flatscreen tv or not?

[nbpgt]

so im considering getting rid of my 32" conventional tv & stepping into a 32" flat screen.. it will cost me more than double what i will get for the tv if i can sell it.. for those that have a flat, is it really worth the money?? now remmeber im not goign all out with LCD nor plasma... & i will stay more on the lower end of the spectrum as far as brand, quality, & pricing.. any opinions?

[mayan_guy]

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

if you are talkling about a flat CRT like the sonys wega...great tvs, and there are plenty of other manugfactures to choose from...those are great...lot less glare than your conventioanl tubes. Go for it! if you have Costco membership iwould try there first and then compare prices at other retailers.

[Jenks]

maybe save your money and wait, think about this:

in 2006, or sometime along there, all television broadcasts will be in HD.

if you have a conventional screen 4:3, even if it's flat, HD, whatever...you're going to see HD letterboxed unless you have a widescreen.

The WEGA tele's are bitchin, but i didn't get one because they didn't have a widescreen. Well, they did, the 34 WEGA HD Wide...but it's hella expensive and for the same money i got a 42" HD Wide Mitsu.

If i were buying a tv today, i'd save up, or wait for the samsung DLP or the phillips with the matchline technology. Both cheaper than Plasma flat panels, and totally rock for quality (superior to plasma imo...but take up a little more space.) The Phillips has this Amblight glow technology, that illuminates the wall behind your tele an green color, thus making it easier on your eyes to view the HD screen.

There is so much on the horizon for tele's, and if this is going to be your last tv purchase for awhile, i'd save up for a better one, or just wait until you can. The WEGA's have been out for a long time, they are still rock solid, but they're aging, albeit gracefully.

If you're not even caring at this point about HD, then Sony WEGA all the way. the 36" nonHD wega is $899 now.

[nbpgt]

yeah im not to interested in HD right now... but i also spend lots of time in front of the tv whether it be games, dvds, or regular programming.. the way my room is & tv faces, the glare bites my ass...

thanks for the replies, anyone else?

[Kamal]

maybe save your money and wait, think about this:

in 2006, or sometime along there, all television broadcasts will be in HD.

if you have a conventional screen 4:3, even if it's flat, HD, whatever...you're going to see HD letterboxed unless you have a widescreen.

The WEGA tele's are bitchin, but i didn't get one because they didn't have a widescreen. Well, they did, the 34 WEGA HD Wide...but it's hella expensive and for the same money i got a 42" HD Wide Mitsu.

If i were buying a tv today, I'd save up, or wait for the samsung DLP or the phillips with the matchline technology. Both cheaper than Plasma flat panels, and totally rock for quality (superior to plasma imo...but take up a little more space.) The Phillips has this Amblight glow technology, that illuminates the wall behind your tele an green color, thus making it easier on your eyes to view the HD screen.

There is so much on the horizon for tele's, and if this is going to be your last tv purchase for awhile, i'd save up for a better one, or just wait until you can. The WEGA's have been out for a long time, they are still rock solid, but they're aging, albeit gracefully.

If you're not even caring at this point about HD, then Sony WEGA all the way. the 36" nonHD wega is $899 now.

some excellent comments by Jenks there. He is absolutely right in that the Federal Government has mandated all broadcasts to be in 16:9 format...... I just bought my first tv here in the states (the other one was a 14" hand me down from my uncle )

I researched like crazy and finally decided to check in with the Sony KV-30HS420.



Jenks, this one is in native 16:9 wide screen format and for the price ($899), its one of the best wide screen HDTV's you can get. The best way to guage a TV is through it reproduction of the color black. This TV is gonna you show you black as black as black can get...... I absolutely love it. I am also waiting for the new samsung DVD-HD941 to be released which upscales everything form native dvd format to 1080i and with this TV, its gonna be BITCHIN'.

I also compared it with the other 34" sony xbr tv and the $2300 price tag didnt justify the $1400 climb in prices for 4 stinkin inches...... and trust me, you cant really guage the picture quality difference unless you stand and stare at both tv's side by side for a few hours......honestly, for most of us.... this TV should fit right in, they do have a 34" version in this mode for about $1500.....

Now for the other formats,

DLP, inspite of being an advanced technology, works very much like a rear projection tv, i.e. if you dont have a room that big enough to place it in, you're NOT gonna be able to position it for the best view.
LCD monitors are GREAT for MS OFFICE type day to day work, but ask any native gamer and they're gonna tell you to get a CRT Monitor, you just cant beat the bang for your buck..... and finally the last option are the plasma's..... do you really wanna spend tons of $$$$$ and end up buying a TV that's gonna last you about 5 years until the plasma cells begin to die and the picture quality fades to half brightness...

spend it in a good Tube TV and pick up a decent Sony IMO, you cant go wrong with it.....

If you want to have a rundown on the different technologies out there, read this reveiw on CNET and you'll see that ONLY drawbacks to Tube TVs are price and limited size availability, there are NONE on picture quality...

http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5108443-1.html?tag=hdtv.4520-7874_1-5108443-1

-e-

[nbpgt]

hmmm.. i didnt know that about the 06 fed mandate of tv programs.. any info i can follow up on about the mandate?

thanks for the heads up... but yeah im not interested in the higher ends.... crt's will be fine with me...

[FM]

http://www.hdtv.net/faq.htm

Going to suck for a lot of people come 2006; even with standard TV's, you'll have to buy a "box" to convert the signal on the bare minimum...and who knows what the companies are going to end up charging for those...:?

[superdave]

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

I've had a 32 inch Silver Sony Wega Flat screen CRT 4:3 for years and have no complaints. Picture quality is great and never any problems.

I'm thinking too of buying a CRT 16:9 HD TV. Like some mentioned, I don't like the HD LCD tvs picture quality. On regular channels and some HD channels, my Wega looks better. DLP, I've noticed depends so much on the lighting in the room. And plasma TV are too expensive and burn out although they do look great.

[nbpgt]

http://www.hdtv.net/faq.htm

Going to suck for a lot of people come 2006; even with standard TV's, you'll have to buy a "box" to convert the signal on the bare minimum...and who knows what the companies are going to end up charging for those...:?

thanks for the link..

but as of now, the jury is still out.

[fyreater179]

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

Have a 50" Samsung DLP (digital projection) LOVE IT!!! WIll never go back.....forever ever

[mthornto88]

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I researched like crazy and finally decided to check in with the Sony KV-30HS420.
-e-

We just got one of these at my friends house this past weekend. The TV is sick.. Got it for $800 at Best Buy. Definitely worth the money..

[Jenks]

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

Have a 50" Samsung DLP (digital projection) LOVE IT!!! WIll never go back.....forever ever

dude, that is a sick ass TV! nice.

Plasma is shit imo, for exactly the reason E said. They have a shelf life, and they're $$$$$$.

I was actually trying to decide between the Sony 34 XBR Widescreen WEGA and the Mitsubishi 42 HD i ended up buying. The main reason i went Mitsu, besides them having some of the best technology in the biz...8 inches more for about the same price. Yeah, it's projection, but it's rather shallow for a projection TV. Plus, the smaller the projection tele, the brighter the pic...so @ 42in, in HD wide, i'm looking pretty sweet.

If i had the money, i would have gotten a Pioneer Elite Widescreen. Fucking Amazing. Or Samsung's DLP.

You might check Panasonic too for flat screen tele's like sony's WEGA. Not quite WEGA, but they're cheaper for sure if you're on a budget. And let's not forget who Panasonic is...Matsushita...which is also father to the best goddamn turntables in the biz...TECHNICS.

[Jenks]

one thing that's rad to think about...

when television signals go HD across the board...

just think about all that bandwidth that's going to be available after the switch!

[nbpgt]

thanks for the help guys.. i think im just gonna wait cause i dont have the desire that much to drop a load on an hd tv.. ill wait till 06-ish till the technology has been out for a little long, demand is higher, & prices drop...

if anyone else is interested i found this also on the topic.

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/hdtv.htm

[Mariusz]

I had a flat screen Wega, it's better than convencional tv. I liked it