All things HDTV

Master Foot · 02-20-2007, 02:31 AM

Do retailers even sell EDTVs? If I'm looking to get a HDTV, but I would rather buy one that supports all resolutions than just a 720p or 1080i. An EDTV CRT sounds like a good choice for now, so can anyone recommend one?

Jorge · 02-20-2007, 02:57 AM

Yes retailers sell EDTV's. IMO they look no better than SDTV.

There is no TV that supports only one resolution, well besides standard-definition CRT televisions. If a TV supports a higher resolution then it will also support ANY resolution below it.

For a CRT I would suggest Samsung or Sharp. They are a good quality television without paying the price of a Sony.

Brawny · 02-20-2007, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MasterJedi2U

IC...yeah Rear Projection might be out of my range right now but its good to know it exists out there and if I find a decent price I might get one. One final question regarding Aspect Ratio. Now it seems like a lot of them are in widescreen 16:9 but I was wondering can you change it so that it displays in the other size format? Are there some HDTV's that run in 4:3 or whatever the alternative size is? And what is the difference if any? I'd rather my TV screen be full of images rather than be half black just to get a less than significant clearer image.

Rear projection pwns anyway, if you can handle the size on floor.

Get a widescreen (or even better, 4:3 letterbox). going to the opposite aspect will put black bars on either the top and bottom or the sides. Letterbox will skew both to fit in the whole screen but you don't notice it as bad. I hate boxes. they also wears the screen bad. There are 4:3 hd's but not many

don't buy sony whatever you do ha ha, don't give them money. I like magnavox, really cheap

Jorge · 02-20-2007, 03:05 AM

Westinghouse is also a very good TV for the price.

Jorge · 02-20-2007, 04:55 AM

How much better do the component cables look compared to the composite? I was considering buying a set to keep hooked up to my parents TV since mine doesn't have component input. Though I do plan on buying a new TV as soon as I can. I'm trying to save up for a 52" Sharp Aquos LCD to upgrade from my 27" Magnavox CRT.

MaxCapacitor · 02-20-2007, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jorge

How much better do the component cables look compared to the composite?

There have been dozens of threads on this forum about that, but I'll repost the 'meat and potatoes' of those threads. Btw, Pictures > Text:

http://www.gamespot.com/features/6162297/p-2.html

http://www.lawrenceingraham.com/?p=38

http://pix.blakespot.com/view/comput..._vs_component/

Quote:

Originally Posted by MasterJedi2U

And I should definitely get the official Nintendo ones right? Or are there better quality ones made by some 2nd or 3rd Party company?

Here, watch this video and the professional broadcast engineer will explain the differences between retail component cables and give an in depth look at what's actually inside those wires:

http://revision3.com/systm/avcabling

MasterJedi2U · 02-20-2007, 12:59 PM

Okay wtf does "pwns" mean!? I mean people keep saying it and I have no clue what they're talking about. It is it akin to owns or dominates? I mean seriously this is kinda freaking me out.

And yeah I'm not giving Sony any of my money although I'll admit that some of their tvs are delicious eye candy. And I'm going to get a TV thats capable of both Aspect Ratios just in case I prefer 1 over the other. It'll be awhile before I start shopping for it but I wanted to do some preliminary research right now in prep for it. Thanks to everyone whos answered so far. I'm definitely printing the whole thread out so I can reference it later.

caughron · 02-20-2007, 01:18 PM

1) LCD v Plasma: Which is better for Videogames and general TV viewing?
LCD for gaming and Plasma for TV. Sure LCD's may have a slower response time than projection TVs (mentioned earlier by someone else), but coming from a guy who has both a LCD monitor and a LCD HDTV trust me, you will never experience ghosting problems; unless you buy a TV/monitor with a response time >8ms. Just make sure you get a TV with a higher contrast ratio (the ratio of the brightness and darkest color the TV is capable of producing - white/black), if you get one with a lower ratio sometimes blacks actually appear grayish and colors just aren't as defined.

2) If a TV says it can do 1080i or 1080p does that ALSO mean it can do 480p and 720p as well? OR do I have to find a TV capable of producing all those resolutions
Most of the time, yes. Although I would be sure to check before I threw down a couple hundred if not thousands of dollars first. Almost all TRUE HDTVs are capable of at least 480p/720p/1080i nowadays.

3) What is the usual screen size for a television used for games? Especially Multiplayer.
Like some people have said before a 32" seems like a good size. A friend of mine has a 27" samsung hdtv and my samsung hdtv is a 32".

4) After I buy the TV and setup the cable, etc. I'll need to buy some type of new cable to connect the Wii to the TV right? My question is which is better? Component or S-Video and what is the difference?
Component is the best (not just for the Wii, but for the 360 as well). S-Video is limited to 480i (standard definition) while the component cables for the Wii can do 480p and the component cables for the 360 can do up to 1080p/i. For the 360 just make sure you set your resolution to the native resolution of your television. For those of you wondering, VGA for 360 can only do up to 720p. So for the Wii go with component and if you/anyone else has a 360 you just have to decide between component or VGA. VGA is more sharp/crisp, but component has brighter/bolder colors.

Jorge · 02-20-2007, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MasterJedi2U

Okay wtf does "pwns" mean!? I mean people keep saying it and I have no clue what they're talking about. It is it akin to owns or dominates? I mean seriously this is kinda freaking me out.

And yeah I'm not giving Sony any of my money although I'll admit that some of their tvs are delicious eye candy. And I'm going to get a TV thats capable of both Aspect Ratios just in case I prefer 1 over the other. It'll be awhile before I start shopping for it but I wanted to do some preliminary research right now in prep for it. Thanks to everyone whos answered so far. I'm definitely printing the whole thread out so I can reference it later.

Back in the olden days there would be typos. Someone would go to type "own" and would type "pwn" hence the birth of pwn.

You may not want go give Sony your money...until you go look at their Bravia XBR series LCD flat panels. They are ungodly expensive, but amazingly splendiforously gorgeous.

Brawny · 02-21-2007, 02:09 AM

Ha ha, typing pwn has become second nature to me. I once put it in a school paper and spell check didn't find it. At least the teacher was tech-savvy and didn't mark it down

Master Foot · 02-21-2007, 02:09 AM

It looks like EDTVs are not worth it compared to some low end 720p HDTVs. I saw one that was about US$500 480p LCD 4:3 no contrast ratio mentioned. I was expecting an EDTV CRT to be sub $300 since CRTs are becoming antiquated. I think I will suffer with 480i until I can find a HDTV worth investing in.

Jorge · 02-21-2007, 03:34 AM

What brand?

invisible21 · 02-21-2007, 10:00 AM

1) I'm using a samsung plasma HPS4253. It's 720p native resolution, looks great for games, and can now be found for $1200 or less (I paid $1700 with employee discount a year ago when I was working at Best Buy). It also has a VGA input so you can hook up a PC if you so desire. This isn't the only choice but there are tons of brand-name tvs at reasonable prices currently available. I personally don't buy the LCD debate as my Plasma display is rocking a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, which is only available on LCD displays that have LED backlighting, which makes them way more expensive. If you want to be as "future-proof" as possible you should go with a 1080p tv as that is higher than current broadcasting bandwidth is realistically capable of. However, it is a pretty widely held viewpoint that 1080p is pointless unless you plan on using a larger set (60"+) as the difference won't really be noticeable on smaller sets. If money's no object, buy a 1080p...but if you're trying to be economical, the money could be better spent.

2) seems like this one has been answered, and answered again...and again.

3) There is no "usual" size for gaming, or anything else. Typically the size of your tv is determined by the size of your room. Doing a google search will yeild at least a few charts giving typical screen sizes in relation to viewing distance. I tend to agree with most of these charts, being that a 42" tv is a good choice is you plan to sit (or stand, in the case of the wii) about 8-10 feet from the tv. You can search for the actual chart or base your decision on that guideline. If you sit further than 10 feet you probably want something bigger, if it's for a smaller bedroom you may want to go smaller.

4) ditto number 2)

On a side note, all you people hating on Sony just because you love the wii and hate the PS3 are seriously closed-minded. Sony has for a long time had the highest rated LCD displays available and the amount of menu options and customization is on much more of a professional level than any other display I've seen. I agree they are a little overpriced and there are plenty of displays that are just as good for your average joe, but there's no denying sony "pwning" the competition with regard to LCD displays. Sony still dominates the professional video world so don't think that not buying their consumer products will put them out of business!

Seek · 02-21-2007, 05:54 PM

If you have a Fry's Electronics around, there's always the Olevia 337H for $600/no rebates. People seem to like the quality of Olevia models for the price.

* 37" 1366 x 768 Native Resolution (16:9 Aspect Ratio)
* 8ms Response Time
* 178-degree Ultra Wide Viewing Angle
* Inputs - 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i
* Video Inputs-1 HDMI, component, VGA, 1 shared S-video/composite

NO internal tuner so a vcr, dvd player, cable box is needed for tv broadcasts.

MasterJedi2U · 02-21-2007, 06:10 PM

Hey thanks for that info. I'm definitely looking at it right now and it seems perfect for me. One question though. It says that its 16:9 aspect radio. Does that mean I won't be able to set it up to so that the picture fills most if not not the entire screen?

PS I noticed it doesn't have the HDTV tuner in it...is that necessary to play the Wii in 480p? And how much do Tuners usually cost? I'm guessing that once again there are millions of different brands that make them...

Jorge · 02-21-2007, 06:17 PM

A Samsung tuner is about $250 or $300. No a tuner is not required to play Wii. If you hook up a cable box or a satellite receiver to the television then that will take the place of the tuner.

Don't worry, if you are playing the Wii on any TV it will take up the entire screen.

Seek · 02-21-2007, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jorge

A Samsung tuner is about $250 or $300. No a tuner is not required to play Wii. If you hook up a cable box or a satellite receiver to the television then that will take the place of the tuner.

Don't worry, if you are playing the Wii on any TV it will take up the entire screen.

This is correct. Also, I stated using a vcr/dvd player/etc in my last post. Most of these devices have their own standard definition tv tuner built into the things. Just hook the device up to the LCD via any available input on the tuner and it'll all be pretty much equal in terms of SDTV resolutions.

A model with a built in tuner should be starting at $100 or so more than the price on that model. Of course, many of the currently built-in HD tuners can only obtain high definition feeds from an antenna (like 10 channels). A lot of the wired feeds will require a cable card or similar setup (external tvtuner box given to you by cable company, such as with Comcast digital cable) so no built in ones are very future proof. Even standard definition tuners won't be functional for much longer, as the government pushes for digital-only feeds. In my opinion, "monitors" (a tv with no tuner) are the way to go right now.

Just hook an old vcr up to the thing via rca/svideo and you'll get all your current tv functionality, but with high definition inputs for next generation devices (hdmi SHOULD become the standard soon enough)

Jorge · 02-21-2007, 09:22 PM

HDMI cables are going to have to come down in price before they become standard. IMO they are overpriced a wii bit too much.

As he said tuners allow you to receive local channels in HD. Whether you buy a TV or a monitor plus a tuner (although some monitors now have tuners now) it is going to cost roughly the same. IMO it is worth it to buy a TV with a built-in ATSC tuner (HD tuner).