tacomantt

Prediction Wanted: When will a HDTV like this arrive...

I want an large screen HDTV. Absolutely. My choises become limited because I am fussy. For unknown psychological reasons I want a large direct view: either tube or LCD.

The catch is I want a BIG one. I'd say a nice 60"-65" one would be sufficient.

Of course the television would have to play 720p and 1080i. None of this up/down conversion _shit. It would have to have plenty of resolution as well (1080x1920 would be nice for the eventual 1080p signals that will be broadcast years from now.)

Money really isn't an object. Its the wait that is killing me.

I've come close it picking up a PDP-502MX
(50" Pioneer), but again, it's not really what I want.

Have the gods weighed in on this one yet?

-Taco

ECydeDave

Zenith is releasing there 60" plasma display soon.

tacomantt

ECydeDave, you are an unsung hero. I'll do some more research.


Thanks

guildda

The Best Buy here in Syracuse had the 56" Panasonic that does 720p as an open box buy last week for $3000. Rochester ain't too far away (I'm from there btw) I can check if it's still there if you want.

DaveMorales

If you have to have 720P support, Panasonic is really your only option for a resonable amount of money, most everyone else has cast their lot in on the 480P/1080I bandwaggon.

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A free Tibet - Keep Hope alive...

Cardiff Giant11

man i'm just the opposite, i'd like a 24" or 28" direct view 16x9 HDTV capable set, but either way the choices for HDTV 16x9 sets need to improve GREATLY if we ever want to see the demise of 4x3. This is the first and probably last time i'll say this, but "Why can't we be more like England?!?!"
(No harm intended to all our British friends,I loved visiting England but I wouldn't want to live there)

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Dave My DVDs My Humble Home Theatre

Frank S

tacomantt
Just to clarifiy there is no such thing as 1080p in the HDTV standards. That is WAY, WAY to high a bandwidth to transmit via OTA or Satellite. Maybe you meant 1080i.

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My DVD/LD List
My Home Theater Equipment

Aleve90

quote:<HR>For unknown psychological reasons I want a large direct view: either tube or LCD.

The catch is I want a BIG one. I'd say a nice 60"-65" one would be sufficient.<HR>

tacomantt you have some pretty high expectations which I question if they will ever be met.

As you've probably already determined, direct view sets become too heavy once they go above about 36". I forget what the largest direct view set is, but I think Mits used to make a 46" direct view set a few years ago. The law of diminishing returns takes over as the tube size increases and it is neither cost effective or practical to make a direct view set in the size you want. So I would not expect to see one this size, although I admit it would be cool. As a side note, I wonder how much a 65" direct view set would weigh. My guess is at least 350 pounds.

Presently your only option would be in plasma based systems. However, most plasma sets are currently limited to a resolution of about 720p and use an external scaler to convert all signals to the sets native resolution. Again this doesn't meet your expectations as plasma is currently not able to resolve a native 1080i signal, let alone 1080p.

This of course doesn't mean that advancements will not be made with plasma displays or that other technologies will not be improved. Indeed, I believe that plasma has at least a niche market in the future.

IMHO, you need to look beyond direct view sets and in particular to the new D-ILA RPTVs that are coming to market in the near future (which should be able to handle 720p and 1080i). Plus, don't be so fast to write off HD-ready CRT based RPTVs. I have been truly impressed by many of the current HD-ready RPTVs, including the Pananasonic line with its native 720p resolution.

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Dave
My DVD List

DVD-Desi

tacomantt,

Well at this point your choices are very limited. I have a Panasonic PT-56WXF95 that I have had since Nov '99. It is absolutely awsome and does 720p and 1080i natively. Actually Panasonic is coming out with another model like it around 65" in the near future that also does 720p. I think I saw a picture of it from the last CES show. If you do some poking around the net like on home theater forums such as www.hometheaterforum.com www.avsforum.com you will probably get some more info on that TV.

BTW, if you get a HDTV, make sure you get a Progressive Scanning DVD the difference is really stunning. I just upgraded and am never looking back.

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• The result of a DVD player as a gift...

matchpenalty

tacomantt,

I am with you. I want a nice large direct view or plasma tv. However, I just would like to see the price on the Pioneer 50 inch come down.

tacomantt

Thanks for the input people! I love TV, movies and DVD's. (Ok, so I have no friends).

Anyway bookmark the following page:

http://www.twice.com/DTVcharts/1080mon.html

It's a nice table of current plasma sets along with their specs. Remember "Rear PTV" is rear projection; Dont even bother with the 7" ones (jeez!).

But I'd like to point out as did Aleve90, DaveMorales and all the others, that even if a TV is listed as 1080i capable it doesnt not mean it can do it or 720p natively.


-TAco

[This message has been edited by tacomantt (edited August 21, 2000).]

audrey

Samsung is releasing a suite of new F-LCD products that support 720p. There is a brief summary of these in the new Perfect Vision (InfoComm report).

DaveMorales

quote:<HR>Originally posted by tacomantt:
[b]But I'd like to point out as did Aleve90, DaveMorales and all the others, that even if a TV is listed as 1080i capable it doesnt not mean it can do it or 720p natively.
<HR>

No, it just means that the vast majority of DTVs that receive a 720P signal will just upconvert it to 1080i. If a DTV does not list 720P support it is a safe assumption that it cannot be resolved and displayed.


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A free Tibet - Keep Hope alive...

Aleve90

Don't be so fast to write off 7" CRTs. While there is no question that 7" guns are not able to fully resolve a 1080i without pixels overlapping, this does not mean that they cannot produce a stunning image.

Presently, most people either cannot afford 9" CRTs or are unwilling to spend the money. There is no question that I'd prefer to have 9" guns vs my FPTV and RPTV with 7" CRTs, but I presently cannot afford to "upgrade" and both produce fantastic images -- after being ISFed of course.

Also IMHO, I presently would not worry about being able to display 720p natively. While it is nice to keep the signal path clean, must STB's convertions of 720p to 1080i look fine. Sure there is a possiblity of artifacts involved in any conversion, but the truth is I sometimes prefer the converted 1080i image vs the native 720p.

In particular, I prefer watching Fox's 16:9 Ally McBeal in converted 1080i through my DTC-100, than watching it in the broadcast form of 720p through my Panasonic DST51. While this may not be the best example because McBeal is "filmed" in 480p and then upconverted by my local broadcaster to 720p, it does demonstrate that "native" resolution isn't the most important thing. However, I will note that I prefer watching ABC movies in their native 720p than converted to 1080i.

My point is that native resolution is a good thing and nice to have, but its not the most important thing. Also don't worry if you only have 7" CRTs or it that is all your can afford. Right now the standards are in flux and I for one don't know if 1080i will take over the U.S. or if 720p and 1080i will continue to live together. Just get a set that you can afford and one that will do what you want it to do, ie. display your DVDs and HD programming as available. If native 720p is important to you, then get it. If your interested in a good image then you will likely be happy with a 1080i only with all conversions done by the set top box.

Enjoy your viewing

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Dave
My DVD List

[This message has been edited by Aleve90 (edited August 22, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Aleve90 (edited August 22, 2000).]

jmeitz

Circuit City will be carrying a 61 inch widescreen Hitachi TV very soon like within a few weeks. I think the price is around 6000 or so but it is 1080 resolution.