 | Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years. Thanks, CNET Support |
Do you own an HDTV?
-- Yes (What type and model?)
-- No (What's preventing you from getting one?)
-- No, and I have no plans to get one. (Why not?)
--Not yet, but I am considering one. (Which type are you considering?)
Discussion is locked
Yes, have had HDTV for 6 months - Have Panasonic 50" (TH-50PX60U) model - beautiful pix and use component video hook up. Only medium to watch sports on!
Mits. 55" CRT in bedroom. We are much happier with the new Sony than the 3 yr old Mits.
Own a RCA 60 inch DLP rear projection, which was purchased in June 2004. It does not have HDMI connections, but does have DVI (which is not being used). The reason DVI is not used is related to my home audio system not capable of switching this type of a video signal; component cable is used. The DLP lamp has not been replaced. However, the hardware used within this set to project the video onto the screen is failing, and a "black smear" is noticeable from one of the corners of our screen. RCA advises that the hardware which is going bad needs to be realigned at a price tag of $300. Thus I'm waiting for the DLP lamp to burn out, thus all will be repaired at that time, and then this TV will be moved to our basement recreation room for the kids, and our family room (main viewing area) will have a new LCD set (not from RCA).
Yes, Samsung DLP 56" pulls HD directly off basic Comcast cable with no extra fee.
Bought 2 years ago when Mitsubishi 36" direct view (CRT) set died.
My type and model SAMSUNG TX-S3082WH 1080P W/ 2 HDMI ports. I use it OTA(Over The Air) Great but only local CBS station Casting in 1080p. Everyone else in 1080i. Signal strength 9 bars. Most stations are 16X9 but not all. Mixture of 5.1 and 7.1 sound depending on station.
I have spent considerable time viewing HDTV's of all types and will not buy Plasma or LCD. They all display too many motion artifacts and the color depth is no match for a good CRT. SXRD and D-ILA are decent and I am sure will improve in the another product generation or two. So for now I wait knowing that any serious contender to my Panasonic GAOO CRT is likely to be a projector or projection TV 1.5-3 years from now.
You still have the option of purchasing a CRT based hdtv - Sony and Samsung still make tubes. Panasonic got out of the CRT space a few years ago due to declining sales. Your TV is a Canadian 480P model, circa 1999. A tube based crt still produces the best picture, but has limitations - resolution to 1080i, weight, depth, and screen size limit of 34 inches.
"They all display too many motion artifacts and the color depth is no match for a good CRT." I would have to disagree with you on this point. A properly calibrated HDTV will give you an incredible viewing experience, depending upon your source and screen technology. Motion artifacts are more noticeable on LCD operating at 60 Hz. New lcd and SXRD televisions will be operating at a faster refresh rate of 120hz to eliminate motion blur and artifacting. If you are looking for a TV larger than 42 inches, then you will be more likely to notice defects in picture quality - Link:
http://www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm.jhtml?term=artifact
Digital Artifacts
Artifacts are a natural byproduct of digital compression methods such as JPEG and MPEG, which permanently discard pixels. The greater the compression used, the more artifacts are likely, and fast motion sequences are a major contributor. As TV screens become larger, the distortions are more noticeable. In digital cameras, artifacts may arise when performing digital zoom. When analog material is converted to digital, tiny discrepancies (quantization errors) may result. See blocking artifacts, mosquito noise, feathering and quantization error.
Don't make a buying decision based on what you see in the store. Usually, the signal is split, amplified, and sent to all the sets, resulting in a bit of signal degradation. Purchase what looks good to you - your new set will look better in your home (with a proper hd source) than in the store.
I bought my 32" HDTV from a shopping channel approximately one year ago. So far, everything has been ok though I had to fight tooth and nail for my rebate to the point that I contacted the attorney general's office in California. As far as owning this TV the big thing is that there aren't enough HDTV channels out there to warrant what I paid for it.
I own a Samsung LN-S4695D that does not have all the bells and whistles as I hook up through Comcast and do not need them. It is a shame that it does not go to 24 frame but last year, that was not even discussed very much.
I own a Sanyo PLV-Z3 HD Front projector. I bought this 2 years ago and I have it set up for a 106" screen in my bedroom. This projector is native 720P so HD material looks amazing on it. Nothing compares to a great HD Signal at 106" (I have Dish Network which currently has the most HD channels of any provider). A 106 screen is over 4 times the area of a 50" plazma! Nothing compares!
I find a lot of you folks own a d.l.p. t.v. I have owned my 72" beast for 15 months and still amazed with the picture quality Yes plasma sets are still a winner. but where are you going to find a 72" plasma for $3400. In closing there is no reason on earth for not buying a hi-def set. gosh for $500 you can buy an entry level big screen that will give you a movie theater picture an old anolog t.v. will cost about the same ha ha steweee
a good dlp will probably give you the best picture out there. even on cnet they say that the best picture available comes from a dlp unit, the Sharp XV-Z20000. plus the majority of movie theaters use dlp technology. there is just a bunch of sxrd junkies on this website that for some reason think dlp sucks, i dont know why they would think that because dlp is one of the leading technologies among hd.
cost!!!! With the lousy programming available for television today I see no point in paying 6 to16 hundred dollars for a high definition set. With my satalite system I am good to go with my crt unit. Why should I want to pay more for HD programming which is going to be a high def version of the same crappy programming I am allready paying for? No thanks, all that extra money to get a high def look at more awful reality (theres a joke) TV shows and an average of at least 5 hours of paid programming advertisments per channel per day. Then the cost of an hd dvd player which is the only way to get true 1080P if you are not fortunate enough to live next door to the broadcaster so you can get it over the air. In other words if you live in the extreme rural areas your still stuck with cable or sat which means 1080 I max with glitches because its all they can do to get that through their pipes.I'll wait another few years and let you have to have its pay for the hit and miss research before I do a video refit. Its just not that that much better to me.
I Have 4 of them: Mits 73" 1080i, Samsung 67" 1080p, Olevia 32" 720p
and a 32" Panasonic 1080i. Time-Warner supplies the 2 DVR boxes & the other Hi-Def boxes. Just waiting on the "format wars" regarding the players. Might not even need Hi-def DVDs at all if "Video On Demand"
becomes available in hi-def. T/W says its coming soon,but it might be only 1080i. Am waiting to do upgrade from 5.1 to 7.1 surround as soon as The new HDMI standard is oficial.
First if you own a d.l.p. set and the lamp fails replacing lamp is as easy as replacing a light bulb usually one screw and the wholelamp assy pulls out. Asd far as programming goes once you order the satellite or cable hi def service and add the hi-def package you will be in heaven.Discovery h.d. theater will blow you away, e.s.p.n. off the charts, h.d. net and h.d. net movies will give you awsome movies and great shows, h.d. net movies have no comercials usually older blockbuster movies well worth watching t.n.t. action and drama in eye popping hi-def and everything is in 5.1. dobly digital So to all you cheapies your satellite or cable is just as inportant as the darn t.v its useless with out feeding it its like buying a car and not wanting to put gas in it. and the monthly small fee is worth every penny you pay for it. in closing once you watch Planet Earth on the discovery channel you will run screeming out the door with joy gosh you folks are cheap beyond belief. $500 for a entry level big screen if you cannot afford $500 its worth going out and get an extra job hi-def is a window to the world you have no idea what you are missing And in closing I hate it when you folks go out and buy a beautiful hi-def set and are to cheap to add hi-def service wake up and get your head out of the sand steweee
and I love it!
It's a Panasonic TH-42PX500U.
It would be even better if I could use all the features it has but because I go through a cable box I miss out on PIP and audio levelling that is built into the set.
I've been looking into various HDTV models. But so far all the models I have seen in the stores seem to exhibit a kind of jittering or tracing / ghosting effect when trying to display full speed motion, such as when viewing live action sports. In my opinion this shows that the response times are still too slow for live action, so I will wait until the technology has improved.
Zenith 52 inch, 1080i, plasma.
If you have a cat or the TV is on a substandard stand, I urge you to use the cable ties and secure the tv to the wall. The TV weighs a lot and a tipping TV could kill a small child. The instructions state this also.
glen
Philips 20" LCD in the kitchen
Westinghouse 27" LCD in my computer room
2 Westinghouse 32" LCDs in two bedrooms
Sony 55" SXRD in the living room
Magnavox 20" LCD in wife's shop
And
2 19" widescreen PC monitors with more resolution than HD on my desktops.
My Sony KD-34XBR970 HDTV
http://byfiles.storage.msn.com/y1p9mr44WwDyHkKpv_AJeBqqbrI6RWPqZOOL0Dlk4tWpXQ5oJEaF6UwmuhlPPKJZz_q
I'm in HD Heaven,
hyghwayman
No. I don't have an HDTV yet. The reason is MONEY. With gas prices, medical costs and food going through the roof, one has to prioritize.
I'm in this vein. HDTV doesn't fascinate me. As long as I see a decent picture with no snow and very little hissing, I'm fine. I don't need the screen to look as though I'm looking outside or courtside at the game. I can do that already, if I get some money and go to the game in person.
I just don't see paying upwards to $2000 for a 36-inch tv. That is ridiculous. I can see on my 13-inch Orion, 13-in Sanyo, 19-inch Zenith and when it gets out of the shop, my 32-inch Phillips Magnavox just fine.
I guess my Sony is close to being a dinosaur -- I bought it in 2001 for $1500, including the separate stand. I've never had any problems and the picture quality is even better now that there are more HD programs, both locally and via cable.
we bought a 32"LCD (1366x768 EDTV) 12 months ago, which was had a better picture at that point than most more expensive, larger models.
today, we could buy the same model for less-than-half the price. picture quality has improved noticeably since the earlier plasma, LCD, and RP TVs a year ago (brighter, more color range).
all new TVs available now are at least 1920x1080i, if not 1920x1080p (much more expensive). this matches the standards set by Bluray/HD-DVD/PS3 -- if you are using those units you should consider HD for your next purchase.
if you mostly just watching cable/satellite, technically it is HD, but in practice you'll find very little difference in picture quality between ED and HD (due to the heavy compression used).
technology moves faster and faster -- in the next few years we will see four- and eight-times the resolution of today's current best HD models, with bigger and better quality images, and for less money. even wallpaper with video images is not far off (imagine your whole house covered with floor-to-ceiling TV pictures). the best TV today will be next year's bargain-basement run-out special.
what it boils down to is, if you need a new TV, buy what you need for today and for the next few years, without extending your mortgage to buy the top-of-the-range (don't expect the TV you buy today to be used or usable in 5yrs, let alone 10yrs from now). if you don't need a new TV, wait until you do.
Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic