tv's

randy41 · Sep 16, 2006

this is turing out to be confusing....lcd or plasma?
hd tuner or hd ready? (i think hd ready since i dont receive my tv signal from the airwaves).
i think i'm looking for the 42" range but even that is confusing because of different things i've read about it. we will be sitting 8-10' from the tv.
so any experts out there? any people with experiences?
thanks

MrJimi · Sep 16, 2006

Randy, try
Reviews from Epinions

Jim

MadReferee · Sep 16, 2006

Try this link. It compares plasma and LCD along with product reviews.

Plasma TV Buying Guide

RonMar · Sep 16, 2006

Plasma was the thing a few years ago and they are still popular, but they will have a shorter life than a LCD. LCD's used as TV's have come a long way in the past few years and are generally considered the way to go these days. Earlier LCD's had more limited viewing angles, but not today. I just purchased a 37" LCD HDTV that has 176 degree viewing angle. It looks good from anywhere in the room. Production standards for the larger displays are getting so good that some manufacturers are offering 0 pixel defect warranties now where older sets were allowed a certain percentage of bad pixels before the display was considered bad. Some manufacturers are releasing newer higher density/resolution displays this year so LCD prices are also comming down rather quickly.

If you are going to be pulling your signals down off an antenna, you want a TV with a HD tuner. The term "HD ready" usually refers to a monitor with the processor to decode both HDMI and component analog HD inputs but no tuner to receive Over The Air(OTA) broadcast channels. A TV with a HD Tuner also have the HDMI and analog HD inputs. There are getting to be quite a few HD channels available OTA, but the common mode of receipt is via cable or satelite. Here is a website that will show you what is available OTA in your area.
http://www.antennaweb.org
Some of the sat provider boxes also have an OTA tuner built in so a HDready display could take advantage of both.

At a viewing distance of 8-10 feet, you would probably be happy with a 32" diagonal widescreen display. In Standard Definition(SD) or regular TV resolution of 4:3, that will yield about a 27" diagonal picture. You won't get a good widescreen(16:9) 37" diagonal picture untill you feed it a HD signal either from a DVD player, SAT/Cable box or a HD OTA signal. Here is a link to a A/V forum that has quite a lot of info. If you are looking at a particular model, search this site for comparisons and others experiences with that TV.
http://www.avsforum.com

randy41 · Sep 16, 2006

thanks ron...that was more of what i was looking for. i've read a lot of things on the internet about all this and when what you read is contradictory it gets confusing.
i live way out in the boonies and there's no way to get OTA signal without a tall antenna. i receive my tv through a dsl modem that feeds into a 'box' that is really a computer that then hooks to my tv. so i need to find out if its HD capable.

RonMar · Sep 17, 2006

I am in a similar situation, no real channels OTA except canadian. I don't have any experience with TV over DSL(barely have DSL where I live

. You might also consider Dish Network or DirecTV for a HD source. We have had Dish Network for years. In fact, that is what started my HDTV research. The wife wanted to upgrade our dish to get the local Seattle networks instead of the ones out of LA that we currently receive. In order to do that, we need another receiver and if we are going to upgrade, we might as well go all the way and look into HD. In the case of dish, you need a HDready display in place before they will install.

gordon21 · Sep 17, 2006

The rule of thumb I have heard is that the screen size needs to be the distance you sit from the screen divided by 3.3 if you have a 4:3 screen shape. 9' viewing distance=108" divided by 3.3 is a suggested screen size of 32" I personally find that way too conservative. At 9-10', I was using a 60" rear projection screen and just recently went to a DTV reciver and projector combo so I could get a 100" picture in the 16:9 format.

The 16:9 inch measurements have to be a lot bigger to make a valid comparison. Put a 37" 4:3 next to a 37" 16:9 and you will see what I mean. the 16:9 set will appear LOTS smaller.

I hooked up the projector to the Hi-Def-DTV box and set the resolution to 1080 and a picture size of 100". Needless to say, the picture was great. Since I already had the DTV box, my "new TV" setup only cost the $799 for the Sharp projector. 3 year warranty with express turnaround replacenment for the first 2 years.

HD is worth the extra $10 per month from DTV.

randy41 · Sep 17, 2006

confusion time again.....i think i'll go for a screen size that makes $ sense. i dont need to be overwhelmed.

i used to have direct tv but when a lightening strike got my receiver i tried to get direct to replace it for free and they balked until i actually cancelled. so i switched to my present situation in which my local phone company provides dsl internet, local with expended calling area phone service, and dsl tv with a package price cheaper than those items were individually when i had direct tv.
so i'm not going to be changing my tv provider any time soon.

frank_f15 · Sep 17, 2006

gordon21 said:
The rule of thumb I have heard is that the screen size needs to be the distance you sit from the screen divided by 3.3 if you have a 4:3 screen shape. 9' viewing distance=108" divided by 3.3 is a suggested screen size of 32" I personally find that way too conservative. At 9-10', I was using a 60" rear projection screen and just recently went to a DTV reciver and projector combo so I could get a 100" picture in the 16:9 format.

The 16:9 inch measurements have to be a lot bigger to make a valid comparison. Put a 37" 4:3 next to a 37" 16:9 and you will see what I mean. the 16:9 set will appear LOTS smaller.

I hooked up the projector to the Hi-Def-DTV box and set the resolution to 1080 and a picture size of 100". Needless to say, the picture was great. Since I already had the DTV box, my "new TV" setup only cost the $799 for the Sharp projector. 3 year warranty with express turnaround replacenment for the first 2 years.

HD is worth the extra $10 per month from DTV.

HUH???? i must rellay be to old for this . i have no clue what all that means

hope i don't ever have to buy a new TV

AndyM · Sep 17, 2006

frank_f15 said:
HUH???? i must rellay be to old for this . i have no clue what all that means hope i don't ever have to buy a new TV

I'm in my 30's, but as far as I'm concerned, my 19 inch Montgomery Wards television is going to stay put until it quits working. If that day comes, I'll decide whether to replace it or not... there might not be anything on television by then worth buying a new one for!