Tell me about HDTVs. I'm just gonna use it for regular channel, movies, and video games only. No satelite cables and all those stuff. What should I look for in a HDTV? Whats on my mind: 42'+ screen LCD/DLP/plasma and under 1k. I want to know more about whats good resolutions, contrast ratio, etc...
For some reason, I was on the front index page and saw the title of this thread, and I knew it was posted by you.... wierd huh...
If you know someone that works at Best Buy and is willing to hook you up, their Employee Accommodation for the month of July (and probably until they sell them all) is a killer deal. $560 + tax for a 42" 720p Samsung plasma. Well under half of original retail (it's an outgoing model).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDTV has some good basic info. I'd suggest getting 1080p instead of 1080i(720p). 1080p looks more clear and crisp compared to 1080i. If you have the room, rear projection otherwise look for something with a high brightness and contrast ratio. The higher, the better it will look. I would also consider the room you will be putting the TV in with respect to the viewing angles. The more narrow the viewing angle of the TV the more dark/dim/blurry it will appear if you are not directly in front of it. (think LCD monitor/laptop screen) I currently have a Toshiba 65" rear projection 1080i with SDTV and DVD works great. Get a hookup from an employee or watch craigslist/other forums. I got my TV because of the great price. (from this forum)
A couple comments, in 42", it's going to be next to impossible to notice the difference between 720p and 1080p. The pixel density is already so high on a 42" that you will not see a difference. IMO, 1080p is just not worth it until you get into the 55"+ monster TVs. Also, viewing angles. The latest LCDs and plasmas (plasmas especially) have nearly perfect color and brightness from all angles. The rear projection are really the worst (by comparison to the other 2 technologies - not saying they're really THAT bad) at extreme angles.
Video games on HDTV are absolutely superb. Ask Aegis, who is currently re-discovering the Half Life series on my 57" widescreen HD. I have the PC hooked up through the DVI input on the rear of the TV and set HL2 to output in 1152 x 648 and it is absolutely stunning. Although, it is rear projection and in desparate need of adjustments (sorry Bill, I've been swamped with work as of late) but even in its current state, it looks great. DVD movies....I couldn't imagine watching them on a standard TV ever again. You wonder how you ever enjoyed movies before you had a big screen tv. And make sure to use the High Def outputs from the DVD player, no yellow video RCA cable crap. TV...well, if you aren't viewing HD programming, it really doesn't matter. THe image will be crap regardless. Although, watching digital cable wasn't bad, but the image quality of regular TV vs DVD or PC output is noticable. Personally, if you are going to get a Plasma screen anything, I would avoid any of the budget models going for under a 1000 bucks. I can't imagine the image quality to be great on something that cheap. When the average market price of one of those things is over 1000 bucks, you can guess that the average mid-quality and above models will be in that range. I would expect lower quality from something priced below the mid-range products. That is unless you find a good deal of course. But I'd be looking for something that MSRPs above 1000.
:+1: I totally agree. We had to re-watch all of our movies over again. completely different experience.
Well if you intend to feed a crap signal (480i or 480p) to a hdtv, you might as well forget about getting one in the first place. It's kind of like running an STi on 87 octane gas, lol. At the very least, get something like a hd-dvd player or an xbox that can output hdtv (ie, 1080i or 1080p) signals.
If you're going to be doing a lot of video games, plasma could equal bad times. Burn in man. Burn in. It is not possible to get burn in on an LCD tv. If your not doing any cable or satelite I would say for sure get one with an HDTV tuner built in so you can at least get the locals in HD when they are broadcasting in HD.
it's not true hd without a blue ray player... then it's lke acutally being there... i was watching this test movie the other day and it was about base jumping. and it actually made you queezy looking down the cliff from there prospective!
Wow, that's way off base. First, 1080p isn't being broadcast at all and no one other the HD-DVD has even talked 1080p. Don't waste your money buying in to a technology that could be very well dead before you even get to use it. Second, RP is always going to look inferior to a direct view set. Stay away at all costs unless you absolutely need that high screen size and can't afford a direct view set (front protection is a different animal). I'd take a look at the Panny TH-42PX75U. At the price range you are looking at Panasonic is one of the best out there. Also, modern plasma's don't have the burn in issues of a few years back. I've had a Panny 7th gen in the bedroom for 2+ years now and it sees about 70-80% of it's time playing video games and have had zero burn in issues. Poke your head in here. It's a lot to read but you won't be sorry. http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/
Don't look at contrast ratios, they measure them differently from company to company. This coming direct from a Samsung rep even though Samsung have some of the highest "contrast ratios" on their LCDs. If you're buying LCD then you're pretty safe with Samsung, Sony, and Sharp, but then there are some value-priced ones like Westinghouse that aren't bad either. And of course you have some ridiculously expensive LCDs out there too. Check out the ones at Magnolia if you want to drool over them. As for screen size people are instantly thinking bigger is better. With the advent of 1080p and all its pixel goodness you can certainly shoehorn a larger TV into a room and get a more immersive experience because there is resolution enough to support it. But if you're to use a 720p set at 57" to view it from 5 feet away you're going to see grainy pictures. Better than large SDTVs? yes, but not what was meant of large screens. Even with a 1080p set if you're up-converting SD content you'll still notice some artifacts up close on a large screen. Large screens are for large rooms so more people can watch or you can sit further away. I think there is a guide to TV sizes somewhere, but with more res you can probably get a larger TV. Your next point of decision is what you're using as source. If you only have DVD and regular TV signal then 1080 may be overkill unless you're planning to upgrade. However if you have regular cable then you may be able to capture HD channels for free if they're using open QAM encryption. All you need is a tuner that supports QAM. And then of course you can get OTA HD content from local broadcast channels, but check antennaweb.org for digital channels and signal strength in your area. You may need a rooftop directional antenna, sometimes even one that rotates, to get good digital reception. F' the BRD vs HD-DVD debate. You fanboys for either side can sitTFdown because the loser here is us, the consumer. I'm pretty sure BOTH formats are here to stay. I may give the edge to whichever format Criterion starts releasing on but that's it. PS3 is a great, cheap BRD player which will someday be able to play games. Xbox 360 is the same for HD-DVD and can also function as a Media Center extender. Or you can drop the big bucks on a combo player. Whichever you choose is cool and don't let anyone rag on you for your choice. I have a 1080i plasma, 1080p LCD, and another 1920x1200 LCD (technically also a 1080p monitor). The two LCDs are attached to the DVI outs on my HTPC and the plasma is simply running cable or sharing content from my HTPC via my laptop. I so highly recommend a HTPC for HDTV home theater systems. It offers so many possibilities. I have 4 tuners in my HTPC, 3 of which are HD tuners, so I can record or watch on 4 different channels. I use OTA via an indoor directional antenna on one, open QAM for digital cable on the other 2 HD lines, and simple cable for the 4th. OTA HD is mostly 720i though some broadcasters use 1080i (for instance PBS has some spectacular HD quality). It all looks great and even regular channels in digital look much better than not. Sorry for the info overload, I'm bored at work already. Check out the HTPC forum at videohelp.com if you go that route. There is some decent info there and of course AVS forums is great but I liken it to NASIOC sometimes with all the posts.
My question: Is there a place where they actually calibrate the TV's they have on display? Lots of the stores I've seen HDTV's in, I look at the picture, and more often than not say, dang, my 1998 27" JVC has a better picture than that...and I am sure 99% is the calibration.
No, the problem is usually the input source. A 50-way split RCA (heck or even component) is not going to give great signal levels. Most TVs at Best Buy (until recently with the Magnolia section) don't even run HD signals. Most people are not going to notice a calibration. The built-in profiles work great for most applications.
Man, so much mis-information flowing here.... There is also some good info, but good luck trying to decipher. I suggest going to a HDTV forum and doing some homework. Few thoughts: 1080p uses - HTPC, PS3, BR-DVD, HD-DVD 1080p downsides - $$ 1080i uses - <~57" (assuming none of the above applies), Satellite, Digital Cable, DVD, PS2, XBOX, everything else 1080i downsides - lower resolution if used as a monitor, "grainy" on big TVs, often has a low quality video chip (= crappy std def signals) BTW, HD-DVD vs BR-DVD will come to an end....but, I agree that it is nothing but a bad thing for consumers right now. Unfortunately, the consumer will probably play a minor role in the winner (look up press releases on Target, Blockbuster, Wal-Mart, HP, Toshiba, etc...they are all starting to take sides)
I think I read somewhere that sony/blu-ray said "NO PORN" and so that industry is probably going with the competitor, HD DVD... More than likely, a year or so down the road, everyone but sony will be offering universal players...much like the SACD- DVD-audio format war...
This is true. Why Sony decided it was going to take some sort of moral high-ground is beyond me though. Isn't money still money? But "moral high-ground" may be an interesting bet if Disney and Criterion go with BRD because they agree with their stance against the porn industry. I didn't see too much porn on LD afterall... However I find it hilarious that porn is still purchased in print or video media still. Haven't porn addicts learned about the internet yet?
That is old news....last I heard, it wasn't true. As a matter of fact, based on this article: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/blu_ray-update/sony-gives-japanese-porn-a-hand-283845.php Sony is actually giving the industry technical support. Hmm, interactive porn....could it save them from the internet? Not likely ...one of the orignal articles debunking the rumors... http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197000093
There is a decent amount of information and not nearly as many sanctimonious blowhards as AVSForum at.... http://www.hdtvtwincities.com
I NEED HELP ASAP guys. Just bought a WinBook 40" LCD and I do not know how to hook it up to my dvd/vcr/game(make it work i mean). I play with the settings and channels but I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm in North mpls and would like some help ASAP plz. lmk Kong 612-227-3872
