Display question (Videophiles only)

[Caliko]

I'm using component cables at 480p. On what screen would the Wii have better overall picture?

The Sony 34XBR960 or the Samsung Slimfit TX-R3079?

I ask because I should be getting a XBR960 set tommorow which will be replacing my Slimfit. I loved the Slimfit but it broke down on me(after a year). If anything, I'm hoping the XBR960 is an Upgrade, not the other way around.

THANKS for reading!!!

 

[sremick]

That's a hard call. The Samsung is an HDTV, so how well the standard-def (480 line) output of the Wii will look depends on how well it scales 480 images. The Sony is a tube TV and seems to be able to handle 480p, so the 480i vs. 480p issue is a non-issue here. That said, a CRT will probably look better than an LCD/plasma for 480-line images. What sucks is the Sony has the big tube size.

 

[Caliko]

That's a hard call. The Samsung is an HDTV, so how well the standard-def (480 line) output of the Wii will look depends on how well it scales 480 images. The Sony is a tube TV and seems to be able to handle 480p, so the 480i vs. 480p issue is a non-issue here. That said, a CRT will probably look better than an LCD/plasma for 480-line images. What sucks is the Sony has the big tube size.

The 34XBR960 is also HD (1080i). The Slimfit handled the wii AMAZINGLY. FAAAR better than store kiosks. I am hearing the XRB960 is one of the greatest sets ever made (top 3) possibly #1. So you can imagine I'm quite excited!! Size isn't an issue for me.

Just wanted some opinions... Anyone else?
Has anyone had experience with the 34XRB960 and Wii??

 

[sremick]

Yeah I missed the fact that the Sony is HD when I was doing my editing of that post. I'd say that if the Samsung handled the scaling of a 480 input well, then probably the Samsung would provide the better picture. Usually the softening-effect that comes with a CRT makes 480 look better, but most CRTs can't do 480p.

It's a toss-up. But Samsung makes great displays and I'd rather have a flat-panel (plus I hate Sony), so I would've leaned towards the Samsung. But I don't doubt you'll be happy with the Sony.

 

[Caliko]

Yeah I missed the fact that the Sony is HD when I was doing my editing of that post. I'd say that if the Samsung handled the scaling of a 480 input well, then probably the Samsung would provide the better picture. Usually the softening-effect that comes with a CRT makes 480 look better, but most CRTs can't do 480p.

It's a toss-up. But Samsung makes great displays and I'd rather have a flat-panel (plus I hate Sony), so I would've leaned towards the Samsung. But I don't doubt you'll be happy with the Sony.

Thanks for replying.
Haha I don't like Sony that much either. :lol: That's why I buy used when I shop Sony!:lol: They made some incredible CRT's though.
The problem with that certain Samsung model is that it just had too many defects.
By the way, I'm having a Smash Bros. Brawl party at my place when it launches. I just wanted some insight.

 

[wezeles]

Im also not a huge fan of Sonys besides the CRT's and a few other things. The HDTV's are good but not in the top 5 overall I would say.

Sony make's awsome surround sound and quality speakers though. I go with Sony or Bose for all my home stereo stuff now. Little more biased twards Bose I acctualyl worked for them and know the quality behind the product its a high price but worth it.. specially when you get a discount :smilewinkgrin:

Is there any local stores where you could compare these sets side by side or maybe another current Samsung?
I've been really impressed with Samsung HD and went that route for price and overall picture quality myself, but with all of them major brands you will run into a bad set here and there they all get made different places and use different tech in almost every box for the most part. So it comes down to specific models, and without personally looking right at them side by side viewing the same image I wouldn't even say one way or the other.

Check out a few reviews:
http://reviews.cnet.com/direct-view-tvs-crt/sony-kd-34xbr960/4505-6481_7-30787600.html

http://reviews.digitaltrends.com/user_reviews1698.html

When you go to pick it out just make sure they toss a few different formats on it for you SD/ED/HD on it for you, if they refuse tell them you will go somewhere else then they will change there minds quick.
I made them play SD signal on my set before i bought it. got a good idea how well the scaler was right then.

Best way to go about it is figure out what you want in your t.v. settle on the size and price range then dont make a finnal decision till you see them in real life for yourself... Reviews are like any other opinion, and in the end the only one that matters is yours.

 

[sremick]

I go with Sony or Bose for all my home stereo stuff now. Little more biased twards Bose I acctualyl worked for them and know the quality behind the product its a high price but worth it..

Oh man man man man... :frown2:

You just lost a lot of credibility there. Heh. Seriously? BOSE? The brand that invented "Better Off with Something Else"???

BOSE is worse than Sony in milking false prestige and overcharging for the "name".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bose_Corporation#Criticisms

Fact is, a quality, reputable audio company would not need to spam the airwaves with the metric crapload of advertising that BOSE does. The quality would speak for itself. But it doesn't, so creating a false sense of quality on the uneducated consumer is the only way they can sell (think Sharper Image's Ionic Breeze). People think BOSE is good because of the manufactured perception... just like they think Norton is the best antivirus. It's all in the name.

What do you see at high-end AV stores? Harman Kardon, Denon, Onkyo, etc. Where do you see BOSE? Sears.

 

[wezeles]

Ya usually at full price it is crazy, but i get it at about a 15th the price that everyone else does... I would never in my life pay 8,000 for any surround sound system..lol but 1,200 bucks im good with it considering the quality. And they do back up there equipment very well i had one issue with everything i have purchased with them and the replaced it no questions asked... probably because the normal consumer pays for the system 5 times at once considering..lol

Its not that they dont make quality they do, considered
atleast one of the top 3 in home equipment. The price though is crazy being THE MOST expensive brand on the market for home users i would say, and without a price cut I personally would NEVER pay that much when i could get something just a small notch below it for a 10th the price..

But I do currently get it at a discount, that's why I don't complain about it... I made alot of the Bose lifestyle line for them aswell as there car audio setups for a few years. Once my discount card expires i probably wont bother with them anymore there are many other brand just about as good for the price im use to...

There is some nice perks like the AdaptiQ that adjust sound to fit the room of your house and in my case the rooms I toss my t.v.'s in arnt exactly a cube shape this helpped out alot in setup and overall controll of the system. some of the prottypes i saw looked crazy cool, where no matter where you sit in the room aslong as you had the remote the system would automatically adjust the surround sound to your exact location. Pretty cool stuff, but then again everyone has there own little extra's, and in Bose case it wouldn't be enough for me to tack on the huge extra cost of regualr price.

 

[sremick]

Erm, I'd argue that at any price, BOSE isn't good audio equipment.

"No highs? No lows? Must be BOSE"

You don't need to spend $8000 on a system to sound better than BOSE. Heck, I only spent about $500-$600 for my receiver + speakers (5.1) and they beat the BOSE systems of people I know with them. The extra you pay for BOSE goes to 2 places: to fund their immense advertising (brainwashing) campaign (what other speaker manufacturer has to advertise on TV and radio?), and to pad the bank accounts of the execs who laugh all the way to the bank at the bank at the people paying $800 for $35 speakers.

There's a very good reason BOSE doesn't provide you with the technical (audio) specifications for their sound equipment (unlike every other speaker manufacturer). They don't want you to know, and instead they distract you with all sorts of snakeoil voodoo "technology" and "features" and such, all of which has been debunked by numerous reputable audiophiles/companies.

Ask Google:

"harman kardon sucks" = 6
"denon sucks" = 125
"onkyo sucks" = 124
"bose sucks" = 3990

Further reading:
http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html
http://www.hometheaterblog.com/hometheater/2006/03/what_about_bose.html
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=343759
BOSE sues people who give them unfavorable reviews: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Reports#Lawsuits_vs._Consumers_Union

 

[wezeles]

Erm, I'd argue that at any price, BOSE isn't good audio equipment.

"No highs? No lows? Must be BOSE"

You don't need to spend $8000 on a system to sound better than BOSE. Heck, I only spent about $500-$600 for my receiver + speakers (5.1) and they beat the BOSE systems of people I know with them.

Never said you did. I acctually said you could just about match it for the price I paid which would be about 1200 bucks for 8000 dollars worth of equipment. that was for a pair of systems normally they range from 1000-4000 for there complete home audio setups. some more some less.

Still I'd probably flame them aswell for the full price but they still make quality. Just because the price is high doesn't mean they have bad quality, it just means its not as much of a bargain, if not getting ripped off in comparison to its competition. I bought it because for the price I paid, I could at best match it with a different less known brand.

The marketing is there worst part if they would stop pretending to be all high and mighty, and that no one can beat them, then they could drop some of the price and would probably sell more and make more. They are good at somethings but no one is the best at everything, specially in the electronics world! Thats why you have to see everything for yourself in person to decide, and match everything up in size,quality,price before you pick.

 

[wezeles]

Ask Google:

"harman kardon sucks" = 6
"denon sucks" = 125
"onkyo sucks" = 124
"bose sucks" = 3990

Further reading:
http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html
http://www.hometheaterblog.com/hometheater/2006/03/what_about_bose.html
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=343759
BOSE sues people who give them unfavorable reviews: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Reports#Lawsuits_vs._Consumers_Union

Most the people that Flame about it don't even own it because of the rediculous price and flame it just for the fact that its to expensive for them to even get... I know I wouldn't spend 4 grand for my old setup but I wouldnt say it was garbage... just that its not worth 4 grand to me personally... most audio geeks will tell you the same its good but money wise you could get pretty much the same for less..

Pretty much the same argument you get from people with and without PS3's lol just cause its expensive doesn't mean its not good. Although I wont buy a ps3 till the price comes down a bit or they put something on it i think i cant live without. Im not going to call it straight up garbage compared to Wii or 360 it has its own place and offers its own things, and to some people its worth the extra money for its unique offerings, much like bose consumers.. they like the "voodoo" they get with it i guess..

They won that lawsuit by the way... :lol:

 

[sremick]

Most the people that Flame about it don't even own it because of the rediculous price and flame it just for the fact that its to expensive for them to even get

Did you even read any of those reviews/accounts? Obviously not. Those people have the money to buy multiple BOSE systems.

There are plenty of knowledgeable people with the cash for BOSE^n that know what they're talking about when they criticize them. It's hardly because they can't afford it. It's because the speakers are 100X (not an exaggeration) more-expensive than they should be for what they are, the only perceived "quality" a direct result of their reprehensible marketing campaign. These people are not swayed by manufactured false "quality" perception based solely upon inflated prices. Their "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!" tactic of hiding specs, and suing any magazine that gives them an unfavorable real-world review speaks for itself.

Let's be clear: I could afford BOSE myself. Easily. But I know they're crap and over-priced, partially because I have heard plenty of them in person. I have better ways to spend my money than dance to that pied piper. Are they the worst speakers in-existence? No. Are they worth what they are even after employee discount? Not unless you get them for more than 1/100th of what they charge the average Joe. Hence, they're crap. I wouldn't even use them if I found them for $5 at a lawn sale... I wouldn't want to be caught dead with that name in my house, it'd be humiliating.

 

[Caliko]

See heres the problem wezeles and sremick, and i'm sure you're aware of this. Every company(I MEAN EVERY COMPANY!!) has its highs and lows. For example, the Sony XRB960 is known as the greatest TV Sony every made(Google it or check reviews). But that TV was made about 3 years ago!!
Wouldn't their technology be far more advanced now? Right? WRONG!
Back in the early 90's Sony was one heck of a company. Today they are one of the biggest brainwashing-short-lifetime-machine-making companys.

Sony brainwashing? Making lousy built tech? (For more info on this check out Blu-Ray Vs. HD DVD sales... Then compare the specs of the two...Strange eh?)

Nowadays it seems like Yamaha wants to take the same route, as are a bunch of other companies. That's why you see LCD's flooding the market.

As for Bose, I honestly don't like Bose. but I'm sure they have a good speaker here and there, but the consumer must find it. I'm sure Wezeles knows the best they ever made and is picking at those(heck for a discount I would).

And Wezeles, you're right about every product being unique. Some XRB960's blew out within the first week. The ones that survived lived on to produce AMAZING quality.

Let's just hope Onkyo and Denon don't go downhill. By the way, one of the new Onkyo A/V recievers is blowing out... so beware...

 

[Caliko]

Most the people that Flame about it don't even own it because of the rediculous price and flame it just for the fact that its to expensive for them to even get...

Not choosing sides but... Onkyo and Denon are super expensive also and they hardly get bad reviews.

 

[sremick]

See heres the problem wezeles and sremick

I missed the part where you were disagreeing with me...? I agree with everything you just said. Sony sucks, and Yamaha sucks.

Did you miss the part where I said BOSE speakers aren't the worst speakers out there? But they suck for what they charge. A $1000 hammer might pound nails just fine, but it's still junk for the price. And it doesn't suddenly become "good" because someone who works at the hammer factory gets a 25% discount off that $1000.