Could a 921 be used with standard def only?

[George_F]

Reason I ask is because the 921 is going to be so pricey.
Could I buy a 921 and use it with my standard def TV until I got an HD set?

That way it wouldn't cost so much when I did buy an HDTV set.

[Mike123abc]

Yes it had an SVideo output (and I think composite too) on it.

[George_F]

Thanks Mike, sure would help me from shelling out so much cash at once. :D

If I buy an HDTV then, I HAVE to buy the 921. If I buy the 921 now then I'm ready when when I get that sweet HDTV. :)

[Big D]

A 921 used in SD mode only will probably give you about 180 hours of recording time, that should take care of your immediate needs.:p

Actually purchasing a 921 over say a 721 is not a bad idea for someone purchasing their first PVR even though they do not currently have a HDTV, for the additional up front cost they are ready for HDTV when they go there without having to buy another unit. Buying a 721 now and then later adding a 921 will cost more of course, but then again you have the added benefit of 4 tuners and many, many hours of recording time with the two units. Is it just a matter of money, isn't it always!

[Mike123abc]

Here is the link to the thread with the pictures of the back of the 921: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11153

It also looks like it has RF channel 3/4 output too.

[Jason]

The 921 can be hooked up directly to an HDTV using solely the component inputs/outputs, correct?

My HDTV doesn't have DVI or any of the other new copyright formats.

[Big D]

Yes, it can. That is exactly how I will be hooking mine up.

[Mike123abc]

The photo in the other thread ( http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11153 ) shows it will do 1394, DVI, RF, Component, Composite, S-Video, and RGB (via a breakout cable on the DVI). No less than 7 different ways to get your TV... I do not know of a more versatile box!

[gcutler]

Originally posted by Mike123abc
Yes it had an SVideo output (and I think composite too) on it.

But at Standard def you would have like 200 Hours recording time, that sounds terrible :p

[kelliot]

Will it output HD and over the RF modulator at the same time?

[Jacob S]

I am waiting for HD to come down in price because I want a flat screen plasma or some type of HD screen that would also work good for analog signals, for there to be an improvement in the product, for there to be more HD channels to come about and for further developement of the technology to see what changes come out.

In 10 years a lot of tv's could even come with hard drives/pvr's in them and the tv/internet converge, and telephone/internet converge as I had read lately, all communications may converge in the future as one.

[John Corn]

George, That sounds like a great idea. I'm with you, a 921 and a HDTV is in my future as well, buying a 921 now would help financially when I did decide to get that HDTV. I doubt I preorder one.

Right now I'm not ruling out anything and I'm in no hurry, but I'm also keeping my eye open to the fact of changing to DirecTV for the sports programming. :confused:

[UpOnTheMountain]

Can you hook up the 921 to your monitor via a "standard VGA"?

I'm not sure what that interface is actually called. My set has two
(what I call) VGA inputs, and supports 800x600 resolution rather well. (it's just not wide screen)

... boy this early adoption thing is getting quite expensive!
From 4000 to Dishplayer to 501 to 721 and now this 921 sure does look interesting !!! :-)

[William_K_F]

I would recommend getting the HDTV before an HDTV receiver since you will benefit from the HDTV display right away even without the HDTV tuner, especially if you watch DVDs too.

[UpOnTheMountain]

MY RCA 37" is supposed to be HDTV capable at 800x600. It has component inputs and SVHS and composit, but it also has two VGA inputs. (I use one for a my EC computer) It's those two inputs that I'm asking about.
What is a "RGB" connection? Is it at all the same?

[JohnR]

I noticed the line in for SD audio/video. I also noted some mention of watching DVD through the 921. I assume that is what the line in is for. Am I right?

JR