable/sat providers give you...

 

It will be slightly different picture with out some sort of cable. You could get The off air box that will convert to digital and that too will pick up off air HD.

Plus new TVs are 16:9 and when you hook up the off air the tv will show it in a 4:3 giving you the black bars on the side. Then if you stretch the picture it will be grainy.

 

I just found out she has verizion, I know its not a hd box but she does have some kind of cable coming into her house. Would she need to get a hd box? Or some kinda antenna?

 

maybe i'm missing something here,... but you guys are aware of OTA is digital, ...HD now right?... all you need is an HDTV w/ tuner, ..and either a portable, or roof-mounted antenna for UHF/VHF, ..and you will get your local broadcasts.... i have it setup in this way on my living room tv (i don't have cable/sat).. and i get 16:9, 1080i channels no problem..

 

all you need is this:

1) a portable UHF/VHF antenna (usually these come w/ the cable to plug into the tv)

2) the HDTV (that you purchased), ..assuming it comes w/ a built-in NTSC tuner (most newer ones do)..

3) hook the antenna up to the HDTV

4) turn on the HDTV, ..then select the input for ANT/antenna, etc..

5) go into the HDTV's setup menu, and go through a channel search - this is where the TV will scan the channels from the antenna,.. once it's finished you are good to go and you will have digital content from OTA, ..depending on your local stations, many should be in HD...

 

Yah, over the air is usually higher quality hd than cable or satelite. It's how I watched the super bowl and I pay for comcast HD.

 

Thanks for the detailed list

I believe the tv I have has a built in tuner, not sure if she has a portable antenna or not since she is using cable right now.

Ill look for a portable antenna and buy one just in case something dosnt work.

 

i looked at the specs for the tv you got... it has the built-in tuner, so you should be in good shape.. here's where you can go to dowload the user manual or spec sheet
http://www.lg.com/us/tv-audio-video/televisions/LG-lcd-tv-32LK450.jsp

just make sure you pick up an antenna that receives both UHF and VHF (most probably do), ...

that's a hell of a present! hope she likes it!

 

Thanks for the spec sheet and the help man!

Ill be sure to make sure i get the right antenna, main reason for buying the tv was everytime I visit her I cant stand to watch the crappy tv, haha. I actualy picked it up off Amazon for $249 on cyber monday, seems same one I bought now is up around $600

 

no problem... wow, you made out great!!! that'll be a great tv w/ plenty of features to keep everyone happy!

 

I can understand that, TV is extremely expensive! I just called and bitched out my provider and they dropped my bill by 1/2, so I decided to keep it, otherwise I was going to cancel it all together. $70 to $200 a month for TV is crazy.

 

i dropped cable tv service 3 yrs ago... counting up the "thousands" saved over that period is quite gratifying

 

I have verizion with every channel, dont pay the bill so i dont care, thats for my gf to deal with haha