help with new HDTV purchase

[polonyc2]

I need some help from all you audio/video experts here...I've finally decided to ditch my 15 year old 35 inch Sony TV in my living room and go with an HDTV set but I'm totally lost as to which features etc need to be included with my TV for best picture quality---progressive scan, HDMI, ATSC/NTSC, contrast ratio---

what do I eed to be looking for when purchasing my new HDTV?...HELP...

also does anyone have any recommendations on a good 35" or larger set?...manufacturer, brand etc?

Thanks

[izibo]

what price range are we looking at?

are you looking for a thin plasma/lcd tv or would a larger rear-projection hdtv work?

[ATINUT]

My personal preference is for Viewsonic. Why Viewsonic you ask, here's why. When it comes to making lcd monitors and LCD HDTV's, Viewsonic knows their stuff. I've personally seen their LCD HDTV's on display at a local computer shop that sells them, and I'm more impressed with them than some of the generic brands than I've seen at the local Best Buy.

http://www.viewsonic.com/products/de.../lcdtv/n3760w/

The link above is for Viewsonic's 37inch LCD HDTV, and has every connection you could want on an HDTV.

Only other brands I would personally consider are Panasonic, Toshiba, and LG. I would avoid RCA if possible, found out from Best Buy every product RCA makes puts out the same signal, which is why RCA stuff will not work with most Universal Remote's on the market.

[ATINUT]

One more thing I own a Viewsonic LCD monitor and haven't had one ounce of trouble out of it.

[polonyc2]

as far as price range anywhere up to $3000'ish...at least 35"...Plasma or LCD is what I was thinking about...but are rear projection's better?...don't know too much about them

as far as Viewsonic, I havn't heard too much about their HDTV sets...I've been hearing a lot of good things about Pioneer and Sony...but Pioneer's prices are the highest

[Slyder]

although not an expert maybe i can help a little. i found buying one difficult to sort out. the most important thing to check is.. can you pick up over-the-air hd broadcasts with an antenna. as far as i know (i didn't look to far into why) the fcc prohibits cable/sat providers from carrying local hd broadcasts. your surroundings, and distance from the broadcast towers greatly affect the signal. a good place to start is antennaweb.org

the tv itself it depends on your budget. i found it was a lot like buying a flat screen monitor... you definately get what you pay for. i went cheap, tried two $800 37" vizio's, and brought both back due to issues. finally caved in and spent double that. most now come with hdmi imput (do not buy a $100 monster hdmi cable. there's no diff in picture quality over a $35 dollar cable) and atsc/ntsc tuners. if you want to ditch your cable box you may want to wait a bit till more are available with cable card slots.

i hesitate to recommend one set over another because people have different requirements. i prefer speakers on the bottom so it narrowed my choice. i will say that i prefer hitachi displays

hope i helped a little...sly

[ATINUT]

Originally Posted by polonyc2

as far as price range anywhere up to $3000'ish...at least 35"...Plasma or LCD is what I was thinking about...but are rear projection's better?...don't know too much about them

as far as Viewsonic, I havn't heard too much about their HDTV sets...I've been hearing a lot of good things about Pioneer and Sony...but Pioneer's prices are the highest

Know this about a Plasma HDTV, if one thing even goes wrong with one, ie such as the Plasma Tube going whacko, you will wind up having to buy a brand new tv. I really don't think you would like that idea, to go and buy a Plasma HDTV, and then if something goes wrong wind up having to blow another $3000.00 to replace the one that went screwy on you.

[polonyc2]

Originally Posted by Slyder

although not an expert maybe i can help a little. i found buying one difficult to sort out. the most important thing to check is.. can you pick up over-the-air hd broadcasts with an antenna. as far as i know (i didn't look to far into why) the fcc prohibits cable/sat providers from carrying local hd broadcasts. your surroundings, and distance from the broadcast towers greatly affect the signal. a good place to start is antennaweb.org

interesting...I need to look into this...thanks for the info...

Originally Posted by ATINUT

Know this about a Plasma HDTV, if one thing even goes wrong with one, ie such as the Plasma Tube going whacko, you will wind up having to buy a brand new tv. I really don't think you would like that idea, to go and buy a Plasma HDTV, and then if something goes wrong wind up having to blow another $3000.00 to replace the one that went screwy on you.

so maybe LCD is the better option for me...

so many options too...it's definitely not as simple as when I boguth my old CRT TV many years ago...now you got DLP, Plasma, Sony Bravia etc etc

are all of Pioneer's HDTV sets Plasma??...I went to their website and everything looks to be Plasma screens

[ATINUT]

That sucks that all of Pioneer's sets are Plasma.

[traveler]

Definitely more complicated than a CRT TV.

Answer this before you abandon the CRT TV: Do you want to record TV programs to watch later?



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[Rick_EE]

Do you have Sat or cable? Being in NYC, I am sure you can get a HD DVR.

I, personally, have no interest in getting a TV with a tuner in it. Tuners and set-top boxes are evolving nearly as rapidly as computers. I get my DVR from the cable company and it have changed it out once already for a better model. And it doesn't cost much more on a monthly basis than a TiVo sub.
If you have a Home Theater, you may want one with removeable speakers to save space.

As far as PQ (picture quality) goes, LCD and plasma are much better than the projectors and you seem willing to spend the money. One main advantage is viewing angle. My mother has an older projection HDTV and if you stand up, the brightness of the picture drops nearly in half. The newer ones are better though.

Plasma screens are made by only 2 or 3 companies. All brands buy their screens from them. The difference will be in the electronics.

LCD's don't get as big as plasma, but you can find plenty in the 37" range you mentioned.

[orin]

Polonyc2,

I have purchased nine LCD TV’s ranging from the $400 dollar 23” Vizio to the 46” Samsung. The 46” Samsung by far has the best picture quality and receives HD channels over the air.

There are a lot of choices depending on your needs; I also understand there is a burn-in issue with plasma’s and my choice would be to stay with LCD. I pick-up the 46” Samsung at best buy for $3150.

Hope you find the TV that is right for you

Orin

[traveler]

Originally Posted by Rick_EE

Do you have Sat or cable? Being in NYC, I am sure you can get a HD DVR.

As I said, do you want to record TV programs to watch later?

And I mean later. As in years later as well as days later.

Being in NY, watch how fast you will run out of space on a DVR after you record the Yankees World Series and playoff games. Room for movies to be recorded? Not any more unless you delete something. Oh! Did you want to take the recorded games or movies over to your freinds or familys house to watch (since they have an even bigger HDTV than you do)? Forget it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The digital TV people want to control you as to where you watch your TV, etc.

As it exists today, outside of the "novelty" of sharper images, the practicality of HDTV is almost non-existant. Now why do you think they want you to delete the programs on your 20 hour or so capable DVR? Answer: Because they want to sell you those TV programs later. How are they going to do that? Answer: They are trying to plant "flags" in those copyrighted digital signal TV shows.

I hope that portable recording devices for HDTV are available soon. At the moment, "they" want to make them illegal just like they tried to make the VCR illegal years ago and failed. Now they are taking another shot at preventing the public from recording off the TV.



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[traveler]

Originally Posted by polonyc2

[snip]

what do I eed to be looking for when purchasing my new HDTV?...HELP...

also does anyone have any recommendations on a good 35" or larger set?...manufacturer, brand etc?

Thanks

As orin says, look at Samsung. I have Samsung and am pleased with it.



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[Rick_EE]

Originally Posted by traveler

As I said, do you want to record TV programs to watch later?

And I mean later. As in years later as well as days later.

Being in NY, watch how fast you will run out of space on a DVR after you record the Yankees World Series and playoff games.

Being a Brewer fan- what's a playoff game? lol.

I see your point. I really don't do that at all, so it did not occur to me.

In a pinch, you can still record SD content on the trusty VCR or DVD recorder. It is no worse than the options you have now.

Besides the fact that I can't afford one, that is why I am delaying my purchase. The technology and rules are changing too fast for me.