so im considering getting rid of my 32" conventional tv & stepping into a 32" flat screen.. it will cost me more than double what i will get for the tv if i can sell it.. for those that have a flat, is it really worth the money?? now remmeber im not goign all out with LCD nor plasma... & i will stay more on the lower end of the spectrum as far as brand, quality, & pricing.. any opinions?

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

if you are talkling about a flat CRT like the sonys wega...great tvs, and there are plenty of other manugfactures to choose from...those are great...lot less glare than your conventioanl tubes. Go for it! if you have Costco membership iwould try there first and then compare prices at other retailers.

maybe save your money and wait, think about this:

in 2006, or sometime along there, all television broadcasts will be in HD.

if you have a conventional screen 4:3, even if it's flat, HD, whatever...you're going to see HD letterboxed unless you have a widescreen.

The WEGA tele's are bitchin, but i didn't get one because they didn't have a widescreen. Well, they did, the 34 WEGA HD Wide...but it's hella expensive and for the same money i got a 42" HD Wide Mitsu.

If i were buying a tv today, i'd save up, or wait for the samsung DLP or the phillips with the matchline technology. Both cheaper than Plasma flat panels, and totally rock for quality (superior to plasma imo...but take up a little more space.) The Phillips has this Amblight glow technology, that illuminates the wall behind your tele an green color, thus making it easier on your eyes to view the HD screen.

There is so much on the horizon for tele's, and if this is going to be your last tv purchase for awhile, i'd save up for a better one, or just wait until you can. The WEGA's have been out for a long time, they are still rock solid, but they're aging, albeit gracefully.

If you're not even caring at this point about HD, then Sony WEGA all the way. the 36" nonHD wega is $899 now.

yeah im not to interested in HD right now... but i also spend lots of time in front of the tv whether it be games, dvds, or regular programming.. the way my room is & tv faces, the glare bites my ass...

thanks for the replies, anyone else?

[quote=Jenks";p="46597]maybe save your money and wait, think about this:

in 2006, or sometime along there, all television broadcasts will be in HD.

if you have a conventional screen 4:3, even if it's flat, HD, whatever...you're going to see HD letterboxed unless you have a widescreen.

The WEGA tele's are bitchin, but i didn't get one because they didn't have a widescreen. Well, they did, the 34 WEGA HD Wide...but it's hella expensive and for the same money i got a 42" HD Wide Mitsu.

If i were buying a tv today, I'd save up, or wait for the samsung DLP or the phillips with the matchline technology. Both cheaper than Plasma flat panels, and totally rock for quality (superior to plasma imo...but take up a little more space.) The Phillips has this Amblight glow technology, that illuminates the wall behind your tele an green color, thus making it easier on your eyes to view the HD screen.

There is so much on the horizon for tele's, and if this is going to be your last tv purchase for awhile, i'd save up for a better one, or just wait until you can. The WEGA's have been out for a long time, they are still rock solid, but they're aging, albeit gracefully.

If you're not even caring at this point about HD, then Sony WEGA all the way. the 36" nonHD wega is $899 now.[/quote]

some excellent comments by Jenks there. He is absolutely right in that the Federal Government has mandated all broadcasts to be in 16:9 format...... I just bought my first tv here in the states (the other one was a 14" hand me down from my uncle :lol: )

I researched like crazy and finally decided to check in with the Sony KV-30HS420.

[img]http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/sc/30895537-2-300-overview-1.gif[/img]

Jenks, this one is in native 16:9 wide screen format and for the price ($899), its one of the best wide screen HDTV's you can get. The best way to guage a TV is through it reproduction of the color black. This TV is gonna you show you black as black as black can get...... I absolutely love it. I am also waiting for the new samsung DVD-HD941 to be released which upscales everything form native dvd format to 1080i and with this TV, its gonna be BITCHIN'.

I also compared it with the other 34" sony xbr tv and the $2300 price tag didnt justify the $1400 climb in prices for 4 stinkin inches...... and trust me, you cant really guage the picture quality difference unless you stand and stare at both tv's side by side for a few hours......honestly, for most of us.... this TV should fit right in, they do have a 34" version in this mode for about $1500.....

Now for the other formats,

DLP, inspite of being an advanced technology, works very much like a rear projection tv, i.e. if you dont have a room that big enough to place it in, you're NOT gonna be able to position it for the best view. LCD monitors are GREAT for MS OFFICE type day to day work, but ask any native gamer and they're gonna tell you to get a CRT Monitor, you just cant beat the bang for your buck..... and finally the last option are the plasma's..... do you really wanna spend tons of $$$$$ and end up buying a TV that's gonna last you about 5 years until the plasma cells begin to die and the picture quality fades to half brightness...

spend it in a good Tube TV and pick up a decent Sony IMO, you cant go wrong with it.....

If you want to have a rundown on the different technologies out there, read this reveiw on CNET and you'll see that ONLY drawbacks to Tube TVs are price and limited size availability, there are NONE on picture quality...

[url]http://www.cnet.com/4520-7874_1-5108443-1.html?tag=hdtv.4520-7874_1-5108443-1[/url]

-e-

hmmm.. i didnt know that about the 06 fed mandate of tv programs.. any info i can follow up on about the mandate?

thanks for the heads up... but yeah im not interested in the higher ends.... crt's will be fine with me...

[url]http://www.hdtv.net/faq.htm[/url]

Going to suck for a lot of people come 2006; even with standard TV's, you'll have to buy a "box" to convert the signal on the bare minimum...and who knows what the companies are going to end up charging for those...:?

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

I've had a 32 inch Silver Sony Wega Flat screen CRT 4:3 for years and have no complaints. Picture quality is great and never any problems.

I'm thinking too of buying a CRT 16:9 HD TV. Like some mentioned, I don't like the HD LCD tvs picture quality. On regular channels and some HD channels, my Wega looks better. DLP, I've noticed depends so much on the lighting in the room. And plasma TV are too expensive and burn out although they do look great.

[quote=FM";p="46618]http://www.hdtv.net/faq.htm

Going to suck for a lot of people come 2006; even with standard TV's, you'll have to buy a "box" to convert the signal on the bare minimum...and who knows what the companies are going to end up charging for those...:?[/quote]

thanks for the link..

but as of now, the jury is still out.

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

Have a 50" Samsung DLP (digital projection) LOVE IT!!! WIll never go back.....forever ever

[quote="Encryption";p="46606"][quote=Jenks";p="46597]

I researched like crazy and finally decided to check in with the Sony KV-30HS420. -e-[/quote]

We just got one of these at my friends house this past weekend. The TV is sick.. Got it for $800 at Best Buy. Definitely worth the money..

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

[quote=fyreater179";p="46631]Have a 50" Samsung DLP (digital projection) LOVE IT!!! WIll never go back.....forever ever[/quote]

dude, that is a sick ass TV! nice.

Plasma is shit imo, for exactly the reason E said. They have a shelf life, and they're $$$$$$.

I was actually trying to decide between the Sony 34 XBR Widescreen WEGA and the Mitsubishi 42 HD i ended up buying. The main reason i went Mitsu, besides them having some of the best technology in the biz...8 inches more for about the same price. Yeah, it's projection, but it's rather shallow for a projection TV. Plus, the smaller the projection tele, the brighter the pic...so @ 42in, in HD wide, i'm looking pretty sweet.

If i had the money, i would have gotten a Pioneer Elite Widescreen. Fucking Amazing. Or Samsung's DLP.

You might check Panasonic too for flat screen tele's like sony's WEGA. Not quite WEGA, but they're cheaper for sure if you're on a budget. And let's not forget who Panasonic is...Matsushita...which is also father to the best goddamn turntables in the biz...TECHNICS.

one thing that's rad to think about...

when television signals go HD across the board...

just think about all that bandwidth that's going to be available after the switch!

:shock:

thanks for the help guys.. i think im just gonna wait cause i dont have the desire that much to drop a load on an hd tv.. ill wait till 06-ish till the technology has been out for a little long, demand is higher, & prices drop...

if anyone else is interested i found this also on the topic.

[url]http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/hdtv.htm[/url]

I had a flat screen Wega, it's better than convencional tv. I liked it

just get HD. flat screen or not, HD rulz...

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

I have a regular 27 inch Toshiba, and don't really watch TV that much, but was thinking of upgrading sometime soon (to something like projection). No sweat, will wait until 2006 - by that time, maybe true LCDs will drop in price, not to mention plasma.

If I had the money I would buy a flat tv with no second thoughts :)

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

Watch out for digital interface on your new tv. HDMI is a must-have for further compatibility.

Lots of the cheaper flats don?t have a digital interface.

Personally I?d look out for a plasma. LCD?s are not so good for daylight-watching because of the contrast...

[quote=Encryption";p="46606]

DLP, inspite of being an advanced technology, works very much like a rear projection tv, i.e. if you dont have a room that big enough to place it in, you're NOT gonna be able to position it for the best view. -e-[/quote]

That's very wrong. Yes it works like a rear-projection but it is very very thin. It's light because it's hollow in the middle. DLP works by a tiny chip of mirrors about the size of a large postage stamp. A high lumen beam is projected on these mirrors and each mirror represents a pixel on the screen. The old DLP could produce 16.9 millions colors but the new 3-DMD can produce 35 trillions colors. This is unmatched with anything else. The great thing about DLP versus plasma or LCD is that you will get no burn in so it's great for gamers and if you want to hook up your computer to it. These DLP TVs are so light a 42" around 30-40lbs, the depth of these are only about 2 feet, you can pick them up yourself. If you want a HD ready TV DLP is the way to go. It makes regular channels a whole lot clearer because it converts the analog signal to digital and cleans out the distortion, etc. If I were buying a TV right now DLP would be what I'd get. Although I haven't checked out the ILA TV's yet.

well we're speaking different languages here bud..... I never said the DLP displays are bad..... I said LIKE rear projection tv's..... they need to be positioned a certain distance form your couch where the best image quality can be viewed......simply because the mirrors are reflecting the light in a certain direction and not all around...

for instance if you are standing face to face in front of a rear projection tv and you bend down and stand upright again facing the screen, you see a clear drop in image quality, DLP, like rear projection (while not to the degree) has the same prob ..... hence it would need to be specifically distanced from where you are sitting...

I'm sure in its native display capabilities, the DLP can outperform most rear projection boxes..... but getting them into that position for the best view is the tricky part..... cant do it in a small apartment....

I have seen it even on the 50" samsung that a friend of mine owns and thats one of the reasons I didnt go in for a DLP myself........

CRT's sustain their image quality when viewed in ANY direction

-e-

my opinion is that they are definately a good buy, but i strongly recommend getting an HDTV ready tv, and getting that set up, the quality is soo much better.

[quote=Encryption";p="47556]well we're speaking different languages here bud..... I never said the DLP displays are bad..... I said LIKE rear projection tv's..... they need to be positioned a certain distance form your couch where the best image quality can be viewed......simply because the mirrors are reflecting the light in a certain direction and not all around...

for instance if you are standing face to face in front of a rear projection tv and you bend down and stand upright again facing the screen, you see a clear drop in image quality, DLP, like rear projection (while not to the degree) has the same prob ..... hence it would need to be specifically distanced from where you are sitting... -e-[/quote]

That's untrue as well. My parents have even an old Mitsubishi 55" rear projection and it's the same no matter where you view it from. What your speaking of has to do with the screen and not if it's projection or not. I know what you are speaking of and it is true that most of the older projection tvs were like that. Too far to the left and it gets dark etc. In DLP systems the tiny mirrors (the DMD chip) are then later projected through a lens then back towards the screen. Think about it. If you'd have someone stand in front of a mirror then you stand next to them, does the image change in clarity, or brightness? No it doesn't. If there is its a distortion of the mirror. This is the same situation with DLP. It's either a problem with the screen or the lens that the image is being projected through. I'm not trying to be a stickler here but it's probably the brand your friend purchased. I've viewed qui a few and have never seen this unless the screen is of a very shiny surface. Then you get effected by glare and everything else. I've viewed the Toshiba, JVC, & the Philips and have not seen this problem.

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

Do it. I waited until i got a 10% off coupon from Best Buy, went in and got a 32" Toshiba, returned it a couple days later for a 36". Paid $800. Then in a couple years when i go HD, I have a bad ass second tv for the basement.

Actually, the distance from the TV to the couch is crucial. It doesnt effect quality, its how much of the image your eye can take in at once. If you have to move your eyes to get the entire picture, your tv is to close to where you are sitting.

Highly recommend the Samsung DLP. Not as expensive as the traditional Flat Screens. Not as thin, but far smaller than a normal tube.

Excellent picture quality, very bright!

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

if your not going to go all out i would say wait for your old tv to kick the bucket, unless you watch an insane amount of tv or have lots of money to blow :Bingo:

[quote=wookiemofo";p="47874]Actually, the distance from the TV to the couch is crucial. It doesnt effect quality, its how much of the image your eye can take in at once. If you have to move your eyes to get the entire picture, your tv is to close to where you are sitting.[/quote] We weren't talking about size of the TV just the kind of TV.

Projector - the best solution - i promise ;)

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

Once you got a flat screen you will never go back

[quote=Neo";p="49445] [quote=wookiemofo";p="47874]Actually, the distance from the TV to the couch is crucial. It doesnt effect quality, its how much of the image your eye can take in at once. If you have to move your eyes to get the entire picture, your tv is to close to where you are sitting.[/quote] We weren't talking about size of the TV just the kind of TV. [/quote]

Yeah thats what happens when you skim through the thread and don't read it in detail :)

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

+1 to bots digging up 7 year old threads.

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

:roflmao: wtf

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

[QUOTE=res0nat0r;925279]+1 to bots digging up 7 year old threads.[/QUOTE]

7 Year old threads are still rock solid, but they age, although elegant.

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

yeah...check this quote out :lol:

[quote]so im considering getting rid of my 32" conventional tv & stepping into a 32" flat screen.. it will cost me more than double what i will get for the tv if i can sell it[/quote]

oh how times have changed...

Re: flatscreen tv or not?

that's hilarious