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

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.

[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?

[lu_hawk]

Also look for no interest financing. I bought my TV at Best Buy but am able to pay it over 2 years with no interest. Makes a pricier set a lot more palatable. I am about 6' away and have a 50" and I think it is a great size. Better to say "I could have gotten away with the smaller TV that is $200 cheaper" than to say "I wasted $1500 because this TV is too small, should have spent an extra $200".

[JordanIB]

So I just got home and measure, and I grossly underestimated my viewing distance.

The couches are 8-10' from the TV. I guess I underestimated because I have abolutely no problems with my 27" CRT now. Is it silly to be considering a 30 or 32" TV at this distance? Is there a reason why a 32" widescreen at this distance would be much worse than a 27" CRT?

[CrazyEyez]

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So I just got home and measure, and I grossly underestimated my viewing distance.

The couches are 8-10' from the TV. I guess I underestimated because I have abolutely no problems with my 27" CRT now. Is it silly to be considering a 30 or 32" TV at this distance? Is there a reason why a 32" widescreen at this distance would be much worse than a 27" CRT?

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Personally if I'm spending 1k+ I'm going much bigger than 32". I went from 27 4:3 to 42 16:9 and it is awesome. To me, 32 is much too small at 8-10 feet. But it's personal preference I guess.

[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.

[JordanIB]

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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.

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I'm now considering this model. How do you find the viewing angle?

[CrazyEyez]

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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.

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I'm now considering this model. How do you find the viewing angle?

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Excellent. Much better than I expected. Just to clarify - I'm talking horizontal. Above or below center, it loses brightness quickly. Side to side it retains brightness quite well.

[astroglide]

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even this is arguable. a lot of people say 720i is better than 1080p

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you mean 720p vs 1080i...