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Brighten up winter with an HD ready TV for your living roomAs a keen fan of winter sports, you probably already have plans to take advantage of the cold weather, but a holiday usually only lasts a week or two and then it is back to daily life. If you also like to watch the downhill skiing and other alpine sports on television over the winter, then getting a new HD TV for Christmas could be a good idea. It seems like it has been a long time coming, having been in the news for quite a few years now, but with the number of programmes broadcast in the new format increasing all the time and the availability of more high definition films on the internet and in stores too, now is a good time to look at buying your first HD ready TV. There is a good range of sizes available now, so a new unit does not have to break the bank. If you shop wisely you will still have plenty of money left to get yourself that new snowboard you have been promising yourself for the last couple of seasons and some new clothing too. You will not necessarily need a new DVD player as well, as your existing one should be compatible with a new television. There are camcorders on the market that record in high definition though, that might be great fun to use on your winter holiday – the results should be fun to watch anyway. An HDMI connector can be used with newer disc players.  What else can you use? As well as a new television, it is also possible to watch films in the new format using your computer. The European specification that machines have to adhere to in order to be marketed as high definition units includes connection capabilities that some PCs do not have, so they are not sold as being HD ready. As they have their own screens they can still be used to watch high resolution films on though, and many have a much higher resolution than the best TVs on the market. If you do want to record your antics on the ski slopes this year then you can also use your computer to edit the results before showing it to your friends. A laptop is useful to take on holiday with you as you can download the day’s footage to it so that you do not run out of memory. There are many free software programs that you can use for film editing and you will soon get the hang of adding your own effects. When done well, viewing the results on an HD ready television or your computer makes for quite an impressive show. If you are the type of person who enjoys the après ski scene as well as the daytime activities then there may well be a lot of editing you want to do before showing any footage of evenings out to your family! Some ski resorts may have a small TV in your cabin that can handle high definition.  Great sporting moments A lot of people that are keen participants at winter sports also enjoy watching how the professionals do it as well. If you are like some, you may have built up quite a library over the years of your favourite sporting moments and some of the more exciting downhill competitions of years gone by. An upscaling DVD player will allow you to watch them on your new television with much improved quality. It will not be quite as good as native high definition but is a great improvement on the standard definition that they will have been shot in. Apart from your sporting collection, any older films look a lot better when played on one of these machines. Although an HD ready television will happily play standard films, it seems a pity to waste that technology when you can do something about it. Every year there is coverage of the skiing and other sports on the major stations and if you might be away enjoying yourself on the slopes for some of the season, then a DVD recorder is a good investment so that you do not miss out on any of the action. All normal DVDs are recorded in standard format at the moment but if you have a player that can upscale the resolution then they will look a lot better than you are used to. If you are not sure what equipment will work best with your new HD ready TV then some investigating online will help.  Panoramic views One of the nicest things about a winter sporting holiday, apart from the actual skiing and snowboarding of course, is the great views that you can enjoy from the top of the slopes. On a clear day you can see for miles around you and it can seem almost magical with a fresh covering of snow. A big TV is the order of the day if you want to get the most out of any footage you shoot of this kind of scenery. There are some enormous screens on the market nowadays and they have come down in price quite considerably over the last couple of years. If you have shot amateur movies of this kind of scenery before and only watched it in standard definition, a large HD ready unit will be something of a revelation for you. They really bring to life the crispness of the snow and the clarity of the mountain air. You might think that it is a bit extravagant to splash out on a new model just to watch your home movies on, but as I mentioned, they are not as expensive now as you might imagine and an LCD TV will enhance any programmes that you ordinarily watch as well. A trip to your local shopping centre is worthwhile so that you can get a better idea of exactly what is available at the moment and familiarise yourself with the various different models and sizes of HD ready TVs the big companies produce.  |
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