What to buy?

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

I started to reads this ng a few days ago as I will be making my first HD
purchase in the upcoming months. After reading several posts, you seem like
a very passionate and educated bunch, so I come to you for guidance.

I do not have sattelite, but will make the upgrade to HD programming on my
digital cable when the time comes. I don't want spend more than $2000 on my
first digital television. I am more likely to purchase a 40-50" screen as
oppsed to a 52-60" due to the size of the room. I don't know the difference
between EDTV and HDTV, and all of the technical jargon of resolution and dpi
confuses me. The bottom line is this: I used to have a Sony 62" projection
tv. A big huge monster that had a decent picture if you sat right in front
of it. In order for me to justify this purchase to my wife, the new digital
tv has to really wow us. I have seen displays at stores where the picture
doesnt look much different than a regular set. I assume that this is due to
the programming being fed into the store, and not being digital.

My dvds need to come to life, and the HD programming really needs to stand
out in order for us to feel good about the purchase. With the budget I am
working with, can you please recommend any particular brands or models? I
am also afraid of upgrades. Am I going to have to replace this in 3 or 5
years like a computer?

Thanks for the help!

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

I did exactly what you're saying and got a Hitachi 46" WS500 c. built in DVD
player. The HD picture is awesome and the new Comcast dual-tuner HDTV cable
box makes it all the better. Here in Boston total cost was around $1800;
$1650 for the set and around $150 for the base which is definitely essential
equipment. Had it for about 6 mos. now and love it. BillR.
"Mack McKinnon" <MckinnonRemoveThis@tvadmanDeleteThisAsWell.com> wrote in
message news:xW7Md.413$uA.281@fe1.texas.rr.com...
> Sounds to me as though you might want to look at rear projection CRT HDTV
> sets. You can buy a nice one for less than what you have budgeted. Do
not
> buy EDTV unless you go for something like a small plasma. That is 480p,
> more or less like DVD, and is better than the standard picture but what
you
> want is true HDTV. You can buy "HD ready" meaning you have to have an
> outside tuner, such as a cable box, or with a built-in tuner, so you can
> take signals directly off the air or from the cable via a CableCard.
>
> We have a Sony KDF-60XS955, which we think is excellent. Sony makes a
nice
> range of HDTV sets, but so do the other manufacturers. You can go with
rear
> projection LCD or DLP or CRT. If you don't mind the added bulk, the
> CRT-based rear projectors are nicely-priced. You do have to be aware of
> burn-in with them, however, which you don't have to worry about with LCD
or
> DLP rear-projectors.
>
> Be sure to look at some standard TV pictures on the set you choose before
> you buy, especially if you think you will be watching a lot of SDTV. SD
> does not usually show up as well on HD sets as on the older sets.
>
> Finally, to get the most from HDTV, you want to go with a larger screen
> size. I recommend that you do not go under 50" diagonal. Remember that
the
> 16:9 equivalent of a 48" 4:3 set is 60 inches.
>
> mack
> austin
>
>
> "Joel Britt" <joelbritt@wowway.com> wrote in message
> news:eMidnR22SbZ5nZzfRVn-hQ@wideopenwest.com...
> >I started to reads this ng a few days ago as I will be making my first HD
> >purchase in the upcoming months. After reading several posts, you seem
> >like a very passionate and educated bunch, so I come to you for guidance.
> >
> > I do not have sattelite, but will make the upgrade to HD programming on
my
> > digital cable when the time comes. I don't want spend more than $2000
on
> > my first digital television. I am more likely to purchase a 40-50"
screen
> > as oppsed to a 52-60" due to the size of the room. I don't know the
> > difference between EDTV and HDTV, and all of the technical jargon of
> > resolution and dpi confuses me. The bottom line is this: I used to
have
> > a Sony 62" projection tv. A big huge monster that had a decent picture
if
> > you sat right in front of it. In order for me to justify this purchase
to
> > my wife, the new digital tv has to really wow us. I have seen displays
at
> > stores where the picture doesnt look much different than a regular set.
I
> > assume that this is due to the programming being fed into the store, and
> > not being digital.
> >
> > My dvds need to come to life, and the HD programming really needs to
stand
> > out in order for us to feel good about the purchase. With the budget I
am
> > working with, can you please recommend any particular brands or models?
I
> > am also afraid of upgrades. Am I going to have to replace this in 3 or
5
> > years like a computer?
> >
> > Thanks for the help!
> >
>
>

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Michelle Steiner wrote:
> Let me take a stab at it. If I'm wrong about any of this, it's due to
> my own misunderstanding, and I welcome corrections.
>
> EDTV is DVD quality-- 480p: 480 horizontal lines per screen, scanned
> progressively (i.e., one at a time). However, DVDs are actually
> recorded in 480i, but frames are buffered to send 480p signals to the TV
> sets. The TV has to be able to handle 480p, though, so the DVDs make
> 480p a user selectable option.

Not to start another ED vs HD flame thread, but ED Plasmas are better
than DVD quality. DVDs are encoded at 720x480i resolution and are NSTC
(in the US anyway). ED plasma are 852x480p pixels, so they do have
better horizontal resolution than DVDs. ED plasma also handle the full
HD color set, rather than NTSC color set. As far I can tell, when we
talk about living room ED TVs, only the ED plasmas are an option. All of
the other technologies for the larger sets: CRT, CRT RPTV, LCD, DLP,
larger or more expensive HD Plasmas are HD. The only other ED TVs I am
aware of are some of the smaller LCD TVs which generally have poor
screen quality anyway.

What to buy for a less than $2000 budget? Not a simple answer given
the bewildering choice of display technologies on the market: direct
view CRT, CRT RPTV, DLP RPTV, LCD RPTV, LCD direct view, and plasma. For
less than $2000, the choices narrow to direct view CRT with a max size
of 34" widescreen, CRT RPTV, maybe the smaller LCD RPTVs if on sale, and
non brand name ED plasmas. I think all the the DLP RPTVs still list for
more than $2K. By spring 2005, a $2K limit should just able to get you
into the brand name ED plasmas after another round of price cuts come
through and during sales at the big B&M chains.

Alan F

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Alan Figgatt (afiggatt@comcast.net) wrote in alt.tv.tech.hdtv:
> ED plasma also handle the full
> HD color set, rather than NTSC color set.

They better. The ATSC gamut is *smaller* than the NTSC gamut. That is,
on a color chart, the ATSC "legal colors" cover a smaller area than the NTSC
colors, although there might be some places where ATSC isn't completely
enclosed by NTSC.

Now, in practice, there are very few NTSC sources that use the whole gamut,
and very few ways to transmit and store NTSC that wouldn't lose some of
those colors.

--
Jeff Rife | "I once did a news report on the dangers of
| plastic surgery, and do you know what the
| statistics say?"
| "Yes...that 9 out of 10 men prefer women
| with big boobs."
| "And the 10th guy preferred the 9 other men."
| -- "Just Shoot Me"

Archived from groups: alt.tv.tech.hdtv (More info?)

Alan Figgatt wrote:
> Michelle Steiner wrote:
> > Let me take a stab at it. If I'm wrong about any of this, it's due
to
> > my own misunderstanding, and I welcome corrections.
> >
> > EDTV is DVD quality-- 480p: 480 horizontal lines per screen,
scanned
> > progressively (i.e., one at a time). However, DVDs are actually
> > recorded in 480i, but frames are buffered to send 480p signals to
the TV
> > sets. The TV has to be able to handle 480p, though, so the DVDs
make
> > 480p a user selectable option.
>
> Not to start another ED vs HD flame thread, but ED Plasmas are
better
> than DVD quality. DVDs are encoded at 720x480i resolution and are
NSTC
> (in the US anyway). ED plasma are 852x480p pixels, so they do have
> better horizontal resolution than DVDs. ED plasma also handle the
full
> HD color set, rather than NTSC color set. As far I can tell, when we
> talk about living room ED TVs, only the ED plasmas are an option. All
of
> the other technologies for the larger sets: CRT, CRT RPTV, LCD, DLP,
> larger or more expensive HD Plasmas are HD. The only other ED TVs I
am
> aware of are some of the smaller LCD TVs which generally have poor
> screen quality anyway.
>
> What to buy for a less than $2000 budget? Not a simple answer given
> the bewildering choice of display technologies on the market: direct
> view CRT, CRT RPTV, DLP RPTV, LCD RPTV, LCD direct view, and plasma.
For
> less than $2000, the choices narrow to direct view CRT with a max
size
> of 34" widescreen, CRT RPTV, maybe the smaller LCD RPTVs if on sale,
and
> non brand name ED plasmas. I think all the the DLP RPTVs still list
for
> more than $2K. By spring 2005, a $2K limit should just able to get
you
> into the brand name ED plasmas after another round of price cuts come
> through and during sales at the big B&M chains.
>
> Alan F

At the $3K price point I like the ED plasmas over all RPTV
competition.....even though you have to compromise on size (42" ) and
resolution (though you'll have a difficult time discerning the PQ
difference between ED and HD at ten or so feet). At $2K the Sony and
Hitachi CRTs look nice (and I'm sure there are other brands).....I
really dislike, though, the reflective protective screen on just about
all of these TVs.