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General discussion

High-def monitor, does it really matter?

Oct 23, 2006 11:06AM PDT

A friend just bought a Gateway 510 series with TV tuner and it came with a 19 inch wide High-Def monitor with.

It is capable of switching to a HighDef cable box so he can watch TV in HD on his 19 inch screen. The cable box will cost $25 a month just to get HD on his monitor...

Will he be able to see any difference between the HD or analog?

I have a 65inch with HD looks great but a 19 inch?

A salesman once told me any TV under 32 inch or smaller is not worth getting HD.

As always I respect the answers from Cnet, thanks for any help you can provide.

Discussion is locked

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Eyeball it...
Oct 24, 2006 12:14AM PDT

I have a 65inch with HD looks great but a 19 inch?

A salesman once told me any TV under 32 inch or smaller is not worth getting HD.
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You did notice a difference amongest your old TV and the new HD, regardless of size, didn't you? You also probably felt that size alone was a big improvemnt didn't you? As for size, the HD does fill the display better as when its that big, you start to see the scan lines more distincly as compared if viewing the old TV w/o HD. In that light, it won't be that apparent on smaller display but never-the-less is there using HD. The benefit just isn't so apparent as your eyes tend to fill it all in. As the scope of view gets larger, HD does matter.

As for the salepeople, well, really they don't have much to offer(selection) until you get into 30in+. Plus, the sales isn't so great in the books when you sell $megabucks, vs. $minibucks, oh yeah. Goto a large sales display and view small vs large models and see the difference.

tada -----Willy Happy

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no difference......
Oct 28, 2006 8:17AM PDT

He had to rent a cable box for $19.99 a month and had an RCN tech set it up. He has a seperate input for HDTV and there is no difference. He had it removed.

I mis-spoke when I said a salesman... it was contractor installing (mounting) a neighbors TV to the wall.

What was with the condisending questions? Tada...?

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Here ya go
Oct 29, 2006 1:48AM PDT

AS what's a RCN tech?

You had a 19in. and 65in. to compare or wanted to know the difference. If you were in the place where you brought it and they had model displays, you would have seen the difference, if any. If not at that salesroom any other vendor that displays models. You can sorta try it before you buy it. That's why I say, eyeball it before hand.

tada -----Willy Happy

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HDTV - 1MP vs. 2MP and screen size
Oct 24, 2006 7:59AM PDT

In response to the question about the 19" display, set the desktop resolution to 640x480 then change it to 1024x768 - you can see more detail if you're able to go up to 1600x1200 you'll see something more yet again - of course these are all 4:3 resolutions, if it's a widescreen monitor, choose something similar for the vertical resolution. My point is that there is a significant difference between SD and HD even on a smaller screen.

My own issue was 1MP vs. 2MP on a 37" screen - I recently retired my 32" 4:3 set for a $1000 1MP 37" HDTV LCD. A friend held out for a 2MP 37" HDTV - I'd be interested, but mostly if I were to hook-up a Media Center PC - mainly because at 37" I'm not sure how much difference I'd see on movies, etc. whereas it'd be big for a PC desktop, as part of the Media Center PC. On a larger screen, say near 50" and larger, no doubt that 2MP is better. Any thoughts from anyone else?

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bigger the better
Oct 28, 2006 8:24AM PDT

I have my media Center / Xbox360 running throught a 65 inch HDTV. It is outstanding. I'd try the larger set (if u can pick it up) and see how it looks. If u buy from BestBuys or Circuit City, you have 14 days to return if you don't want it. I think you will on a 32 or above.

I say pick it up to save on delivery........


good luck!!!