Hey all. I am in the process of buying a new Widescreen TV this week. My budget is $500, and so far I found two decent TV's. There is a 26 inch for $399, and a 30 inch for $499.

Will that 4 inches really make a difference? Since I don't know a heck of alot about TV's, maybe someone (or a few people) can help. Do either of these TV's have progressive scan (Id love to play my Gamecube games thru progressive). What about Xbox? Are they 480i, 480p, 720? Help!

Phillips 26 inch
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....3&type=product

JVC 30 inch
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....2&type=product

THANKS!

Philips had a widescreen 30" for $539. It was a refurbished tv, but very much worth the try.

www.philipsoutlet.com was the website for the tv I think. Free shipping, too. I almost got the sucker myself.

Model # is 30PW850H99. I just checked and they still have it on their website.

DVD Polizei, thanks for the info. But any info regarding those two? Im more keen on seeingthe TV in person rather then blind buying over the internet.

I'd go with the JVC. It's not an HDTV, but merely a widescreen CRT. For $500, that's a pretty good deal. I'd certainly get it if you want something brand new.

But the Philips 30" is a HDTV (480p / 1080i / upsampling from non-HD).

P.S. I notice for the Toshiba TV, they say it's "DVD-ready".

Anymore help?

The 26" only has a 2 line comb filter. The JVC has a 3 line comb filter. I would go for the bigger one.

Ok, JVC it is. Now I just need more money :-(

And you only use the TV's comb filter if you hook a source up via composite or RF, so this probably doesn't matter.

So it won't matter if Im using AV or Composite cables? Besides that, is there any reason to get the 30 inch over the 26 inch?

Well, I do like JVC. I've been using their 31" television since, hell, I can't remember now. But it's been about 7-9 years I think.

Going from a 26" to a 30", you really can see the difference. That's why I got a 31" at the time, because the 27" version appeared a lot smaller than what it actually was.

But, if you wanna save $100, and don't really mind the 4" decrease in picture size, then hey, get the Toshiba. You certainly can't go wrong, because Toshiba has pretty good image quality too. I used to sell Toshiba and JVC televisions (4:3 tv's at the time) and I never had problems with them. Sony on the other hand, I had them come back every other week.

Well, with the 10% off coupon going around, the $400 tv is now $360, and the $500 is not $450. So, in reality, Im only now paying an extra $50 for 4 more inches. I can deal with that. Lets just see if I can get out of the store without getting hit up with 5 service agreements.

I've had a JVC CRT for 15 years and the picture still looks great (good enough for the cable signal in the bedroom).

What will you be watching on this TV? HDTV? DVD?
How far from the TV will you be when viewing?

All always say you are better off seeing the TV in person and have them play TV and DVD on it.

Hope you get what you wanted!