Whats the future of HDTV? Where should a guy start "going HD"?

[Paul F.]

mikebw;

Pretty much my plan
I want a new TV for it's larger size, and a flat-variety to reduce the space it takes..
The HD part is only a "perk" for the other features.

I've got my "target" price in mind.. when they come down to that, I'll buy. Looks like probably about a year. Maybe by christmas if the sales get steep enough.

[mikebw]

This holiday season should be an interesting time this year for TV sales. The reatail market is really switching to flat screens big-time. I mean if you go in a Best Buy or other big name store, I bet you will have to expend some extra energy locating an 'old' CRT direct-view TV anywhere on display. They are really pushing the flat screens.
Is it because that's what people want? Sure, but I bet it's also because they can make a decent margin on every model, especially on the bigger sizes.

The PS3 should also drive sales of any 1080p models, that is any HD model capable of displaying a full 1920x1080 pixels at 30fps. Progressive- no interlacing here.

I don't think we will ever really see 1080p OTA though, or via Cable. Too much bandwidth and not enough demand. Sure it'll be the best thing you've ever seen, but it's not gonna happen. Even Blu-Ray and HD-DVD won't do it.

Be sure though, that whatever you buy will probably be waaay better than your current setup, as long as you have an HD source. Beware, if you intend to view plain OTA analog signals on a fixed resolution LCD/plasma, or even an 'HD' direct-view CRT you will be dissapointed. Any non HD or analog source will probably look like crap, even if you thought it looked fine on your old set. This is because the signal gets mangled and processed to show up on the new set, and despite these efforts you can probably still see the fact that it sucks.

So, do yourself a favor (and it sounds like you will) and wait until you can get a good HD source AND display to show it off.

[Ted King]

Here's some more data about power usage of diffrent kinds of sets:

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:18P3...on+lcd+kwh&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=5

* Plasma TV (50”) 400 W
* Rear Projection TV (60”) 200 W
* Large CRT (34”) 200 W
* LCD (32”) 100 W


I have a Samsung 56 in. rear projection LCD/DLP HDTV (720p). Some analog TV shows do look pretty bad, but if the original video was good quality and the signal is a good one - like you might see in typical network first run shows - the picture is quite acceptable. I also have a Sony DVD player that upconverts its output to 720p. Some DVD's don't look so hot, but most well made DVD's look pretty good. I think it might have to do with how much compression and what type of compression algorithm they use when making the DVD. With large screen HD it seems like the quality of the compression used has a big impact on how good the picture looks.

[jdc]

lol -- i have a sony 27" CRT, have had it for years. i really have no desire to even replace it

but, recently we thought about upgrading to a larger tv, but spending anything more than say, $400, or less, seems silly to me?

[Paul F.]

jdc;
Generally, I agree with you... I don't jump on audio/video bandwagons easily.. and don't keep chasing bigger and bigger TV's...
Friend of mine just got his 4th TV in 5 years... a 60-something inch projection TV. Damn think takes up his ENTIRE living room!

One reason I'm thinking flat-screen (LCD/Plasma) is to take up LESS space!
Screen size, I'd be gaining 2-3 inches over my old TV, which has served me well for 5-ish years for the $300 I spent. It just takes up too much space.

[Grateful11]

I spent $2500 on a new Mac Computer once, now that was silly. I doubt if I ever do
that again. We're huge movie buffs and spending $2K on a 50" TV didn't seem silly
at all. Like they to each his own. I suspect that everyone on here has something in
their life that they are willing to spend more on than someone else, whether it be
fine food, motorcycles, vacations, TV's, etc.

[Grateful11]

[quote Ted King]Here's some more data about power usage of diffrent kinds of sets:

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:18P3...on+lcd+kwh&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=5

* Plasma TV (50”) 400 W
* Rear Projection TV (60”) 200 W
* Large CRT (34”) 200 W
* LCD (32”) 100 W


I have a Samsung 56 in. rear projection LCD/DLP HDTV (720p). Some analog TV shows do look pretty bad, but if the original video was good quality and the signal is a good one - like you might see in typical network first run shows - the picture is quite acceptable. I also have a Sony DVD player that upconverts its output to 720p. Some DVD's don't look so hot, but most well made DVD's look pretty good. I think it might have to do with how much compression and what type of compression algorithm they use when making the DVD. With large screen HD it seems like the quality of the compression used has a big impact on how good the picture looks.
Hi Ted that linked page is horrible but useful ;-)

[pixelzombie]

[quote mikebw]This holiday season should be an interesting time this year for TV sales. The reatail market is really switching to flat screens big-time. I mean if you go in a Best Buy or other big name store, I bet you will have to expend some extra energy locating an 'old' CRT direct-view TV anywhere on display. They are really pushing the flat screens.
the profit margin is quite nice on the 32" lcd's, ao i can imagine what it's like on a 42" plasma...