Purchasing Advice: HDTV Sets

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
So I'm going to be buying an HDTV set in a couple of weeks. Think this one will be too small? Any suggestions?



<a href="http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid=WvCnPadkLhWnOpk-Z_GtNuh0RIZVcM0ge7Q=?CatalogCategoryID=0nUKC0.NT 6oAAADz2g9ypn_6&ProductID=dn0KC0%2eNH0MAAADzUl5ypn _9&Dept=tv" target="_blank">Sony KDP-XBR2</a>



[ 02-24-2003: Message edited by: M3D Jack ]</p>

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    You do not want to but that one. WAY way to small. <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[oyvey]" /> Don't do it.
  • Reply 2 of 15
    paulpaul Posts: 5,278member
    well arn't you helpful scott....
  • Reply 3 of 15
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    Waaaaaaaaaaaaay too small <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[oyvey]" />



  • Reply 4 of 15
    Yeah, I was worrying that it was going to be too small. I'm looking for a set that is not only the LENGTH of my couch, but one that actually goes up to my ceiling.



    Seriously though, I'm deciding between a sony set like that one (which I found for $4600), or a Panasonic Plasma 42" (resolution of 1024x768) which is $3850.



    Since HDTV is available over digital cable here in boston, I kind of wanted to take advantage of it... but a 42" resolution of 1024x768 is a ways off from 1080i. Doesn't seem worth it to me...



    thought?
  • Reply 5 of 15
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Some of the really nice plasmas like the new Sonys look great, better than the the projection HDTVs that actually can resolve 1080i, IMO. Less glare, brighter, wider viewing angle, thinner...



    Much more expensive though.



    My parents have:

    <a href="http://www.mitsubishitv.com/WS65711.html"; target="_blank">http://www.mitsubishitv.com/WS65711.html</a>;



    I haven't seen the new Sony projection TVs so I don't know how they compare.
  • Reply 6 of 15
    *sigh* decisions. I guess I'm going to have to go find a place that actually carries the Sony 65" XBR and look at it next to a plasma. I can't remember what I thought of it at the Metreon in San Fran this past January..
  • Reply 7 of 15
    I personally would go for the XBR with the better resolution and such...
  • Reply 8 of 15
    How do the LCD rear projection and DLP sets compare to the XBR? Anyone?
  • Reply 9 of 15
    [quote]Originally posted by M3D Jack:

    <strong>How do the LCD rear projection and DLP sets compare to the XBR? Anyone?</strong><hr></blockquote>





    Well I just bought a Samsung 50" DLP set, and I love it. I have been checking out widescreen/HDTV sets for awhile, and this one really blew me away. I went to every store in Austin and looked at sets, and here are my thoughts.



    Plasma - way overpriced still, but more importantly some serious technical issues. Plasma screens like LCDs can suffer from pixel burnouts. There are some strange restrictions on getting your screen replaced if one goes bad. You have to have a certain number go bad within a certain radius. Also, the screens can suffer from burn in. So if you don't want to watch normal TV streched, but with the traditional aspect ratio, you will get black side bars burning in on the sides of your screen. Picture quality actually varies, but the the lower end models really don't llok that good. The 20K one does though!



    CRT - Well do you really want another CRT? The size/weight of these things is amazing. Best value still though as far as cost. Picture is good, but still much harsher on the eye.



    DLP - Digital Light Projection. The new tech on the block, based on the same technology they are starting to use in digital cinemas. Basically you have a bulb and a bunch of micro mirrors (the bulb must be placed every few years). No burn in, no pixel loss, and best of all my unit is only 17" deep, and weighs only 80 pounds. The picture is fantastic, easily better than plasmas twice the price. Also, the viewing angle is much wider.



    OK, so my specific model has all the inputs you would want as well, including a VGA port that is hooked up to my iMac (sweet, keynotes widescreen!). I did a google on DLP tech and found nothing but glowing reviews. TechTV was creaming on it. Anyway, check out DLP sets before deciding.
  • Reply 10 of 15
    Oh, I forgot. Also be sure that your set handles the different resolutions. 1080i, 720p, and standard.
  • Reply 11 of 15
    I was talking to someone who is buying the Panasonic 42" Plasma, and he said this about its resolution...



    [quote]

    I am buying the set for HDTV-it will be my second one, although the other is a large projection (which does look great, BTW). You probably noticed that 1024x768 is not 16:9 but rather 4:3 (unlike a 852x480 set). They get away with this (everyone does) by having rectangular pixels instead of square ones. Therefore, it is a 720p set as far as the vertical resolution goes, although it's the horizontal resolution that gets cheated a bit. As far as the 1080i-well, all plasmas are progressive scan not interlaced, so any 1080i is converted to 720p. Depending on who you talk to this would either be considered an upconversion or a downconversion. Remember, 720p has more information in each frame (about 40% more) so the effect is much cleaner. To many people's way of thinking 1080i is no better than 540p-which is not more better than a dvd at 480p. In this scenario, 720p is far superior. Bottom line-the set rocks! You won't miss the slight loss of horizontal resolution (there are only a couple of sets that display it anyway-for 9k!!) and your HD and dvds will look amazing. Computer graphics from your computer (if you hook it up) will look stretched (because of the 4:3 pixel ratio-which is different from the 16:9 aspect ratio).<hr></blockquote>





    So basically, he is saying that a 1080i signal on a progressive scan monitor gets dropped to 720p, but that 720p is actually a better signal? I'm so confused. I stared at a 720p and 1080i set right next to each other at the NAB waaaay back in 1996 and remember the 1080i looking a whole lot nicer. I guess I should have paid more attention to what the engineers were saying then...
  • Reply 12 of 15
    rara Posts: 623member
    One word: Mitsubishi

    Go <a href="http://www.mitsubishi-tv.com/"; target="_blank">here</a> and click on products.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    My advice:



    Visit the <a href="http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb"; target="_blank">AVS Forum</a>.



    There is a ton of information dealing with all of these questions there.



    BTW, the folks over there highly reccommend the Panny plasmas.
  • Reply 14 of 15
    matsumatsu Posts: 6,558member
    1080i is still the highest resolution. Don't forget that it carries much more vertical resolution aswell. 1920x1080 where ever other frame is 1920x540 even and 1920x540 odd, each drawn 30X per sec for a total of 60 interlaced frames. 1280x720 is just that in every frame, but a nicely decoded 1080i will look better, much better, as diplay sizes increase, than 720p and certainly much better than the roughly 700x480 of a DVD.



    1080P will be the mac daddy of all, we may never see 1080p programming broadcast on the air, but we will see high refresh 1080P displays, then the computer in the family room concept will really take off.



    What I've learned is not to underestimate the power of the decoder. Sony does some incredible things to NTSC signal with their DRC technology.



    Anyway, I've been looking for a big screen too, but I don't think I'll bite untill HDTV sets come down a little further. Our cable doesn't have enough HDTV content to justify it right now.
  • Reply 15 of 15
    [quote]Originally posted by Bozo the Clown:

    <strong>BTW, the folks over there highly reccommend the Panny plasmas.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Yeah, I wouldn't think of buying anything other than a Panasonic plasma. Didn't take much research to figure that out. I'm going out today to look at sets with a friend of mine... *sigh* This may just be worse than buying a car...
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