My aunt just bought a 50" Samsung Plasma TV. They are very pleased with the picture and seem to think SD TV channels (I'm assuming they're SD, that's what they're telling me) look great on it.
Her mother (my 81 yo grandmother) currently has an older 27" Hitachi CRT. My grandma only really watches the news, Andy Griffith, Matlock (yes a pattern), and other older shows. She doesn't watch any sports, any visually spectacular movies (Matrix, etc.), and has typically shown very little interest in learning how to interact with newer technology. I bought her a DVD player about 2 years ago I believe, did my best to try to teach her how to use it, and I don't think she's used it since. I'm not even sure she ever learned how to use a VCR.
My aunt is wanting to buy my grandma an approx 32" (maybe in the $400-$500 range) HDTV (LCD or Plasma, or other) because she thinks this will really please my grandma, and she believes this will make the current SD channels my grandma watches look MUCH better.
I'm inclined to believe that this will actually make most of the channels my granmda watches actually look worse (since they are typically broadcast in SD), not to mention having to learn how to interact with the new TV, etc., and IF there is a HD version of the channels she wants to watch she'll have to learn to tune in to CHANNEL 8024, wtf? I just think this will all confuse my grandma.
I'm thinking perhaps we could just buy her a newer, flat screen CRT. Her current TV is about 20 years old, so I figure an up-to-date flat CRT should still bring her a better picture, in fact better than a 32" LCD or Plasma for the channels she will be watching.
I'm trying to explain to my Aunt that the channels my gma currently watches won't look as good on an HDTV, in addition to the learning curve involved (which my aunt also tries to dismiss "We just plugged our 50" Samsung Plasma in and it looks great, even on the same channels" (which I've yet to see to confirm btw)).
I need opinions that are more educated than my own, and what I could tell my Aunt to try to explain to her that while her intentions are good, the end result will not be what she's wanting.
Cliffs:
81 yo grandma watches SD channels (old shows mostly)
Aunt wants to buy her an HDTV for the "better picture quality"
I believe that the picture quality will be inferior for the content/channels gma watches
I suggest replacing gma's current 20 yo CRT with a current flat CRT as an upgrade
What to tell Aunt so she'll understand that this won't be the upgrade she's thinking it will be considering how it'll be used
Or, correct me if I'm wrong!
Thanks!
Edit: Quick question... Are Plasma HDTV's inherently better at displaying SD signals than their LCD counterparts?
Her mother (my 81 yo grandmother) currently has an older 27" Hitachi CRT. My grandma only really watches the news, Andy Griffith, Matlock (yes a pattern), and other older shows. She doesn't watch any sports, any visually spectacular movies (Matrix, etc.), and has typically shown very little interest in learning how to interact with newer technology. I bought her a DVD player about 2 years ago I believe, did my best to try to teach her how to use it, and I don't think she's used it since. I'm not even sure she ever learned how to use a VCR.
My aunt is wanting to buy my grandma an approx 32" (maybe in the $400-$500 range) HDTV (LCD or Plasma, or other) because she thinks this will really please my grandma, and she believes this will make the current SD channels my grandma watches look MUCH better.
I'm inclined to believe that this will actually make most of the channels my granmda watches actually look worse (since they are typically broadcast in SD), not to mention having to learn how to interact with the new TV, etc., and IF there is a HD version of the channels she wants to watch she'll have to learn to tune in to CHANNEL 8024, wtf? I just think this will all confuse my grandma.
I'm thinking perhaps we could just buy her a newer, flat screen CRT. Her current TV is about 20 years old, so I figure an up-to-date flat CRT should still bring her a better picture, in fact better than a 32" LCD or Plasma for the channels she will be watching.
I'm trying to explain to my Aunt that the channels my gma currently watches won't look as good on an HDTV, in addition to the learning curve involved (which my aunt also tries to dismiss "We just plugged our 50" Samsung Plasma in and it looks great, even on the same channels" (which I've yet to see to confirm btw)).
I need opinions that are more educated than my own, and what I could tell my Aunt to try to explain to her that while her intentions are good, the end result will not be what she's wanting.
Cliffs:
81 yo grandma watches SD channels (old shows mostly)
Aunt wants to buy her an HDTV for the "better picture quality"
I believe that the picture quality will be inferior for the content/channels gma watches
I suggest replacing gma's current 20 yo CRT with a current flat CRT as an upgrade
What to tell Aunt so she'll understand that this won't be the upgrade she's thinking it will be considering how it'll be used
Or, correct me if I'm wrong!
Thanks!
Edit: Quick question... Are Plasma HDTV's inherently better at displaying SD signals than their LCD counterparts?
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