HDTV purchases over the Christmas holidays, please share your comments (VANITY)

31Jan06 | Self

[Las Vegas Dave]

Some of you may have purchased HDTV's over the Christmas break.

Please share your comments on your quest for HDTV.

[paulat]

During setup, I noticed that "Energy Star" sticker, so I went Hmmm, and checked the website for our electric utility. Sure enough, it qualified for a $100 rebate - which I received a couple of weeks later.

VERY good info, ErnBatavia! Thanks!!

[Drango]

Tier-2 video calibration package - $450

Wow! I guess that's one of the downsides to these systems. I really don't want to go back to school in get an EE degree to run my TV. Either that or hire a 14 year old who understands all this and can stop my VCR from blinking 12:00

[PissAndVinegar]

I have the XBR 40- sweeeeeet!

We did do the research (last year, we've had this +11mo)) and that's the reason we bought Sony. I know someone with a newer model and apparently it's had a OS / Firmware upgrade thought because the user interface is different. I say
OS because I read somewhere these run a Linux micro-kernel or something - I've never looked into it, I'm not about to go hacking my TV...

Awesome clarity & brightness, not disgustingly huge (anything above 42 stills seem a bit much to me) Has like 10+/- different inputs (including USB, HDMI & VGA. Needless to say I've got a PC permanently attached to it and playing Warcraft or Freeping on my couch with a 40" monitor is pretty sweet :-)

I recommend to anyone getting a new LCD who's too lazy or technically inept to do their own research - make sure you get all the inputs you can. Even if you can't pronounce them, you might need them someday.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

Bought a Samsung 720p DLP 50" in early November. It was $1300 out the door from Amazon.com. No tax and not delivery fee. It is even less expensive now. It is a wonderful television. HD looks unbelievable. No complaints at all!

[PissAndVinegar]

Bump for www.avsforum.com - I love that site!

[PissAndVinegar]

"I read somewhere...Linux " Probably Sony's site - I just googled it:

http://products.sel.sony.com/opensource/source_tv.shtml


(Shadow, I ping'd you for techping)

[mass55th]

"There's also DLP"

I bought a 50" Samsung HDLP in the summer of 2005 and love it! When they first brought it in, I cringed because it was so big. Somehow they never look that big in the showroom. My sister has a Panasonic 42" Plasma, and I believe the picture on mine is better than the Plasma. Earlier this year I upgraded to a Samsung home theater system. The only problem I've experienced is with the cable system, not the TV itself. If your TV is connected to a cable box, you can't use the auto-volume menu option. I find that commercials (specifically those made by local businesses) tend to be louder than the programs I am watching. I was told by Time Warner that there is nothing that can be done about it. I do use their DVR/Cable box, and record most of the programs I watch, so I just fast-forward through the commercials to alleviate the volume problem.

[aruanan]

Bottom line, the picture is a big improvement over the old analog TV and there is a difference between true HD broadcast and analog. I'm not sorry I bought it, but it was more involved than I thought it would be.

My boss told me that he bought a new Samsung HDTV for his wife. They use only broadcast signal. He told me that most of the local stations (Chicago) had digital and some had HD programming. He said that most of the stations had several different channels of digital broadcast. The result was that he had many more channels available than he did before and that all were really, really clear, even some that were before just ghosts.

[Timmy]

No, I have HD programming from Dish right now. I did not have a HDTV when I had DirectTV.

[TruthWillWin]

Yes, in my opinion. Circuit City has them all lined up on one wall. Must be 40 of them. It's the one my eyes enjoyed the most. I am sure other people see some other one as the one they like best.

Beware! Showrooms are famous for making adjustments to the tuning to sell the sets they want/need to sell. TV sets that have the best Mark-up or TV's that they need to move (old mercandise) are the ones adjusted to look better.

[PUGACHEV]

I've had HD now for about four years, viewed on a 58" Toshiba rear projection TV. At first, the quality was stunning: you could see the weave in an actor's shirt, for example, and travelogues are especially good in HD. But, strange to say, you get over it quickly. Since there are only a handful of HD channels, as opposed to 200 or so non-HD offerings, you're going to spend most of your time watching programs that are non-HD. Having lived with both, my conclusion is that HD is a novelty; it's nice to have, but I can take it or leave it.

Another important thing to consider is, at the moment, anyway, you cannot record to DVD in HD. If you're going to record a boxing match or a movie off of HBO, or a football game to DVD, you're going to have to do it in non-HD quality.

[RetSignman]

I neglected to add one more thing for those new to HDTV, (post #51) Many of us here on FR watch Fox News, beware of their logo's, especially that rotating logo in the bottom left of your screen..it will 'burn in' even after decreasing the contrast, I learned the hard way, on this one.

I still watch Fox but I use zoom2 and toggle down aspect to 3, if your set has that function..use it. If it doesn't, use any function on your set to get rid of both that logo and also the 'LIVE' logo on the upper left.

The picture won't be as good but it's basically a 'listen to' station anyway.

[epow]

Hmmmm...I've read that the PQ with both Dish and Direct TV leave something to be desired

Don't believe everything you read. I had to switch from cable to Direct satellite when I moved out here in the boonies, and my picture quality is much better on satellite than cable ever was.

I don't have HD yet and probably won't get it until prices come down substantially. My son just bought a 42" Samsung HD set, and IMHO considering the very limited HD programming he gets from his cable company at a premium price HD isn't worth the price difference at this point in time.

[nevergore]

First, for those with an extensive existing DVD collection go out and buy a DVD player/recorder with "UpConvert" capability. This will allow you to play standard DVD's in near HD....Incredible picture....

I purchased an RCA DVD Recorder from Walmart two days ago for $98 which included the HDMI cord (an important point due to the cost of the cord separately). Picture quality is fantastic and the UpConvert allows for 720P or 1080I....Watched Pirates of the Caribbean, fantastic. Be aware that set-up on this particular set was incredibly easy however other "UpConvert" DVD players are not as reported by several sales folks from other Electronics stores.

BTW, Christmas Eve I was in Sam's Club doing the standard husband stagger looking for last minute gifts when the store manager who I knew approached me to wish me a Merry Christmas. He also informed me that he was in process in marking down 3 in-the-box Samsung 61" DLP HD TV's from $2345 to $800 and would throw in the stand....Needless to say I purchased one on the spot even though I was not looking for one. My only regret is that I didn't buy two....

The set does 1080I and 720P and was manufactured August, 2006.....

[Moonman62]

I think you should stick with what you've got if you are happy with it. Stay with the Toshiba until it breaks, then upgrade. The longer you wait, the more bang for the buck you'll get.

I remember seeing someone's Proscan almost 15 years ago. It also upconverted and got rid of the scan lines. The picture was incredible from a regular cable signal. OTOH, I go to some stores and see them try to run a regular signal through some of the new TV's. They look terrible.

[SoftballMominVA]

We got a Toshiba 32 in LCD monitor. After fighting with the incompents at Dish Network we finally got it up and running. The picture is stunning and we are pleased with it. But I thought we'd have more channels in HD than we do.

[LanPB01]

In addition to 1080p through Blu-Ray players, I believe the newer HD-DVD players utilize it as well. If you have an XBox 360 with an HD-DVD drive, you can get 1080p signals if your TV has a VGA input.

I have a 42 inch Westinghouse that does 1080p, and it looks great for games and high def movies. You can find them online for about $1400.

[The Sons of Liberty]

I bought a 43 inch Hitachi plasma last year. One thing I found was that using an HDMI interface with the cable box, versus the normal cable connection, improved the clarity almost as much as going from analog to HD.

[marajade]

Um most people connect via HDMI from the TV to the device itself, eg., HD DVD player, not through a stereo receiver.

You would connect via coax or toslink for DD sound from the device, eg., HD DVD player, to the stereo receiver.

[Drango]

>beware of their logo's, especially that rotating logo in the bottom left of your screen..it will 'burn in'

More info on burn-in

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatv/plasmatv-burnin.html