What do you think of this TV?

[MBrown]

Here. 26 inch widescreen HDTV. I need a new TV anyway and I'm prolly going to end up buying the 360. Since 360 games are going to be HD and widscreen I might as well get one. But how is this monitor. Would you get it? I dont need it big cuz its just for my bedroom.

 

[MBrown]

Or this one.

 

[Sentry2]

That would probably be a nice tv but I think something like a Samsung or Sony would be a better choice depending on your budget...Samsung's have a very nice picture and features for the money. Sony's are very nice too and also expensive. Here is a 26" Samsung Widescreen HDTV. It also does 720P(most hdtv's in it's price range don't).
I went from a 27" advent hdtv to a 32" sony hdtv that I picked up for $500 with a stand from craig's list. Just finished paying for the 360($399) @ EB. I also can't wait till it comes out...anyway I'm sure you'll be happy with just about any decent hdtv you get.
Good luck

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp...yId=pcmcat31800050031&id=1099396991028

 

[JRW]

I'd go with either the Samsung mentioned above or if you want top image quality go with this Sony 30" HDTV, It's currently the #1 rated 30" HDTV in Consumer Reports out of the 6 brands they tested.

 

[Jeff7181]

I thought I read somewhere that Microsoft was teaming up with a company to have Xbox 360 friendly high def TV's. Like all the right connections and whatnot and correct resolutions etc. I thought it was Samsung... but I can't find the article.

 

[Sonikku]

I would very much appreciate it if you would post it should you com across it.

 

[Sonikku]

Oh yes, and you might want to check this display out. It has a 8ms response time with a native resolution of 720p, giving it the edge over all other tv's that have been posted that will need to scale it to 1080i. In addition, it's sporting some very nice inputs for the price. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16889107001

 

[Jeff7181]

Here we go...

 

[MBrown]

I guess I'd go with samsung then. But how much smaller is a 26inch widescreen going to be compared to a 27 regular tv? I'm just afraid its going to be wicked small. And if you watch regular tv its going to box it off to look even smaller. How much is it going to be effected?

 

[MBrown]

If I dont decide to go widescreen which I'm considering is this a good choice?

 

[Keeir]

MBrown,

Consider value as well as end price

There are two Samsung TVs linked in this thread, one by you and one by Sentry2

Although Sentry2 is significant more expensive it includes
an HDTV tuner- usually like 100+
HDMI inputs- will be needed to view HD-DVD and Blu-Ray movies
Supports 720p better since 720p is a Widescreen format (and the standard format for xbox 360 games right?)

If what you really need is an Xbox 360 TV, then I would wait for the Xbox 360 to be out to get the best deal of the TV that actually fits the 360...

 

[MBrown]

It supports 1080i natively too. So the TV has to have HDMI inputs in order to view HD DVDs in HD?

 

[Keeir]

1.) 720p is typically a signal that is 1280 wide and 720 tall. This means that a 4:3 TV that can do 1080 vertical lines--> will support this 1280 by 720 but to see the sides there will be significant letterboxing... Enough to reduce the 30" screen down to the same size as a 26", I don't know, but it will be there

2.) HDMI, or HDCP-DVI(without audio) will be the only connectors currently supported by both the HD-DVD and Blu-Ray group. I believe it states so specifically in each groups specifications. Thus, any player which is certified as HD-DVD/Blu-Ray compatable such as Windows Vista will need to check for HDMI or HDCP for the content providers to block playback. I have also heard this -might- be the future direction of HDTV over cable and satelite.

It would be very shortsighted to get an HDTV without HDMI or HDCP-DVI....

 

[MBrown]

Well then how about this?

 

[Aquila76]

Again, you're looking at a 1080i res. with that Philips. 720p is much sharper/fuller than 1080i. If you can afford it, I'd go with the Samsung that Sentry posted.
The Sony's have become far too overpriced lately, IMO. Not to say they're crap, but you get much more for the buck with that Samsung.
I believe they have a 32" model in that line as well, if you're concerned with image size. A 'sidebarred' 32" 16:9 picture is roughly the same as a 26" 4:3 picture.

 

[MBrown]

720p is better than 1080i? I don't know much about the specs on TV's and stuff but Best Buy makes it sounds like 1080i is better cuz its the max resolution and everything.
From Best Buy. "1080i display provides the highest quality interlaced picture possible from a high-definition source" Can sombody explain more into detail? Sorry I want to know what I'm getting.

 

[Aquila76]

Originally posted by: MBrown
720p is better than 1080i? I don't know much about the specs on TV's and stuff but Best Buy makes it sounds like 1080i is better cuz its the max resolution and everything.
From Best Buy. "1080i display provides the highest quality interlaced picture possible from a high-definition source" Can sombody explain more into detail? Sorry I want to know what I'm getting.

From what I've come to understand - and please someone correct me if I'm wrong:
1080i means it takes the 720p signal and Interlaces (fancy word for 'adds') in 360 'filler' bits/line to make the picture.
720p is a Progressive scan (actual pixels) display. So what's delivered to the TV is exactly what's displayed.
To make things even more confusing, Samsung (and others) are rolling out 1080p displays in a couple months. These systems will give a sharper picture with no sacrifice to image quality (1080 actual bits, not interlaced (added) bits).

 

[kylebisme]

Originally posted by: Aquila76
1080i means it takes the 720p signal and Interlaces (fancy word for 'adds') in 360 'filler' bits/line to make the picture.

Nah, 720p and 1080i are simply two different types of signals. The number explains how many lines high the signal is, and the letter designates the way those lines are presented. Progressive means theat each line follows directly after the other, while interlaced means that the even lines and odd lines are seprated into two feilds.

As for which is better, that comes down to a lot of factors which include personal opinion in no small part. However, in the case of a CRT for the 360, I pretty sure that most people would agree that the 720p display is a better choice.

 

[Keeir]

Originally posted by: MBrown
Well then how about this?

Thats at least comprable in features with the Samsung...

The Samsung is probably better for Xbox, Movies, HD-Movies

The Phillips would probably be more enjoyable for older consoles and SDTV and Digitial Feeds... (much larger picturer)

 

[Aquila76]

Originally posted by: TheSnowman

Originally posted by: Aquila76
1080i means it takes the 720p signal and Interlaces (fancy word for 'adds') in 360 'filler' bits/line to make the picture.

Nah, 720p and 1080i are simply two different types of signals. The number explains how many lines high the signal is, and the letter designates the way those lines are presented. Progressive means theat each line follows directly after the other, while interlaced means that the even lines and odd lines are seprated into two feilds.

As for which is better, that comes down to a lot of factors which include personal opinion in no small part. However, in the case of a CRT for the 360, I pretty sure that most people would agree that the 720p display is a better choice.

OK, I was off a bit there. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[MBrown]

Ok. So if I get this Samsung, height wise is that only going to be about the size of a 20inch tv?

 

[MBrown]

 

[klah]

Originally posted by: MBrown
Ok. So if I get this Samsung, height wise is that only going to be about the size of a 20inch tv?

http://www.tvcalculator.com/

The image height of a 26" 16:9 tv is about the same as a 21" 4:3 would be.

 

[MBrown]

^wow. big differences.

 

[ND40oz]

I have a 32 inch Samsung HD CRT. It's a few years old now and I seriously regret getting a 4x3 instead of a 16x9. It is a matter of personal preference, but my tv in my living room and basement are both widescreen and I miss having widescreen when I watch a movie on the CRT. Another thing to watch out for is my Samsung does not support the 720p signal which pissed me off the first time I tried to play a 720p xbox game because Best Buy told me it would. On Best Buys site, it says the 26" supports 720p, but I'd confirm that somewhere else rather then just taking Best Buys word for it. Pull the specs from Samsung and make sure it has everything you want.

Edit: In response to the size of the picture differences. As far as I know, all xbox 360 games do support widescreen, so the height of a 4x3 picture shouldn't matter to you if you're going to play everything in widescreen anyway.