In seek of Hdtv

[jack19]

I seek to have a HDTV, but do not recognize where to begin. I know there is alot to learn, but wow. I thought I would speak to folk who have something presently. What looks better, what does not make, what to remain off from, any additional cables. anything worth mentioning. What brands absorb, what brands are nice. LCD vs. Plasma? Where should I purchase from? This will be for my household room in the cellar. Not a plenty of normal light, largely blue, about 12 feet from the sofa to the fence where the TV will be. I too will have a tivo, and encircle stable packet at the same moment. I am wanting to consume $3500 - $4500 not overly often much than that overall. Mostly watching TV shows, a few movies and a few sporting events, but largely used for video. I might bait a media centre PC upward as easily if potential.

Thank you all

 

[icrude]

wait until the war is over. sure, we think 1080P is where the new generation of HD will end and hddvd and blue-ray will probably be it for the next 5 or 10 years as far as the dvd player, but just look at what is available for HD (not a lot)....it's just not "here" yet. heck my shiny new tower can't even burn my HDV footage to a dvd yet. take cnet's and other big company's advice, and be patient.....I would wait another 6 months or till next christmas and see where the dust settles. while that answer may be brief, that's all I can really tell you without writing out 3-5 pages. I already bought the FX1 (high def camcorder) and I still use it to shoot regular standard def....HD is just not ready for the consumer yet.

 

[ghostee]

I disagree that HD is not ready yet for the consumer. Sure, you COULD put off your purchase for years unit all the dust of 720p vs 1080i vs 1080p / Blu-ray vs HD-DVD / etc settles, or you could buy an HDTV now and enjoy it and how it can improve your video experience with current technology.

I own a 42" Sony RP-LCD HDTV that I purchased about 6 months ago, and have been astounded at how great the majority of my content looks on it. This set is only 720p, and is being fed progressive scan DVD (no upscaling), QAM HDTV local channels, and various DiVX/XViD files played off my iBook. I'm very happy with the purchase. The ONLY thing that looks subpar on this set are lower quality XViD's, which also happen to look crummy on my old SDTV.

You really should read around AVSForum.com and get an idea of exactly what is out there. AVS is the definitive community for HDTV advice, IMO.

As far as recommendations go, I will suggest that you look towards LCD instead of Plasma if you need a flat panel. If you don't, check out SXRD, RP-LCD, and DLP sets. Stay away from cheap brands, as they often have lower quality scalers, which will make your non-HD content look poor. When you think you've found a model you want, read everything you possibly can about it over at AVS.

Personally, I like Sharp Aquos and Sony Bravia's for LCD, Pioneer and Panasonic for Plasma, and Sony for RP-LCD and SXRD. I won't use DLP's due to the rainbow effect that my girlfriend sees on them. These are just personal preferences, and I again suggest you go read AVS, as well as take a trip to your local store and watch the sets. Many stores will also let you bring in and hook up your TiVo so you can see how your exact content will look. Everyone is different, and no one can tell you what your eyes will find to be the best picture but you.