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Need some HDTV experts and owners' advice.

V

Valinos

Banned
Hello fellow ATers. I love you guys, always a wealth of info here. Anyway, I've been stuck with crapola second hand 21" Zeniths and Magnavox TVs all my life and I'm ready to splurge on a REAL TV. At first, I was thinking of going smaller and buying a Toshiba 36" with every input I need and the super black tube for $799 at Best Buy. Then I thought about using one of the 0% financing until 2003 deals that Best Buy and Sears usually run and getting an HDTV of about the same size 32"-36".

Well, I've been looking and researching and I plan on going and looking first hand tomorrow and I plan on purchasing tomorrow as well. My question is..

What are your suggestions for brand, size, features, and whether or not I should go rear-projection or tube. What are the advantages and disadvantages of rear-projection and tube? What do I need to know about the varying resolutions and aspect ratios? I'm a DVD nut and I have an Xbox and Gamecube and I want a TV that will take full advantage of both game systems and my decent Toshiba DVD player.

I also could care less about little bangs and whistles like a good sound system and PiP on the TV. I have my own surround system already, so I don't care if the TV even had speakers. I just need to have at leats 1-2 component inputs, 1-2 svideo, and a few A/V and I'll be happy.

All in all, I want the best bang for the buck without going over $2000. And I know how you guys are.."well, you can get so and so for $2300". My budget limit is $2000, but I'd prefer something around $1500.

Suggestions? Tips? Advice? Thanks a ton guys...
 
I did the sears deal with the 32" Samsung. I love it. I have a toshiba progressive scan DVD player and the picture is terrific. Highly recommended. Only shortcoming is that it has just 1 digital input, but by the time AT&T cable broadcast HDTV I'll come up with a splitter.
 
Well, for your budget, you probably wont be able to afford the hdtv reciever because i dont know of any models with a built in reciever running less than $3000.

Would you really need an hdtv for just gaming and dvds (unless your dvd player is progressive-scan)?

Otherwise, i'd suggest trying a sony xbr

~fat

edit: o and a quick search revealed: this
 


<< Well, for your budget, you probably wont be able to afford the hdtv reciever because i dont know of any models with a built in reciever running less than $3000.

Would you really need an hdtv for just gaming and dvds (unless your dvd player is progressive-scan)?

Otherwise, i'd suggest trying a sony xbr

~fat

edit: o and a quick search revealed: this >>



That's really why I'm asking for advice. I want something with the best possible picture quality that has a decent size as well. I also would like to have widescreen so I can watch DVDs in full glory. I never watch regular TV so I could care less about HDTV receiver I guess. I just figured the only TVs that supported the higher resolutions like 480p and 1080i and widescreen were HDTVs. But no, I don't need anything with a receiver, and if I ever want one I'll just go out and buy it.

I just want the best possible display, clarity, color saturation, size and price possible. I don't care about whiz bang features, just the best quality for the lowest price. I would like to know more about the different varieties like 16:9 compressed and the regular 16:9 I've been seeing. Also, I'd like to know if most flat screen owners are really happy with their flats. I've seen them, but they don't look much clearer, but they are less distorted around the edges though. Although, regular CRT televisions seem to be getting so close to flat that there really isn't much cut off or distortion.
 
ok, per inch projection sets are cheaper. As far as 16:9 vs 4:3 the latter is less expensive. A 16:9 flat tube is out of your price range. If you are watching a wide screen DVD the top and bottom of a 4:3 TV black out and give you the correct perspective. If you were to watch standard TV on a 16:9 the edges black out to give correct perspective. Projection sets are ok, but if you get one via mail order I think you will need to pay to have a professional set it up. Sears MAY include that in their price, but you would want to ask in any case.
 
I would lean towards a RP(rear projection) HDTV Ready set(doesn't have integrated reciever but the set can handle hdtv signals if you decide to add a external reciever). I am not sure if you can find a quality RP at that price, (low grade RP is to be avoided).
 


<< I would lean towards a RP(rear projection) HDTV Ready set(doesn't have integrated reciever but the set can handle hdtv signals if you decide to add a external reciever). I am not sure if you can find a quality RP at that price, (low grade RP is to be avoided). >>



what do you consider low quality RP and high quality? how would I tell? just visual quality? Also, do RP sets have a shorter life expectency than tubes and do they need any kind of maitenance? I'm cautious about RP because the ones I've always seen have been extremely dark and hard to see unless in perfect light conditions. Have the newer ones improved on this or are they still rather dull and dark?
 
Sounds like you're in the same boat I was in back in February. I was looking to upgrade my 27" Trinitron to a bigscreen tv for watching DVD's and the occasional Dreamcast gaming, and it had to be under 53" (due to apartment size) and under $2000. I too was torn between a Wega flat screen CRT or a rear projection tv, and ended up buying a 43" Toshiba 43HX70 (4:3 rear projection HDTV-ready). My reasonings were because I got some much more screen space for less money with a rp tv and it was lighter (I live on a 2nd floor apartment). If I had to do it over again, I wish I would have gotten a slightly bigger 16:9 rp tv. I find I watch DVD's most of the time, and the extra clarity of a true 16:9 screen would be nice (due to not having to waste resolution lines drawing the black bars). The biggest problem I find with my rp tv is glare from both windows and my lamp. Other than that, I find it every bit as bright and sharp as a CRT.

As for tv's I would recommend, I believe Panasonic makes a 16:9 47" rp tv that retails for $1999 (meaning you can probably get it alot cheaper). Mitsubishi had another model I was considering at that time. Either way, I highly recommend visiting hometheaterforum.com and audioreview.com for user ratings and opinions. Good luck!
 


<<

what do you consider low quality RP and high quality? how would I tell? just visual quality? Also, do RP sets have a shorter life expectency than tubes and do they need any kind of maitenance? I'm cautious about RP because the ones I've always seen have been extremely dark and hard to see unless in perfect light conditions. Have the newer ones improved on this or are they still rather dull and dark? >>



High quality RP have a "tube" like picture, the low quality ones have a "rear projection" like picture, sorry if thats vague but its the best way to describe it.
 


<< Sounds like you're in the same boat I was in back in February. I was looking to upgrade my 27" Trinitron to a bigscreen tv for watching DVD's and the occasional Dreamcast gaming, and it had to be under 53" (due to apartment size) and under $2000. I too was torn between a Wega flat screen CRT or a rear projection tv, and ended up buying a 43" Toshiba 43HX70 (4:3 rear projection HDTV-ready). My reasonings were because I got some much more screen space for less money with a rp tv and it was lighter (I live on a 2nd floor apartment). If I had to do it over again, I wish I would have gotten a slightly bigger 16:9 rp tv. I find I watch DVD's most of the time, and the extra clarity of a true 16:9 screen would be nice (due to not having to waste resolution lines drawing the black bars). The biggest problem I find with my rp tv is glare from both windows and my lamp. Other than that, I find it every bit as bright and sharp as a CRT.

As for tv's I would recommend, I believe Panasonic makes a 16:9 47" rp tv that retails for $1999 (meaning you can probably get it alot cheaper). Mitsubishi had another model I was considering at that time. Either way, I highly recommend visiting hometheaterforum.com and audioreview.com for user ratings and opinions. Good luck! >>




Awesome, thanks for the input. I think I was checking out that Panasonic over at Best Buy actually. Looked like the best deal. I'll check those sites and see if I can find some reviews and opinions.
 
Well if you can afford the $2000 all up front w/o needing the 0% financing you can go with this Direct view 30" 16:9 HDTV (1080i and 480p): Link

Using 800.com and MSN Passport will save you $100 off the price and I believe for $1999 you get a $200 Gift Check from 800.com good for another purchase. I think there was a hot deal about this particular TV that would let you get it for $1600 but I think the method of getting it that way is questionable. (Just search for it in the hot deals forum).

Personally I prefer direct view over projection, all the projection screens I have seen always look like the colors are more dull than direct view and proper lighting is always an issue for projection screens. If you want to make a decision on projection versus direct view try going to one of those "high end" or "home theater" stores (they're usually smaller mom and pop type stores) and ask them to go into one of their home theater rooms and check out a projection TV versus a direct view tv there ... You cant really compare TVs properly in BestBuy or the like due to the lighting and stuff.
 
You could go to Best Buy and ask their salespeople. They should be able to tell you what is a good buy and what you need for your place.

(that was sarcasm..., btw)
 
Well at best buy they have the RCA F38310... I just bought one and it is awesome and also included a direcTV HDTV reciever. But I bought dish HDTV because of their 9 dollar promotion for 100 channels. It is the largest directview TV at 38". I like mine because of the extra screen size and it looks every bit as good as the panasonic and toshiba 34" widescreen TV's. They are 2200 at BB now so they are pretty close to your price range.
 
Directview sets will give you a better overall picture probably, because all projection tvs have slight visual anomolies and take much more effort in calibrating. However, Directviews/Tubes are limited in size, and a 36" widescreen tube set is going to feel somewhat small unless you have a small viewing room. While there are a number of different Projection HDTV sets, the 2 most popular are Toshiba and Mitsubishi. The cheapest out there that actually fits in your budget is a 47" Panasonic set which retails for $2k (so you should be able to find it cheaper). While I don't have any personal experience with it, I've heard it doesn't have the best quality. The best quality for price seems to be the Toshiba sets, and thats actually what I bought last May. Keep in mind your viewing distance as there are different size sets. The current models I believe are 50", 57" and 65", and maybe a 42" (can't remember). I got last years model with the 56H80 and overall am quite pleased with it.

As for purchasing, check to see if your Sears carries them, as they will pricematch to other stores (used to do any online store, but not sure if they still do that). My Sears doesn't carry Toshiba though. BestBuy are bastards and mine wouldn't come down a penny from list price. Unless you really need the free financing, I wouldn't recommend them as you end up paying several hundred dollars extra. I ended up buying mine online as it saved me about $600 (from proactive electronics in case you care). If you do buy it at a B&M store, use an American Express Blue card if possible, then you can have them pricematch it to an online store and get $250 back (the max refund). The 42" might be in your pricerange, or the 50" if you get it online. Otherwise your only choice might be the Panasonic since its the cheapest one out there. I believe Circuit City has them if you want to check them out in person - my best buy doesn't carry them.
 
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