Morrow373

My 27" is not cutting it anymore in my apt for widescreen movies. I have about 11-12 feet viewing distance to my TV set, and am looking for a big improvement in picture quality and size. I was thinking of a 36", but I am not sure I will even be happy with that size on 2.35:1 movies. For all you out there with a 36"...any comments? I guess the next size up is a projection around 43". If I go for that I have to scrap my entertainment center, but the picture will be a really nice size. I am looking to spend under 900 bucks on a 36" or under 1300 on a 43" Do you have any recommendations?

skar

Toshiba 36A61

As low as $769 online.

I would avoid getting a RPTV unless you can spend at least $1600 and get a HDTV-ready set. The ability to view a progressive image and the internal line doubler gives you a large jump in picture quality.

Morrow373

I have to go see them both before I decide, and also check out the 16x9 feature with a DVD on the sony to see if it is worth it or not. If I don't care about picture in picture which toshiba model is IDENTICAL to the 36A61 but just doesn't have th pic in pic and is cheaper? Thanks again.

ps....what is so special about progressive scan? How does it work?

skar

http://www.xtremeshopper.com/xtreme....uct/View/36A61

Note: I never used Xtreme Shopper. I don't know anything about them, except that they have a great price on this TV.

Progressive Scan:

A normal DVD image is interlaced. That means that the picture is changed in two passes. One does every other line of resolution, the second pass does the other half. A progressive image rewrites the entire image in one pass, therefore every pixel is updated twice as often. And that makes the picture look better. My explanation is not very good, hopefully someone can post a better one or a nice link that explains it.

I believe the Toshiba 36A51 is the TV you are looking for. At least the 36A50 was the non-PIP version of the 36A60. At Xtreme Shopper you only save $25 with the 36A50 which is non-PIP and is last year's model. At this point you might as well get the PIP, although I agree it is a useless feature.

Jin E

Skar does a good job at explaining what progressive scan is... but let's take it a step further. Imagine a moving object in your field of vision traveling from left to right. If you are interlacing your scan lines... the object will move like this:

Frame1:

''''|
''''|
''''|
''''|
''''|

Frame1/2:

''''|
'''''''''|
''''|
'''''''''|
''''|

Frame2:

'''''''''|
'''''''''|
'''''''''|
'''''''''|
'''''''''|

Notice for a moment while the monitor is refreshing you get a odd jagged appearance from a moving object. This is a slight simplification... but to make a long story short this is what is refered to as the 3:2 pulldown on your progressive scan DVD players. This is supposed to give you a more "filmlike" appearance. Do not get progressive scan DVD players which do no do 3:2 pulldown (such as the Pioneer DV434), because they basically negate the benifit of progressive scanning. To tell you the truth this is not something I can see on 32-36" direct views... the benifit does become more apparent (to me) with larger rear projection TVs.

{edit}
damn... took some trying to get my ascii art to look right!

lizard

For an explanation of progressive scan and how it relates to DVDs you can go here:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...e-10-2000.html
The info in the grey box about 2-3 pages down (An Explanation of Film-to-Video Frame Rate Conversion for NTSC) is particularly well done.

Jin E

You can also go here for a great explanation of 3:2 pulldown and progressive scan.

http://www.dvdfile.com/news/special_...2_pulldown.htm

Xytraguptorh

You could get an analog 43" or 50" RPTV in your price range. The standard comment seems to be that you should only buy an HD ready RPTV, but I don't see why that's anymore necessary than when you're buying a direct view. I used to own a Hitachi RPTV with component video inputs. It wasn't an HD set, though, but the picture on DVDs was terrific, even from 8 feet away. And I *never* noticed scan lines with either DVD or satellite, which is what people usually tell you is the real drawback. Having said that, I'm expecting my replacement TV on Friday which is an HDTV: Toshiba 65H81. But, if someone is wanting a large TV within a limited price range, I don't see that buying an analog RPTV is such a bad thing as long as it has component video at least. If you're not spending a large amount of money, you might not mind having to upgrade in a few years if HDTV programming becomes more common. I think Hitachi and Toshiba still make analog RPTVs, and I'm positive that RCA and Phillips do. Not too sure about Sony and Panasonic. I've always been more inclined to say "bigger is better" when it comes to home theater, so I would recommend looking for a 50" if you have the room for it. I'm sure if you look around you could find one in your price range. You'll be glad you did when watching 2.35:1 DVDs. I noticed you said you'd have 11-12 feet of distance to the TV, which is why I recommend looking for a bigger TV. If 2.35:1 DVDs weren't so common it wouldn't be as important, obviously. I owned a 53" and sat 8' away and never considered it to be too big. In fact, for 2.35:1 movies it seemed a little small. I guess you should just look at some RPTVs for yourself and see if you're bothered by things like scan lines from various distances. Like I said, even though I've seen it mentioned many times, it's never been an issue at all for me. YMMV.

Morrow373

I am leaning towards a toshiba 43" or 50." If I stick with the 36" I am set, as it will fit in my entertainment unit nicely. If I go for a PROJECTION, I have to toss the unit and get a separate cabinet for my electronics. The 36" will probably be a significant size increase over what I am used to....a small 27" er.....but I just hope it is not too small if I decide to go that route. Getting that toshiba 36" for around 800 bucks or so is VERY TEMPTING!