HDTV Help For The Technology Challenged *DECISION MADE*
- Thread starter Volusianator
- Start date
Volusianator
BoM Nov '07 & Jan '09
Oh God this is all so confusing, I liked the old days when you just went in and plunked down $400 for a TV!
Volusianator
BoM Nov '07 & Jan '09
LCD or Plasma and why?
Wasch_24
2005 BoY
Personally I think flat screen TVs are over rated.
To my eye you can not beat CRT HDTVs..Rear Projection or otherwise.
DLP HDTVs are, IMO the best value on the planet. They are very thin when compared to CRT rear projection TVs...almost half as thick...and IMO provide a sharper and cleaner picture then LCD or Plasmas at the same resolution.
Also they are very reasonably priced. The only kikcer is they cannot easily be mounted on a wall so if that is important then DLP is out. To me, the picture quality is way more important then mounting on a wall.
To my eye you can not beat CRT HDTVs..Rear Projection or otherwise.
DLP HDTVs are, IMO the best value on the planet. They are very thin when compared to CRT rear projection TVs...almost half as thick...and IMO provide a sharper and cleaner picture then LCD or Plasmas at the same resolution.
Also they are very reasonably priced. The only kikcer is they cannot easily be mounted on a wall so if that is important then DLP is out. To me, the picture quality is way more important then mounting on a wall.
I'm stilll hopeing the Beta-Max tapes come back, man My player is so cool. Anyone know where I can get a copy of Pirates of the Caribean on Beta?
Volusianator
BoM Nov '07 & Jan '09
I'm not sure I have any intention of mounting it on a wall to begin with so maybe this is something I should check out as well.
Electric Sheep
Dsicle - BoM Dec 06
I replaced my CRT-based HDTV with a DLP and it's a *TON* better. I really like the native progressive-scan of DLP, LCD, and Plasma as compared to the old CRT or CRT-projections.
YMMV of course.
YMMV of course.
I just wanted to second tuffy's thoughts on Monoprice. I just received an HDMI cable from them for my PS3 (by the way the PS3 plays blu-ray and upconverts normal DVD's..i'm just sayin' ) and the cable works perfectly. There is no way I would pay the high markup for any other cable.
:rofl: Dude in 1995 I bought a 78 T-bird that had a working 8 track player and found used record store that had them. I had the Doors, CCr, Simon and Gfunk, led Zep, and a bunch more. That thing was gangsta for sho.:guitar:
Volusianator
BoM Nov '07 & Jan '09
No shit! They wanted $129 for one freakin HDMI cable! WTF?!
Anyway, rant over about the cable. I think I decided on a TV. It's a:
40" Sony Bravia XBR-Series LCD Model # SON KDL-40XBR4
1080p
18,000:1 contrast ratio
120HZ refresh rate
The surround sound:
Onkyo HT-SR800(B) 7.1
Your thoughts?
Thats a good looking set that gets really good reviews. The 18,000:1 contrast ratio is a little misleading. I looked at the set and it actually has a 2000:1 static contrast ratio and up to 18,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. Nonetheless, it should still give you an excellent picture. My set is only a 1500:1 contrast ratio and I think it looks great.
Overall, it looks like a very good set, one that I wouldn't mind having. :thumbsup:
I agree with Tuffy. I'm more of a plasma fan myself, but that's not a bad set. You'll really like that Onkyo HTS as well. It's one of the better HTIB systems out there. If you decide you want to go Plasma, check out the Panasonic stuff. I bought my dad a 50" Panny plasma 1080i for his 60th birthday just over a year ago, and he loves it. The day we set it up, there was an Eagles/Cowboys game on ABC in HD. One of the neighbors came over, walked in the front door, saw the TV, and just stopped in his tracks, unable to move or speak when he saw the picture. It was pretty cool. 
Also, make sure you buy your cables from monoprice.com. I've purchased a few HDMI and TOSlink cables from them and they're very good quality for the price. Shipping is reasonable as well. If you go to BB or CC to buy your TV, the salesman will try his best to scam you into buying a 130 dollar Monster cable. Don't be afraid to call him an idiot and tell him that there is no such thing as signal degradation when dealing with digital. Good luck!
Jose
Also, make sure you buy your cables from monoprice.com. I've purchased a few HDMI and TOSlink cables from them and they're very good quality for the price. Shipping is reasonable as well. If you go to BB or CC to buy your TV, the salesman will try his best to scam you into buying a 130 dollar Monster cable. Don't be afraid to call him an idiot and tell him that there is no such thing as signal degradation when dealing with digital. Good luck!
Jose
cvm4
BoM - July '05 & Dec. '10
Glad to see this wrapping up :agreeclen What price did they quote you at?
Volusianator
BoM Nov '07 & Jan '09
The TV and surround would come to about $2700. I'm still looking online, but just a little weary of problems and the service you can get from a local retailer, it may be worth the extra to just get the TV locally.
Tuffy, I did see online that the contrast ratio was 2000:1 as well and the 18000:1 was static, not sure what that means, but I too thought it was a little misleading.
I was kind of looking at plasma then the salesboy mentioned that over time, the plasma will lose some of it's brightness while the LCD will remain the same, so that kind of got me on the LCD, any truth to that?
Wasch_24
2005 BoY
DO NOT...I repeat...DO NOT buy that Onkyo system.
The HDMI is pass through only. You will need a seperate cable for the audio from any HDMI source component connected to it. Baiscally defeating a major benefit of HDMI (one cable between each component). It only passes the video feed through the receiver.
Link
My sister-in-law actually bought that as her first choice of a HT, on the reccomendation of the sales guy at Nebraska Furniture Mart...ends up he didn't even know it was pass through only.
Wasch_24
2005 BoY
Check this out...from Best Buy...
$1129.93 - Harman Kardon/JBL 845W 5.1-Channel XM-Ready Audio Advantage Package (The description says 5.1 but it is a 7.1 receiver...typo on Best Buy's part link)
$1499.99 - Samsung - 50" 1080p Slim-Depth DLP HDTV
Total - $2628.93 (plus stand for TV $120-$200)
Bigger TV
Better AV Receiver
Better Speakers
My sister-in-law ended up going with this receiver and the 56" version of this TV...absolutely awesome combination. (She went with PSB speakers though...$$$)
$1129.93 - Harman Kardon/JBL 845W 5.1-Channel XM-Ready Audio Advantage Package (The description says 5.1 but it is a 7.1 receiver...typo on Best Buy's part link)
$1499.99 - Samsung - 50" 1080p Slim-Depth DLP HDTV
Total - $2628.93 (plus stand for TV $120-$200)
Bigger TV
Better AV Receiver
Better Speakers
My sister-in-law ended up going with this receiver and the 56" version of this TV...absolutely awesome combination. (She went with PSB speakers though...$$$)
Plasma burn-in and half-life issues have pretty much been resolved. It used to be a problem with earlier sets, but they've taken care of it.
http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/plasma-vs-lcd.html
Tons of information here. The whole site is a fountain of info. Read, read, read as much about the stuff as you can before you plop down that CC or cold hard cash. Remember, it's something you will have for many years to come, you may as well get what you really want.
http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/plasma-vs-lcd.html
Tons of information here. The whole site is a fountain of info. Read, read, read as much about the stuff as you can before you plop down that CC or cold hard cash.
Remember, it's something you will have for many years to come, you may as well get what you really want.
Wasch_24
2005 BoY
Also, if you haven't already, go to the store and have them put the same source on each of the technologies side-by-side (they should already have this set-up for you).
IMO, when I saw this at Nebraska Furniture Mart, the standard DLP, not the LED, was by far the best picture available...LCD, Plasma, DLP-LED, and standard DLP.
IMO, when I saw this at Nebraska Furniture Mart, the standard DLP, not the LED, was by far the best picture available...LCD, Plasma, DLP-LED, and standard DLP.