Need CP advice for a new TV

[Ironhorse]

I know there are some TV nerds here, and I need some help!

The Ironhorse family is looking at buying a new widescreen TV within the next month or so, and we've been awed and amazed by all the fancy store displays showing pretty images etc.

We currently have a big a** Sony Wega CRT.

So what do we look for? What brands are good? Should it be LCD, plasma or DLP projection? We are not hard-core videophiles, but we do enjoy looking at a decent picture and have the current system set up with the proper cabling and a Sony 5.1 system. The Sony DVD player and related equipment are all about 3 years old, but seem decent. Due to reasons related to self-preservation, I'm not looking for a $5,000 TV.

We're also going to move to Shaw HD. Is it better to buy the PVR terminal they have, or should I rent it?

[Tower]

Durabrand.... it's the best!

[Vulcan]

Go to this site and do your own research. Too many choices for one size fits all.

http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/

[AaronSJ]

That site is very good, but perhaps a little intimidating to start. In my opinion, plasma is the way to go if you buying something over 36"-40" (and LCD is better for < 36"-40"). Prices have been coming down drastically and the quality is vastly improved over a few years ago. Projection is still the cheapest for big screens, but I find the selection is rather limited and the size and weight to be a major downside.

If you can spend between $2000 and $3000 on a plasma, there are a lot of options available. I would stay away from the bargain brands at Future Shop (Prima / Norcent), but it's wise to have a look at the entire range of alternatives. I guess the best way to start is to figure out exactly how much you are willing to spend and then to research brands/sizes/formats that fall into your price range.

Also, I bought my PVR terminal (Rogers, not Shaw) as the payback period is about two years and once you have PVR, you won't go without.

[transplant99]

I much prefer DLP over Plasma when getting into the bigger screens.

All depends on needs and styles wanted.

[White Doors]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I much prefer DLP over Plasma when getting into the bigger screens.

All depends on needs and styles wanted.

I second that. I have a 52" DLP and it weighs only 70 lbs.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I much prefer DLP over Plasma when getting into the bigger screens.

Just make sure you aren't one of the 10% of people who sees the "rainbow effect" when watching a DLP. Best way to tell is to throw in something with a lot of greys, like "Sin City."

The question of TV is extremely broad. What kind of budget are you working with? What size are you thinking of? How much use is this TV going to get? Would you be willing to spend an extra $1000 on a better TV?

The only broad recommendation I can make is stay away from anything that has "EDTV" anywhere in the description. You will often see it on lower end plasma TV's. Keep in mind that just because it's plasma doesn't mean that it is good. With HDTV coming into full swing, there is no point in buying a TV that can't handle it.

Some people will argue that point saying that it looks good to them. And when I run HDTV through my non-HD television I can see a big difference as well. But for Superbowl we brought in a true HDTV and set it side byside with my non-HD TV. What I thought was "good" on my old TV looked just washed out compared to true HD.

As for buying vs. renting the Shaw box, look at the costs, and how long you plan on using the box. If you don't plan on moving east of Manitoba any time soon; I would say buy it. In fact I highly recommend buying the HD box before the TV; because there is no point in buying an HD TV and not having any HD content to watch. However getting the Shaw HD box will give you better picture on your current TV on the HD channels, as well as Dolby Digital sound on your amp; assuming you have that set up already.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by transplant99

I much prefer DLP over Plasma when getting into the bigger screens.

All depends on needs and styles wanted.

And I much prefer the Plasma over the DLP. I'm thinking I'm one of the 10% because DLP's just don't look right to me, esepecially the white ice while watching a hockey game.

I'd say just head to the store with whoever lives with you and look at both. Once you see which one looks better to you, you can alteast narrow down which type of screen you want and the process gets a lot easier.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

And I much prefer the Plasma over the DLP. I'm thinking I'm one of the 10% because DLP's just don't look right to me, esepecially the white ice while watching a hockey game.

I'd say just head to the store with whoever lives with you and look at both. Once you see which one looks better to you, you can alteast narrow down which type of screen you want and the process gets a lot easier.

The only issue with that is I've noticed stores really turn up the brightness to make it look better. I saw one screen in one place that looked pretty bad, and the same screen somewhere else that looked great. I'm pretty sure there were some shenannigans going on.

[greerb]

I'm loving my new 50hm66 DLP TV from Toshiba. Plasma would be my close second choice.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Panasonic PX60 plasma. I have the 42" and it is the greatest TV ever invented.
Or the Pioneers are great too.
Those 2 brands are the best for Plasmas

edit: or just buy my 52" Hitachi HDTV WS projection.
Probobly the best projection out there. Certainly the best I have ever seen.

[Ironhorse]

Thanks for all your input thus far. Much appreciated.

We're going to start looking at a few different places this weekend, like Sony Store, Future Shop, Visions. Is it worthwhile to also check out Costco? I've always gotten good stuff from them in the past, but never a TV.

Lastly, what is a "progressive scan" DVD player, and do I really need one? I currently have a Sony one that seems pretty decent, but does not say "progressive".

[nfotiu]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Thanks for all your input thus far. Much appreciated.

We're going to start looking at a few different places this weekend, like Sony Store, Future Shop, Visions. Is it worthwhile to also check out Costco? I've always gotten good stuff from them in the past, but never a TV.

Lastly, what is a "progressive scan" DVD player, and do I really need one? I currently have a Sony one that seems pretty decent, but does not say "progressive".

I'll add myself to the Plasma camp. I much prefer the plasma picture to DLP. The blacks are a lot better, and the viewing angle is a lot better. I don't really see any negatives in choosing plasma, aside from price maybe.

Progressive scan dvd players convert the 480i (interlaced) image on the DVD to a 480p image. Kind of useless to your HDTV anyway, since 480 will not be the native resolution. The short answer, would be no, you probably don't want one. Some of the HDTV up-conversion players look good, but not necessarily better than letting your TV do the upconversion. The difference is not significant, your old player should look good. Save your money and buy an HD-DVD or Blue Ray when they've come down in price, and perhaps they have a combo player.

Be sure to set your existing dvd player to the 16:9 setting so that it sends the anamorphic image to your new tv.

[Ro]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

Is it worthwhile to also check out Costco? I've always gotten good stuff from them in the past, but never a TV.

In a word, yeah. I work there, and we have some pretty awesome deals on TVs. Costco.ca also has some good deals, and a wider selection. And you probably know this, but when you buy Costco, if something goes wrong, or you become unhappy with your TV, bring it back. We refund you. They are starting to tighten up on this a little, but if you put your foot down, keeping you as a member is always more important than having to salvage the item. We had some guy return a $4500 hot tub the other day, all nasty and cracked up. Some of us staff members couldn't believe it.

As for you DVD question, I recommend checking out a HD upconverting DVD player. Pretty sweet picture with a nice HDTV.

[Ironhorse]

I see Costco now has the Sony Bravia's, and they look awesome. I may have winner....

So how does regular cable programming work on a widescreen HD LCD TV? When I watch the CFCN news, is Darrell Janz going to appear even wider than usual? Are the OCC guys on American Chopper going to be riding reaaaally stretched out choppers?

[ken0042]

I just got a Dell 37". I usually leave it in 4X3 mode for regular TV. There are a couple of zoom modes to prevent excess stretching that work to certain degrees.

One of the zoom modes is good for shows like Mythbusters that are shown in Letterbox format. There's practically no distortion and I see the whole screen.

[mykalberta]

What are you looking for, size, crispness? Its hard to beat the projector setup. Inexpensive, great to watch porn on . The only real problem is its almost unuseable unless you have a large enough living room, and you need it to be dark, either in basement or have really good blinds.

Good luck.

MYK

[Ironhorse]

I was at the Sony store on the weekend, checking out their stuff, and the lady working there (she seemed to know her stuff) said that unless I plan on hanging the LCD (Bravia) screen, I'm just as good off with an LCD projection TV (Grand Wega?) for a lot less money. Is there any truth to this? It seemed that the full LCD screens had more brightness to them than the projection unit...

PS We are not planning on hanging the TV on the wall.