Decent sized HDTV for low $$$?

[BigToque]

Is it possible to get something like a 36" HDTV, or am I gonna have to shell out major $$$($) for something like 50+"?

Who makes the best/worst?

Will the Price of HDTV's drop much in the next year?

 

[dkozloski]

It's a waste of money anyway. The major networks expect to have no more than four to five hours a week of total HDTV programming for the forseeable future.

 

[IamDavid]

They may be a waste of money but hey sure do look nice when I'm watching DVD's.

 

[BigToque]

The purpose of the HDTV will be for my DVD's and my GameCube when I get it next year.

 

[Imported]

Get the 36" Wega XBR400 from Sony. It's HDTV upgradeable (ie, it'll display the full 1080i resolution with an outboard decoder box). It's around $2500 though. I myself have the 32" version of it and couldn't be happier.

 

[goldboyd]

sony makes a 36" wega XBR400. they call it hiscan or something like that, its esentially the same as hd, but they cant call it hd because its 4:3. not exactly cheap, but a beautiful picture

 

[Zucchini]

woah, so your saying it can display the full resolution even after giving up to the black bars?

 

[BigToque]

If its not 16:9 then its gonna fsck up the display of the dvd by altering the picture. This is why i want HD. I get the true 16:9 ratio.

How much $$$ would this "outboard decoder box" cost me?

 

[Imported]

Not entirely true. The Sony line of Wega(some, not all) tv's impliment a "vertical compression" technique to squeeze anamorphic, or HDTV signals to proper aspect ratios (in this case, it would be 16:9). I think what you are refering to is that anamorphic sources would look "stretched" on tv's that do not compress the anamorphic signal to proper aspect ratios. Also, since the wega tv does this compression, you do not waste any resolution when wanting to watch sources in there 16:9 ratio. Letter boxed video from your dvd player "wastes" video information by having to place black bars at the top and bottom of the picture to achieve the proper aspect ratio.

As for prices on outboard decoder boxes, prices range from $300 to $1000 or more. Many tv's that you find labeled HD ready still need the outboard decoder box anyways.

 

[Zucchini]

sad but i can't wait until chinese companies start churning out cheap hdtv's Somethings gotta make these prices drop.

 

[bigshooter]

illkid, you're saying that it will squeeze a 16:9 signal into 4:3, but keep 1080 lines of res? I don't know how good this would look, i know that the wegas are good now, but i don't know what they would look like after doign that.

 

[Pariah]

Here's a link that may be helpful as far as model selection and prices go. Click on television, then HDTV:

HDTV's

 

[Imported]

Bigshooter, thats vaguely correct. What I was trying to say was that it'll display the 16:9 signal but the electron gun will only draw just that, the 16:9 signal. ie, it does not draw the black lines on the top and bottom, also known as letterbox format. This was, it is using the full resolution to draw the 16:9 signal but not wasting any resolution on the black bars since it is not drawing those.


32XBR400 Specs
36XBR400 Specs

Maybe those will help a bit?

 

[DELUX]

I got a Sony Trinitron Wega and let me tell you that orgasms I have while/becqause of watching DVDs on it are relly great! HDTVs RULE!

 

[Imported]

Okay, I found something that might help you. I haven't read the whole thing, but some of the examples I've seen on it provide more words than I could describe.

Anamorphic Explained

 

[Pariah]

Only the Wega XBR TV's have the enhanced 16:9 format, the "regular" Wega do not have this ability. Not coincidently, the XBR's cost quite a bit more.

 

[Imported]

The 27"+ FV series of the Wegas also have the the enhanced compression mode, while the FV26s has it done automatically, while the FV16s have to be done manually, meaning on or off since it isn't auto.

Entire line of Wegas and their specs.

 

[Pariah]

You would have to assume that it looks quite a bit better on a 1080i capable XBR than a standard trinitron tube though.

 

[Zucchini]

not such a good time to buy right now. Wait a few months for the other tv companies to catch up. I saw a smaller flat screen by panasonic, so it shouldn't take long. Sony can charge a massive premium right now

 

[SUOrangeman]

There is a 27" Samsung selling at Best Buy these days for $999. I also recently saw the Philips Magnavox flat panel at Circuit City for $10K or so.

-SUO

 

[calbars]

If your mostly listening to DVD's, as oppose to cable crap, then the Toshiba 40h80 rules. It's a 40" retroprojection widescreen HDTV-ready tv. Plus it's tweakable ad nauseam!. Go ask your question at the Home Theater Forum.. A lot of knowledgeable people there.

 

[Marty]

No HDTV on the market today, barring $10000 models with 9-inch tubes, will display full HDTV resolution. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. If you're looking at tube HDTVs, a few come to mind. First off, there's the Panasonic, which is apparently pretty good. Next up is the RCA, which isn't a flat screen, but still pretty good. The Sampo is next; it doesn't have the brand name, but has the greatest support for the varying HDTV standards. Who can forget the Sony, which seems like its been around forever, and probably isn't your best bet anymore. Finally, there's the Toshiba, which is probably on a par with the Panasonic, Sony, and Sampo models in terms of picture quality, though, again, the Sampo leads in terms of features. A monitor witch matches the Sampo on this turf is this Princeton Graphics model, which is a little bit smaller than the rest, but coming form a former (current?) computer monitor manufacturer, is of tremendous quality.

Most of these sets are in the same price range (3-5000 USD), barring the Sony, but it can probably be had for significantly less than list price. Additionally, all but the Sony and the RCA lack integrated tuners, so that will set you back a few more bucks. I don't know to much about them, but the external RCA model seems top be quite popular. Hope I've been helpful!

Marty