Hdtv?

[trains are bad]

I want/need a new TV. Like frylock says, TV is evil, but we ****ing need it. I'm going to need at least a 27" tv to be happy. I don't watch much TV at all except the millitary channel and the cartoon network, on cable at that. I mostly need the TV for playing videogames and movies. Plus this computer has Svideo out so I can use it as a monitor and play PC games (even though I don't play PC games except Commander Keen)or emulated videogames on the big screen!

32" Tvs are only like $300, and I can afford that, but there is the whole HDTV thing.....damn. HDTVs are like $800, which I can't afford. But like everything's going HD right? Would it be a really stupid thing to buy a regular TV at this point in time? I mean regualar TVs are just fine right, considering I'm currently playing super mario world?

[bunny5]

I say you should get what you can afford. No it won't be stupid right now. Where i'm from in Virginia I had to wait a year before I got HD tv. And there are only 20-30 channels on it. History channel and such arn't HD as of yet.
Most of the time I don't even turn it to HD channels unless its SIMPSONS :) cause for some reason it looks really sharp, but still.
If all your really doing is watching a couple channels here and there then just go for the $300 tv.

[Jack & Coke]

Only get HDTV if you can afford it.

If you are on a tight budget, forget about HDTV...

Once you spend the $$$ to buy an HDTV, you also have to spend a lot on getting the HD signal into your TV.

If you buy an HDTV with "built-in-tuner" (which costs more than "HD-Ready"), you can get free HD signals over the air with any antena, but only for local stations (i.e. no ESPN-HD, Discovery-HD, etc.)

If you have SAT/CABLE provider, yuo have to SPEND EXTRA for a special HD decoder box and receiving the HD digital signal. Around $70-$100 per month depending on your area.

HOWEVER! like I said, if you can afford it, it's AWESOME!!

Especially sporting events...

DVD movies are much better also. Normal TV is like 525 lines of resolution. DVD's are like 740 something..., HDTV is 1080 lines... so although the DVD can not match the output of HDTV, with an HDTV you ARE getting the most out of your DVD.

I've re-watched many of my DVD's, and definately noticed a big improvement in clarity and sharpness with my HDTV (Sony KD-34XBR960)

Good luck!

[trains are bad]

I really don't care about actual TV.

I only care about movies and games. Will I notice a big (500 dollars worth) of difference playing PS2 games, or will it not even make a difference unless I get a PS3?

[Jack & Coke]

I really don't care about actual TV.

I only care about movies and games. Will I notice a big (500 dollars worth) of difference playing PS2 games, or will it not even make a difference unless I get a PS3?

To answer your question, you need to look up the display specs on the PS2.

HDTV capable of at least 1080 lines
NORMAL only 525 lines

[Gitaroo Man]

HD is but a nutlicious. But since there are only a few channels right now that have it I don't think its worth it. But if you can afford it go for it.

[digitard]

I love my HDTV but you said you mainly want games.

A lot of games are not 'widescreen' compatable meaning you have to either stretch the screen (which most HDTV's have the feature built in) or zoom if you want to get ride of the black bars on the sides of games. This will pose a problem for NON-DLP HDTV's as they can have burn in problems. DLP and rear projection plasma (i believe) are the only 2 that dont risk this effect. Standard rear projection and things of that nature can get burn-in from static images (such as the black bars).

For what you want... I'd go w/ a nice 32" regular TV until you're ready for HDTV. Sure watching a movie on INHD/INHD2 is SO much better than regular TV cause its 16x9 formatted and no black letterbox bars, but if you're not really worrying about the TV stations just videogames then you wont notice much until the XBOX 360/PS3 come out supporting the HDTV standards.

Then start saving for an HDTV upgrade in the future when you're ready to start picking stuff up that will take advantage of it.

I myself wanted both TV/MOVIE high quality as well as videogames on the larger screen so I purchased a 50" DLP HDTV. It cost me about 1900 bucks, but its well worth it to me. The HD content quality is just truly stunning and when my DVD player is playing in 480P it looks SO much better than before. I use both my XBOX and PS2 on it and dont have to worry about burn-in cause its a DLP set.

[Dryden]

I really don't care about actual TV.

I only care about movies and games. Will I notice a big (500 dollars worth) of difference playing PS2 games, or will it not even make a difference unless I get a PS3?

No, not on the PS2. The PS3 will support the 720p, 1080i, and 1080p resolutions with two HDMI outputs (dual-screen HD), but the PS2 isn't anywhere close, plus the majority of PS2 games do not support progressive scan resolutions. The DVD picture quality off the PS2 is also abysmal compared to a true HDMI or composite output from a stand alone DVD player to an HD-Ready TV with 1080i support.

S-Video, also, won't produce the output resolution you desire. Just to get a high-quality picture from a multimedia center/HTPC you'll wind up dropping $200 on a quality Radeon card, $100+ per TV tuner, $150 on an HDTV tuner w/ antenna, and an additional $50 on the 1080i/component upconverter.

I've already been through all of this this spring when my third picture tube went out in my old Sony TV, followed shortly by the TV tuner itself, which left the cost of repair greater than the cost of replacement. I decided to take the plunge and bought a 46" Toshiba HD Ready set, then built a $1000 PC around it with DVD-R/TiVo & Wi-Fi capability.

Trust me, if you go HD you'll wind up dropping at least $100 alone on cables to wire everything together. However, if you've ever watched the anamorphic DVD of Saving Private Ryan at 1080i with 5.1 surround, you'll be awestruck.

Your best bet for getting the TV cost down is to shop around and get your local shops to price match each other. Find a TV just a hair over what you want to pay that is in stock at both Sears and Best Buy. Wait for it to go on sale at Best Buy, then go to Sears and ask them if they'll price match. They will, and they'll give you a written quote and brochure. Take that quote to Best Buy, and they'll beat that price by 10%. If you haggle, you can get 30 - 40% off the TV. I did this back-and-forth and walked out of Best Buy with the Toshiba that was $1499 MSRP for $1050 all inclusive (tax + next day delivery).

[Dryden]

This will pose a problem for NON-DLP HDTV's as they can have burn in problems. DLP and rear projection plasma (i believe) are the only 2 that dont risk this effect. Standard rear projection and things of that nature can get burn-in from static images (such as the black bars).

While standard RPTV sets are vulnerable to burn-in, the timeframe before this can occur approaches hundreds of hours and would have to account for a majority (> 50%) of your TV viewing habits. If rear projection sets really suffered burn-in as quickly as many fear, you wouldn't see a single broadcast channel watermark their TV content or run tickers beneath the picture. For example, watch any major channel (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) and you'll see their logo in the bottom corner of the screen perpetually. Watch ESPN and you've always got the score for the event your watching, plus the sports ticker. Same with news channels.

Really, unless you turn on the TV to one channel and leave that channel (and the TV) on for days upon days, you will never experience burn-in on a RPTV.

EDIT: What is more troublesome with RTPVs is that they're bulky and heavy, usually well over 150 lbs. Any severe bump could knock the color projection out of convergence, and you'll wind-up spending the next hour or two in setup menus recalibrating the RBG displays. Another major downside to RPTVs is that the screen is typically protected with a hotglued panel of plexiglass. Under adverse conditions (extreme humidity), the glue can come apart and become visible between the protective coating and the display -- very rare, but it does happen. The plexiglass is often highly reflective, which makes the majority of RPTVs poor choices for rooms which receive a lot of natural sunlight. Finally, Windex will yellow the screen coating, since it isn't "real" glass. Never Windex plexiglass, just wipe down the surface of an RPTV with a moist sponge. These problems aren't found in every RPTV, but you should seriously consider the differences between high-end RPTVs and economy models (sub-$1000).

[Jack & Coke]

...Standard rear projection and things of that nature can get burn-in from static images (such as the black bars)...

Can you get "burn-in" from "black bars"?

I mean, it's black because there no light hitting that area, correct?

Is this wrong: NO LIGHT = NO BURN-IN

?

[Dryden]

Can you get "burn-in" from "black bars"?

I mean, it's black because there no light hitting that area, correct?

Yes and no. Obviously, you're correct that you won't "burn-in" an image of the letterboxing, but if you were to watch continuous out-of-aspect programming you would cause uneven phosphor wear, which will result in the area where letterboxing normally appears to be out-of-contrast and brighter than the rest of the screen.

This type of problem should not occur today since 4:3 displays are virtually extinct. Any 16:9 TV will have 3 or 4 zoom/stretch modes.

Whether you have plasma or rear projection, you can greatly decrease the risk of burn-in by simply lowering the brightness and contrast. Most sets will come from the factory in 'scorch' mode, with both at max levels. Decreasing the brightness by half will preserve the set and prolong the life of the CRTs many times over.

[UTDragun]

I hate rear projection, you have to look almost straight at it to get a good picture, plasma is too expensive for me

[digitard]

I hate rear projection, you have to look almost straight at it to get a good picture, plasma is too expensive for me

That doesn't seem to be the case w/ my DLP. Its rear projection but you get very little 'darkness' when you change angles. I can watch it from my kitchen (off to the side) and still see a pretty solid image compared to my parents old 40" OLD SKOOL RPTV which if you moved off center it got dark.

As for the burn in... I agree with what your'e saying that it takes a LONG time to take effect but I've read from quite a few people who SOLEY use their RPTV to play games they've experienced it due to static items on the screen (such as HUDS) being on their screen hours a day. One guy would change it to a 'light' channel and see burnt images of his HALO 2 hud's... poor guy.

The reason I went w/ DLP was cause there are quite a few things I watch that I dont zoom or stretch on (such as some videogames, and some stuff off non-hd content) due to the fact it has info on the bottom of the screen I dont want to lose or stretch mode just offsets things too much in that particular show.

Generally w/ HD recorded content thats in 4:3 (such as regular non 16x9 tv shows) I'll run zoom1 off my SA8300HD box cause you lose damn near no quality... but occasionally I bring it out cause there are things on the bottom/top of the screen that get cut off like this I want/need to see.

[Jakedubbleya]

ultimate electronics is going out of business all over the country. I got some amazing steals for my sound system off theyre demo room and stuff.

if i was going to buy a tv id check there first and see if theres anything left.

[digitard]

If you buy a TV open box I dont recommend it.

The reason why is that who knows how many hours its been used. Most projection TV's have bulb life's between 3000-6000 hrs (some more, some less) . If its a demo model ti may be on 8hrs a day for months so you've got a BIG portion of that time taken out and you may be buying another bulb for 300 bucks in a few months.

Thats my only quip w/ 'open box' projection based systems. Outside that you can find some GREAT deals with open box. I bought my stereo reciever for 200 under retail because they knocked 20% off for being open box (best buy) and then I had a 30% off open box coupon...lol. It rocked!