Here's my basement project that took me most of last year.
It was worth it.
Posted on 01/07/2006 8:08:19 PM PST by george76
I went through this last year. I didn't want a particularly large TV, as I'm viewing it from only 6' or so away. Considered Sony's 42" Grand Vega LCD projector, but decided the picture wasn't all that it could be. Looked at some 37" and 42" plasmas but decided that the cheaper ones had unacceptable picture quality and other issues, and the best ones (Pioneer and Panasonic) were just too expensive for the resolutions involved (1024x720 to 1280x720). Considered some 32" LCDs, but again the price/performance point just wasn't there. DLP rear projection just didn't appeal to me. So I finally settled on 34" direct-view CRTs. I liked the Sony XS955 (same picture as XBR, fewer features) but its price (CDN$ 2,600) and weight (230 lbs) scared me off it. That left the lower-end Sony 34" CRT (HS-somethingorother) and the Panasonic 34" CRT, at similar prices (CDN$ 1,200-1,400). I ended up with the Panasonic ($1,300, 160 lbs) but the Sony would have been a good choice, too. The horizontal resolution on this set is only about 900-1000 (similar to the smaller plasmas), but I do get the full 1080i (no 720p) resolution. For the money I'm very happy with it.
When watching HD content I wish I had a bigger, higher resolution set, maybe a 42 incher, although SD content at that size and distance will look even crappier than it does now. When I do go looking for a new set in a year or two, I will probably be looking either at the new generation of LCDs (see Sony's new XBR1 1366x768 and XBR2 1920x1080 sets) which look really good, without the ugly artifacts that earlier LCDs I looked at had, or possibly at the new SED technology. Plasma's are nice but the possibility of burn-in issues, along with the unlikelihood of ever seeing full HD (1920x1080) resolution in the smaller (37" and 42") sizes, and the prices, make it unlikely I'll be buying one.
If I was buying again today, for 34" and under I'd at least consider CRTs. They still deliver a very good picture for the money - better than any LCD in terms of colour reproduction and black levels. In the 30"-42" sizes I'd probably look at direct-view LCDs - some of them are very good. Above 42" I'm not so sure. I think DLP rear projectors give a better picture overall than LCD rear projectors. Sony's SxRD (LCOS) rear projectors are real nice, but pricey. Their "A20" line of LCD rear projectors are better than the old ones, but maybe not any better than DLP (Don't get a Samsung! Their stupid DNIe system screws things up). Big plasmas look nice and some of the new ones go up to 1920x1080 resolutions, but you'll pay handsomely for it.
Good luck.
And compare!
Ours has it, but we can't use it! Aaargh! Paid extra for it but can't take advantage of it right now.
So it might not have been a good move, particularly since prices are dropping so fast. It might also be a better strategy to wait a year when Blu-ray DVD players have come down in price a bit.
In our case, we couldn't wait on the tv since our old tv gave out on us and we needed to replace it right away.
I've read that within a year Blu-ray players should be available for around $500 vs. paying $1000-$1500 when they first hit store shelves later this month (perhaps later this month, perhaps next month).
The cable companies only allocate so much bandwidth to each of the HD channels. With MPEG2 compression that bandwidth may not be enough to transmit all the detail in the original source as they receive it. In my experience this only becomes noticeable in relatively extreme cases with lots of detail that is moving.
Other times the compression artifacts have clearly originated upstream of the cable company. For example, the "Star Trek - The Next Generation" episodes aired on "Spike" have horrible compression artifacts that were noticeable even with analog cable on my old 20" 4:3 CRT. Mostly noticeable as motion glitches, where character's movements appeared a little strange.
There's another thing to consider. When you're watching a DVD, that's also MPEG2 compressed. But in high-quality DVDs, considerable time can be spent optimizing the MPEG compression parameters for each scene. For live broadcasts, or for digital cable, the re-encoding to MPEG2 is done on the fly and is not optimized for the type of scene on the screen.
Have you noticed the quality of live HD broadcasts vary greatly? Lighting may be a big part of it. Some sports broadcasts appear very muddy and murky and lack the crisp detail you expect with HD. Others are very good. The late-night shows with David Letterman and Jay Leno in HD look absolutely fantastic (but aren't generally of interest to me).
" In the 30"-42" sizes I'd probably look at direct-view LCDs - some of them are very good..."
Any model numbers ?
Do you like SONY or...?
Thanks
Yes, Sony is one of the first to step up recently and offer true 1080p processing (ie can accept 1080 on the HDMI input) in many of its higher end sets. Man, the price on those Sony SXRD rear projectors has really come down quite a bit. That's a nice set that you selected there, and I don't think you'll regret it. And you're well prepared for the future with two HDMI inputs (as DRM becomes more pervasive, they may be the only way to get HD sources into your TV, so you've got one each for digital cable/satelite, and one for DVD) - kewl!
HD-DVD has been out for a couple months already and may have some advantages (mostly in terms of disc production cost) over Blu-Ray. HD-DVD movies are already available. I have an XBox360 and Microsoft is releasing an add-on HD-DVD drive for it that I may get, depending on price. But I wouldn't rush to buy either of them just yet - movie selection in those formats is still pretty poor. And honestly, while HD is great, plain 'ol 480p (widescreen anamorphic) DVDs still look pretty good, as I'm sure you're aware.
I do like Sony, but I'm not devoted to them.
From personal experience, I can tell you that the LCD models with XBR2 or XBR3 all have very nice pictures. For example, the KDL-40XBR2 is a nice 1920x1080 LCD. The XBR3 version has a different bezel and maybe some few other additional features.
The non-XBR 1920x1080 models, like the KDL-40V2500 seem to share many of the same specs, but not all. I haven't see one in person.
I have seen the KDL-V32XBR2 (32" 1366x768) in person and it looks very nice, too. In fact, it was the first of the new Sony XBR LCDs that I saw, and the first LCD I saw in person whose picture really impressed me.
Being Sony, of course none of the above are what you would call cheap - the last one I mentioned going for $1,999. Hmmm, there's also a 32" XBR1 model at the same price with pretty much the same specs, except for having the Wega engine (signal processor) rather than the Bravia engine.
Within the next three hours, the cable guy is due to switch us over to digital cable. Fingers crossed - and also hoping that the other two "old" sets will still function properly!
Thanks.
What other HDTV's do you like in this size range ?
Please let me know how you like the 32" Sony flat LCD HDTV after the cable guy is done.
Do you mind asking him what he thinks ?
Thanks.
I'll do that, for sure, and ping you back.
What, the 32-40" range?
Well, I've not been keeping really up to date on it since I bought my set, but...
If you can handle the size, weight, and lack of 720p support (most every cable box, and my xbox360, will upscale to 1080i), I still think 34" CRT HDTVs are a good buy. Personally I would go with Sony or Panasonic, but many have reported good results with the somewhat cheaper Hitachi line - just don't get the "slim-fit" Hitachi CRTs - they've traded picture quality for a more compact case. Be aware, though, that CRT TVs in this size are very heavy, from 160 lbs or so for the Hitachi or my Panasonic, to 230 lbs for the Sony XBR model (Sony has a good, less expensive 34" CRT, also).
Other than that you're looking at LCDs. I would stick with Sony, Panasonic or Sharp for the best picture quality here. If you're not too fussy about things like black level and such, many of the "lesser" brands make decent 32", 37" and 40" LCD flat panels. Compare for yourself - many older-tech LCD flat panels had, to my eyes, horrible pictures with lots of artifacts, uneven lighting, and so on.
If you can, or want to, go up to the 42" (and up) sizes, you can still look at (rather expensive) flat panel displays, or get into rear projection. Choices are many here - LDP, LCD, many brands. Personally I would stay away from Samsung and LG, based on what I've seen and many comments I've read. Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi, Mitsubushi are good names here. The Optoma brand sold at Costco may be good, too.
Oh, in just about any of the technologies I've mentioned, if JVC is a player they generally make really good stuff.
Thank you for this.
Global, I'm in the market as well for this fall/winter. Check out avsforum.com. There's a lot of good info there from actual users.
Went to a Best Buy Magnolia store with the wife to figure out what size and technology. We've narrowed it down to 46" LCD. Looking at Samsung LN-S4695 or LN-S4696, Sony's 46" XBR2 (note that Samsung and Sony share LCD panels due to their production joint venture), and waiting to see a Sharp Aquos 46" D92 series which has very impressive spec's but is just hitting the stores now (I haven't seen one in person, yet).
Good luck with your search.
See the next post, avsforum.com is a really good source for info, although it can be a little overwhelming, and keep in mind many of the people there are somewhat anal-retentive videophiles.
Also, my comments about Samsung and LG were in particular aimed at their Plasma products. I think Samsung does make some good DLP products. Not sure about either of those companies' LCD products. Keep researching a little more - I know it's a pain, but you at least want to rule out products that are known to be kinda crappy.
"note that Samsung and Sony share LCD panels due to their production joint venture"
But also note that while there are only a few manufacturers of panels, there can be a big difference in the electronics driving them, which can make a big difference in picture quality, features, and ease of use. IMO Sony's electronics are probably better, but I haven't looked at Samsung's products or read any reviews lately, so they may have come up in the world.
Here's my basement project that took me most of last year.
It was worth it.
Yes it is.
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