HDTV advice

[Dry then Catch]

I am planning on purchasing plasma or LCD at the normal 720p or 1080i resolution.  The prices are dropping precipitously and I can probably snag a major name brand one in the 900-low 1000s.

But the 1080p have fell from the stratosphere for price (though still about 1500-2500 for a 37-42 inch, name brand). 

How useful will 1080p be?  I'm not planning on getting a blu-ray nor an xbox 360, and I believe those are the only two common electronics that would utilize it to its full potential.  At the same time I don't want to be buying outmoded technology. 

Are the Wal-Mart models of the major name brands inferior?
Is a third tier manufactuer like Visio really lesser in quality (the specs match up)?
Will anyone answer?

[Infobahn]

Good, I am not the only one with these questions.

I have been looking into the Sharp Aquos 1080p between 37" to 42" it has been rated high.  Check Cnet for ratings.

I have two friends that have the Visio, and they like them.

Question is, how much homework did you do on your current TV?  Me, none.  ETA, sometimes I think we over think things too much.

I have DirecTV HD (got it last month when we moved) expecting that we would get an HDTV soon.  The current set we have is 14 years old, so the reason I am getting 1080p is that I expect there will be things beyond whatever DirecTV has in the next 5 years, and I don't want to replace anything that quickly.

I am also focused on a home theater receiver.  The one that I fell in love with is $7k.  Nope, not even thinking of buying it, but it had everything I wanted.  Oh well.

[Jessie]

Be careful with 1080p not being true 1080p.  Carroll had to return his 60" Sony and exchange it for a different brand because it wasn't true 1080p.  I don't know exactly what any of this means, but when he gets home, I'll ask him for you.

[Beefy]

The HD wars are far from over, and there are plenty of 1080i and 720p out there to be had.  Problem is, none of it is cross compatible, so if you jump in now you are accepting that you only get the functionality one format has in the market versus the other.  Frankly, unless you really need it, I'd wait until the market settles down a bit more.  It's like choosing between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, in that you just don't know which one will win the markethold.  I can say, though, that at the NAB this year, I am told that there was next to no HD-DVD to be found; it was all Blu-Ray for the professional market.

We try and steer our customers towards 1080i when we can.

Actually, we tend to use HDVCam the most, and that isn't even real HD.

[Dry then Catch]

I didn't do much research on my current 32" Sharp CRT because it was only like $300 at Best Buy in 2002.   I do see your point, I probably have spent far too much though and time on a significant but relatively minor purchase. 

I am usually skeptical of the proverbial Aunt Judy's "hey this TV looks great!" advice.  I prefer hard specifications.  That being said, I have read and heard word of mouth that Visio's (despite the third tier reputation) have performed well.  I've heard relatively good things about the Sharp Aquos, though the problem of "banding" seem to have been brought up. 

By your estimation, 1080p will be a necessity in 5 years, but rarely use for now.  Don't you think though in 5 years the price will be much lower?  Do we want to spend $3000 in today's money in anticipation for future?

What sites have you been using to research?  Plasma or LCD?

[Beefy]

I didn't do much research on my current 32" Sharp CRT because it was only like $300 at Best Buy in 2002.   I do see your point, I probably have spent far too much though and time on a significant but relatively minor purchase. 

I am usually skeptical of the proverbial Aunt Judy's "hey this TV looks great!" advice.  I prefer hard specifications.  That being said, I have read and heard word of mouth that Visio's (despite the third tier reputation) have performed well.  I've heard relatively good things about the Sharp Aquos, though the problem of "banding" seem to have been brought up. 

By your estimation, 1080p will be a necessity in 5 years, but rarely use for now.  Don't you think though in 5 years the price will be much lower?  Do we want to spend $3000 in today's money in anticipation for future?

What sites have you been using to research?  Plasma or LCD?

The main reason I haven't upgraded to HD personally is because I just down feel it's necessary for me.  If a show or movie or game is good, it is good regardless of whether it is standard def or not.  Better resolution can only polish a turd, not improve it.  I am a firm believer in letting the commercial market settle down before investing.

I can't speak to LCDs, I'm afraid.  We have an excellent Toshiba plasma, though.  It's a thing of beauty.

[Dry then Catch]

The HD wars are far from over, and there are plenty of 1080i and 720p out there to be had.  Problem is, none of it is cross compatible, so if you jump in now you are accepting that you only get the functionality one format has in the market versus the other.  Frankly, unless you really need it, I'd wait until the market settles down a bit more.  It's like choosing between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, in that you just don't know which one will win the markethold.  I can say, though, that at the NAB this year, I am told that there was next to no HD-DVD to be found; it was all Blu-Ray for the professional market.

We try and steer our customers towards 1080i when we can.

Actually, we tend to use HDVCam the most, and that isn't even real HD.

But you take pictures of spacecraft for sensitive and professional applications.  I am going to be watching the Lost and Survivor: China.  I don't even really watch too much TV now that I think of it.  I think those two shows are about it. Movies are different matter I suppose.  Do i want to wait 2 years for a stable market, when the current 'wars' lend themselves to ludicrious DEALS for survival?  Perhaps a stable market is a price-controlled market, and we are living in an age of perpetual obsolescence.

My amateur understanding believes that at smaller than 50" screens the difference between 1080i and 720p were insignficant.  1080 with a higher native resolution would have better "stills" but 720p was better for motion. 

[Dry then Catch]

The main reason I haven't upgraded to HD personally is because I just down feel it's necessary for me.  If a show or movie or game is good, it is good regardless of whether it is standard def or not.  Better resolution can only polish a turd, not improve it.  I am a firm believer in letting the commercial market settle down before investing.

I think for 720p and 1080i the market is already settled?  I mean isn't the infrastructure for the broadcasting equipment just purchased and settled? 

The numbness of post-college working life and the declining role of spirituality in life has left a void in my soul to be filled by uneccessary consumerism and excercise.  I think this may just work. 

[Beefy]

Frankly, I think the difference between 1080i and 720p is marginal for everyone in the commercial market except for hardcore techheads.  In terms of technology, 1080i has already been left in the dust in terms of resolution, but no way anyone in the commercial sector afford that level of equipment.

50" is arguable, but you're correct that if you're scrutinizing for differences than you'll notice them better on a larger screen.

As far as the market being settled, well it depends on what you're looking to settle on.  I think that Blu-Ray will eventually win the formats wars, but how sharp of a resolution do you need?  By the time you decide and buy something better will be available.  The dichotomy of 720p and 1080i just serves to further confuse the average consumer and keep sales levels low.  All major commercial HD equipment manufacturers and retailers know that if it's ever going to really take off, one is simply going to have to be supported more than the other.  And that hasn't happened yet.  It's still a niche market, thought it's getting wider slowly.

You'll be able to get standalone Blu-Ray players this coming holiday season for a couple hundred bucks.  And lower.  I think things will start getting more interesting after that.

[Jessie]

Here's Carroll's thoughts.

1) you won't notice something unless you go over 50"

b)  Almost any television that displays 720p also does 1080i.  That's just the way it is.  He needs to look at what version of HDMI is supplied on the television.  The walmart brand TV's are cheaper because they use, like, HDMI 1.1 I think, which means it may or may not take in that resolution, and it definately won't support either the expanded color set or the high audio formats, or both.

[Infobahn]

All technology gets better after time.  There will always be something better (Computers, Ipods, TVs, and now HD Radio(?)) coming down the line.

I am just going to put in now, and worry about the other things later.  Granted I might not hang onto the new set for 14 years, but I want something I am going to be fine with for now.

With the set, I am looking for ceiling speakers and a receiver that has HDMI switching. 

I read C-Net, and look through the Crutchfield catalog.

[ReBurn]

I have a Samsung HDTV that does 720p and 1080i. I've had it for a year. If you buy an LCD or plasma you are going to get something that at the very least supports 720p and 1080i. 1080p is truly the next step, but there isn't a whole lot of 1080p content out there right now. To truly take advantage of that resolution you're going to need a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD player. I have the HD tier from my cable company and my converter is only capable of 720p or 1080i. The only difference I can tell between the two is that fast-action blurs a little on 1080i, but I think that's more because the image is interlaced, so only half of the picture is drawn per frame. But since my television's native resolution is 720p that probably explains a lot of it.

When you go to look at a television, take some time to ask what kind of digital signal processor it has. The importance of that is not how good HD content looks as much as what it does to smooth out standard definition content. My Samsung does a really good job of managing the standard definition image, but I've seen some budget sets that get really, really bad jaggies when watching that stuff. I think that the biggest reality of a HD television is that there just isn't a ton of content out there that takes full advantage of it. Definitely get the HD content from your cable or satellite provider, and get a good progressive-scan DVD player, look for one that upscales the image if it is in your budget. My Xbox 360 does a really good job of displaying DVD's on the TV even though it doesn't upscale the image.

[Dry then Catch]

I wholehearteldy applaud your advice.  especially that part about the digital processor, a lot of cheap brands have a large screens and good color depth but don't have great hardware backing it up.

I ended up getting

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-TH-37PX60U-37-Plasma-HDTV/dp/B000F6SR0E/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-9389880-9686419?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1180633829&sr=8-1

FOR $850 from Costco (no it wasn't a refurb). 

[ReBurn]

That's a really good price.

[Dry then Catch]

That's a really good price.

keep telling me that, its like viagra

[Infobahn]

That's a really good price.

keep telling me that, its like viagra

Actually, it's cognitive dissonance.

[VikingJuice]

Didn't someone just link a site a couple days ago that talked about the 1080 products being outdone by the 6000 something level product?  I'd look into that and see how it might affect your 1080 purchase.  It could make the 1080 cheaper very soon if they roll out the higher line.

Also you have to consider this little tech issue that I'm sure we've all discovered:  No matter what or when you buy, 6 months to 18 months later, there will be something bigger, faster, and shinier than when you got it.  Plus it'll be cheaper and soon make your product obsolete in the marketplace.  The other side of that is that you have 2 choices, 1) Get in now and enjoy the product you buy and let it enhance your life with its capabilities regardless of the future or 2) Wait, don't enjoy that product now, and continually lust after someone's TV/entertainment system dreaming of your perfect choice that constantly evolves.

I faced the same dillema when I bought my PC at home 2 years ago.  I was running a 1998 product for years and kept watching the prices get better for faster and faster products with more bells and whistles.  At a point, I just had to buy in and accept that a short time later, someone else would be able to do more than me with their system.  Even though there are a lot of things my system can't do, I really love the things that it CAN do and I'm still glad I made my purchase.

[Dry then Catch]

Didn't someone just link a site a couple days ago that talked about the 1080 products being outdone by the 6000 something level product?  I'd look into that and see how it might affect your 1080 purchase.  It could make the 1080 cheaper very soon if they roll out the higher line.

Also you have to consider this little tech issue that I'm sure we've all discovered:  No matter what or when you buy, 6 months to 18 months later, there will be something bigger, faster, and shinier than when you got it.  Plus it'll be cheaper and soon make your product obsolete in the marketplace.  The other side of that is that you have 2 choices, 1) Get in now and enjoy the product you buy and let it enhance your life with its capabilities regardless of the future or 2) Wait, don't enjoy that product now, and continually lust after someone's TV/entertainment system dreaming of your perfect choice that constantly evolves.

I faced the same dillema when I bought my PC at home 2 years ago.  I was running a 1998 product for years and kept watching the prices get better for faster and faster products with more bells and whistles.  At a point, I just had to buy in and accept that a short time later, someone else would be able to do more than me with their system.  Even though there are a lot of things my system can't do, I really love the things that it CAN do and I'm still glad I made my purchase.

I believe that was Infobahn, and that particular technology did not seem near the market phase and certainly not near the price-break phase.  I am not going to wait 3 years.

PCs are a different breed.  I bought a lol Dell 4500s in 2002.  Due to maintenance and semi-frequent upgrades (the motherboard is actually pretty expansion friendly) I still forsee another 2 years of life at least.  I have no problems running memory intensive applications. 

[Infobahn]

It 'twas me.