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advice for a new TV


Brad Grimmett

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I'm about to buy a new TV. I'm hoping you guys can steer me in the right direction. I'm thinking LCD is the best way to go, around 50 inch's. Also, this will be my first HDTV, so I guess I should go for the best and get 1080P. What are you thoughts? Any advice on specific brands to stay away from, or specific brands to look for would be great. It's been close to 10 years since I bought a TV, so I'm not up to date at all on what's going on with TV's these days.

Any advice is appreciated.

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- Brad - I'd definitely go for an Lcd over a plasma as the plasma'a seem very prone to screen-burn... But even with the best Lcd's if you view continuously in 4x3 (pretty unlikely I know) the black barring at the sides will eventually burn a faint shadow on the screen.

 

- I bought a logik lcd a couple of years ago as it was considerably cheaper than the best available Lcd's. But now things are very different (no shops here sell crt's tv's anymore) - I don't think you can really go wrong with a Sharp, Sony Bravia or the top Panasonic range. Their contrast ratios are all pretty similar and the angle of viewing is very impressive now on Lcd's.

 

... Having said all that If I could I'd buy one of the new digital projectors - the best way to watch a movie at home!..

 

Regards...

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You probably already know this but when you check it out, view it from all different angles. If there's one thing I can't stand it's TV's where you have to view them directly from the front to avoid the picture going dark.

Edited by Daniel Ashley-Smith
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Hi,

 

Unfortunately the only real way to watch everything equally well, as it was intended to be viewed, is on a CRT. I doubt you're going to sit there and watch TV on a studio monitor, though, so it'll have to be an LCD.

 

One particular gotcha at the moment is HDMI. This is fundamentally similar to the DVI standard that's been used to interface flat panel displays and computers for years, but with additional systems designed to encrypt the digital link between a high-def DVD player (blu-ray, HD-DVD, etc) and the display in order that Big Media can control what you watch and when and where you watch it. HDMI is a particularly large, overflowing crock of corporate-overlord poop, which can be used, for instance, to "expire" the licences of legally purchased devices (including your new TV) in situations where that player's decryption key has become public and therefore a tool for piracy. This is called "traitor tracing" and means that if someone -else- hacks a player like yours, you are punished. Cool huh?

 

Of course DVI has been offering unencrypted digital output of DVDs from computers for ages, and there's been exactly no cases at all of it being used for piracy, because the CSS encryption on the disc itself is such a complete joke. It's easier to just read the data off the disc and decrypt it. In stark contrast to this, the AACS encryption system used on high definition DVDs is... oh, hang on, also a complete joke, and has already been defeated. Therefore, the assumption that people will find it more convenient to build an uncompressed HD video recorder with HDMI input and record the whole disc, rather than just reading data off the discs and stripping out the rather elementary content protection, is ludicrous. Big Media knows this. Only possible conclusion: Big Media wants to screw you, in an iTunes-style "you must buy our device to watch our content" piece of collusive, anticompetitive cheating which would raise regulatory eyebrows anywhere other than Burbank.

 

Nevertheless, until the inevitable HDMI descramblers are built in a shadowy Asian electronics lab, you may wish to ensure that your display has HDMI input, even if it does mean you're buying into more corporate excesses.

 

Phil

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Avoid rear-projection units...your eyes and furniture arrangement will thank you for it.

 

I'm not too big a fan of LCD, they tend to come off looking a little soft with an occasional trailing following any motion that happens on screen.

 

If you don't mind the bulkiness and weight, a CRT HDTV is still the best. Best image, more reliable and just as compatible as any other make you'll find.

 

Plasmas are nice, and the risk of burnout has lessened as the generations of the model of progressed...but still, it's just an overpriced luxury for something that's probably not going to live a very long life.

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My 32" Panasonic CRT is just brilliant , over here as we have a much superior Pal 625 tv system i really dont see the need for HD in the home yet .

Yeah, I have a 36 inch RCA CRT that is about 6 years old that I'm keeping since it's a great TV. I see no need to replace it. I am however moving it to the bedroom since my 27 inch Panasonic CRT was stolen. I figure HD is the way to go at this point anyway.

I ordered a 46 inch 1080P HDTV Sharp Aquos today. Phil will be happy to know that it has two HDMI inputs as well as two composite inputs. After reading about it and hearing from other people I think I'm getting one of the best consumer TV's out there right now.

Thanks for the tips everybody.

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Honestly, if you're going for anything that's currently over $1000USD, I'd wait a few years and you'll probably be able to get it for half that. TVs are like computers now, just like digital cameras are like computers: there's a lot of hype now, and in a few more years we'll really know what's hot and what's not, what lasts and what doesn't, and how much money they're REALLY willing to sell for to make a fair profit.

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I agree with Johnatan, get a CRT. I own a Sony Wega 32", which has being said is the Best SDTV in the market according to Consumer Reports and others. I don't see the need for a HDTV, unless you must have it for outputting HD material when editing HD, and then I will buy a CRT HDTV.

 

SD video (most of the programs and channels) look horrible on a HDTV...I had a Toshiba 46" rear projection HDTV, and after 1 month I gave it away as a gift. I just hated the image.

 

If you really want to go BIG, get a Infocus X3 projector (1024v768 pxs.) I own one and a X2 (800x600pxs). Playing SD DVD's even on the X2, is the BEST "giant" screen image that I've ever seen for home viewing.

 

Thanks,

Cesar Rubio.

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Honestly, if you're going for anything that's currently over $1000USD, I'd wait a few years and you'll probably be able to get it for half that.

So you're proposing that I just go without a TV for a few years if I'm planning on spending over $1000? Gosh, I'm glad I didn't do that 7 years ago when I bought a 36 inch CRT for $1100, or I'd still be waiting for those prices to fall. I think 36 inch CRT's just recently dropped below $1000.

I'm paying $2000 for a very nice 46 inch LCD HDTV. I don't find that price to be outrageous, and I don't think it will drop much over the next year or two (unless I'm buying last years model).

I need a TV now, not in a few years.

Regarding CRT's....it's a dying technology. They're aren't as many choices in CRT's these days, and there are no choices in CRT's that are 46 inch's. I'm a pretty practical person, and it doesn't make much sense to me to buy anything other than a flatscreen right now.

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So you're proposing that I just go without a TV for a few years if I'm planning on spending over $1000? Gosh, I'm glad I didn't do that 7 years ago when I bought a 36 inch CRT for $1100, or I'd still be waiting for those prices to fall. I think 36 inch CRT's just recently dropped below $1000.

I'm paying $2000 for a very nice 46 inch LCD HDTV. I don't find that price to be outrageous, and I don't think it will drop much over the next year or two (unless I'm buying last years model).

I need a TV now, not in a few years.

Regarding CRT's....it's a dying technology. They're aren't as many choices in CRT's these days, and there are no choices in CRT's that are 46 inch's. I'm a pretty practical person, and it doesn't make much sense to me to buy anything other than a flatscreen right now.

 

Way late on the reply, sorry.

 

I'm referring only to HD LCD and similar technologies for television sets. CRT was and is a mature technology where prices have stabilized. LCD HD sets still aren't. I'd say in 3-5 years prices will get low enough to become stable and reasonable. There's no way they can obsolete HD-TV with a newer and better improvement before it has even caught on.

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I have a Sony 32" XBR CRT that has a great picture. But just a comment. I definately don't think digital means better.

 

It depends how the corporations are usuing the technology. Back when Verizon (then Bell Atlantic) switched from analog to digital, I felt strongly that the quality of my calls went down. After I talked to a telecommunications person, it turns out that they were able to cram more phone calls on their systems with digital technology.

 

So what does this have to do with cinematography? I am not an expert but, I feel the same thing is happening with consumer televisions and digital technology. My cable company recently upgraded their system to digital and I feel the image is suffering. I am seeing a lot of digital breakup in movies and TV shows especially when there is action. Like the compression is too much for those scenes.

 

Another is that SD signals are looking really bad on HD TVs when they will look fine on my SD 32" CRT.

 

The last issue is that I feel I am seeing way too much artifacting on many HD TV's that seem to be coming from the TV's themselves (though some may be coming from the cable company or the compression on the media itself)

 

I am certianly no expert in the construction of consumer HDTVs or the broadcast standards involved, but having watched and worked on films for most of my life, I feel like I am seeing the quality suffering of our work and that is what is troubling me.

 

Maybe this should be a new forum subject.

 

Best

 

Tim

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