Lately my five year old JVC has been rather sluggish when I turn it on. The picture stays really dark for a few seconds to near a minute (making the colours "glow") 'til it warms up. never used to take so long until relatively recently. It's okay, I suppose, since I'm sure I can squeeze a few more years out of the set.

Regardless, for quite some time I've been keeping my eye out for a new 4:3 set (I recently purchased new furniture that will only accomodate 4:3 sets and am not planning to replace this furniture anytime soon). Since my DVD player is progressive scan I figure I'll get a progressive scan capable TV but I also figure I might as well get an HDTV capable set, so as to not have to uprgrade in the near future.

For now, I have my eye on the following two:


http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp...odel=CT-36HL43


http://www.jvc.com/product.jsp?model...L027054&page=1

Since they're 4:3, anamorphic squeeze is important to me. The JVC link boasts of its version of anamorphic squeeze but the Panasonic link mentions nothing. This is odd because the few times I've seen this set in stores (at least, I think it was that particular Panasonic set) I saw a sticker on the monitor claiming to have a "16:9 enhanced mode" or whataever.

Anyhoo, anyone who's had experience with either (or, preferably, both) of these sets care to give me your impressions of them? It'd really help me make up my mind.

if you've got a few years left in the tv, you are wasting your time looking now... things will change in 6 months, and you will have to re-decide...

If you are unwilling to replace your furniture, save your money and buy a regular analog 4:3 TV. HDTV is a widescreen format by definition. Anyone who buys a 4:3 HDTV instead of a 16:9 HDTV is either:
1.) an uninformed buyer who will later regret his decision
2.) an informed buyer who understands that he will need to replace his expensive 4:3 HDTV in a few years because everything will be in widescreen format

If money is not too much of a concern, go ahead and buy a 4:3 HDTV & replace it later. But if money is a concern, don't make the mistake of buying a 4:3 HDTV. Either buy a 16:9 HDTV now, or wait and buy one later & live with your 4:3 analog TV.

Joshic,

I understand that HDTV is a widescreen format but I assumed (incorrectly, it seems) that anamorphic squeeze was a way to get around that. If it's the fact that I'd always see a leterboxed image with HDTV broadcasts, I have no aversions towards a letterboxed image on my TV. "Black bars" have never bothered me. Or is it due to a burn-in issue that you warn against my intention to purchase a 4:3 HDTV?

If you're going to feed an analog signal into your 4:3 HDTV, then why not get an analog TV in the first place?

If you're going to feed a digital signal through a STB, then you will be inputting either one of two types of signals:
1.) a HD signal that will fill the screen on a 16:9 TV, but have black bars on the top and bottom of a 4:3 TV
2.) a non-HD digital signal broadcast from the local TV station, which will be in 4:3. But the thing is, the TV stations still broadcast the signal in 720p or 1080i HD, it's just that the resolution is not HD. So your TV will take the 16:9 signal, turn on anamorphic squeeze, and display a 4:3 image within the 16:9 window of your 4:3 TV. You will get black bars on the top, bottom, left, and right of your image All around.

Trust me on this. You do not want a 4:3 HDTV. The TV manufacturers are misleading the public by selling 4:3 HDTVs. It's the same idea as those manufacturers who tout their TVs as "HD ready" when they don't even support half of the HD standard by not supporting 720p & only supporting 1080i. It's dumb & you will feel like a fool for buying one. Unless you have plenty of money and plan to replace it soon.

BTW, here is a link with a long, informative discussion regarding black bars on all 4 sides on 4:3 HDTVs.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=283981

Joshic,

Though I appreciate (and checked out) the link, your explanation was more than enough. Thanks from keeping me from making a very bad decision.

Anyhoo, if worsecomes to worse I'll just get myself another 4:3 analog TV untile I'm truly ready for HDTV. By then I hope that the lovely 16:9 LCD big screen monitor I saw will have dropped down considerably in price.

If the vast majority of broadcasts are going to be in HD, most of the time these 36in 4:3 televisions will be providing a picture of the same size and resolution as a 33 inch 16:9. At that price there are several 34 inch 16:9 televisions, although they might not fit the furniture. I would recommend a 30 inch16:9 because you only lose about 2.5 inches of width and it would still fit your existing furniture. The problem is that the only one I am aware of is Samsung and it does not look very sharp in the showroom. I will be buying their 26 inch model instead because it is very sharp and fits my budget: $1100.00 CDN.

In conclusion, I don't see a problem with a 36 inch 4:3 HD television if you don't mind the bars. The small 4:3 image within the screen is a problem that will rarely happen and its occurrance will be one rare as time goes on. Personally the bars would drive me nuts. If I had your money and furiture I would look into other 30 inch 16:9 televisions. Maybe there is a better one out there that I am unaware of.

On this question, I was thinking about buying a 16:9 HDTV in the near future (christmas). Thing is, TV isnt all that important to me in terms of what I watch on network and cable channels, mainly sports and Alias, so I dont plan on getting HDTV cable anytime soon. I watch alot of movies obviously, so thats what I would mainly be getting the TV for. Is it going to be much of a big deal having a 16:9 hdtv and just having regular cable going through it. I am a beginner in the home theatre arena so the question may seem rather moronic, but I get a lot of good info from this site and value the opinions I get here, so I thought I would throw this one out there.

Not a big deal, just bear in mind that regular cable is likely to look pretty bad (picture quality wise). Also unless a broadcast is in 16:9 ratio you will have bars on the SIDES of your 16:9 hdtv.

Good luck!

Yeah, that's what I figured but I wanted to make sure and ask the "experts".