I'm at a complete loss whether or not to buy an expensive HD-ready TV
 

My dad wants to buy a new TV, a 16:9 42''.
But we don't know whether to look for a Plasma 16:9 42'' television (about 2000 $ dollars) or a 16:9 42'' TV that'sHD ready.

What he really wants is a 16:9 42'' that's HD ready, but obviously these TVs are quite expensive!

So really the question is whether or not to buy such an expensive TV so that we'll be ready for the HD era (which will come when...?) or to simply buy a 16:9 42'' PLASMA tv which could become outdated when HD takes over.
What's the word on buying plasma TVs now? Should one buy HD-ready TVs? Will today's HD-ready Tvs be as good as the regular HD tvs that will come along?

I have no idea what to tell him and it's a lot of money...please DVDtalk, help me!

Plasmsa are HD ready too, unless you get an EDTV (Enhanced Definition) model plasma. The EDTVs can accept an HD signal, but can't display it. In the $2000 range, you're probably looking at the EDTVs. But Dell is offering an HD plasma for about $2000. I'd get that, before buying an EDTV.

The HD era is here, and has been here for awhile. Cable companies and satellite companies offer HD programming. Most local stations are broadcasting in HD now, for OTA receiving. Dish Network has the most HD channels right now. They bought a bunch of Voom's, when Voom went out of business. DirecTv promises a lot more HD channels, by the first of the year.

You can get HDTVs in almost any price range. From $999, up to $20,000, depending on what you want in a tv. Direct view CRT, rear projection, front projection, LCD, rear projected LCD, DLP, LCoS, My particular favorite is the JVC D-ILA. It's the LCoS technology.

Go to Best Buy or Circuit City and check the tvs there, and their prices. Also look online at www.crutchfield.com and see more prices.

DirecTv promises a lot more HD channels, by the first of the year.

I hope it's true....when I first got HD programming a while back I was stunned to see the crap they had to offer. Poor selection came as a shock to me, actually. If they don't upgrade soon and get with the times....I'm jumping ship. No TNTHD....no Monsters....on and on.:grunt:

Both the HDTV's I bought have the tuner built in....I just like it that way.

OMG...WTF



;)

I just want to add some clarification....

emoxley said, "The EDTVs can accept an HD signal, but can't display it."

He means they can't actually put out HD resolution, but they can display the picture. It will just be downconverted to the ED resolution of the TV. So these TVs are ready for the future, which actually started a couple years ago. It's just that their picture isn't quite as good as a true HD model.

And the channels promised by DirecTV are not new channels. They are the current local channels in the 12 biggest TV watching cities. That is new to DirecTV, but not new channels.


Lastly, most of the time "HD Ready" means the TV can accept a signal in HD resolution and show it to you in its native resolution. (that might be the same res or not) What these TVs lack is an HD tuner to actually decode the HD channel and change channels. So you have to get one externally. If you get cable or satellite already, you can get the tuner from them. A TV listed as "HDTV" should already have the tuner built in, but marketing issues mean these terms are not universally used in the same way, so you have to double check.

There should be no issues with the future. The resolutions are all consistent and will be for quite some time. The only issue is copy protection, so you probably want to make sure the TV is HDCP compatible. But I think all current models are, so not a big deal.

2 words. Panasonic EDTV.

2 numbers. 42". $1500.

Beautiful picture, You might even think it's HD with an HD signal. Great contrast, natural-looking image.