TV recommendation ?

[CFster]

Originally posted by: rudeguy
ok...people need to quit screaming sony..."YAY sony....its the bestest!!!!"
whats so good about it???
oh no answer?

16x9 squeeze mode on the 4:3 sets. I get 500 lines of resolution in that mode. Haven't found any other set that approaches that picture quality short of HD. What it does is take the ENTIRE picture of a 16:9 image (including the black bands top and bottom), and squeezes it down to 16:9 again (which would make the original letterbox image appear horribly squashed) - then it corrects the image. So in effect, the entire 500 lines of resolution the TV is capable of from top to bottom of the original screen is now compressed into the 16:9 area. That alone was worth the price of the set.

I've had Toshiba and it was "bleh". I tried two Panasonics and brought them both back to the store the same day - horrible color balance and geometry problems. Actually, most flatscreens have geometric problems of some sort, but the WEGA's have been easiest to correct via the "hidden menu".

 

[Dragon365]

Toshiba rocks.

 

[rudeguy]

Originally posted by: CFster

Originally posted by: rudeguy
ok...people need to quit screaming sony..."YAY sony....its the bestest!!!!"
whats so good about it???
oh no answer?

16x9 squeeze mode on the 4:3 sets. I get 500 lines of resolution in that mode. Haven't found any other set that approaches that picture quality short of HD. What it does is take the ENTIRE picture of a 16:9 image (including the black bands top and bottom), and squeezes it down to 16:9 again (which would make the original letterbox image appear horribly squashed) - then it corrects the image. So in effect, the entire 500 lines of resolution the TV is capable of from top to bottom of the original screen is now compressed into the 16:9 area. That alone was worth the price of the set.

I've had Toshiba and it was "bleh". I tried two Panasonics and brought them both back to the store the same day - horrible color balance and geometry problems. Actually, most flatscreens have geometric problems of some sort, but the WEGA's have been easiest to correct via the "hidden menu".

the "squeeze mode" mode you speak of is what Sony calls 16x9 enhanced mode. IIRC the cinema series does basically the same thing...I will give you this one though, since I dont have a catalog handy

 

[CFster]

For all you WEGA owners who have older sets - here's the trick for making it work right.

Vertical Squeeze

The newer ones do this automatically. Also, there's a way to tweak the height of the 16:9 area, it isn't always set right from the factory.

 

[Vegito]

Originally posted by: bradolson
If you have a Sams Club membership, check them out. They have some nice sets, including a Philips WS HDTV for around $888

Yeah I saw that at costco.. and I think the costco one has a 100 rebate..

I think anything greater than 36" will be over kill for my parents that just watches soap opera and news..

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS

Originally posted by: spidey07
First off, I own a 40" xbr sony 4x3 directy view HDTV.

Absolutely worthless. Worst puchase ever. Useless. Way too small.

I also own a 51" samsung DLP HDTV, very nice for the living room at 7' distance.

I own a 65" mits HDTV at 11' distance.

Now with three HDTVs you would think I have some experience in this area.

I NEVER WATCH the 40" sony...too small. The samsung is very nice though but for games/hdtv/movies, I'm watching the mits.

And another thing - if you don't like RPTVs then you haven't seen a good RPTV. Anybody wanna buy a piece of crap sony 40" XBR tv?

Is the size the only thing you can find to bitch about? Of course a 40" 4:3 TV isn't going to give you as large a 16:9 viewable image as a 51" or 65" native 16:9 TV. Duh, common sense people!

I have yet to own a TV that wasn't a Wega (though my next will likely not be, unless Sony has a compelling 16:9 Wega), I loved both of them. I challenge you to find a standard definition 4:3 TV that will produce a better looking 16:9 image than a Wega. Component inputs, vertical compression turned on. Of course it won't be a big picture, it's a 4:3 TV... Can you do it?

Viper GTS

No I can't, what I can do is find TVs with better quality and larger AND for less and less heavy and less bulky and higer resolution than the sony direct-view can offer.

I honestly feel sorry for suckers that buy a sony 4x3 TV. I know I feel sorry for myself, worst purchase evar. Anybody wanna buy it?

 

[Ernieb]

Toshiba, Sony, Samsung

 

[fonzinator]

A timely thread! I was just at CC last night looking at 30-34" Direct-View 16:9 HDTVs. Their selection wasn't great, but I'm just beginning to look. I really liked the looks of the RCA Scenium 34" 16:9 set. There was also a Samsung 30" 16:9 but the build quality looked chinsy to me. They had some Sony sets too, but those were FAR more expensive. I'm not going to buy until the end of the year (after I get married). Here's my dilemma...

Do I buy a 27" analog set to get by for now, and wait a year or more for HDTV to further drop in price. OR, take the plunge now saving myself the cost of an analog 27" later? The other drawback to HDTV is the high cost of HDTV tuners (~$300-$400). Any comments are welcome. 🙂

 

[CFster]

What is the appeal of a 16:9 set? I don't understand since everything is broadcast in 4:3. It's fine for DVDs but I just spent less and got a 4:3 set with 16:9 mode.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: CFster
What is the appeal of a 16:9 set? I don't understand since everything is broadcast in 4:3. It's fine for DVDs but I just spent less and got a 4:3 set with 16:9 mode.

Bigger screen is the appeal, especially with widescreen DVDs. Everything. 40" sets are tiny with widescreen material (HDTV, DVD, etc).

 

[conjur]

Originally posted by: CFster
What is the appeal of a 16:9 set? I don't understand since everything is broadcast in 4:3. It's fine for DVDs but I just spent less and got a 4:3 set with 16:9 mode.

Apparently, you've not seen HD programming!

It's on CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, WB, HBO, Showtime, ESPN, Discovery, HDNet, HDNet movies, Bravo HD, and FOX has some 480p shows.

 

[CFster]

Originally posted by: conjur

Originally posted by: CFster
What is the appeal of a 16:9 set? I don't understand since everything is broadcast in 4:3. It's fine for DVDs but I just spent less and got a 4:3 set with 16:9 mode.

Apparently, you've not seen HD programming!

It's on CBS, ABC, NBC, PBS, WB, HBO, Showtime, ESPN, Discovery, HDNet, HDNet movies, Bravo HD, and FOX has some 480p shows.

Yes I have seen HD programming. The problem for me is that I would need to receive my local networks over the air as DirectTV doesn't carry them in HD. After spending money on a triple LNB dish two recievers and a DirecTivo, I'm not ready to go back to the rabbit ears. Also, the reason I got the DTivo is for the no-loss recordings it makes (the DTivo is a TIVO and reciever in one box, so there's no MPEG conversion going on) - even better than other TIVOs or Replay. Now, for me to receive and record programs in HD I need to wait for the HD DirecTivo unit which hasn't been released yet and will be big bucks anyway.

As for the other channels - there are just a few and the programming choices are sparse to say the least. Not worth it in my opinion for the hardware and monthly fee.

So like I said, widescreen is fine for DVDs - but a lot of people don't realize that DVDs are NOT high definition. So, I'll settle for 16:9 at 500 lines on my WEGA for another few years before I spend ridiculous money on a high quality HD set. And there are plenty of bad ones too. Which brings up another point - most regular signals (not HD), that I've seen displayed on a HD set look like garbage. The increased resolution of the HD sets just bring out the imperfections in a broadcast signal all the more. I've known several people who are pissed because their cable signal looks worse on their new HD set than it did on their old Zenith.

 

[Doggiedog]

No Sonys.

I bought a $3000 36XBR400 and it broke after 2 years. Sony won't support it either so I'm SOL. I'm not the only one who's had this problem. Many people have the problem I had with this particular model but Sony won't admit to their defect.