Enhanced SD TVs

guarthoguartho
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
My nearly wife and I have decided not to get any TV service, but to subscribe to NetFlix instead. Since there's not HD content in our immediately forseeable future, I'd like to look into enhanced standard definition TV's. I can't seem to locate where I first read about them, but basically I'm asking where a good place to shop for a TV that displays 480 progressive content in a 16x9 aspect ratio would be. We're wanting something pretty cheap so a true HDTV is probably out of scope for us.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    fotnsfotns Posts: 301member
    If you asked me, I'd suggest you just wait and save a little while longer. In a couple of months you might be able to buy a true HD TV for only a little more than the enhanced SD TVs you're contemplating.
  • Reply 2 of 10
    guarthoguartho Posts: 1,208member
    Yeah, that's tempting, but we're not going to pay for TV service and we're too far away from any over-air stations. Blu-Ray or HD-DVD is coming, but by the time that settles down and we're ready to buy we'll probably be ready to buy a new TV. In the mean time the hole in the entertainment center is only yay-big anyway, and we have a fairly decent collection of Standard Def DVD's.



    So do I have the terminology right? Do I want to be searching for "Enhanced Definition" TVs?
  • Reply 3 of 10
    idaveidave Posts: 1,283member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Guartho

    So do I have the terminology right? Do I want to be searching for "Enhanced Definition" TVs?



    Um, I think you have the terminology right but that it refers to the TV signal rather than the TV. I'm under the impression that (in the US) there are only two kinds of TV sets; NTSC and HDTV. Only a HDTV set would be able to take advantage of an ED signal. Am I wrong?



    As an example of what I'm thinking, the digital channels that come across my cable service look slightly better on my HDTV than the standard analog channels. (Digital channels are ED while the analog channels are NTSC.) DVDs look far better than both, but not as good as true HDTV channels.



    Curious to hear other input on this. I don't claim to be an expert.
  • Reply 4 of 10
    theapplegeniustheapplegenius Posts: 584member
    EDTV is trash. It is the same DPI as a regular NTSC TV but wider. It's no good. We were about to get one but we ended up getting a tube HDTV which is much better picture for the same price. We have the Sony Wega or however you spell it.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by theapplegenius

    EDTV is trash.



    Totally!



    I mean, you only get max quality from DVDs and HD broadcasts look gorgeous. You are so right. Why do people waste (less of) their money on those stupid EDTVs?



    Everyone wants a 300lbs TV that's 2-feet deep!
  • Reply 6 of 10
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    A 42" EDTV flat panel will look great at normal (casual) viewing distances. You might also look at a DLP set of 720P resolution at a similar size. These also take up very little room and look great, and you might find it for a similar price. I don't know that you can find projection based EDTV anymore, most of them are plasmas.



    Just throwing an option out there. 42" is basically the smallest "big screen" size. EDTV will suffer a bit if you go 50"+, but your projection (HDTV) and plasma (EDTV) options at that size should be comparable both for cost, and mounting flexibility.
  • Reply 7 of 10
    guarthoguartho Posts: 1,208member
    Well, it seems that ED TVs are pretty hard to come by so I've got some questions about HDTVs instead. If I buy a good ole' fashioned tube based HDTV, will it display 480p content with 480 true lines? My main goal is that I be able to watch 480p w/o anti-aliasing on the cheap. If I have to buy a 720p capable TV to do that I don't mind as long as it's still on the cheap.
  • Reply 8 of 10
    idaveidave Posts: 1,283member
    So, I guess ED TVs do exist after all. Never heard of 'em until now.
  • Reply 9 of 10
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    You defined the use, that's good. Now take a reasonable apraisal of the room and your typical viewing distance. How big do you want this set to be, and how far back/forward do you expect to sit, but also, and this is key, how much of your living space do you really want to give up?



    If you have a HUGE room, a cheaper CRT based projection set can be a good option, but these are really big, they often don't look so bulky in a show room, where the warehouse environment and surrounding displays throw the scale WAY OFF, but they are much deeper than comparable DLP/LCD projection sets.



    Get the dimensions of the set, and measure out from the wall/corner where you want to place the set. Really, really, really think about whether or not a big blac/grey block of plastic is something you want in that area.



    A decent quality 42" 720P DLP projection set is actually quite low profile and, relatively speaking, can be tucked away incospicously.



    Also, at 42" 720 will look pin sharp from your couch, no need for 1080i at that size. Many models are even small enough to migrate to the bedroom if/when the upgrade bug strikes...
  • Reply 10 of 10
    guarthoguartho Posts: 1,208member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Matsu

    You defined the use, that's good. Now take a reasonable apraisal of the room and your typical viewing distance. How big do you want this set to be, and how far back/forward do you expect to sit, but also, and this is key, how much of your living space do you really want to give up?



    This will be in our teeny tiny living room. The farthest we'd be able to get away from the set is probably less than 14 feet. It'll be going into the "TV Hole" of her existing entertainment center. I'm two hours away at the moment and won't be able to measure it for some time. Off-hand I'd guess that nothing bigger than a 27" TV would fit anyway.



    Quote:

    Also, at 42" 720 will look pin sharp from your couch, no need for 1080i at that size. Many models are even small enough to migrate to the bedroom if/when the upgrade bug strikes... [/B]



    That's good to hear. In my internship I saw some standard def video on adecent sized high quality monitor and mistook it for HD. (I thought it was probably 720 in my defense) So I lost that "Must get 1080p" voice in my head that day.



    My main conern is that I don't want 480p content like DVD's to be anti-aliased. Are there any types of sets besides LCD TVs that I'd have to worry about this with?
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