Want a new (HD)TV, Budget = $1,500-2,000

[JordanIB]

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Move your couch back, and get a projector.

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Not an option, based on the configuration of the room.

Thanks, though.

[MrMon]

This is the 200 pound monster you speak of.

Sony KD-36XS955

Incredible picture on both Standard and HDTV. Also comes in a 16:9 version, slightly more expensive. I recommend this one because so much of TV is still in standard 4:3 mode and this will give a good picture for that. The 36" 4:3 is the same picture size as the 34" 16:9 in HD mode.

If the 200 lb problem doesn't bother you, you'll be hard pressed to beat the picture, and it puts most, if not all, flat screens to shame, even the $4000 ones.

I'm waiting for DirecTV to come out with our locals in HD, should be next year. Then it's HD Direct TiVo time, they're down to $579 or so.

[CrazyEyez]

I recently bought one and did a lot of research ahead of time, so I'll throw in my two cents.

For your price range, you can get a 42" or smaller RPLCD, DLP, or CRT. CRT are the cheapest of those. Flat panel LCD or plasma are > $2k.

If you don't want the weight, then eliminate CRT. However, you said that's not a deal breaker. So here's your choice: CRT offers better picture quality, especially with standard definition, but will weigh 150-200 lbs compared to 65 for RPLCD or DLP.

You are going to want to spend some time in the store watching SD material. Note that SD quality varies from channel to channel, program to program. So try many different sources/shows. Some SD stuff looks great on my RPLCD, some sucks. ALso note that digital cable stations and satellite stations in SD are going to look better than analog stations. And make sure when you check them out in stores, you view from the same distance that you'll be at in your living room.

Viewing angle may or may not be important to you. If you want to be able to see the picture from less than straight on, then RPLCD > DLP > CRT.

LCD and DLP have advantages and disadvantages. Google "DLP vs LCD" and such and you'll see the pros/cons. Things to look for: rainbow effect, black levels, screen door effect (SDE).

Once you decide on your desired technology, find a few models from bestbuy.com or amazon or something. Then I would search avsforum.com for those models. That place can be hard to wade through, so I recommend google for researching technologies and then avsforum for specific models. When you're reading, note the dates that articles were written because a lot of issues from the past have been improved upon/corrected in recent months/years.

Lastly, FWIW I got a Sony KDFE42A10 RPLCD a couple weeks ago. Brief review:
HD - No complaints. Looks fantastic.
SD - (DirecTV) some things look awful, like golf. But most programs range somewhere between decent and very good. I came from a 27" Wega non-hd crt which had a tremendous picture, so I had high standards. Black levels are not very good and shadow detail is weak, but I'm getting used to it.
DVD - I have a non-progressive, non-upconverting dvd player, so the tv is doing the upconverting/deinterlacing. 24 is really all I've watched so far. It doesn't look as good as HD stuff, but it looks far better than SD programming. In other words, it's very good. Would possibly be even better with a better DVD player. Black level issues are present but less noticeable than SD tv stuff.

Hope this helps and isn't too long.

[CrazyEyez]

One last thing:
Burn-in. This is not nearly the problem it once was, but still can be an issue depending on who you ask. I refuse to watch 4:3 stuff in "stretch" mode, so I eliminated CRT as an option because I didn't want to worry about burn-in with the black bars on the sides. RPLCD and DLP are not subject to it.

[JordanIB]

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Hope this helps and isn't too long.

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Perfect, actually.

When people say standard definition stuff looks crappy, do they mean that it looks the same as on a regular TV and crappy in comparison to HD, or that it looks even worse on an HD TV than it does on a regular TV?

[Analyst]

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When people say standard definition stuff looks crappy, do they mean that it looks the same as on a regular TV and crappy in comparison to HD, or that it looks even worse on an HD TV than it does on a regular TV?

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It's the latter. If you're going to just watch standard broadcast signals, you will be better served by a decent CRT than a flat panel display. Spending 75% less is just a very nice icing on the cake.

[jayheaps]

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When people say standard definition stuff looks crappy, do they mean that it looks the same as on a regular TV and crappy in comparison to HD, or that it looks even worse on an HD TV than it does on a regular TV?

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It's the latter. If you're going to just watch standard broadcast signals, you will be better served by a decent CRT than a flat panel display. Spending 75% less is just a very nice icing on the cake.

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FWIW, I was at a friends house last night who just got the new Sony 42" grand WEGA. the standard def stuff looked much better than I have ever seen on a HDTV

[JordanIB]

Ok, this is where I get frustrated...

Just stopped at both BB and CC (heh, isn't that funny) on the way home. Viewed a bunch of models, all sizes, all technologies.

Came across the 30" Samsung SlimFit CRT in Best Buy, and I thought the picture looked fantastic, and at under $1000. Looked much better than the picture on the Sony CRT's, which I know are often touted as the best HDTV CRT's. The same Samsung TV in CC looked very mediocre though. Which should I trust? The were both receiving HDTV feeds.

I've got about 8 models down that I want to look into further. I gave the dude at BB my budget and size parameters, and he suggested a 32" Aquos. Any thoughts on that?

[CrazyEyez]

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Came across the 30" Samsung SlimFit CRT in Best Buy, and I thought the picture looked fantastic, and at under $1000. Looked much better than the picture on the Sony CRT's, which I know are often touted as the best HDTV CRT's. The same Samsung TV in CC looked very mediocre though. Which should I trust? The were both receiving HDTV feeds.

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You've got to go with what looks best to your own eye. On the other hand, the individual video settings on each are likely set quite differently. This can affect picture quality drastically. You could fiddle around with all the settings...or do what I did and just go by what the videophiles on avsforum had to say. A lot of those guys know a lot about tweaking all the settings so I trusted their judgement on which models were best.

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I've got about 8 models down that I want to look into further. I gave the dude at BB my budget and size parameters, and he suggested a 32" Aquos. Any thoughts on that?

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I haven't read anything about the Aquos' but they look fantastic when I've seen them in the store. Only thing is whether or not you want to go that small.