Lookin for 42"+ hdtv...

[Moloch]

My parents want a hdtv.. my dad has very poor eyesight so they wanna go big

A tv that can do both 720P or 1080i well would be best., saw a 720P set that I liked but it used bob for 1080i sources.. bye bye 50% res.
I haven't heard how much they want to spend but im pretty sure they dont want anything crazy.. prolly 3K~ or down.
Since I'll be using this tv I'm quite interested
I saw a mitsubishi 1080P dlp 52" for 3K I dug.. read it's real 1080P but thats about it.
also saw a 50" philips pixelplus plasma.. 1366x768 and read good stuff about the pixelplus processor.
As I said I want a tv that will look good at both HD specs(or all 3 of its 1080p)
Thanks.

 

[NANOTEC]

You first need to decide whether you want a DLP or Plasma. After that you can narrow it down to brands/models.

 

[Moloch]

You first need to decide whether you want a DLP or Plasma. After that you can narrow it down to brands/models.

why should I stick with one or the other?
I was goin for dlps but saw some plasmas with 768P res for good price and read good stuff about the pixelplus tech it has.
ef dont want a non true HD plasma (i.e 1024x768).

 

[NANOTEC]

Because DLP wil give you a bigger screen for the same price as an equivalent plasma. Also plasmas have a different look than DLPs.

 

[Moloch]

Because DLP wil give you a bigger screen for the same price as an equivalent plasma. Also plasmas have a different look than DLPs.

Well I'm pretty much sold on the mitsu 52" dlp 1080P http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...e=4000000&N=4001374&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&img=0
mainly cuz it does 1080p* and is quite big.
*the inputs only go up to 1080i.. it deinterlace tho.

 

[kyleb]

A tv that can do both 720P or 1080i well would be best., saw a 720P set that I liked but it used bob for 1080i sources.. bye bye 50% res.

Actually, if the display is 1280x720 native then bobbing 1080i down to 540 lines is only cutting 180 lines off what the display is capable of vertically and nothing off the horizontal. So you aren't loosing 50% of the available resolution; but rather only 12.5% off what it would have with pure weave and which would look like crap anyway, and even less using proper motion adaptive deinterlacing as that has to bob the parts of the video showing motion. Hence the reason a great many ~720p displays use simple bob on 1080i, it really doesn't make much of a difference.

Another example of something that makes much less difference than one might think is uncommon resolutions such as 1024x768 widescreen displays. Those are ture HD displays by the very definition of "HD display", and they have a horizontal resolution approximately the same as many 1080i CRTs as 768 progressive lines too boot. The important look at in regard to resolution, is you get one with enough pixels that are close enough together so that at whatever you will be sitting from the display you won't be noticing the shape of those pixels or the space in between them.

But as for your question in general, the best way to pick a new display is to go out on the town and hit up some showrooms to see what displays look best to your eyes. Specialty shops tend to have demo rooms with nice living room style lighting, and from there you can look for displays built on whatever technology you fancy and with whatever options you are after. The Mitsubishi DLPs you mention are quite nice, and no they aren't exactly true 1080p but again that isn't really what counts. I also recommend checking out plasmas from Panasonic, Pioneer and NEC as they all make panels that fit in your size and budget considerations and are the displays I consider to have the best image quality.

 

[NANOTEC]

I'm sure Texas Instruments does not have a true native 1920x1080 DMD chip out just yet. I think the DLPs are still using TI's wobbilated chips.

Correction, I think there are true 2K DLPs but they are for professional digital cinema only eg the NEC Starus series 2048 x 1080 use TI's "DC 2K" DMD chips.

 

[kyleb]

sure enough, the chips are 960x1080 which is alternated back and forth to complete the image. But a showroom down the road has those Mitsubishi's built on the chips and, even though I'm not much for rear projection techs due to the viewing angle issues, I do have to give those DLPs props for a damn fine picture within a reasonable angle.

 

[Moloch]

I'm sure Texas Instruments does not have a true native 1920x1080 DMD chip out just yet. I think the DLPs are still using TI's wobbilated chips.

Correction, I think there are true 2K DLPs but they are for professional digital cinema only eg the NEC Starus series 2048 x 1080 use TI's "DC 2K" DMD chips.

yep I'm aware most of the 1080 dlps are wobbilated.
thats ok tho.
I might just find them a good 720P display instead of making em spend more for something they prolly can't tell a difference.

kyle- right... it's still weak tho.
Btw some consider 1080P to be true hd
I'll prolly be sticking to dlps because of the bang for buck.

Oh and now for something a bit different.
Is it at all possible that I could get an old DCM timeframe?
Not sure what exact model but we got em with our DCM time window 3's in the early 90s.
I blew 1 of the timeframes with my ghetto 5 or so speaker setup
I plugged a few speakers into each input...postive to pos neg to neg.. would that increase the impedance or lower it
this was quite a few years ago.
time windows 3= http://r.duffy.home.att.net/dcm/

 

[kyleb]

Btw some consider 1080P to be true hd

Yeah, that is just silly though, the standards are what they are.

I plugged a few speakers into each input...postive to pos neg to neg.. would that increase the impedance or lower it

Lower, hence more watage, hence blown speakers.

 

[Moloch]

Yeah, that is just silly though, the standards are what they are.

Lower, hence more watage, hence blown speakers.

well it should have blown the reciever because it was meant for 8 ohms.
And it's a blown speaker.. i.e single

Well standards are standards.. 720P= 1280x720

 

[kyleb]

Well standards are standards.. 720P= 1280x720

In brodcast standards, yeah, but not so when it comes to what we are talking about here which is display standards.

 

[jb]

Some of the newer LCDs can do 1080p nativily...one is in your price range but does not have a tunner....

 

[Moloch]

In brodcast standards, yeah, but not so when it comes to what we are talking about here which is display standards.

I know.. hence the wink

Some of the newer LCDs can do 1080p nativily...one is in your price range but does not have a tunner....

We use cox digital cable.. so we dont need a tuner actually.
I only saw 1 lcd on the costco site and it was 1366x768.
Are you talking about the westy lcds at best buy?

 

[jb]

We use cox digital cable.. so we dont need a tuner actually.
I only saw 1 lcd on the costco site and it was 1366x768.
Are you talking about the westy lcds at best buy?

Yes the 42" model seems to be a great bargin. I have had one for almost 2 months now. Its been great with no real issues. Have not had it professionally calibrated yet but have tweaked it a bit to what I think looks good. SD is a hit or miss. Movies off the oppo look great! HD on this set is very very good. The other day I had a friend over and we were watching the NBA playoffs and he said OMG I can in clear detail Shaq's sweat....then it dawned on me..do I really want to see Shaq's sweat in that detial?? Meh Check out some of the reviews or the huge thread at AVS for this... GRAW on it rocks too

 

[Moloch]

Yes the 42" model seems to be a great bargin. I have had one for almost 2 months now. Its been great with no real issues. Have not had it professionally calibrated yet but have tweaked it a bit to what I think looks good. SD is a hit or miss. Movies off the oppo look great! HD on this set is very very good. The other day I had a friend over and we were watching the NBA playoffs and he said OMG I can in clear detail Shaq's sweat....then it dawned on me..do I really want to see Shaq's sweat in that detial?? Meh Check out some of the reviews or the huge thread at AVS for this... GRAW on it rocks too

I'll check it out

 

[Tahir2]

http://www.johnlewis.com/Audio+and+TV/Televisions/+Televisions+/plasma/230306995/Product.aspx

I have just bought the PX60 after months of searching...

And I got a price match on it so paid approx £375 less than that price with a 5 year guarantee.

For me the blacks and SD picture quality sold it.. almost all LCDs and Plasma units excel at playing back HD material from a computer (as you see them at stores) but that is not how my screen was going to be used mainly.

Delivery on the 5th of May, will let all know how I got on..

 

[Moloch]

well besides the issues (freezing up mainly) ,the westy 42" 1080p it seems like a good deal.
I'd get it but not sure if my parents will want to go for a bigger unit since my dad has poor eyesight.
my mom also wanted to look at some sets at the navy base.. my grandpa is a vet...

 

[pascal]

http://www.johnlewis.com/Audio+and+TV/Televisions/+Televisions+/plasma/230306995/Product.aspx

I have just bought the PX60 after months of searching...

And I got a price match on it so paid approx £375 less than that price with a 5 year guarantee.

For me the blacks and SD picture quality sold it.. almost all LCDs and Plasma units excel at playing back HD material from a computer (as you see them at stores) but that is not how my screen was going to be used mainly.

Delivery on the 5th of May, will let all know how I got on..

Congrats Tahir
Great TV. It looks a winner.

 

[jb]

well besides the issues (freezing up mainly) ,the westy 42" 1080p it seems like a good deal.
I'd get it but not sure if my parents will want to go for a bigger unit since my dad has poor eyesight.
my mom also wanted to look at some sets at the navy base.. my grandpa is a vet...

The lock up issue is something that is a hit or miss. I have had it happen twice. And cycling the power fixed it each time. Its a pain no doubt. But since my set had no dead pixels, no banding ect... figured I could live with it. If it happens again will just put it on its own power or add a easy reset switch and its all good! However if dad has poor eyesight then maybe the benifits of 1080p maybe lost so getting a lower res model maybe the better way to go?