HDTV advice

[mstrofdisaster]

i just picked up a 40" Toshiba LNT-4065 LCD at J&R in the city for $1599 + a $150 gift card came with it...I bought this for my father-in-law because he liked mine so much.

15000:1 contrast ratio
1080i/720p
3-HDMI in
Game Mode

It rocks. The set is all black and looks really sharp.

 

[masterswimmer]

BD, thanks for the link. Gave a good little background on 1080p vs. i and 720i. Only thing is.......that article was written two years ago. Not sure if things have changed due to manufacturing or the source of the input.

I'll have to do some more reading. On first impression though, for a 42", I don't see any reason to spend the extra cash on 1080p. 1080i/720p seems adquate.

swimmer

 

[charile1]

Check out the sites below. I went with the Panasonic Plasma.

http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/
http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/

 

[Dmitry]

Here's an article about 1080 in general:

http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages_b/reality.html

 

[nycmat]

HDTV. i have a 52" LCD XBR3. it has 3 hdmi imports and has 1080p. some people call it the cadillac of the LCD line. it really is the way to go if you have the money. i researched these things for about 1 year until i pulled the trigger on mine. right now the sony XBR series is the best for the buck IMHO. the only difference between the 2 and the 3 is an extra hdmi import and the piano black border that you see with my picture here loaded. the xbr2 series can come in different colors to match your color screen if you are interested in that stuff. the xbr4 is the newest out now. havent really looked it up because i am so happy with mine. as far as contrast its excellent and all that you will need. the samsung nfl line has even better contrast but there are drawbacks to that. although it is an excellent tv. remember samsung makes all the parts for sony. go figure. whatever your choice is in your tv my biggest recommendation is to get a 1080p. you can really notice the difference. also remember if it is not broadcasted in HD you will never EVER get hd quality so let that help you. do not buy at best buy. your best money can be spent at online or at pc richards. do your research you can get my tv for about 3600 $ right now. also do not be fooled by the hdmi 's that they sell. its all a crock of #@#$. get my drift? there are different ones. they always try to sell you that crap. anyone you find in bjs id fine. i would only recommend a 1.3 hdmi cable (NEWEST ONE) if you are planning to use your tv as a monitor for your computer. to me a waste of time. the best reason for hdmi is quality and easy to hook up. just 1 cable. can you use component cable. yes absolutley. is it as good maybe not but you have to really be looking closely to see the difference. i also use a hdmi on my sony ps3 that is a 1.3 cable. real sweet for blue ray!!! GO blue ray. do not invest in any hd dvd player until you know who wins. another beta vhs war. HD dvd won the porn industry and paramount, blue ray won blockbuster and some other companies so it still hasnt been settled and the prices are coming down. figure next year to make that purchase. a good 42 " sony xbr series 42" tv will run you about 1700-2500$ depending on the size of tv and who you buy it from. like i said i know a lot about this crap now LOL. if you have any other questions or i can be of help let me know
thanks
matt

 

[nycmat]

i also did all the work myself with wiring. u can do it yourself as well. its not worth it to pay $400 for them to put it on the wall. just an fyi

 

[emps]

Read up on the forums on www.avsforum.com. Tons of info and reviews of sets. Site is pretty much the quintessential source for anything AV related with alot of audio/videophiles.

 

[Dmitry]

nycmat: thanks! What do you think of Sony's V series? The XBR sounds great, but out of my price range. From what I've seen their V2500 is the next best thing and the deal here (http://www.projectorexpo.com/productdetail.asp?level=81&catid=224&productid=6430) seems really great. I don't play video games, so this would only be used for DVDs and TV.

I'm also definitely not getting involved in the HD vs. Blue Ray war. I'll just buy an upconverting DVD player (they have a Pioneer for less than $100) to hold me over.

 

[TimberTDI]

Hey Matt,

:biglaugh:NICE TV!!!:biglaugh:

 

[reefman]

i dont buy into these hi tech stuff.
here's my tv

 

[nycmat]

dmitry see timbers tv. its the xbr2 i was telling you about. i tried to click on the link but it didnt go through. i see it this way regarding sonys. since not all tv's does not look as good when you zoom in, check it out for yourself. ask the salesmen to do just that put the tv on a regular channel since you will watch about 50% in non hd. to decide yourself. that is what i did. samsung was not as clear when you zoomed it in. whatever you do just make sure you get 1080p. that is my recommendation. if you give me the make and model number i will look it up for you. also what is your budget and if in doubt go to froogle.com to see what other people are selling it for. i like tvland.com. it isnt bad.

 

[nycmat]

Btw Hell Of A Tv Timber :d

 

[unwired]

TVs are over rated. Just put your fish tank in front of the couch.

Even with poor maintenance you'll see less 'death and nudity'.

;-)

 

[Dmitry]

What's wrong with nudity?

The Sony model I was looking at is Sony KDL-40V2500. asvforum is what I've been reading and the only serious flaw that's been discussed there about this TV is the cloudiness on some units. Though the cloudiness isn't always there; I'm not sure when people were seeing it. And it wasn't effecting everyone. (Threads on asv go into thousands of posts, so I didn't read all of it.) I see J&R selling this until for $1500. I found it at another site at $1295. Honestly $1500 would be the tops for me.

This link should work: http://www.projectorexpo.com/productdetail.asp?level=81&catid=224&productid=6430

 

[unwired]

Are you that guy that like to tap on the glass while the fish are mating?
Give 'em some privacy. LOL.

On the HDTV front, Dad bought himself a 46" Sceptre (actually I found all the info on AVS myself and had him return his 42" sceptre which was acting funny). He's been real happy with his new set so far though I've yet to take the plunge myself.

The 42" TVs are dropping heavily in price and there have been some articles written saying that 42" TVs will likely be in the $700 rangeby Xmas and the 46" @ about $1000. Apparently, the next genreation of TVs out sometime in the fall will push prices down fast.

The article also said that profits for the tier 1 player has been pretty slim b/c of the volumes they are being forced to purchase components in. The smaller vendors pay a bit more in price but don't have to make the same commitments and therefore also have less risk in having stock they need to move more quickly.

 

[Mak]

Hmm I am in the market for looking for a tv too.. Still couldn't decide if I should get the LCD or plasma, if plasma, I'll go with the Pioneer Pro Elite series.. For the LCD I'll go with either Panasonic or sony.. But I hear Plasma is getting better and better and is still the top choice out there. am I right?? Even on the http://reviews.cnet.com/4323-6531_7-6509125.html?tag=dir
Hmm I don't know.. Guess still have to do more research on it..

 

[Dmitry]

The thing is that every single one of these TVs has something wrong with it. Whether these "somethings" are things the average viewer will notice is debatable. But they're all flawed in some way. So one just has to decide what compromises one is willing to live with.

I'm surprised by a lot of the TVs on that cnet site! The XBR is highly rated, though.

 

[Mak]

http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5108443-2.html?tag=txt

Here's the Plasma vs LCD.

 

[nycmat]

Mak the knock on plasmas and the reasons why i stayed away from them is that they actually tell you when your tv will go. the other reason is that if it drops a pixel or it doesnt get flushed it could stay there. and now with HD gaming it isnt worth it becasue it could freeze onto your screen. to many what ifs and that is why its so cheap. stay away from plasma IMHO. now dmitry the kdl is a good tv. just make sure you get the one that is 1080p and not the 720p 1080i. then you have a good one. if you are worried about the what ifs : get the warranty. its worth it IMHO because if that was to happen i wouldnt want to worry about it.

matt

 

[muntai]

lcd should out last a plasma, which is y lcd usually cost 35% more. however plasma does have pros like better viewing angle n thinner but native resolution is not as high. sony use to make good tvs but not anymore. they have lag behind in technolgy n quality due to quality control n greed. however they r name brand so...
if $ is not a concern, Samsung LN-T4681F is the best tv out there today.