Getting an HDTV!

[drfsupercenter]

If this belongs in the HDTV thread, one of the mods can move it there...

So, we're finally getting an HDTV! My parents were asking my sisters and I how to make our basement more "teen friendly", and I kept suggesting getting a bigger TV.

So, now I need your help.

What kinds are the best on the market right now? I'm pretty sure I'd want plasma instead of LCD, since I have yet to see an LCD TV look better than a plasma... Also somewhere in the 50s range (52" or 56" are the most common sizes, right?)

But not anything super expensive... my parents are probably going to get things more in the middle range.

Also, some stuff that may or may not be on all of them...

-The ability to resize the image when it's fed a different size (Such as 4:3 TV broadcasts, VHS, my older video game consoles that don't have 16:9 mode), but also the ability to remember my settings (For example, if I always want my Wii to be widescreen but want the VCR to be fullscreen, and HDTV stations to be widescreen, but normal ones to be fullscreen)
-One that makes non-HD source look good anyway (so that we don't have to use HD everything... of course we'd get a better DVD player, but stuff like my N64 and GameCube aren't getting any more hi-tech!)
-Closed captioning (But don't they all have that?)

If I think of any more small things I'd want in a TV I can add them later.

Also, I'm new to the whole HD thing... What all would we need besides the TV? The current DVD player we have is a Panasonic DVD recorder... I still need that to record stuff on DVDs, but what's the best kind of upscaling DVD player to buy? Is it better to get a Blu-Ray player even if we have no intention to buy Blu-Ray discs?
We probably won't get a surround sound system right away, but is there anything else necessary?

[copyless]

Well I think you have a tough decision to make. I own a few HDTV's and I actually prefer my DLP's over my LCD and Plasma, for the simple reason that if it goes out (which one has) it takes me about ten minutes or so, to change the bulb and I'm watching TV again. Also it was the first 1080P TV available.

If you go to stores and look at them and decide you could accept a DLP TV, US-Appliance has a 60" Mitsubishi for 1299 delivered white glove, and a 65" for 1495.

In a couple of months you be able to see the new laser TV at a few stores, and although they will not tell the price yet, I am told by a few that it may be in the 4000-4500 dollar range for a 65". I believe at this time they are only making 65" and 73" TV's. But for a TV with a lifetime light source and brand new technology this would be a good price. I would not buy one now, but I think in a year you could pick one up for around 3500, if this is the release price.

Most of the TV's do the things you requested, when you set up an input most of them keep the settings for that particular input until you change them. And since most TV's have between 6 and 10 inputs I don't believe you will have an issue. Like my 65" has 3HDMI's on the back along with 3-composites, 2 antenna, and 1 or 2 S-Video connections, and then 1 HDMI and 1 composite and 1 USB on the front. My 57" has even more, so I think you will have no problem in this area.

I was going to buy a new plasma TV a couple of weeks ago, and changed my mind. Instead of paying 3000+ for a 1080P Plasma, I bought the Mitsubishi 65" DLP and put the other couple grand back for the new laser TV in a year or so.

As far as DVD players, I find it how to beat the (I know it's a bad word) Sony DVP-NC800H, it is a 5-disc changer and 1080P upscaling for about 130 dollars at best buy. I'm with you on the Blu Ray part, I only have one Blu Ray player and it is my PS3, although I do buy a Blu Ray movie from time to time, I can not see buying a stand alone player when I can get a gaming system and player for 100 or so dollars more.

Have fun in making up your mind on this, I find buying a new TV, one of my hardest decisions, because there are so many things to consider.

[rago88]

I think it would be worth mentioning the price of the bulb
for a DLP if it goes out..

Plasma and LCD require no exspensive bulb to replace
and given the track records,
Plasma and LCD hold up pretty well.

I prefer Plasma since it is not a direct view tv meaning it looks the same from any angle..
[LCD's makers have been improving this feature recently].

all in all, pretty good report aside from the fact that rear projection tv's are going by the wayside soon as most prefer flat or 4" wide units..
pricewise you get a lot of real estate for the price with a DLP since it is rear projection..

[copyless]

That's why it's such a heard decision to make. Yes the bulbs are expensive, about 180 dollars. But they do last a good while and for the money I saved vs. the Plasma, I can still get 8 years or so of viewing for under 2 grand (1495 + 180x 2, depending on how much you use it 2 or 3 years per bulb)and save for a laser TV. But I do like my Plasma TV, again the only reason I didn't buy another was, I wanted a larger TV and I wanted to have some money to buy a laser TV. So I bought another DLP.

The 65" I bought is only like 15" deep, although compared to a Plasma this is huge, compared to a 36" CRT it is tiny. All of these things are the reasons I take buying a TV as a long and hard thought out decision, and do not just let a salesman talk me into something.

See I have bought all my HDTV's with respect to where I was going to place them, so my DLP's are in area's that the viewing angle is not greater than the viewable area. My Plasma is in the room with the greatest viewing area. While my LCD is in the bedroom, again a place where you would normally view from directly ahead.

You have brought up excellent points, and these are things that should be considered.

[drfsupercenter]

OK, well, my grandparents had a DLP, and with theirs you had to sit a certain distance away, and only at a certain angle... it was very, very limited as to where you could sit! So I'd really rather go with plasma... For the price range it's probably anything under $4000... My grandma said she'd buy the stuff for us so it's up to her really (she's coming to visit in about 2 weeks... and that's when we'll probably be buying it)

Do you know if they all make standard non-hidef source look good? My friend has a Samsung LCD, and the only thing that looks good on it is his Xbox 360 using component... Even his DVD player using component looks hideous and he therefore doesn't even use that as much as the CRT. The only thing I'd be plugging in with HDMI would be a DVD player... as far as I know the Wii doesn't have any HD outputs, only component. (And I'll have to check with Nintendo on that one.)

By the way... I know the GameCube also has a component cable... but does it upsize it to anything beyond 480i? The Wii goes up to 720p (I think)... and if the GameCube won't resize there's really no point getting component cables for it.

[drfsupercenter]

Oh, another thing I thought of.

I know HDTVs are notorious for having a "lag" to them... so much that games such as Guitar Hero have a setting to help reverse the effects of it. Obviously none of Nintendo's games have any calibration and I'd really hate to have my games lagging... Do the modern TVs have minimal lag to them?

Also, does anyone have any model numbers or brand names in mind? A friend of mine has a Samsung LCD and he hates it... not sure if his isn't set up correctly or if Samsung LCDs really do suck...

[admin]

There is lag, but I would say you have to be really picky to notice it. I've played through Wii games like Wii Sports or Zelda and Guitar Hero III on the 360, all without noticing it, and these are the types of games where it matters the most. For Guitar Hero, I'm also using a AV receiver, which adds lag on the audio too, but again, I haven't noticed any problems playing the game (even though I'm not very good at it). Good HDTVs with good video processors will minimize lag, while the cheap ones might not be so good at it.

[atifsh]

not all HDTV's LCD or Plasma are capable of producing good SD stuff, u have to check reviews and even then have to check with ur own eyes.

a non hd plasma or lcd will produce better SD as its resolution would be smaller, compared to 720P or 1080P, very early plasmas were 800/600 or close and were super for SD, but time has changed.

u need any decent upscaling dvd player for ur SD dvd's, for analog TV/cable u have to test the unit, some produce better SD then other.

almost all upscalling done through HDMI cable, component will look crap for SD on HD display. my brother changed 3 lcd's just for that reason and then bought new dvd player.

stay away from the models that are missing the HD engines [bravia engine, pixel plus,... ], they dont tell that clearly, and are usually cheaper. here ppl think sony is best and buy their new cheaper line like crazy, but infact that is crap.

pick 2 3 models frm different brands and compare them side by side and then pick one.

hope this helps

[BR7]

If your looking for two to three models to compare , I would check out the Panasonic Viera TH-50PZ800U.

[drfsupercenter]

Yeah, ever since the DVD player incident I'm not buying anything made by Sony.

Now, I was looking at Wii component cables... and it said that only goes up to 480p? I thought the Wii was capable of outputting 720p in hi-definition, and the 480(i) was from RCA... is that wrong? Does the Wii look good on HDTVs? (I don't have an Xbox, so I don't have any HDMI video game systems)

I know on the store display model, the lag was horrible when playing Guitar Hero... I had to calibrate it to like 30ms (which may seem trivial, but that's a big deal if the game's all about timing)... are there any HDTVs with NO lag? Or is that impossible due to the nature of them?

Also, with HDMI stuff... Likely the only thing I'll have that uses HDMI is a DVD player which will be bought with the TV. My video game consoles only go up to component, the VCR (which I choose to keep for those very rare occasions when I want to watch a family video I haven't converted to DVD yet) is only RCA... etc. How many HDMI inputs do TVs tend to have compared to component and RCA? The TV I have now, for example, has "Input 1" which has component AND RCA (Meaning you can only use one or the other!), and "Input 2" which is RCA only. It doesn't let you have a component device and two RCA devices.

If we switch to HD programming, will we have a cable box with HDMI? I'm sort-of against cable boxes since it really makes it hard to program recordings with a DVD recorder... however, my friend has WOW with HD programming (we have normal WOW), and his TV has no cable box that I can see... all the channel changing is done with the TV's remote. But surely you don't use coaxial for HD?

Sorry if any of these have obvious answers... I've never had to deal with anything HD before and I'll likely have far more questions once we buy a TV

[BR7]

But surely you don't use coaxial for HD?

I have dish networks Vip 211 and it uses coax to the receiver.From the 211 to my TV I use HDMI. I wouldn't think that cable would be any different

[atifsh]

most newer models have atleast 2 hdmi's if not 3 but watchout for other pack of new models that skip components altogether.

[drfsupercenter]

Hmm... But I thought most new TVs had like 6 or more inputs?

And BR7, what I'm saying is I wouldn't have a cable box at all... just a cable from the wall to the TV. Do they still use coax for the HD channels? And would using a splitter (I currently have one so one part goes to the DVD recorder and the other part goes right to the TV) lower the quality of them since they're digital?

Does anyone here have a Wii in 16:9 mode? I know the Classic Console games are improperly stretched out in that mode (That annoys me to no end and I'll likely resort to manually switching the TV)... What happens if you use it to play GameCube games? Are those stretched too? Or are they properly pillarboxed?

[atifsh]

dont know if game consols have anything special, but i think all TV's can change resolutions on one button.... usually they are 4:3, 16:9, full screen, multi zoom options..... etc

[drfsupercenter]

Yes but it really angers me that Nintendo allows their games to be stretched! If you play an original Xbox game in an Xbox 360, it's automatically pillarboxed. So why the heck are Nintendo's old games stretched? I know I can mess with it myself but that would get annoying switching back and forth...

I might call Nintendo and suggest it for a future upgrade.

Also, do most HDTVs let you "zoom" the picture? For instance, if I have a non-anamorphic widescreen DVD (titles like Armageddon come to mind), the DVD player will pillarbox it by default resulting in double bars. Would I be able to zoom in removing all the bars? (Or some of it's 2.35 or similar)