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This HDTV stuff has me all confused - can somebody help a brother out

A

Argo

Lifer
Can somebody either explain or point me towards a good online guide. All the guides I found so far just go over the basics, but none of them explain the differences between different types:

LCD, Plasma, LCD Projection, EDTV

Can somebody explain what all those things mean and more importantly what are the pluses and minuses. For example LCD Projection is the cheapest of all so I'm guessing there's some serious minuses to account for that. So help please!
 
avsforum.com

Plasma's are most expensive but smallest form, suffer from burn-in after time and they cannot be tilted sideways or on end.

LCDs are similar, but don't suffer the same burn-in, yet the blacks aren't very dark.

LCDP are like big 'ole CRT TVs but about half as deep; a great mix between the beauty of CRT and the size of LCD.

EDTV - Only displays up to 480p, which is below HDTV level (720p up to 1080p currently). An EDTV cannot display HD signals in true high definition.

You forgot rear projection CRTs - the big deep TVs w/ GREAT blacks, but can suffer burn in and they're huge. However, they are really cheap and tend to last longer.

I personally just debated and picked up a Toshiba 51" CRT rear projection set HDTV that I LOVE! Paid $1299 (hated paying retail, but I wanted it from a B&M store in case I need to return it one day for anything) and couldn't be happier. BEAUTIFUL picture, actually not that big once it's in a large room, and the built-in casters make rolling it around/moving it a breeze.

Don't buy the latest and greatest, it changes too rapidly.
 
EDTV is not HDTV. It is just DVD quality. It's 720x480 instead of HDs resolution of 1280x720p or 1920x1080i.

LCD projection is LCD except it is projected off of a mirror so the screen can be bigger. Like LCDs, they can have dead or stuck pixels.

Plasma has problems with burn in. They also tend to run a little hot. Also if you are above like 6000 feet high, they are useless. Their lamp lives tend to be fairly short but if you turn down the brightness, you can extend the lamp life for quite a while.

You could also check out DLP projection. They have the problem of the rainbow effect if you move your eyes across the screen quickly. Some sets have faster color wheels than others so the amount you notice it will change dependind on the brand of set.

Pay attention to resolutions. Some HD sets have messed up resolutions like 1024x1024. You want something that will be as close to 1280x720/1920x1080 as possible. The reason for this is because each time the picture is scaled to a different resolution, the picture quality is degraded.
 
One more thing you might look at is projectors. If you want a movie theater in your home, a DLP projector is really niceeeee.
Infocus www.infocus.com has some good prices projectors. I have a 4805. Its not true hidef, but has RGB inputs, lots of tweaks/controls, and produces a huge picture. Then, you have to get a screen. I got a ceiling mounted manual pull-down (106" diag) for around $200. The 4805 projector is mounted on the ceiling too. The lamp life on the 4805 is one of the best, at 4000 hours (+ or - 10 minutes). It "can" be used as your main tv, but more so for "movie night" at the house.
I keep being stunned by how much better a movie looks on a 106" screen.
I'm finally watching all those DVD's I bought over the years.
And music concerts on DVD are fun too.

ps. The 4805 is around $1000. But that shopping network HSN.com has them, free ship and flex pay of 5 payments. That way, you can get one, try one, and return it if you dont like and be out nothing.
 
Well, what I'm really looking for is something that is fairly light and doesn't take much space. Doesn't have longevity problems and doesn't cost an arm and a leg (no more than 2,000 for 32-42" TV). So far it seems like Projection LCDs are the only ones that match this criteria.
 
Originally posted by: HombrePequeno
EDTV is not HDTV. It is just DVD quality. It's 720x480 instead of HDs resolution of 1280x720p or 1920x1080i.

LCD projection is LCD except it is projected off of a mirror so the screen can be bigger. Like LCDs, they can have dead or stuck pixels.

Plasma has problems with burn in. They also tend to run a little hot. Also if you are above like 6000 feet high, they are useless. Their lamp lives tend to be fairly short but if you turn down the brightness, you can extend the lamp life for quite a while.

You could also check out DLP projection. They have the problem of the rainbow effect if you move your eyes across the screen quickly. Some sets have faster color wheels than others so the amount you notice it will change dependind on the brand of set.

Pay attention to resolutions. Some HD sets have messed up resolutions like 1024x1024. You want something that will be as close to 1280x720/1920x1080 as possible. The reason for this is because each time the picture is scaled to a different resolution, the picture quality is degraded.
Click to expand...

New plasmas don't have nearly the problems with burn in they use to. Still there, but not nearly as bad. Also panel life has greatly increased. The latests ones can last 60,000 hours(half life)
 
Originally posted by: SouthPaW1227
avsforum.com

Plasma's are most expensive but smallest form, suffer from burn-in after time and they cannot be tilted sideways or on end.
Click to expand...
Actually, LCD's are more expensive than plasmas. Ever price a 42" LCD?
 
Originally posted by: Argo
Well, what I'm really looking for is something that is fairly light and doesn't take much space. Doesn't have longevity problems and doesn't cost an arm and a leg (no more than 2,000 for 32-42" TV). So far it seems like Projection LCDs are the only ones that match this criteria.
Click to expand...

you could manage a 32" LCD in that price range.
 
You can get DVD-resolution 480p 42" plasma for $1,544 + shipping, or GottaDeal has a link to a 50" DLP with 720p resolution for $1,700.
 
problem is most DVD's are not shot in 16:9. Many are 2.35:1. Why is this a concern?

Well sure, EDTV's have 480 lines of resolution or so....but when the DVD doesn't take advantage of the full screen you don't get the full resolution of your DVD
 
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