*edit* I bought a Sharp Aquos 46" 1080P display :)

[jto168]

Originally posted by: SickBeastYou seem pretty convinced that my set will be defective.

I'm hoping you will have a good set, that would save you time and hassle.

Originally posted by: SickBeast
Thank-you very much for all of the info you've provided me with. It's always nice to have an end-user's perspective instead of some reviewer who may have been bribed.

It sounds like the set is great when non-defective.

IMO you should get yourself a satellite hookup. I'm on Star Choice (not sure if it's available in the US)...it only costs me $20/month and I get 90% of their HD lineup (14 channels or so...NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, PBS, CBC, TSN, and a few others). In my experience, satellite is cheaper, gives you more flexibility, and often better picture quality than cable (for example, I get all my non-HD channels in 480P).

I'm looking forward to the set and I'll post more details on Wednesday.

I'm already using Shaw for basic cable and internet service and I would like to have HD service with them as well. Their current offering looks similar to what Starchoice has to offer, but I don't watch enough TV to justify going HD yet. I'm happy with watching TV dramas and sitcoms on DVDs and or from HD captures distributed on the net

 

[SickBeast]

*update*

The set arrived this afternoon and I'm currently typing this from my couch which is at least 12' from the display. From this distance, the text is a little harder to read, probably because my 24" screen looks bigger when I'm 2' from it.

My initial impressions are very good. I watched part of MI2 and some tennis on HDTV, and the image is near-perfect. I do not have the banding issue. Colors and the black level are both very good.

One feature that this TV has that I love and did not expect: it can adjust the volume level through the line-out if you want, so that you can use PC speakers (I'm using a good set of Logitechs).

I have to figure out how to properly configure the HDMI. When I leave 1:1 pixel mapping on, there is a 1" black band around the screen. 'Stretch' mode fixes this, but really, I shouldn't have to stretch an image that should be running at the native resolution.

There is more to come...I'm gonna enjoy the new set for a bit.