Help me buy a T.V.!!!!..........32" CRT preferably........

[redgtxdi]

So, I might still have my 27" repaired.....(the one that's stretching the pic horizontally).....but in the meantime I'm gonna blow some dough on a new TV & if I'm gonna do that, I might as well upgrade 'cuz bigger is better, right?? LOL!!!

Here's what I had picked out on a whim................

TV

And this for an entertainment center.......

Cheezy entertainment center

Now, start hacking away at my decision and proposing your own.

The above 2 items are almost EXACTLY what I have now, except in 27". My current E.C. won't handle a 32", but I can't bring myself to just buy another 27". If I'm gonna spend the $$$, I feel the need to upgrade!!!

??? & TIA!!!!!!

 

[necine]

1st linky no worky... nice no frill entertainment center though.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Fixed first link

 

[mugs]

I don't know what TV you linked to, but Costco has a Sharp 32" for $399 (flat screen CRT). Not sure how that compares to other 32" CRTs though.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Fixed first link

Hah, that's the TV I was talking about I think.

 

[redgtxdi]

Ya, that's the other thing I should have clarified. I think that if I'm gonna go 32", it should probably be a flat since curved tubes are pretty dated nowadays and the 32" are even more pronounced than a 27" (imho).

Also.........a certain member on this forum who shall remain nameless also suggested that this old fart not look at an entertainment center, but instead look for the newere "TV stand" type products.

(I have sooo much junk. Can I still hide it all within a "stand" type setup??) LOL!!

 

[Sam334]

I'd get a better entertainment center. The ones from the Marts are kind fugly looking, imo.

 

[MX2]

Entertainment centers make rooms look overcrowed unless the room is huge to begin with.

EDIT: Plenty of room with this stand. When you do finally upgrade to a "Plasma"....I like to hear myself say that...."PLLLAAASSSMMAAA." Anyway, when you do upgrade to a plasma TV you will be ready to go with a TV stand. Not so much with an entertainment center

Text

Other stands also

 

[redgtxdi]

Well..................then if I do a TV stand (kinda made *for* plasma)..............should I just jump into plasma????????

I still think plasma has it all over the rest. Rear Proj., DLP, even LCD.......just don't look even REMOTELY close to plasma. (Well, LCD's *can*, but in a heads up visual contest, plasma still wins, imho).

???????

C'mon guys this is serious stuff. Input baby, INPUT!!!! (Work can wait, this is much more important!) ROTFLmAO!!

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I guess you should decide on a budget.

Each technology has its advantages and disadvantages.

Go to AVSforum and read up on stuff, search Off Topic for the dozens of display related threads if you want more info

What is your source material going to be? SD stuff, DVDs, HD material...

Mainly movies... everyday TV stuff?

How far are you going to be away from the screen, are you looking for something large and cinematic or more of a "tv" look?

 

[DrPizza]

Last time I was in BJ's, they had a pretty nice looking entertainment center for larger televisions, about that size.

 

[redgtxdi]

Wow.....I just read the "elephant" article over at avsforum & that's enough to make you RUN (not walk) back to a Sony Watchman w/ a rabbit ear & earpiece.....LOL!!

I'd say family room's somewhere between 15 x 20 to 18 x 23 so fairly rectangular. The longest wall is where the TV resides now. I'd say there's maybe 8 to 10 feet between the primary couch and the TV, so don't really need anything huge.

Mostly TV stuff. Some video games (PS2) & weekend movies...(DVD). Pretty much a mix of everything.

I honestly know that a non-HD 32" flat CRT would work well for us..........(heck, even another 27" CRT in the same dang E.C. would work, but like I said, itchin' to upgrade w/ the $$$ being spent!)

TIA

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Well, with more money you could do higher res, bigger size, or both.

I went from a 36" 480i to 76" 480p and I'm quite happy with it. My seating distance is right around your range. Great size for movies and gaming, but regular tv is a bit on the large size at 60" diagonal.

I didn't go HD because it costs a lot and I don't really have an HD sources (sounds like you're kind of in the same boat).

 

[redgtxdi]

Well, I'm also tempted to go widescreen.......but only when I think of movies.

For regular TV, I just hate goin' over our friend's house and watchin' TV over there. They recently bought a 50+ inch rear proj. TV and while it looks great head-on, the viewing angles suck and the widescreen just stretches everything out. (Yuck).

I feel bad 'cuz I know they wanted plasma but got suckered into the Rear proj.

(I should say, I know they have their place, but these folk's family room is really quite small........tough viewing, for sure!)

 

[MX2]

Prices will come down dramatically on plasma's and everything else HDTV related over the next 2 - 3 years. Just go in the direction you are headed now. 32 inch flat screen CRT will hold you over till then nicely without putting huge holes in your wallet.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Don't judge all non-plasma displays by that one.

Some RP units have excellent viewing angles, and I think pretty much all 16:9 tvs should have a 4:3 mode that allows you to put bars on the side of the tv and keep the aspect ratio correct. Your friend can probably select a 4:3 mode on his tv if the stretching is bothering him.

There are a lot of great LCD, RP LCD, and RP DLP sets out there.

 

[dullard]

My favorite (and what I own) inexpensive 32" TV. I perfer normal TVs over those newfangled shortscreen ones. You know, the ones you pay so much for just to have the top and bottoms cut off.

I bought this entertainment center twice for it. Also bought the matching bookcases twice (bottom corner of the link). I put a bookcase on each side at a 45° angle and had the entertainment center in a corner. Looks quite nice for ~$300 total. Note: wife got the first entertainment center in the divorce which is why I bought it twice.

 

[Captante]

I strongly suggest not buying anything made by Sharp ... theres a reason they are the cheapest Japanese electronics. Go with Toshiba, Panasonic or Sony... JVC is decent too but a small notch down from the first three.

Edit: Don't bother with a 16:9 format TV unless you are going to get HD.. if you do go that route, the Sony CRT's do a good job with standard TV & have an awesome picture in HD.

 

[LordMorpheus]

for 80 bucks the entertainment center will be trash. Just letting you know, it'll be more glue than wood, and the "finish" will scratch horribly if you look at it for too long. If you stumble into it the whole thing will come down and probably burst into spontaneous flame.

I assembled boatloads of TV stands while working in the Circuit City warehouse - you have to spend a decent amount of money to get something worth owning. If it was my money, I'd buy wood at a hardware store, but I'm just a college kid and you're probably old enough to want "real" furniture.

 

[redgtxdi]

Well, I'm not opposed to buying one a' them thar new-fangled TV stands.......(LMAO!)........but.........I just don't know if I can hide everything I want to.

There's an oak-type furniture store I can go take a look at tonight. My only fear is they're gonna be like $1K+ for a nice oak setup.



Oh..........and as for getting back to the TV thing..............after reading AVSforums more, here's what I'm being pointed toward..........

Yoowzzzaaahh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Lotsa' folks there agree this sucker's killer for the $$$, but dayummm............I just can't spend that much!!

 

[CHfan4ever]

Sony wega is a nice tv, the high scan version is hd ready also.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
Well, I'm not opposed to buying one a' them thar new-fangled TV stands.......(LMAO!)........but.........I just don't know if I can hide everything I want to.

There's an oak-type furniture store I can go take a look at tonight. My only fear is they're gonna be like $1K+ for a nice oak setup.



Oh..........and as for getting back to the TV thing..............after reading AVSforums more, here's what I'm being pointed toward..........

Yoowzzzaaahh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Lotsa' folks there agree this sucker's killer for the $$$, but dayummm............I just can't spend that much!!

If you're not going to have HD for that, it's going to be a waste.

If you want big and cheap, check out the digital projector area.

$1000 can get you a great image for DVD watching. jello

 

[redgtxdi]

OK, so I went by CC & Costco tonite.

I still don't like any of the.......(I'll call them)......."Plasma Alternatives". Everything EXCEPT a CRT or a true PLASMA have limited viewing angles. Horizontal viewing angles are a prob but certainly tolerable to a point.

My bigger issue was with the vertical viewing issues. That, to me, is simply unacceptable. *If* I had a large room/basement, I could see getting a projection type as they are great from far distances, but not up close, imho.

That said, I kept coming back to the Sony and the Panasonic TV's. The Panasonic TAU look great, but the CC salesman did show me how the colors & picture are a little *overdone*. I suppose that's subjective. Some people like oversaturation.

The Sony's looked good too with slightly more scan-lines present up close. However, the Sony units did have a more nautral picture and color pallet.

Lastly........(and most important to me now).......is the WIDESCREEN issue.

The widescreen CRT's are limited to 30" and 34". (Wish they were bigger). If I were to buy a TV tonite, I'd buy this one.........

http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/127524/rpem/ccd/productDetailReview.do#tabs

BUT.......if all TV's required to be digital by 2008, and digital goes hand-in-hand w/ WIDESCREEN, then I'm stuck with buying, say a 34" version.

???

 

[Falloutboy]

my opinion is buying any tv right now bigger than a 27" and not HD is a waste of money. I have a pre HD sony WEGA and love it but if I was buying a tv today there is no way in hell I would stay with SD. head over to AVS forums and look for what they recomend in the 600-700 range for a 30" tv. (34" are nice but they are rather pricy for nice ones and at that price you mine as well just jump to projection and get a lowend DLP or something)

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
OK, so I went by CC & Costco tonite.

I still don't like any of the.......(I'll call them)......."Plasma Alternatives". Everything EXCEPT a CRT or a true PLASMA have limited viewing angles. Horizontal viewing angles are a prob but certainly tolerable to a point.

My bigger issue was with the vertical viewing issues. That, to me, is simply unacceptable. *If* I had a large room/basement, I could see getting a projection type as they are great from far distances, but not up close, imho.

That said, I kept coming back to the Sony and the Panasonic TV's. The Panasonic TAU look great, but the CC salesman did show me how the colors & picture are a little *overdone*. I suppose that's subjective. Some people like oversaturation.

The Sony's looked good too with slightly more scan-lines present up close. However, the Sony units did have a more nautral picture and color pallet.

Lastly........(and most important to me now).......is the WIDESCREEN issue.

The widescreen CRT's are limited to 30" and 34". (Wish they were bigger). If I were to buy a TV tonite, I'd buy this one.........

http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/oid/127524/rpem/ccd/productDetailReview.do#tabs

BUT.......if all TV's required to be digital by 2008, and digital goes hand-in-hand w/ WIDESCREEN, then I'm stuck with buying, say a 34" version.

???

I had a 36" fs100 and there's not a doubt in my mind that my projector is the better choice for my own viewing habits.

If you do end up with a 36" wega, get it delivered and installed by someone unless you are really confident with youself and a friend's abilities.

I'm only about 5'9" and 160 pounds, and I handled half of it though so it's not impossible
After moving it two times and helping a neighbor move a 34", I know that's something I never want to do again.