HDTV recommendations

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xhail

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 21, 2002
Messages
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I'm not sure where I should put this topic, but this seemed to be the most appropriate place for it.

I basically want to spend about 2000 dollars on an HDTV that I can use to not only watch TV and DVD's but to also hook up my computer or XBOX to when I want to play video games. I don't know much if anything about HDTV's except that they have better resolution than regular TV's.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
You should be able to find a Sony XBR 34" for just around that amount. At the moment and for as long as the CRT lives Sony owns that market. The XBR is way better then the HS model. Do a side by side, the difference is amazing.

Luck
 
Yeah, the XBR models really are top-of-the-line and it's hard to find major faults with these products. :)
 
i would get a rear projection LCD tv . Those have amazing quality and are thinner than the Sony 34" XBR.

( link )
 
BONDS said:
i would get a rear projection LCD tv . Those have amazing quality and are thinner than the Sony 34" XBR.

( link )
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Nice set and yes, it's thinner. The problem is it lacks about half the overall picture quality of the XBR.
 
BillR said:
Nice set and yes, it's thinner. The problem is it lacks about half the overall picture quality of the XBR.
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i havent seen the quality on the XBR. might have to check it out. I guess there is a tradeoff.....better form factor = loss in minor quality. I personally think that it is probably hard to notice any quality difference.
 
thank you very much for all your recommendations
I'll probably have to go somewhere and take a look at two or three of the recommended tv's side by side :)
 
$2000 Will get you just about whatever you want, I would Highly suggest the just released Westinghouse 32" LTV-32W1. Take into consideration this is a Flat panel LCD, And can easyly be hooked into your computer as well. I was amazed at the picture quality on this TV in this price range for a flat panel. I rank it real close to the top of the line Sharp LCD TV's. Huge, Huge improvement over last year Westinghouse models.
 
Anyone have any experience with these:

Hitachi 51" HDTV
Sony 51" HDTV
JVC 56" HDTV

Is there something in particular I should look for when glimpsing at descriptions on say circuit city or best buy? Any recommendations on stores I should visit?

Edit: How about plasma tv's?

Thanks
 
look into a dlp. plasma is only worth if u need to hang it on the wall.
 
xhail said:
Anyone have any experience with these:

Hitachi 51" HDTV
Sony 51" HDTV
JVC 56" HDTV

Is there something in particular I should look for when glimpsing at descriptions on say circuit city or best buy? Any recommendations on stores I should visit?

Edit: How about plasma tv's?

Thanks
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I assume given the screen sizes you quote, these are CRTs as opposed to LCDs/plasmas/DLPs....I guess the JVC is a D-ILA.

Note that console gaming can burn into a CRT or plasma screen if you play alot and/or you are not careful with contrast settings. If you are going to do alot of Xbox I'd limit choices to DLP or LCD (I don't know much about the JVC technology). Panny makes an LCD around your price and 50 inch screen size. You might want to do a search for that. I have no idea what the other guy means about plasmas are only worth it if you hang it on the wall. :rolleyes: I suggest you visit the avs forum to get better suggestions than the last one.
 
ryanrule said:
look into a dlp. plasma is only worth if u need to hang it on the wall.
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Just want to add my $0.02. Some people prefer the PQ of plasma to rear projection, be it dlp/lcd/ or crt. You might want to go look at some plasma's before you write them off just because they are only good if you "need to hang it on the wall". Rear projection TV's are great for their cost, but it's definitely in your best interest to do some critical viewing of all the relative technologies before deciding on one.

http://www.avsforum.com might be a little more informative in terms of HDTV information, also.
 
Greenwit said:
I assume given the screen sizes you quote, these are CRTs as opposed to LCDs/plasmas/DLPs....I guess the JVC is a D-ILA.

Note that console gaming can burn into a CRT or plasma screen if you play alot and/or you are not careful with contrast settings. If you are going to do alot of Xbox I'd limit choices to DLP or LCD (I don't know much about the JVC technology). Panny makes an LCD around your price and 50 inch screen size. You might want to do a search for that. I have no idea what the other guy means about plasmas are only worth it if you hang it on the wall. :rolleyes: I suggest you visit the avs forum to get better suggestions than the last one.
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What!?! You think the 50"+ are CRT's? CRT's have a physical size limit of around 36" Not only do 36" CRT's weigh >150lbs, they be bulky as hell. Plus, the angle the electron gun has to shoot for the corners begins to causes major distortion.

People have been playing consoles on CRT's ever since the console has been invented. You would have to have the same screen on for months in order to get close to burn in on a newer TV. Plasma is what you have to worry about as the burn in time is much much shorter.

If you want a big screen, look for DLP TV's. If you want it big and flat, look for LCD. Plasma's have sharp pictures but every other spec is bad to terrible IMHO. i.e. longevity, power consumed, etc.

I think the [H]orde has plenty of good advice to give. However, with the misinformation you provided, I'd think twice about visiting the other forum you recommended.
 
SparksNelec said:
What!?! You think the 50"+ are CRT's? CRT's have a physical size limit of around 36" Not only do 36" CRT's weigh >150lbs, they be bulky as hell. Plus, the angle the electron gun has to shoot for the corners begins to causes major distortion.

People have been playing consoles on CRT's ever since the console has been invented. You would have to have the same screen on for months in order to get close to burn in on a newer TV. Plasma is what you have to worry about as the burn in time is much much shorter.

If you want a big screen, look for DLP TV's. If you want it big and flat, look for LCD. Plasma's have sharp pictures but every other spec is bad to terrible IMHO. i.e. longevity, power consumed, etc.

I think the [H]orde has plenty of good advice to give. However, with the misinformation you provided, I'd think twice about visiting the other forum you recommended.
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do some homework.... the first rear projection hdtvs were based on crt technology. they are now super cheap but suffer from burn in and horrible viewing angle. you have to be dead center in front of the tv in order to enjoy it.

there are now lcd and dlp rear projection tvs on the market. they are much better, but you pay a premium for the new technology. viewing angles are around 160 degrees and (i could be mistaken) neither technology suffers from burn in. also, they are half as deep as crt rear projection tvs.

plasmas do burn in.... qutie easily if you are not careful. but they have full viewing angle like a traditional crt (the big old box we know and love) and are bright enough to easily watch in a fully lit room. that is the problem with any of the projection sets. if there are windows in your den, then you have to wait until nighttime to watch anything. and that's no fun. if you go to bestbuy, look how they put the projection sets in a dark room. there is a reason for that. go to circuit city or tweeter's and the tvs are out in the open under full light. you will get a better sense of what i am talking about.

the other thing to consider is longevity. how long before you will get a new tv? how old is your current tv now? you can use that number to judge. if it is less than five years, you don't have to worry about any of the hdtvs currently on the market. but after that, you need to research your technology carefully and see which ones do well when you break down the cost per year of ownership.

please, (SparksNelec) do YOUR homework before spreading misinformation. and the avsforum is a great resource for information. and as for anywehere you go, don't take anyone's word as the gospel. read their other posts and and the posts of others.

edit: and when you go looking, look at what they are showing you on the tv..... often times it is nature shows and golf tournaments. bright, rich colors is where almost all of the hdtvs shine. however, most of the current technologies have trouble with the simple stuff: blacks and whites. if you like hockey, you don't want a tv that looks like they are playing on the yellow snow, do you? and if you like horror / suspense movies, it is not as creepy when the boogie man pops out from around a purplish-blue corner.... just something else to consider.
 
Many people are talking about the resolutions.
Since you say that you don't know much about HTDV, the 2 HDTV formats are 720p (1280x720 progressive) and 1080i (1920x1080 interlaced.) One person mentioned that the Sony XBR can do 1080i. I don't know of any projection/LCD/plasma that can display that resolution. I think that 720p is more common than 1080i.
Has anyone heard whether the XBox 2 will support 1080i? I know it will support HDTV resolutions, so I'm sure it will support 720p.
I'm in a similar position as the thread starter in terms of price and usage. I don't have a TV currently, just an analog TV tuner for my PC. When I buy a TV, I want to get a HDTV that's in the 40-50" range.
 
epGandalf said:
Many people are talking about the resolutions.
Since you say that you don't know much about HTDV, the 2 HDTV formats are 720p (1280x720 progressive) and 1080i (1920x1080 interlaced.) One person mentioned that the Sony XBR can do 1080i. I don't know of any projection/LCD/plasma that can display that resolution. I think that 720p is more common than 1080i.
Has anyone heard whether the XBox 2 will support 1080i? I know it will support HDTV resolutions, so I'm sure it will support 720p.
I'm in a similar position as the thread starter in terms of price and usage. I don't have a TV currently, just an analog TV tuner for my PC. When I buy a TV, I want to get a HDTV that's in the 40-50" range.
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i think that the xbox2 will probably support what ever is latest and greatest when it comes out. MS knows they will keep their product viable longer by doing this. and at this time, that is looking like that will be 1080p ;) or at least that is what i am hoping.

and p > i.... btw.
 
I have a Samsung 50" DLP (circuit city, $2250). Amazing TV, no problems whatsoever with it. Running cox HD Cable via DVI and the PQ on ESPN and Discovery is phenominal. DVD's and games look fantastic too (Gamecube Madden in progressive scan is a site to behold).

My father has an LG 42" Plasma, and after having spent a lot of time between both TV's, I have to say that there is a BIG difference in plasma picture quality. Don't get me wrong; the DLP has a great picture and very good viewing angle, but the plasma really just jumps out at you. The colors are a lot more vibrant. But of course you have to be willing to shell out $4000 for a tv like that.

I'd go with rear projection. you can't go wrong with my TV or the panasonic 50" LCD Projection; great tv too.
 
Have you thought of a projector INfocus has one for about 2000 grand which has native HD resolution of 1280x720. Or step up to the 7 grand one.

XBOX is required to do 720P. Yet I don't see 1080i or P being avialable seeing as the current fastest video card out there are does 16000x1200 and that would be a 500$ + card.

Sony tv's rocks. I have a 36" WEGA and is the best CRT I have ever seen. And the wide screen wegas are excellent also.

I don't like plasma because wehn they burn out the tv is worthless. Last I heard they have a half life of about 5- 7 years. Then you bretty much have to pitch them. At least with rear projection or a projector you can put a new bulb in.

But an HDTV is only as good as its signal. There are very few DVD's out there that do HDTV. Note: Widescreen is not HDTV. Widescreen is like 850 X 480. You will still have black bars on an HDTV. Some will stretch to fit.

So look for a tv with good video processing or get the sources with good video processing.

3:2 and 2:2 pull down. Good upscaling processors for converting the generic widescreeen dvd's up to 1280x720.

Read, read , read. You can never be to informed. And get lots if inputs. DVI, HDMI to cover the future inputs that are slowing coming out.
 
I don't know about rear-projection LCDs...but Sharp and a number of other vendors have flat-panel LCD TVs can do 1080p natively. Sharp has a 45" model for around $5000 street that supports this. As far as common resolutions, COX cable provides all of its HD content in 1080i, though it does upconvert some channels that are natively 720p.
 
You should be able to find a Sony XBR 34" for just around that amount. At the moment and for as long as the CRT lives Sony owns that market.
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Agreed.

$2000 Will get you just about whatever you want
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Umm...no actually. Depending on the size you are after. Some in here are talking about plasma TVs. You can't touch a decent plasma even as small as 42" for less than about $5000. Even higher end LCD TVs will be above that amount.

Hitachi 51" HDTV, Sony 51" HDTV, JVC 56" HDTV
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Definitely NOT CRTs.

but it's definitely in your best interest to do some critical viewing of all the relative technologies before deciding on one.
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True

http://www.avsforum.com might be a little more informative in terms of HDTV information, also.
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True - but take everything you read other than specs with a grain of salt. Lots of elitists over there that will trash every other type of technology except the one THEY think is best.

I own both a 27" Sony XBR CRT and a Sony Grand WEGA KF50WE610 50" HD Rear Projection HDTV. I am extremely satisfied with both. If you have questions on either of these types of TVs I would be happy to try to answer them for you.
 
Plasma's have sharp pictures but every other spec is bad to terrible IMHO. i.e. longevity, power consumed, etc.
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I'm begining to wonder when the myths about certain technologies will finally be dispelled. The average plasma display uses ~280W of power. The average DLP uses ~260W. They are both in the "Medium" category in terms of power consumption re: other sets. The only "Lows" are direct view and RP LCD. The highs are CRT (direct and RP) and D-ILA.

Also, in terms of longevity, current gen plasmas are rated at 60,000 hours to half life. Current LCD backlights are around 50,000 hours to death. DLP lamps are something like 2-6k hours before replacement. I'm not going to do the math on 60,000 hours, but I am sure if you estimate that you leave your TV on 10 hours a day 365, you will find that that still equals over 15 years to half brightness.

I'm not trying to sound like a commercial for plasmas. They of course have cons, like low relative resolution and the chance of burn in in the first 100 hours. I just wanted to try to clear some of the misconceptions up.

I still think a direct view LCD or dlp rp is best for the OP, but he should definitely go look at every set he can before he decides what's right for him.
 
Need to debunk a couple of myths here about plasma. I've become quite educated on the subject of HDTVs, having read the AVS and other forums seriously for a solid year (actually more). I'm a regular poster there with over 400 posts. A few days ago I ordered a Panny plasma and it will be here next week. Panasonic has wrote a white paper bebunking plasma myths (the technology, not so much their products):

http://www2.panasonic.com/webapp/wc...5093641563&surfModel=Content01052005093641563

The half life of brightness on a plasma is 60K hours.....twice as much as direct view CRTs and four times as much as rear projection CRTs. It's a dam* long time folks. Even the previous generation of plasmas had half lifes of 20K to 30K hours. Do the math.

Burn in, though something to watch out for, is a much less serious issue than it used to be. The greatest vulnerability for burn in is during the first 100 hours. Your plasma needs to be 'seasoned' so to speak during this period in order to make it a stout workhorse for the rest of its long career. Also there are built in safeguards in many of the new plasmas, like pixel rotating or wobblers which imperceptively prevents pixels to remain in a static state for prolonged periods. Rarely do you read of people complaining of burn in with new plasmas.

As for the rest, yall need to do considerable research before chosing the best HDTV for you. And watch out for the bad information and myths.....there is plenty of it floating around (ie, this thread).
 
jlew said:
I have a Samsung 50" DLP (circuit city, $2250). Amazing TV, no problems whatsoever with it. Running cox HD Cable via DVI and the PQ on ESPN and Discovery is phenominal. DVD's and games look fantastic too (Gamecube Madden in progressive scan is a site to behold).
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I work at Circuit City (not in TV's, in Computers) and I personally think that Samsung is awesome. We have one out on the floor and one in our break room that can be hooked up to HD DirecTV, DVI upconverter DVD Player, and gamecube, xbox, and PS2 via component cables. The DLP technology is sweet because you don't have to worry about screen burn, and games look awesome on it.

My dad has a Toshiba 51" Cinema Series HDTV in our basement, but he is buying a new TV for the family room. Although he wanted a Plasma so he could mount it on the wall, the picture quality on the Samsung DLP is swinging his vote. I'm stoked cause that Samsung is incredible :)
 
What do you guys think of this tv.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6784456&type=product&id=1089890509936


I dont know much about all this technology of Tvs.. but this one looks worth buying. Im in the market myself and this one kinda looks like it is worth the money. What do all of you think??

Also, would i be able to hook my computer to this tv and play games on it? I have a ATI X850XT with video out! Anyone know?
 
Sony LCD rp's are nice. They've had a couple problems in the past with bulbs, but If I'm not mistaken that has been resolved. They have a high resolution so you could defeinitely use it for playing games/computer work. Just make sure to stop by a BB with a couple DVDs and watch one critically for awhile just to make sure you like the PQ. If you ask a BB, Magnolia, Tweeter, whoever guy for the remote they will probably oblige you and that way you can dick with it to see how you like the feel/picture.
 
I was in the same situation. I had some money to spend on a tv so the question became whether i should choose lcd, plasma, dlp, or d-ila. Plasma immediatley got eliminated due to burn in and screen door effect. DLP got eliminated due to too many moving parts for my tastes. Its got a rotating color wheel and thousands of tiny moving mirrors. Also some can see a rainbow effect and dlp causes eye strain. So it comes down to LCD vs D-ILA. The LCD i was looking at (panasonic) didnt produce the image quality or colors comaprd to the D-ILA set. Ironically my local best buy had both the panasonic lcd and jvc d-ila set i was considering side by side playing HD material. It was then obvious the winner was the d-ila set. The whites are WHITE WHITE while the lcd's white was off white. The brightness and vivid colors of the d-ila set was amazing. The only other one that can offer the same IQ is the DLP sets, but the eyestrain and moving parts was enough to sway me away. So i got the jvc, and it rocks my socks.

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/specsformats/displays_D-ILA_projectors6.html

There you can read about the various display technologies.
 
chiefndubs said:
What do you guys think of this tv.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=6784456&type=product&id=1089890509936


I dont know much about all this technology of Tvs.. but this one looks worth buying. Im in the market myself and this one kinda looks like it is worth the money. What do all of you think??

Also, would i be able to hook my computer to this tv and play games on it? I have a ATI X850XT with video out! Anyone know?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I like that TV....spent a good long time looking at it. There is an XS Sony family, with one model at 55" so it may be worth looking at also. Supposedly the imaging is similar to the WF series and differences are with inputs and other features. Hooking up a console should be easy....hooking up a computer is a different story but it seems like LCDs are the popular choice.
 
I personally recommend looking at Sharp's products. They're a little expensive, but you get what you pay for.


epGandalf said:
Since you say that you don't know much about HTDV, the 2 HDTV formats are 720p (1280x720 progressive) and 1080i (1920x1080 interlaced.)
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Don't forget 1080p, which is just now coming out, and will probably be the standard in a couple of years.


Has anyone heard whether the XBox 2 will support 1080i? I know it will support HDTV resolutions, so I'm sure it will support 720p.
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All Xbox360 games will support 720p at the minimum. Additional support for 1080i/p is optional. Some developers will go for it, some won't. Expect the launch games to only support 720p, however.
 
HybridHB said:
I was in the same situation. I had some money to spend on a tv so the question became whether i should choose lcd, plasma, dlp, or d-ila. Plasma immediatley got eliminated due to burn in and screen door effect. DLP got eliminated due to too many moving parts for my tastes. Its got a rotating color wheel and thousands of tiny moving mirrors. Also some can see a rainbow effect and dlp causes eye strain. So it comes down to LCD vs D-ILA. The LCD i was looking at (panasonic) didnt produce the image quality or colors comaprd to the D-ILA set. Ironically my local best buy had both the panasonic lcd and jvc d-ila set i was considering side by side playing HD material. It was then obvious the winner was the d-ila set. The whites are WHITE WHITE while the lcd's white was off white. The brightness and vivid colors of the d-ila set was amazing. The only other one that can offer the same IQ is the DLP sets, but the eyestrain and moving parts was enough to sway me away. So i got the jvc, and it rocks my socks.


There you can read about the various display technologies.
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Do you have any links for some of these types of tv's? I would like to look at a few!
 
The one i bought back in november was the JVC HD-52Z575, it can be had for around $2k now. The other LCD i was considering was the Panasonic PT-50LC14. You can get good deals if you do a search on pricegrabber.com
 
somethin like this looks well worth they money: http://www.drprojector.com/dr/cartid6198453X-EVEREST-JCDN791/ic-KDF60XBR950/itemdesc.html

that is until you go look at the life span of the bulb.. it needs to be replaced after every 2000 hours. Being that there is always someone at home in my family 2000 hours only computes to 83 days. The bulb cost 189 bucks.. jesus. that tv would only be affordable if i was donald trump! For 3 grand surely I can get a friggin nice tv that wont cost me an additional 189 bucks every 83 days.
 
HybridHB said:
I was in the same situation. I had some money to spend on a tv so the question became whether i should choose lcd, plasma, dlp, or d-ila. Plasma immediatley got eliminated due to burn in and screen door effect. DLP got eliminated due to too many moving parts for my tastes. Its got a rotating color wheel and thousands of tiny moving mirrors. Also some can see a rainbow effect and dlp causes eye strain. So it comes down to LCD vs D-ILA. The LCD i was looking at (panasonic) didnt produce the image quality or colors comaprd to the D-ILA set. Ironically my local best buy had both the panasonic lcd and jvc d-ila set i was considering side by side playing HD material. It was then obvious the winner was the d-ila set. The whites are WHITE WHITE while the lcd's white was off white. The brightness and vivid colors of the d-ila set was amazing. The only other one that can offer the same IQ is the DLP sets, but the eyestrain and moving parts was enough to sway me away. So i got the jvc, and it rocks my socks.

http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/specsformats/displays_D-ILA_projectors6.html

There you can read about the various display technologies.
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Some quality issues associated with D-iLA. It's a *very* new technology including recalls. I'm glad it is working for you. Have you experienced chromatic aberration that some have complained about?
 
There were some issues with the early builds, i think pre april 04'? I ordered mine in november and got an october build. Its been perfect so far. There is a little bit of chromatic abberation (1 pixel width on one side) but you can only see it if your face is 1 ft from the screen looking for it. From normal viewing distance it isnt visible at all.
 
Reading all this info gives me a sense of joy as well as a headache...

How far technology has come, yet a headache due to all the choices available. I remember when all you needed to know when buying a tv was, what screen size you wanted (I'm only 25).

Thanks for all the information... but I realized I can't go plasma. Actually, this tv is a gift for someone. This person plays video games, watches dvds, not really into many sports, but does watch alot of "regular" tv. If a tv pixel ratio is 16:9, that would mean that regular tv programs will have black bars on the side or they will have that stretched out look.. am I correct? And if it's a plasma, wouldn't those black bars cause burn-in?

If that is the case, I think DLP projection HDTV would probably be the way to go. In all honesty, I think this person will just be happy about a decent, solid TV that will be better than his current 32" tv.

Thanks a bunch guys!
 
xhail said:
Reading all this info gives me a sense of joy as well as a headache...

How far technology has come, yet a headache due to all the choices available. I remember when all you needed to know when buying a tv was, what screen size you wanted (I'm only 25).

Thanks for all the information... but I realized I can't go plasma. Actually, this tv is a gift for someone. This person plays video games, watches dvds, not really into many sports, but does watch alot of "regular" tv. If a tv pixel ratio is 16:9, that would mean that regular tv programs will have black bars on the side or they will have that stretched out look.. am I correct? And if it's a plasma, wouldn't those black bars cause burn-in?

If that is the case, I think DLP projection HDTV would probably be the way to go. In all honesty, I think this person will just be happy about a decent, solid TV that will be better than his current 32" tv.

Thanks a bunch guys!
Click to expand...

DLP sounds like your answer. I'd suggest you look at the leaders, Samsung and Mitsubishi.

Luck
 
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