HDTV knowledge?
Aug 17, 2005 at 12:43 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 33
AuroraProject

AuroraProject

Headphoneus Supremus
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My wife gave me the go ahead last night to upgrade our tv to an HD set. I want something in the 42-50" size. I know nothing about HD sets so I'm kinda going at it blind. Max budget is $2500 for the set, so far I'm looking at these two:

http://ww1.onecall.com/PID_28433.htm

http://ww1.onecall.com/PID_28434.htm

I'm confused by 720p and 1080i and such, also lcd vs plasma vs projection. I just want a great picture, widesceen, and something that will look great with the Xbox 360.

Advice?
 
Aug 17, 2005 at 12:46 AM Post #2 of 33
I'd get a Rear Projo HD set if I were you. Better picture quality and far less expensive.

If you living room can handle the increased dimensions of the bulkier set of course...

LCD just can't do black yet. No matter how hard it tries. Contrast ratio is usually unacceptable to me as well.
 
Aug 17, 2005 at 3:35 AM Post #3 of 33
You have a long way to go my friend before making your decision. Your questions would be equivalent to asking what open vs. closed means in headphone lingo. Not a problem, there are sites out there for home theater that are almost as good as this site.

www.avsforum.com is the place to start your research. Just browse their forums for suggestions and information about what you want or need. All the different sorts of HDTVs have their positives and negatives and there is currently not just one clear choice. You will be overwhelmed by the amount of information at first just as you probably were when you first entered the audio game, but find a few good threads over there and you should be well on your way to being able to make an informed decision about this fairly large purchase.

Edit: As an initial pointer, Sony is tops for their CRT (the type of TV you probably currently have, only widescreen and HD) televisions, not their rear projection. Other companies offer a better cost/performance ratio when looking at the RP sets.
 
Aug 17, 2005 at 4:00 AM Post #4 of 33
Yes, I've got loads of reading to do. I've narrowed it down to a 720p rear projection set, plasma and lcd flat panels don't seem to fit into my budget. Right now I'm reading about the pros and cons of dlp vs lcd rear projection sets. I need to go and watch some sets and see if I can pick up on the screen door or rainbow effects.
 
Aug 17, 2005 at 6:18 AM Post #5 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by AuroraProject
Yes, I've got loads of reading to do. I've narrowed it down to a 720p rear projection set, plasma and lcd flat panels don't seem to fit into my budget. Right now I'm reading about the pros and cons of dlp vs lcd rear projection sets. I need to go and watch some sets and see if I can pick up on the screen door or rainbow effects.


Check out the Mitsubishi CRT projection sets. They're quite good and from what I hear, the most reliable. I'm not biased towards Sony's, but the 65" rear projection HDTV that my dad bought for around $3000 a couple years ago got the infamous screen burn (which fills an entire Academy standard ratio of the screen).
 
Aug 17, 2005 at 9:28 AM Post #6 of 33
I know it may feel silly, but bring a current XBox with you and a computer/laptop with VGA and/or DVI out to the store.

Also DVD's with you as well. Play some games on the XBox with the TV's you are trying out. Use the HD AV pack, if you don't have it, buy it.

One of the reasons I ended up with DLP was because of this test.

Trust your eyes, but most importantly, buy from a store that will let you return the set if you don't like it. Or at least exchange for a different one. Because you may find that your eyes hurt with one, or you just don't like the other one. Or perhaps one is just too loud for you to handle. (did you know that nearly all rear projection sets have a fan in them?)

Good luck.

-Ed
 
Aug 17, 2005 at 11:02 AM Post #7 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by Yaboosh

Edit: As an initial pointer, Sony is tops for their CRT (the type of TV you probably currently have, only widescreen and HD) televisions, not their rear projection. Other companies offer a better cost/performance ratio when looking at the RP sets.


Toshiba are definetly tops for CRT
icon10.gif
 
Aug 17, 2005 at 2:59 PM Post #9 of 33
You may also want to check Costco. The Samsung DLP TVs are very good. With the 1080p TVs coming out I'm sure the 720p/1080i TVs will drop in price a bit as well later this year.

Costco linky for Samsung 56"
 
Aug 19, 2005 at 5:33 AM Post #11 of 33
Aug 19, 2005 at 2:50 PM Post #12 of 33
A few things many people forget to factor into their budget:

Taxes
Shipping/Delivery fees (some stores charge upwards of $100 for this)
Good power protection/stabilization
Cabling (DVI, HDMI, whatever)

Come up with a few prices on these and things and make sure you factor it in before you go looking for a $2500 TV on a $2500 budget.

FWIW I had a similar budget when I bought a 51" Sony Grand Wega back in January and don't regret it at all. I love the picture quality and the large number of available connections on it. The only other TV I seriously considered was a Samsung 50" but I couldn't pass up the deal on the Sony so I went with it instead.

Good luck and enjoy your new TV, whatever you get
 
Aug 19, 2005 at 9:59 PM Post #14 of 33
Burn in is not a problem if you calibrate your set.
 
Aug 19, 2005 at 10:17 PM Post #15 of 33
My personal experience is if you are in a budget, CRT rear projection is the way to go. I have a 46" Toshiba that I got for ~ $1000 about a year ago that I have been very impressed with. HDTV and XBox (with component cables) look great on it. The other thing I noticed as non HDTV looked very good on this set as well.
 
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