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SarverSystems said:I just bought my 42" plasma for $1898 with a free DVD recorder from Best Buy. I also signed up for the rewards club thing, and got $85 in gift cards so far.
Not saying that isn't a good deal, but there's other deals to be had similar to this as well.
SarverSystems said:
psychoace said:also plasma are psuedo high def. If it can't do 1080i then it aint HDTV
SarverSystems said:Mine does 1080i.
bubblethumper said:FWIW that Dell is a much better screen than that Maxent garbage.
superostrich said:Great! Most 42" plasmas display 1024 by 768 unless I am misinformed. So if I want a true 1080i signal, then I would need at least a 50" or bigger plasma? Maybe I should look into projection lcd screens instead? The problem with lcd is the viewing angle. The image gets so washed out if you are viewing from the side. My budget can only go so far though. 50" plasmas are at least $3000 and up.
psychoace said:also plasma are psuedo high def. If it can't do 1080i then it aint HDTV
NulloModo said:Even 50" and above plasmas are usually 720p displays, ditto for most LCD, LCD projection, DLP, and D-ILA sets. I know of some LCoS, DLP, and SRXD sets that do 1080p, but they are very pricey. I have not yet seen a direct view LCD or plasma designed for home use that does 1080p.
You will not see a fixed pixel display that is optimized for 1080i, it would just be dumb to make a display like that biased towards an interlaced display mode.
The big point is though is that 720p is just as good, if not better, than 1080i. In 720p you get 720 lines of information every field, in 1080i only 540 lines per field.
EDIT: The best looking Plasma I have ever seen, the Pioneer Elite 61", is 768 vertical res. The thing is just like looking through a window when it gets a good signal, you don't need anything higher for HDTV.
defuseme2k said:<snip>Its amazing how much crap with these HDTV's there is to sort through. Someone like me who doesn't keep up with the tv's really has his work cut out. I've heard people weigh image quality back and forth so much I have no idea which is the best picture. LCoS? DLP?? Does it do any good to have the tuner built in? Can it tune my hdtv cable service without having ot have the cable box??? For some reason I doubt it. I could be wrong..
SarverSystems said:I know you didn't mean to, but I take offense to that. I love my Maxent.
BillR said:The defacto standard at the moment is in fact the Pioneer Elite sets. I’m not saying you have to buy one, but it’s the best place to see what HD can really do, then make a buying decision from there based on all the other factors everyone must consider, especially cost.
Lowest cost of ownership over the long term right now is still a “good” Plasma set.
Hope that helps a little, it's a tough business trust me
NulloModo said:The Pioneer Elite sets are truely drool worthy, but I ended up going with a Hitachi Ultravision just because it was 96% as good for less than half the price. I'm curious, have you had a chance to see any of the Sony Qualia displays? (either the front projectors or their RP set). I have heard some incredible things about them, but I'm not even sure if they are in the main high-end AV store market channel yet, I'd love to check one out if given the chance.
superostrich said:Ok, let me try again.
A 1080i signal only show 540 lines because the image is interlaced.
A 720p signal shows 720 lines because it is progressive.
My question is based on resolution.
42" plasma tv resolutions are usually 1024 x 768. I know that a 1080i signal is downgraded to fit on the plasma. Now, if I want a true 1080i signal, then should I buy a larger plasma? I've seen 50" and larger plasmas which have a native resolution of 1366 x 768. Can those support a true 1080i image?
Last question, should I wait for 1080p plasmas to drop in price or should I just bite the bullet and buy one now?
superostrich said:Ok, let me try again.
A 1080i signal only show 540 lines because the image is interlaced.
A 720p signal shows 720 lines because it is progressive.
My question is based on resolution.
42" plasma tv resolutions are usually 1024 x 768. I know that a 1080i signal is downgraded to fit on the plasma. Now, if I want a true 1080i signal, then should I buy a larger plasma? I've seen 50" and larger plasmas which have a native resolution of 1366 x 768. Can those support a true 1080i image?
Last question, should I wait for 1080p plasmas to drop in price or should I just bite the bullet and buy one now?
akelly999 said:Going back to the Dell, I am sure I read in a few spots about some sort of hum or buzz that they make. I think MaximumPC mentioned that in a review. I have enough issues with the psu in the htpc. I am sure that it does not need any competition...
superostrich said:Ok, let me try again.
A 1080i signal only show 540 lines because the image is interlaced.
A 720p signal shows 720 lines because it is progressive.
v3rt1g0 said:That's not accurate. 1080i is not the same as 540p by a long shot, but that's what all the would like you to think. You do absolutely get the full 1080 lines of resolution -- it's just displayed with even and odd lines sequentially.
Interlaced signals work because of persistence of vision (I think). The human eye continues to perceive an image for nearly 1/16th of a second after the image has disappeared. So, after the 540 even lines are drawn, the odd 540 lines are drawn while the eye still sees the even lines.
I agree that 720p looks better, but 1080i DOES display more information at once.
Jonsey said:Theads like this show why we need home theater subforum. This stuff is confusing, especially if you just go to BestBuy or CC and try to pick one based on how they look.
Jonsey said:........... especially if you just go to BestBuy or CC and try to pick one based on how they look.