I never had an HDTV until later on, and from most of the HDTV's I saw in Best Buy during that time had NBC,CBS or local stuff in HD.
But I started reading that Cable stations did not broadcast HD until the late 2000's so what was SD shows like on HD sets during the time?

Was it 4:3 letterboxed? I assume alot of people would have been dissapointed the only thing that ran in HD, was xbox360 and a few channels

I never had an HDTV until later on, and from most of the HDTV's I saw in Best Buy during that time had NBC,CBS or local stuff in HD.
But I started reading that Cable stations did not broadcast HD until the late 2000's so what was SD shows like on HD sets during the time?

Was it 4:3 letterboxed? I assume alot of people would have been dissapointed the only thing that ran in HD, was xbox360 and a few channels


During the one or two moments that I saw HDTVs pre-2008 it was like how HD is now. Albeit a somewhat more dated version since now we have 4K TVs while back then 720p was considered cutting edge. It wasn't letter boxed as if it was it wouldn't be HD. I assume that a lot of cable channels didn't broadcast in HD due to the fact that a lot of people didn't have HDTVs pre-late 2000s.

During the one or two moments that I saw HDTVs pre-2008 it was like how HD is now. Albeit a somewhat more dated version since now we have 4K TVs while back then 720p was considered cutting edge. It wasn't letter boxed as if it was it wouldn't be HD. I assume that a lot of cable channels didn't broadcast in HD due to the fact that a lot of people didn't have HDTVs pre-late 2000s.

Yeah, that's the reason why. I never viewed anything on an HDTV until the Summer of 2008, while on vacation. My family got an HDTV finally in 2011.

I never even heard of an HDTV until 2008, when the HD revolution happened. However, my parents never really got one because we just wanted to watch TV. It seems too late, because me and my mom don't watch TV that much anymore. However, my maternal grandparents have one in their house.

Some networks were quicker to adapt than others. To my recollection, the first major event broadcast in HD was Super Bowl XXXIV on ABC in January 2000, though at that time, obviously, very few people had HDTV's. I remember seeing ads for ESPN HD beginning around 2003 or so. That was also when ESPN started putting an "in HD where available" message at the beginning of their shows. Our local news stations in Macon, Georgia started broadcasting in HD in 2005, I believe. TNT was another early network, moving to HD around 2004. But you're right though that most networks (including big ones like CNN, Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network, USA, etc.) didn't start broadcasting in HD until 2007 or 2008.

As far as what HDTV looked like in the early '00s, I saw HDTV's for the first time in our area at Target in 2000 and looked generally they looked like they did in the late '00s except the picture was obviously not as good as the 55-inch 1080p sets you would've seen in 2008.

My parents got an HDTV in 2007 if I remember correctly, I know some people who had one in 2006. Not all channels were broadcasting HD back then, but most were airing in widescreen (16:9), so that was less of a problem. For the ones that didn't, there would be black bars on the side.

Practically nonexistent until 2007 or so.

Practically nonexistent until 2007 or so.


More like late 2007.

Am I the only one who has this weird thought? I wish TVs nowaydays came with a feature that you could change the quality to "Retro" (how TV looked from about the late 1960s to mid 2000s) and "No Color Retro" (how TV looked before the late 1960s). Obviously, I would want that feature to travel back in time and I would occasionally change the TV picture quality so I could experience a step back in time. I know it's a weird thing and it won't happen but a guy can dream.

Practically nonexistent until 2007 or so.


Make that 2005. I vividly remember first hearing of the term 'High Definition' around this time. Heck my uncle had just got an HDTV in 2005. FWIW though, HDTVs were still a few years off from being the standard, but they were certainly somewhat common by that point.

Any of you fellows remember plasma tvs?

http://sonicchicken.net/blog/wordpress/wp-content/images/2006_panasonic_plasma.jpg

For the OP this was the most common picture format for HDTVs in the early/mid 2000's. Around 2006/7 was when LCDs started to get big

Am I the only one who has this weird thought? I wish TVs nowaydays came with a feature that you could change the quality to "Retro" (how TV looked from about the late 1960s to mid 2000s) and "No Color Retro" (how TV looked before the late 1960s). Obviously, I would want that feature to travel back in time and I would occasionally change the TV picture quality so I could experience a step back in time. I know it's a weird thing and it won't happen but a guy can dream.


The picture quality can be like that, but I'm not sure about the design of the TV.

I like your new avatar Zelda.

I'm too young to remember much of Bill's presidency, but based on what I've read about it I would definitely take him over Hillary.

I like your new avatar Zelda.

I'm too young to remember much of Bill's presidency, but based on what I've read about it I would definitely take him over Hillary.


Same :\'( We were like 4/5 years old when he left office. I do have vague memories of the years of 1999 & 2000, but aside from the controversial 2000 election, I remember nothing within the realm of politics from those years...

Anyways back on the topic at hand. Zelek wouldn't you agree that Plasmas were the most common HDTV types during the early & mid 2000's?

Anyways back on the topic at hand. Zelek wouldn't you agree that Plasmas were the most common HDTV types during the early & mid 2000's?

Yeah, plasmas have lost nearly all their market share to LCDs in the 2010s.

Plasmas scream 2006. LCDs scream 2016.

I like your new avatar Zelda.

I'm too young to remember much of Bill's presidency, but based on what I've read about it I would definitely take him over Hillary.


Same :\'( We were like 4/5 years old when he left office. I do have vague memories of the years of 1999 & 2000, but aside from the controversial 2000 election, I remember nothing within the realm of politics from those years...

Anyways back on the topic at hand. Zelek wouldn't you agree that Plasmas were the most common HDTV types during the early & mid 2000's?

Same here. When Bill left office, I was only 1 1/2 years old. However, I would have no problem with Hillary being Prez  :-X  :P.

On topic, I do remember plasma TVs a bit.

Yeah, plasmas have lost nearly all their market share to LCDs in the 2010s.

Plasmas scream 2006. LCDs scream 2016.


THIS.



Same here. When Bill left office, I was only 1 1/2 years old. However, I would have no problem with Hillary being Prez  :-X  :P.

On topic, I do remember plasma TVs a bit.


I wasn't a fan of The Donald or Hillary, but I'd say Hillary overall was the lesser of two evils. Her horrible track record though (be it the Patriot Act, supporting the Iraq War, supporting the rightwing 96' Crime & Welfare bill, pushing for war with Libya, etc.) unfortunately was too much for me to even vote for her. I ultimately voted for Jill Stein :-X

Also yeah same here. That's what my uncle had back in the mid 2000's.

THIS.


I wasn't a fan of The Donald or Hillary, but I'd say Hillary overall was the lesser of two evils. Her horrible track record though (be it the Patriot Act, supporting the Iraq War, supporting the rightwing 96' Crime & Welfare bill, pushing for war with Libya, etc.) unfortunately was too much for me to even vote for her. I ultimately voted for Jill Stein :-X

Also yeah same here. That's what my uncle had back in the mid 2000's.

I thought about what's in bold but then I looked at Donald and realized that all of those stuff is less bad/evil than what Donald Trump is and wants to accomplish. If could have voted last year, I would have voted for Hillary. Jill Stein is too left for me and she had no chance of winning  :P. I originally supported Bernie.

I like your new avatar Zelda.

I'm too young to remember much of Bill's presidency, but based on what I've read about it I would definitely take him over Hillary.


Bernie made Hillary tack too hard to the left. Her stances on free trade and college tuition became nonsensical.  :-X :-X


THIS.


I wasn't a fan of The Donald or Hillary, but I'd say Hillary overall was the lesser of two evils. Her horrible track record though (be it the Patriot Act, supporting the Iraq War, supporting the rightwing 96' Crime & Welfare bill, pushing for war with Libya, etc.) unfortunately was too much for me to even vote for her. I ultimately voted for Jill Stein :-X

Also yeah same here. That's what my uncle had back in the mid 2000's.


Wasn't the guy in your avatar the mastermind of those though?  :-X :-X

On-topic:


Any of you fellows remember plasma tvs?

http://sonicchicken.net/blog/wordpress/wp-content/images/2006_panasonic_plasma.jpg

For the OP this was the most common picture format for HDTVs in the early/mid 2000's. Around 2006/7 was when LCDs started to get big


Oh my cousins had bought one of these in 2004! It wasn't HD though. I hated how you had to wait a while after turning it off to turn it on. ;D

It started with HD CRTs in the late 90s and early 00s.  Then you had the plasma TVs, which were very expensive and not many had them.  They are somewhat of a status symbol in the mid '00s.  Then LCDs started becoming more popular around 2006 or 2007 and they quickly took over the market, replacing both CRTs and plasmas.

Wasn't the guy in your avatar the mastermind of those though?  :-X :-X


True..... But didn't this man also play the saxophone?

Alv7N6Ynm1Y

Also he was The President during the 1990's, the GREATEST DECADE OF ALL TIME
http://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdegvjmfFt1rwbdur.gif

True..... But didn't this man also play the saxophone?

Alv7N6Ynm1Y

Also he was The President during the 1990's, the GREATEST DECADE OF ALL TIME
http://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdegvjmfFt1rwbdur.gif

2000-2006 >>>> the cheesy overrated 90s

The 90s are a meme decade that have been beaten to death like a horse by Buzzfeed, Tumblr, Reddit, and other mind-numbing sites.

True..... But didn't this man also play the saxophone?

Alv7N6Ynm1Y

Also he was The President during the 1990's, the GREATEST DECADE OF ALL TIME
http://38.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mdegvjmfFt1rwbdur.gif



He played the saxophone on the Arsenio Hall Show.

2000-2006 >>>> the cheesy overrated 90s

The 90s are a meme decade that have been beaten to death like a horse by Buzzfeed, Tumblr, Reddit, and other mind-numbing sites.


FINALLY! Someone has said it. I literally can't stand proclaiming the 90s was the greatest, even though it wasn't 100% peaceful.

2000-2006 >>>> the cheesy overrated 90s

The 90s are a meme decade that have been beaten to death like a horse by Buzzfeed, Tumblr, Reddit, and other mind-numbing sites.


Can you not lump in 2005/2006 with 2000-2002. Please, and thank you! They belong with 2007/2008.  :-X

FINALLY! Someone has said it. I literally can't stand proclaiming the 90s was the greatest, even though it wasn't 100% peaceful.

I agree with the first part of your statement but the last sentence makes no sense since NO DECADE EVER has been 100% peaceful.

FINALLY! Someone has said it. I literally can't stand proclaiming the 90s was the greatest, even though it wasn't 100% peaceful.



I agree with the first part of your statement but the last sentence makes no sense since NO DECADE EVER has been 100% peaceful.


And NO decade has been completely awful either. That's why every era has balance.

I agree with the first part of your statement but the last sentence makes no sense since NO DECADE EVER has been 100% peaceful.


That's the point. No decade has ever been peaceful.

Let's be honest here, the 80's were much better than any decade before or after. The 80's literally had everything the 90's had, too, and more diversity on top of that. Alternative rock, rap, baggy clothes, skateboards, teen movies, MTV, VCR's, etc. The 90's are a grungy nostalgic-for-the-70's version of the 80's. Even the Xtreme sports trend of the early 00's was already done in the 80's.

Let's be honest here, the 80's were much better than any decade before or after. The 80's literally had everything the 90's had, too, and more diversity on top of that. Alternative rock, rap, baggy clothes, skateboards, teen movies, MTV, VCR's, etc. The 90's are a grungy nostalgic-for-the-70's version of the 80's. Even the Xtreme sports trend of the early 00's was already done in the 80's.


The '90s were the purified version of the '80s. It got rid of the junk and turned the good stuff up to 11.  :-X

The '90s were the purified version of the '80s. It got rid of the junk and turned the good stuff up to 11.  :-X


If I had a dollar for every amount of junk that existed in the 1980s & 1990s I'd be rich.  8)

The '90s were the purified version of the '80s. It got rid of the junk and turned the good stuff up to 11.  :-X


Nah, the 80s were kinda better than the 90s. We didn't have so many overrated stuff that happened at the time, along with people using IBM computers or Commodore 64s to play cool-ass games.

Just like others, I also remember seeing the HD where available flicker as well. After seeing the chart where less than 70% of people had digital cable in 2002, there's honestly no way HD itself would have been clear at that time since it would require the reception to be crystal clear, and everyone knows that analog was not crisp at all.


Let's be honest here, the 80's were much better than any decade before or after. The 80's literally had everything the 90's had, too, and more diversity on top of that. Alternative rock, rap, baggy clothes, skateboards, teen movies, MTV, VCR's, etc. The 90's are a grungy nostalgic-for-the-70's version of the 80's. Even the Xtreme sports trend of the early 00's was already done in the 80's.



Nah, the 80s were kinda better than the 90s. We didn't have so many overrated stuff that happened at the time, along with people using IBM computers or Commodore 64s to play cool-ass games.
I bet thing this will make people appreciate the generations prior to us for bringing out the amazing pop culture. Without them, most of it would have been bland and boring.

I have liked every decade since the 1970s (except for most of the 2010s). Even with all the flaws that each decade brings.

I bet thing this will make people appreciate the generations prior to us for bringing out the amazing pop culture. Without them, most of it would have been bland and boring.


It depends if somebody actually a certain decade (e.g. their childhood decade).

It depends if somebody actually a certain decade (e.g. their childhood decade).

Well I meant that the prior generations are the ones who made that pop culture which is how younger people were able to enjoy it.

Well I meant that the prior generations are the ones who made that pop culture which is how younger people were able to enjoy it.


In a retrospective way, I guess so. I enjoy the mid-late 80s/early 90s because it had a great vibe within pop culture (especially the music). I also watched old commercials of that era from Youtube in the late 2000s.

Here's an HD ad from around 2002 i found Ymtb6X-BqWM

There's also this Outkast performance from 2004 W3tWeE6A3Mw

I remember MTV came out with a channel called MHD before the main MTV channel going HD.
at this time, it was only available on HD cable feeds

Nah, the 80s were kinda better than the 90s. We didn't have so many overrated stuff that happened at the time, along with people using IBM computers or Commodore 64s to play cool-ass games.


Don't get me wrong, I love me some C64, but the '90s are better by default from a gaming standpoint because the '80s didn't have this.

http://www.goombastomp.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/195535-super-mario-world-snes-front-cover.jpg

We didn't get HDTV until 2005. At first i thought it was cool, but over the years, HD quality has gotten even better that you can see the pores on people's faces.

I first experienced HDTV in 2008. As a result, I honestly can't describe what HDTV was truly like back in the Early-Mid 2000s. Digital TV was only launched in Australia in 2001, which resulted in the prices for Plasma TVs remaining expensive well into the Late 2000s. The majority of people still had analogue TV's until the Late 2000s. Besides this, most free-to-air and subscription TV channels were still broadcasting in 4:3 ratio until 2008.

Take a look at how expensive a LCD High Definition TV (at 0:13 in the video) was back in 2003. No wonder why very few people had access to HD TV!  :o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0O7opEoC0s

I first experienced HDTV in 2008. As a result, I honestly can't describe what HDTV was truly like back in the Early-Mid 2000s. Digital TV was only launched in Australia in 2001, which resulted in the prices for Plasma TVs remaining expensive well into the Late 2000s. The majority of people still had analogue TV's until the Late 2000s. Besides this, most free-to-air and subscription TV channels were still broadcasting in 4:3 ratio until 2008.

Take a look at how expensive a LCD High Definition TV (at 0:13 in the video) was back in 2003. No wonder why very few people had access to HD TV!  :o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0O7opEoC0s

That's a pretty crazy price :o. However, just like you my first experience seeing HDTV was in 2008 (the Summer of '08).

I first experienced HDTV in 2008. As a result, I honestly can't describe what HDTV was truly like back in the Early-Mid 2000s. Digital TV was only launched in Australia in 2001, which resulted in the prices for Plasma TVs remaining expensive well into the Late 2000s. The majority of people still had analogue TV's until the Late 2000s. Besides this, most free-to-air and subscription TV channels were still broadcasting in 4:3 ratio until 2008.

Take a look at how expensive a LCD High Definition TV (at 0:13 in the video) was back in 2003. No wonder why very few people had access to HD TV!  :o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0O7opEoC0s


Holy smokes! $12,000 for a plasma?! I don't recall them being that expensive around here by 2003 anymore.


That's a pretty crazy price :o. However, just like you my first experience seeing HDTV was in 2008 (the Summer of '08).


My parents got their first HDTV in February 2008, and I got mine later that year as well. 2008 seems to have been a very popular year for folks getting their first HDTV's.

Holy smokes! $12,000 for a plasma?! I don't recall them being that expensive around here by 2003 anymore.

My parents got their first HDTV in February 2008, and I got mine later that year as well. 2008 seems to have been a very popular year for folks getting their first HDTV's.

2008 was the first time that I saw anything on HDTV. However, it wasn't until November 2011 when my parents bought an HDTV.

I was one of the lucky ones, we got an HD TV in 2001. The only one of my friends not to have an HD TV was Samuel.

That's 12000 Australian dollars haha. Everything is more expensive there, I remember the PS3 cost $1000.  :o

Everything is more expensive there, I remember the PS3 cost $1000.  :o


That was only when it was first released. ;)

I switched from CRT to HD 720p back in 2006, but the TV looked like this.
http://x3.wykop.pl/cdn/c3201142/comment_8FVjnLzRC7DbxQetBYcFY9ynjxgGPtsF.jpg
;D

I switched from CRT to HD 720p back in 2006, but the TV looked like this.
http://x3.wykop.pl/cdn/c3201142/comment_8FVjnLzRC7DbxQetBYcFY9ynjxgGPtsF.jpg
;D


I remember these

It was low quality compared to now.

I switched from CRT to HD 720p back in 2006, but the TV looked like this.
http://x3.wykop.pl/cdn/c3201142/comment_8FVjnLzRC7DbxQetBYcFY9ynjxgGPtsF.jpg
;D


Holy ** We literally had one of these in 2006. I thought it was completely new when we had it.

Holy ** We literally had one of these in 2006. I thought it was completely new when we had it.


oh i had one of these as well

They had “HD ready” crt projection 1080i HDTVs back then, along with then expensive plasmas and smaller CRT HD ready sets. There were hardly any HD channels then and blu ray only came out in 2006, so really if you bought one then the benefits wouldn’t truly be seen for a few more years. There were “progressive scan” DVD players at the time which made DVDs look a bit better on HD sets but that was not HD, just 480p instead of 480i.

They had “HD ready” crt projection 1080i HDTVs back then, along with then expensive plasmas and smaller CRT HD ready sets. There were hardly any HD channels then and blu ray only came out in 2006, so really if you bought one then the benefits wouldn’t truly be seen for a few more years. There were “progressive scan” DVD players at the time which made DVDs look a bit better on HD sets but that was not HD, just 480p instead of 480i.


Those broke in 2 years lol

I never had an HDTV until later on, and from most of the HDTV's I saw in Best Buy during that time had NBC,CBS or local stuff in HD.
But I started reading that Cable stations did not broadcast HD until the late 2000's so what was SD shows like on HD sets during the time?

Was it 4:3 letterboxed? I assume alot of people would have been dissapointed the only thing that ran in HD, was xbox360 and a few channels


OP, watch Barack Obama's inauguration on Youtube, that is from 2008 and in HD. In fact, I'll do that myself, just not at night because nostalgia hits me particularly hard at night for some reason.

On another note, my mom has just decided to replace our 2005 LCD TV with a new smart TV this Christmas, so I'll take a few pics of the old 2005 relic before it is consigned to the scrapheap and post them up here tomorrow.

I remember walking in
Best Buy being so amazed of HD, not knowing or realizing there was only like 5 channels in HD and it would be a waste
of money to buy a set lol

HD tvs really didn't get better until like 2011 when LED tvs became the norm. LCD only versions of these tvs suck.
Plasma was WAYYY better than LCD and had superior quality in the early 2000s.

Any of you fellows remember plasma tvs?

http://sonicchicken.net/blog/wordpress/wp-content/images/2006_panasonic_plasma.jpg

For the OP this was the most common picture format for HDTVs in the early/mid 2000's. Around 2006/7 was when LCDs started to get big

Yes and like archaic plastic flutted flatscreens; if you weren't head on, you weren't seeing much of it. That and they're the kings of image burn...

Same :\'( We were like 4/5 years old when he left office. I do have vague memories of the years of 1999 & 2000, but aside from the controversial 2000 election, I remember nothing within the realm of politics from those years...

Anyways back on the topic at hand. Zelek wouldn't you agree that Plasmas were the most common HDTV types during the early & mid 2000's?

Nope. Rear projections were and they were relatively cheap compared to plasmas.

I switched from CRT to HD 720p back in 2006, but the TV looked like this.
http://x3.wykop.pl/cdn/c3201142/comment_8FVjnLzRC7DbxQetBYcFY9ynjxgGPtsF.jpg
;D

That's a rear projection tv. They replaced the old school big screens, uses a special High Intensity Discharge bulb like high end projectors. They predate Plasmas by not much and are the original flatscreen tv. One of the reasons plasmas came to be was they could be made smaller screenwise unlike a RPS which would lose performance. if it were smaller than say 40". The first plasmas and lcds looked like regular crt's until they started stacking the circuit boards and laying them flat. Then not even ten years ago, we got LEDs and  about three years ago OLEDs. I find it odd that prices never really dropped that much, even with a basic LCD you might not be paying 1400 for a 50", but they're still pricey. I don't even want to think how much my ex-gfs 99" lcd cost back in like 2014.

That's a rear projection tv. They replaced the old school big screens, uses a special High Intensity Discharge bulb like high end projectors. They predate Plasmas by not much and are the original flatscreen tv. One of the reasons plasmas came to be was they could be made smaller screenwise unlike a RPS which would lose performance. if it were smaller than say 40". The first plasmas and lcds looked like regular crt's until they started stacking the circuit boards and laying them flat. Then not even ten years ago, we got LEDs and  about three years ago OLEDs. I find it odd that prices never really dropped that much, even with a basic LCD you might not be paying 1400 for a 50", but they're still pricey. I don't even want to think how much my ex-gfs 99" lcd cost back in like 2014.


Rear projection tvs image were so crappy lmao it was so blurry

Rear projection tvs image were so crappy lmao it was so blurry
You sure you're not talking about CRTs? Or flutted screen big screens? Which are also rear projection but are lower quality.

You sure you're not talking about CRTs? Or flutted screen big screens? Which are also rear projection but are lower quality.


the Rear projections of the 2000s had terrible image quality