16:9/Widescreen Direct View TVs
 

I've been doing some research of late on widescreen/16:9 and have a question. Does anyone know if any reputable manufacturers (pronounced "not RCA") have any 38" or larger 16:9/widescreen tube TVs on the horizon? I've looked at RPTVs and and have not been pleased with the picture quality for standard cable, which will be the majority of my viewing for the next several years. I was also dissapointed with some of the DVDs I saw on these TVs - they just didn't seem to be as sharp as my 32" 4:3 direct view is. Now I realize these are two different technologies and this thread is by no means an attack on RPTVs or those who own them. It's just that an RPTV is not the right TV for me right now. Anyway, back to my orginal question, I haven't been able to locate much info from CES 2002 and was wondering if anyone had any info. I've heard that Panasonic has another 34" 16:9 tube TV to replace its current model coming but no word of anything bigger from them, Sony, Toshiba, etc.

Thanks in advance!

As you've stated, alot of companies make 34" direct view sets(Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba I think, and Samsung). As far as I know the only other company(excluding RCA as you mentioned) that makes a 38" set is Philips. I've seen them before at Circuit City. There may be others though.
Regarding RPTVs, is it more of a size issue or would you have to move the set alot that is keeping you from getting one? Toshiba and Mitsubishi make some nice company 16x9 RPTVs that are 40-47". Good luck with whatever you decide to go with.

dfbennett -

Actually size isn't that much of an issue with an RPTV. I could fit the Toshiba 42" or Mitsu 46" fine and I could probably squeeze the Toshiba 50" in there. Actually, right now I can get the Mitsu 46" with the matching stand for $2,080, which is the best price I've seem locally. I just have not been impressed with the analog picture quality, esp. on standard cable, when looking at these things. The olympics look incredible in HDTV on them, but I don't anticipate having HDTV in my house for a few years at best. Plus, everything I read over at the HomeTheaterSPOT makes it seem like these things may be more trouble than they're worth (tweak this, tweak that, red push fix, etc.). I calibrate my TVs with my Avia disc, but I have no desire to go screwing around with service menus, etc. I'm leaning towards just waiting it out right now.

By the way, from your locations, it looks like we're neighbors! I live in Farmington and graduated from UCONN - go Huskies!

If you don't plan on having HDTV for a few years I would save your money and buy a direct view 4:3 TV.

Unless he watches alot of DVDs or plans on keeping his new TV for a long time(at which point he will get HDTV).
Tony, I know WFSB broadcasts DTV(not sure if it's HDTV though) off of Talcott Mountain. I'm sure you could easily get the signal over the air in Farmington. Just something to think about.
Funny about living near each other and you being a UConn grad and I a current student. I'm not sure when you attended, but sadly Arjona and Monteith STILL haven't been renovated. Three cheers for asbestos coated ceiling tiles :D

Actually, I do watch a lot of DVDs - average 1 a week. Plus about half of my TV viewing (Enterprise, ER, and West Wing) is in widescreen. That is why I prefer a widescreen TV. This TV will also be retired to the basement once I finish it off.

dfbennett - Wow, Arjona and Monteith still haven't been renovated?!? I won't tell you how long I've been out, but the old South Campus (Crawford in particular) was where I lived!

Regarding the TV viewing in Widescreen,unless the program is broadcast in anamorphic widescreen(and your cable box supports a 16x9 mode) you'll end up with a letterboxed and windowboxed picture (or you could stretch it). I know Satellite systems allow for 16x9 picture modes but I'm not sure about standard or Digital Cable. I'd look into that if I were you just to make sure a you won't have to watch letterboxed TV in 4:3 on your 16:9.

Regarding UConn-Ha ha. Wow that's some time ago then ;) My older brother lived in Merritt when he went here. It's funny how the old South Campus was pretty delapidated but the new South Campus is arguably the nicest dorm now. Oh well, the Jungle is still the Jungle ;)

Tony,

Sony manufactures a 40" direct view set:

Sony KV-40XBR700
40" FD Trinitron® Wega™ XBR® Hi-Scan TV

However, it costs about $3500 and weighs about 350 lb. You can read more about it here:

http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...0XB700&o=p&a=0


Ed

Why do you dislike the RCA 38" unit? From what I have read, it was given good reviews, plus it has the hd & direct tv tuners built in.

This is a 4:3 set though. He said he was looking for a 16:9 set.

bnewt -

I dislike and do not trust the makers of RCA products - namely Thompson Consumer Electronics (TCE). They also make GE products - which was one of the worst TVs I ever bought right out of college (only eight years ago). Funny thing though - I got a Class Action thingie in the mail against TCE a few months ago over their GE TVs and problems they covered up (doesn't help now that I got rid of the TV). Anyway, if you read Consumer Reports and check their repair histories (I don't put much faith in their reviews, but I do think their repair histories are accurate), you'll see that RCA, GE and Pro Scan (another TCE product) are the least reliable TVs out there - with 20% or more needing repairs. I also checked out reviews on the RCA 38" on audioreview.com and it didn't fair well - an extremely noisy fan being one of the main issues. I'm a firm believer in "you get what you pay for", so I find it hard to take the RCA seriously when, in BB last week, it was right next to a 34" 16:9 Toshiba that did not have a HDTV tuner or DirectTV receiver built in, and they're on sale for the same price - huh?!? Also, the RCA's screen isn't even flat :yack: bad curve, bad bad curve!!


dfbennett/ed -

I am looking for a 16:9 set. I have seen the 40" VVega but can not fathom spending that much for a 4:3 TV. I am actually looking at the Mitsubishi WT-46809 46" 16:9 RPTV right now. I checked it out at a local AV place today and after only about 10 seconds of tweaking (turning the contrast down, activating the 3:2 pulldown since it was a film, turning on the video noise reduction, etc.) the DVD picture was about five times better. I was really impressed :up:. If only they had it hooked to cable TV :down:. Add to this the fact that I can get it this week only for just under $2,100 with the matching stand...and we may have found a winner! We'll see - I'll keep you posted, or look for the thread that's titled "Just got my 46" Widescreen RPTV!!!!!" or something like that.

searched for this particular model to see if anyone has commented on this TV, Sony KV-40XBR700 40-Inch. sorry for digging out an old thread, but i saw one at a Sam's club near my house for $3149.99 with the stand i believe, anyone know if this is a good price and if anyone who has this particular model had any problem with them?

i have been searching for a tv that fits my new house a little bit better since i have high ceiling, but some tvs are just wayyyyy too expensive. this one if it comes with the stand actually wouldn't look too bad in the living room. i currently have a 36 inch on a low tv stand.

all comments and suggestions are appreciated. thank you very much. :)

I can't comment on this particular TV, but that price seems awfully high for a 40". I've seen 55" TVs around $2500. Maybe I'm missing something here.

Sony KV-40XBR700 40-Inch. ...for $3149.99 with the stand, i think..
 

movie_man,

well..., i believe one the biggest difference in that 40 in. tv vs. the 50 plus in. ones are perhaps whether they are projection or tubed. the model i was looking at sam's club is tubed, so it's like almost 300 lbs (heavily motherload)..., the picture quality should be lot better than rear projection like the big screen tvs.

can anyone else comment on this? i'm not even sure if the price is good but then again, it's a sony.....