[bavarian19]

Well, I had a wonderful tax return this year thanks to being a young homeowner. I am going to put half of it away in savings, and im left with this decent size left to play around with.

At first, I was looking into my dream wheels for my car (19" bbs ch), but I have already sunk enough money into my car. So its time to start looking at big screen tv's.

I am looking in the range of about 2k. maybe a hundred or two over/under...

Any suggestions for this TV? I dont want a plasma, and probably looking at rear projection...

[huchung]

Need a bigger tv for next week's 24 episode? =D. Get a mitsubishi 1080p HDTV with DLP, those are niceeeeeeeeeeeeee.

[Squawks]

Ignore the comment on 1080p HDTVs because 1080p sources are not even out and won't be for a long while. Plus, with DLP, some people get some serious eye fatigue and headache since DLP works off of a mechanical, spinning color-wheel. So it's very smart to preview DLPs beforehand for many hours before buying them.

With a budget of 2 grand, I would suggest you get the biggest screen using an LCD-RPTV format. Best bang for the buck. Plasmas are nice but they still have a small chance of serious burn-in despite today's latest technology preventing such problems. You can easily land a 42" Sony LCD-RPTV for under 2k.

Also, stay away from any CRT-RPTVs. Poor viewing angles and they are actually being phased out of existence (same goes along with direct-view CRTs).

I would suggest you seriously consider DLP and LCD-RPTV and if you think DLP is nice, make sure you sit down at a store and stare at one for a while to see if you can see any of those dreaded "rainbow effects". LCD-RPTVs have their own drawbacks as well, such as the screen-door-effect, the silk-screen effect, and also have poor black levels (the darkest blacks on LCD-RPTVs will appear dark gray instead of near-black as seen in direct-view CRTs).

Also keep in mind that you should get an HDTV that is HD-ready instead of HD "upgradeable". An HD-ready TV can take a digital source and automatically convert the signal into HDTV format while an HD upgradeable TV requires a converter (usually in the form of an annoying set-top-box).

I highly suggest you go to the audio visual science forum at www.avsforum.com. Your question has been asked already on that forum a hundred times so a simple search would suffice.

[Flyingfart]

Originally Posted by bavarian19

Well, I had a wonderful tax return this year thanks to being a young homeowner. I am going to put half of it away in savings, and im left with this decent size left to play around with.

At first, I was looking into my dream wheels for my car (19" bbs ch), but I have already sunk enough money into my car. So its time to start looking at big screen tv's.

I am looking in the range of about 2k. maybe a hundred or two over/under...

Any suggestions for this TV? I dont want a plasma, and probably looking at rear projection...

Have you tried Costco, they have exceptional selections, and also you can return it anytime without a restocking fee.

dont forget your american express rewards
LCD is the way to go! IMHO

[oc24]

DLP my friend, is the best.

[huchung]

Originally Posted by Squawks

Ignore the comment on 1080p HDTVs because 1080p sources are not even out and won't be for a long while. Plus, with DLP, some people get some serious eye fatigue and headache since DLP works off of a mechanical, spinning color-wheel. So it's very smart to preview DLPs beforehand for many hours before buying them.

With a budget of 2 grand, I would suggest you get the biggest screen using an LCD-RPTV format. Best bang for the buck. Plasmas are nice but they still have a small chance of serious burn-in despite today's latest technology preventing such problems. You can easily land a 42" Sony LCD-RPTV for under 2k.

Also, stay away from any CRT-RPTVs. Poor viewing angles and they are actually being phased out of existence (same goes along with direct-view CRTs).

I would suggest you seriously consider DLP and LCD-RPTV and if you think DLP is nice, make sure you sit down at a store and stare at one for a while to see if you can see any of those dreaded "rainbow effects". LCD-RPTVs have their own drawbacks as well, such as the screen-door-effect, the silk-screen effect, and also have poor black levels (the darkest blacks on LCD-RPTVs will appear dark gray instead of near-black as seen in direct-view CRTs).

Also keep in mind that you should get an HDTV that is HD-ready instead of HD "upgradeable". An HD-ready TV can take a digital source and automatically convert the signal into HDTV format while an HD upgradeable TV requires a converter (usually in the form of an annoying set-top-box).

I highly suggest you go to the audio visual science forum at www.avsforum.com. Your question has been asked already on that forum a hundred times so a simple search would suffice.

SOME tv's have 1080i upconvert to 1080p, those will conver 1080i HDTV sources into 1080p. Plus, since blue-ray technology (HD-DVD) will come out this summer, DVD players will produce the 1080p source by this time next year. You dont want to buy a tv now and regret you bought it a year later when 1080p dvd players come out, you'll regret getting the 1080i. Plus, best quality come from crt sets. To find out more about these tvs, I recommend http://www.avsforum.com/, its a good site.

[huchung]

Heres a little discussion about 1080p sources for you non-believers:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...0p#post7469658

[Curt3s]

I have the 60'' SXRD.

You can have sex with it.

[bavarian19]

I have checked out costco. The only one I would want is available online... Unfortunately, the delivery fee is like $300 from costco...

[bavarian19]

Here is the one I have my eye on:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Samsu...oductDetail.do

[Squawks]

Hey, huchung - you even read that thread yourself?

1080p sources are scarce. You know what kind of HD cams are being used to record HD shows? Sony ones. You know what resolution they record at? 1080i/720p tops.

Also, upconversion? Who cares - I can put in a VHS tape and it'll upconvert to 720p on my TV but will that upconversion make it look better? No. Garbage in = garbage out.

[huchung]

As a matter of fact I have (not all 31232582 posts, but good portions of the post and other about the 1080p). Search on that forum concerning the HD-DVD, and youll see a lot of people, including myself, think that it will come out in the next few years. I dont know about you, but whenever I purchase a TV, its usually for 7+ years. If youre going to buy a tv for the moment, I agree with you, get the 1080i set because it will be cheaper. But if you think youll still have that same TV in 7 years, get the 1080i.

Originally Posted by Curt3s

I have the 60'' SXRD.

You can have sex with it.

Is that the High-end line from Sony?

[Curt3s]

I think the "High End" youre thinking of is the Qualia line, which has a 70'' SXRD. ( I believe the qualia line of products has just been recently discontinued)

I have the 60'' WEGA SXRD. The PQ is really really amazing. And I think it has a better contrast ratio than the 70'', but don't quote me on that.

[bavarian19]

I certainly plan on having this TV for a long time. I do not need top of the line, but would like a good quality TV. I have heard good about the Samsung big screens and their quality (parents have 2).

[Squawks]

The first SXRD from Sony was dubbed the Qualia 007 and came out a little over a year ago. It was the country's first production 1080p set. It only came out in a size of 70" with a glass screen and retailed for $14,000. You could only buy these with special invites.

Now, there are two new sizes, the 55" and 60". They knocked off the 'Qualia' nametag and staged the SXRD as the new XBR line of Sony (replacing the previous XBR line of plasmas and direct-view CRTs).

The 60" SXRD retails for nearly $5.5-6k while the 55" SXRD retails for almost $4.5k.

SXRD is similar to LCD displays except that they use a silicon-based chip instead of an LCD one and on top of that, SXRD utilizes 3 chips (so yes, you will have to carry out tedious convergences every once in a while to maintain great picture). But, SXRD single handedly kills both DLP and LCDs - the contrast ratio is obscene, the black levels are almost as good as direct-views, the distance between pixels is so small you can't even see the screen-door-effect even up close, and the color is phenomenol.

But then again, don't even consider the SXRD if your budget is around $2k.

Huchung, 7+ years is a long time - so props to you if you want to land a 1080p set right now. I'm upgrading every few years. My XS955 is obsolete upon the advent of the SXRD and even so, the XS still outperforms most non-SXRD RPTVs out there.

[huchung]

Squawks - When I was in college, 2 years ago, three of my roomates and I watched from a top of the line (non high-end) sony that my parents bough in 1989! Im prolly going to get a nice set in a year or two when the sony and toshiba resolves their blu-ray arguments and hd-dvd players wont cost more than 3k. Im about quality, not quanity =D.

[KL2DC]

Bavarian: Check out this outfit : http://stores.ebay.com/7e4

They sell stuff on ebay but also through their warehouse in Sterling, VA. For about 2k you can get a Samsung 50" DLP HD with 3 yrs ext warranty or a Pioneer 42" Plasma HD They charge 7% premium (includes sales tax/handling fee) for pickup at their location or can deliver, you can also check out their websuite at http://7e4.com. Hope that works out for you....

[Squawks]

Huchung - I'm not sure if sets, especially the SXRD, will drop below 3k in one year. While it has certainly been the case in the past with older LCD RPTVs, that was because of the continuous arrival of newer technology and thus, newer sets.

It's going to be a long, long, while before anything replaces SXRD. Even the DLP folks are cursing at SXRD. SXRD is simply *that* good.

Bavarian - if you go DLP, make sure you go to a store and watch that particular model (from the same viewing distance you would at home) for at least half an hour. Make sure you (and even your significant other/family) do not have any sort of eye 'fatigue' or 'rainbows'. How will you know? If you begin to get headaches or your eyes become sore after watching particular DLP sets.

[bavarian19]

Originally Posted by KL2DC

Bavarian: Check out this outfit : http://stores.ebay.com/7e4

They sell stuff on ebay but also through their warehouse in Sterling, VA. For about 2k you can get a Samsung 50" DLP HD with 3 yrs ext warranty or a Pioneer 42" Plasma HD They charge 7% premium (includes sales tax/handling fee) for pickup at their location or can deliver, you can also check out their websuite at http://7e4.com. Hope that works out for you....

I might have just upgraded the TV hunt

[huchung]

Originally Posted by Squawks

Huchung - I'm not sure if sets, especially the SXRD, will drop below 3k in one year. While it has certainly been the case in the past with older LCD RPTVs, that was because of the continuous arrival of newer technology and thus, newer sets.

It's going to be a long, long, while before anything replaces SXRD. Even the DLP folks are cursing at SXRD. SXRD is simply *that* good.

Squawks - Im talking about the DVD players. There are rumors floating that when blu-ray gets resolved, the players will be more than 1k for the entry-level. I figure, 3k would be a nice price for a moderate high-end player. As for the Qualia's SXRD (if theyre not disconn), I doubt that'll ever go below 7k for a new unit.

[Squawks]

You can land Sony Blu-Ray players *right now* for just $1,000 man.

Or wait for the PS3 next year for just $400-600. It doubles as a Blu-Ray player.

[huchung]

I can, but its pretty useless cuz there arent any HD-DVD out, and they are still buggy. For all we know, they can convert to the Toshiba standards, then the Sony will be obselete. I will wait until theyve resolved the issues + come out with HDDVDs.