MBoyd

I don't have an HDTV now. Just curious what people are doing or if anyone has advice.

I know it's not 1080p, but I saw the Sony 34 inch Tube XBR today for just over 1K. I've wanted one for years and just wonder if I should get something cheap like that to satisfy me for awhile. I don't have the space for anything larger really.

I could see myself jumping in on both HD formats by the end of the year or 2nd gen players.

BravesMG

Well, I just recently got a Sony 50" SXRD that made me get an HD-DVD player just because of how beautiful the picture was on normal devices. But.... I have been eyeing the 60" Samsung DLP 1080p set on the Continental Miles for Merchandise promotion that's about $2100 shipped. I just think that's eventually going to be too much to pass up.

kvrdave

Just ordered a Panasonic PT-AE9000U projector. After rebates, ebay of the old projector, ebay of the Blockbuster card, old screen, etc. it should cost me about $500.

But if I am taking the dive into HD, I want a really big screen. The one I am building should be 122"

Artman

Movie night at Dave's! woohoo!

I'm planning to get a new tv next yr... (hopefully along with a house) I think a 50" would work just fine for me.

Cinemaddiction

I'm picking up a Sony 42" WEGA LCD HDTV in about 2 weeks time, and hoping to follow that up with a Toshiba HD-DVD player. I'm just overhauling my entire home theatre, and with Continental's OnePass deal on the player ($360/shipped), after selling my slightly used HDMI/Upconverting Sony, and some of my old DVD's, it'll cost me very little.

Jray

Honestly, on that TV I don't think you'd notice a huge difference between regular DVD and the HD formats. Especially since it's a tube and not fixed-pixel. On my brother-in-law's 40" HDTV, regular DVDs look pretty damn good. On my 60" though, you start noticing the lower resolution and imperfections more.

You should do some comparisons for yourself to see if it's worth it.

MBoyd

Does anyone think I'd be able to tell the difference between HD discs and Standard discs on that 34" Sony?

Ah Jray just answered my question. I think you are probably correct, but at least it would get me into the formats and I'd also have a tube that will last many years hopefully. From reading around online it sounds like tubes are dying a quick death.

Spiky

Just a quick note: the reason DVD doesn't look as good on bigger fixed pixel displays is because fixed pixel isn't as good. And scalers are not all made equal.

Isn't a 34" CRT about the biggest TV around? I take it you don't have a depth issue.

But yes, you should be able to tell the difference no problem. If that model still has 2 native resolutions (would be 1080 and 480), both will look very good since you will be able to play DVD in its native res rather than upscaled to 1080.

Supermallet

I had an HDTV for about a year before HD DVD launched, so no, I didn't upgrade my TV.

Steve Phillips

Yes, you WILL notice a difference on a 34" Tube HD set. I've got a 30" and HD DVD and Blu-ray look much better than DVD on it.

I have yet to see a plasma, RPTV, DLP or LCD set that impressed me enough to buy it. The picture just doesn't compare to good old tube sets.

flashburn

Until just recently I had a 32" Sony WEGA HDTV. It is a 4:3 TV so its Widescreen size was only about 29", even at that size the differences between DVD and HD DVD were very, very obvious.

I just recently did a small upgrade to a 37" Panasonic plasma, and it looks a good deal better, but still comparable to my old WEGA. Many people still consider CRT's to produce the best picture.

The main problems that CRT's have besides their weight and small viewing area is that most have more overscan and geometry issues compared to fixed pixel displays. However, those problems (especially geometry issues) are hard to see unless you are looking at test patterns.

kahuna

I do not have a HD or Blu Ray player yet. But finally picked up a 42" Westinghouse LVM-42W2 HD 1080P monitor.

kvrdave

There are calculations that will show how much difference it makes. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) would recommend being no further away than 4.2 feet from the screen with a tv that size. THX would have a maximum of 4.9 feet. So the further away you sit, the less you will be able to see any difference, and the smaller the screen, the closer you will need to be to the screen.

So if you sit 8-10 feet away from a 34" Sony, your eyes probably can't tell any difference.

Dead

I haven't bought a new TV for HD or BluRay yet. Heck, I haven't even bought the player yet. My current plan is to get one of these TVs and the player around Christmas, then think about upgrading the projector in the spring.

The Bus

That's how I feel about my CRT projection screen. I like it better than most LCD and DLP sets that I've seen.

The Bus

I have to second that. Viewing 720p content and HD cable on my 26" LCD is a much different experience than watching a DVD.

Jray

I stand corrected.

Dalvin

dave seems like my kind of guy. Big on TV and Movies, plus seems pretty knowlegable in that regard as well.
I wanted to ask. Is a front projector the best way to go with this? Is there a high end site that someone could post that has the best TVs/Projectors on the market(think tdktheaters.com but for TV's and projectors).

kvrdave

I simply believe that a man needs his own room. Here is the quest thread.
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=384579

If you have a room where you can control the light, I cannot imagine having anything but a front projector. It is relatively cheap, and you will find that you don't ever want to go to a movie theater again. Check the high end stuff at avsforum.com. My own opinion is that the $2,000 stuff is probably not much different than the high end stuff, and the high end stuff needs to be upgraded nearly as often. TV is important enough to me to spend the money every few years to get what I want.

bdhart

I bought my HP Pavilion MD6580n 65-inch 1080p Microdisplay TV in February in anticipation of HD DVD and Blu Ray.

Drexl

I probably will be buying one soon. I don't watch much TV, so it took a pre-recorded disc format to get me into HD.

candyrocket786

I'm looking at a 60" SXRD right now. I'm pretty much hooked when I see the HDA1 demo running through it at BB.

However, I have yet to get management to approve my request. Apparently she sees no problems with my current Panasonic 47in HD-RPTV.

Supermallet

For a moment I was about to ask where you worked that your boss decided what A/V equipment you had at home, and then I realized what you meant by management.

candyrocket786

Yep. I was only able to acquire an A1 only because it fell under the category of "Graduation Gift".

Trying to upgrade the TV is a whole different story.

Supermallet

You should look at CRTs. They're huge, granted, but for my money they'll still give you the best HD image at the lowest price per screen size.