I hope this is the correct forum. OK I am in the market for 2 flat panel High definition TV / Monitors 21" to 27" (LCD? Plasma?) One will be used for PS3 / XBox 360 / HD TV / DVD And the other for a PC with a high end graphics card (Radeon X1900XTX) Gaming and Video Editing will be the norm. 21" is the smallest I am willing to go and I would like to go bigger but I want excellent quality and I would like to keep the price under a grand for each... Any suggestions or links? Thanks ahead of time!!! Thanks!!
buy a HD projector Optoma H57 with 100 inch screen for $2000 and use it for all your needs. For me when it comes to TVs size matters. And the HD quality of this projector on 100 inch screen looks as good as any 40 inch. The only disadvantage to a projector is you don't want any ambient light. Just an idea if you have the room. Mine is 22ft by 12ft with 7ft ceiling
As nice as that sounds it won't work for me... partialy due to space, but mainly because both will be in use at the same time. Any other suggestions??
Plasma is overpriced and goes bad in about 5 years. Fixing it costs more than its worth, and your better off getting a newer and better one. The LCD's can't compare to either Plasma or CRT, because they can't produce blacks as well and aren’t as fast. The only reason I would ever get a flat panel TV like either of those types, is if I desperately needed to conserve space in a small room... but for most people, its not really an issue. I find that most people buy overpriced, flat panel TV's (LCD and Plasma) for bragging rights. Everyone's talking about them, its the latest thing, celebrities are always showing them off on television shows that tour their homes, and they look cool... but that’s just cosmetics. It means nothing when you're comparing performance and quality, and only serves a functional purpose if you need to conserve space, or if you have health problems and you can't lift a heavy TV or have no one to help you move it around. So before you decide if you want a flat panel TV, figure out what your priorities are. If you need to conserve space, at the expense of a lower quality picture and spending a lot of money, then a flat panel is a wise choice. If space isn't an issue and weight isn't that big of a deal, then an HDTV CRT (tube) Flat Panel will give you a much better picture and cost you a lot less. Also CRT's can last for as long as 20 years, and I've seen many that still work after 30! LCD's and Plasmas don't have that track record yet, because the technology compared to CRT is still fairly new. A lot of people think that just because LCD and Plasma screens are newer, that this technology is better than the older Tube TV's. This is totally wrong, and it’s actually the opposite. I find that for much less money, a CRT TV will usually offer a much better picture than an LCD or Plasma when comparing good quality sets that are the same size.
WOW!!! Excellent read!!! I thought they were simply a better picture, I guess for the reasons you listed. Can you get HD widescreen format? Would you be wiling to make a recomendation for each as a starting point for me? Thanks!!
Kudos Hoohah! Everything was well said. Although I disagree with your Plasma life prediction your logic is undeniably solid. Many people have that miss-conception about CRTs. Most of it steams from poor salesmanship and an gullable consumer base. Ced
good response but don't take this wrong but plasmas are rated at around 20000-30000 hrs which is about as long as a tube tv thay have come a log way in 15 years panasonic has 3 of the top 5 plasmas available from 1500 to $4000 but you can find others cheaper
Glad I could help. Sorry I didn't reply sooner. Well, right now everything is switching over from component to DVI/HDMI, so when you’re looking at TV's, be very careful when you find one that’s significantly lower in price than other sets that are seemingly very similar. I've noticed that most of the stores I visit, either don't put the connection type on the description card, put it under a flip card, or print it in tiny writing because they’re trying to get rid of them. If in doubt, just look behind the TV your self. The difference is that DVI/HDMI is much higher quality compared to component, and can easily be hooked up to a computer so you can use your TV to play video games (I hear F.E.A.R. is awesome on an HDTV!), brows the internet, watch DVD movies right off your computer if you don't already have a DVD player, and tons more. (HDMI to DVI cables are sold cheap at NewEgg.com). Just be careful not to view the TV from too short of a distance, or you can burn out your eyes' retinas. This shouldn't be a problem with a 32" or above. Also, all the new stuff coming out doesn’t use component connections, so its just wise to make sure you get a TV with DVI and/or HDMI. So far Sony makes the best HDTV CRT TVs I've seen. They have all the newest connections, the picture is outstanding, and the sound is great too. This is the one on my wish list: http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Sony...93015/catOid/-12868/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do As you can see, it has very good customer reviews. However, there is a known glitch this TV can get where it over saturates a color WAY too much so that you can’t fix it through adjusting the picture. If this happens, just exchange it. Also this TV has been known to break down electronically in environments where the humidity constantly rises and falls dramatically do to air conditioning systems, though I’ve only heard of this once or twice. It’s barely even worth mentioning.
2006 models are rated between 50,000 and 60,000 hours till "Half-life!" @ Hoohah, I don't recommend buying HDTVs that are not widescreen (16:9) format. The best CRT is Sony's 34" XBR model (KD34XBR960): http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...t&productCategoryId=cat03002&id=1117178041171 Ced
"Hoohah, I don't recommend buying HDTVs that are not widescreen (16:9) format" There lies the problem, a catch 22 even. Should someone get a 16:9 wide screen or a 4:3 letter box HTDV? The first cuts normal television shows down in size, the other cuts wide screen movies down in size. Everyone has a different answer for this, and you can't get a consistent point of view if you go around asking different people. It’s all about your life style, in other words, what you mostly watch on a daily basis. But then there's this thing I heard about all the networks being told they have to change over to HDTV by the government, with a dead line of several years? I don't know much about it and I don't even know the deadline, or if by HDTV they also mean 16:9... because I'm pretty positive someone told me that that there is such a thing as 4:3 HD. I thought the whole thing about 16:9 is that you simply get a wider view of the action taking place in the movie, and the sides don’t get cut off from the original format of movies. Based on what I know so far, HD comes in both 4:3 and 16:9. 4:3 is for watching normal television programs, while 16:9 is for watching special events, sports, certain series, and movies. So this is my take on this. If you're the kind of person who watches more normal television programming, older shows, reruns of the newer canceled shows, classics, and golden oldies, and less DVD movies, sports, special events, and movie channels, then you'll probably want a 4:3 HDTV, or a 16:9 if your case is the opposite. Its just a matter of what life style you live. Another thing to consider, is that everything on TV WILL eventually migrate to 16:9, as wide screen TV's become more and more popular over the next.... say, 4 to 5 years? Maybe less? I don't know to be honest, but I have seen some wide screen shows recently like Battle Star Galactica and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, although very few of them, so your guess is as good as mine. If someone knows for sure, I wish they'd step in and let me know! It would help a lot! Anyway if you're probably just going to upgrade to a new TV before this happens, get a 4:3 for now so you can still enjoy normal television programs, then later on when everything is changing over to 16:9 go ahead and get a new set. They'll be cheaper then anyway and you'll have newer technology to select from. Anyway, that’s my opinion based on what I know so far, but I still have a lot to learn. Like I said, I’m not sure about some of this stuff, so if I’m wrong about anything, please set me straight. I'd be much appreciative.
All the info on whats going on: http://dtv.gov/ HDTV will all be in WideScreen 16:9 or 1.78:1 and must be 1280x720 or greater in resolution. DTV can be anything! DTV covers everything that can be done today from analog (480i) to HDTV (720p, 1080i) as well as 4:3 and 16:9 screen formats. Your right though it does depend on your lifestyle. Fo me though buying a TV is a big deal and somthing that won't happen every 5 or 10 years. I would be better off buying a tv that is ready for the future. I'm talking built-in ATSC (Over-The-Air DTV) and clear-QAM (Digital Cable) tuners, Widescreen ratio, Cable Card slot, the works! Ced
I don't understand what the big deal about cable card slots is. I heard they don't support a lot of stuffl or a lot of services don't support them... or something like that. lol What I wan't to know, straight, is when will a large percentage of normal TV shows start to migrate to wide screen. I couldn't find what I was looking for on that site you gave me.
What do you mean? TV shows don't have to be widescreen. Only HD broadcastes do. Lets look at the show CSI for example. It is available in widescreen format as an HDTV broadcast (1080i) but is also offered as an SDTV broadcast (480i) where it has a native 4:3 ratio. The industry isn't going HD it going Digital! They get rid of the cable box. It sux to have a cable box when your putting a 50" plasma on a blank white wall. It always looks silly. The current crop of cable cards only have one way communication ability. That means no Cable Guides, Pay-perview channels, On-Demand channels, DVR/PVR/Tivo, no anything that requires two-way communication. Thats why it is nice to buy a tv that supports the free TV Guide service and has DVR built-in like the 50" LG plasma! Because the Cable Cards are limited Cable Companies normally tell customers that they don't know what a Cable Card is or that they don't support them when they really do. After all that some companies try to make it difficult to install them. For example, Its just a card but they will demand that a professional installer come out to your house. Ced
