TV's

I'm going to buy a PS3 whenever I can get one. I hear that it's not really worth getting if you don't have an HDTV. Right now I have a 27" non-flatscreen regular TV. Obviously, this wouldn't cut it. The PS3 is going to pretty much empty my pockets so I am looking for something cheap as possible that is still good. I know the 1080 tv's are outrageously expensive, so would a 720 or something still be good? I don't know anything about TV's.

What is HDMI? Should a get a TV that has that?

[b9b1dbf2a58]In the end, please just recommend me some TV's around the 27" inch area that would be good for a PS3.[/b9b1dbf2a58]

should be in tech forum. ) HDMI is the new format everyone is getting. It is like the best in terms of plasmas and LCD's, correct me if I am wrong anyone.

I had it in tech forum but no one seemed to be interested so I thought I'd try it here.

You will probably want a tube TV, much cheaper than plasmas or LCD or DLP's. Not as space saving and "cool looking." I think you can get a 30" for around $400. Check out pricegrabber for some prices and reviews.

How does pricegrabber work? Are you getting new things or are they used?

Does tube TV mean it's just not skinny like most you see?

Pricegrabber.com is just a comparison site. It will show you the different prices for a lot of different things at different online retailers. It also has rating for the product and different online stores.

A tube TV (or CRT) has a tube the projects the image. The TV you have right now is a tube. So imagine the same TV, only wide screen, and probably flat front. If price is your main factor, this is definitively the way to go. For that price range, I would not worry about HDMI. You can get pretty much the same quality with component cables.

Here is the HDTV tube TV's they compare at pricegrabber. Be sure to check out the reviews before you buy.
http//www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=80/popup16%5B%5D=101661

Okay, I've been looking at a lot. How come some of the TV's tell you if it is 1080p or 720 or whatever, but some don't say anything? What do those numbers mean anyway?

[quoteb60f6f5be8="Wikipedia"]The number 1080 represents 1,080 lines of vertical resolution, while the letter p stands for progressive scan or non-interlaced. 1080p is considered a HDTV video mode. The term usually assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 169, implying a horizontal (display) resolution of 1920 dots across and a frame resolution of 1920 × 1080 or about 2.07 million pixels. The frame rate in hertz can be either implied by the context or specified after the letter p (such as 1080p30, meaning 30 frames per second).

1080p is sometimes referred to in marketing materials as "True High-Definition" or "Full High-Definition". 1080p is currently the digital standard for filming digital motion pictures. Directors such as George Lucas (in Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith) shoot their digital films in this high definition mode to be shown in theaters equipped with 1080p digital projectors.[/quoteb60f6f5be8]

Basically more lines = more detail. All the TVs should have their resolution available somewhere.

Ok thanks for that info.

How come they list TV's like this one without saying whether its 480, 720, or 1080?

http//www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Specifications-of-Samsung-27-SlimFit-HDTV-TXS2782H/sem/rpsm/oid/145829/rpem/ccd/productDetailSpecification.do#tabs[]http//www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Specifications-of-Samsung-27-SlimFit-HDTV-TXS2782H/sem/rpsm/oid/145829/rpem/ccd/productDetailSpecification.do#tabs

[quoteff29bc26a6="petezahut2"]Ok thanks for that info.

How come they list TV's like this one without saying whether its 480, 720, or 1080?

http//www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Specifications-of-Samsung-27-SlimFit-HDTV-TXS2782H/sem/rpsm/oid/145829/rpem/ccd/productDetailSpecification.do#tabs[]http//www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Specifications-of-Samsung-27-SlimFit-HDTV-TXS2782H/sem/rpsm/oid/145829/rpem/ccd/productDetailSpecification.do#tabs[/quoteff29bc26a6]
It says HDTV, so it's minimum 720p/1080i.

I don't believe 1080p CRT's are made.

Honestly, I wouldn't consider a CRT anyway. I think you'd be much happier with a 32" LCD that you could probably find for almost the same price. I plan to never again buy a CRT of any type (monitor or TV). Out of 8 live screens in my house, only 1 remains a CRT, and the only reason I still have it is because (a) it's a Sony Wega, and (b) it's in my daughter's room. )

Anybody know anything about Akai TV's?

[quote045760bf8b="dmorris68"][quote045760bf8b="petezahut2"]Ok thanks for that info.

How come they list TV's like this one without saying whether its 480, 720, or 1080?

http//www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Specifications-of-Samsung-27-SlimFit-HDTV-TXS2782H/sem/rpsm/oid/145829/rpem/ccd/productDetailSpecification.do#tabs[]http//www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Specifications-of-Samsung-27-SlimFit-HDTV-TXS2782H/sem/rpsm/oid/145829/rpem/ccd/productDetailSpecification.do#tabs[/quote045760bf8b]
It says HDTV, so it's minimum 720p/1080i.

I don't believe 1080p CRT's are made.

Honestly, I wouldn't consider a CRT anyway. I think you'd be much happier with a 32" LCD that you could probably find for almost the same price. I plan to never again buy a CRT of any type (monitor or TV). Out of 8 live screens in my house, only 1 remains a CRT, and the only reason I still have it is because (a) it's a Sony Wega, and (b) it's in my daughter's room. )[/quote045760bf8b]

What don't you like about CRT's? Do you mean a 32" LCD non-HD, because I haven't seen an HD 32 inchers anywhere near that cheap.

They're somewhat cheap, low-grade, 3rd-tier Chinese quality. Not very highly regarded among the enthusiast crowd, but it just depends on your expectations.

[quote109252ee21="petezahut2"]What don't you like about CRT's? Do you mean a 32" LCD non-HD, because I haven't seen an HD 32 inchers anywhere near that cheap.[/quote109252ee21]
CRT's are heavy, consume a lot of power and consequently generate a lot of heat. LCD/LCOS and Plasma technologies are more convenient, are available in larger sizes, and are power/heat friendly (although plasmas still get pretty hot). Recent advances in flat panel technology have produced panels that look as good as CRT, IMO. I'll put my 60" SXRD up against any CRT to compare image quality, but of course there are no 60" CRT's so it wouldn't be fair fight. ;)

Yes, I mean 32" HDTV LCD's. For example the Syntax Olevia is a popular inexpensive brand of LCD that can be had all over the place for less than $600. Wal-Mart has the Visco 32" LCD HDTV for $598. Vizio is another popular up-and-coming budget brand that I like (from what I've seen in-store).

Edit Sorry, I misread the Wal-Mart ad. They have the [b109252ee21]Visco[/b109252ee21] 32" LCD HDTV for $598. I thought it said Vizio. Still, I know they sell Vizio as I've seen them there.

I think one thread, by the same person, about the same subject is enough...merged.

The merge kinda confuses things since it got the replies out of sequence now My reply 3 posts above "They're somewhat cheap, low-grade, 3rd-tier Chinese quality..." was in response to the Akai question. My last post above was in response to the CRT question.

Freakin' doylnea, messin' up the forums again...


P

How did I ever forget Walmart!? That 32 incher looks pretty nice. Again, these stupid people don't tell you whether it's 720 or 1080. Do I just assume its 720? I have seen some that are 480. Could it be that too?

[quote35c50c1c08="petezahut2"]How did I ever forget Walmart!? That 32 incher looks pretty nice. Again, these stupid people don't tell you whether it's 720 or 1080. Do I just assume its 720? I have seen some that are 480. Could it be that too?[/quote35c50c1c08]
Again, if it's advertised as HDTV, then it's 720p/1080i. That's the minimum definition of HDTV. 480p would be EDTV.

Edit And actually, the Walmart.com listing for that TV shows it's 1366x768, i.e. full HDTV resolution.

http//www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5359008

ok, i know it seems like I'm an idiot, but if it has the full resolution (1080i or 1080p), does that mean it works on the lower resolutions too? Does TV even broadcast in 1080?

If that doesn't make sense, I'll give an example. Hypothetically, let's say the PS3 only supported 480 and 720. My TV has just that maximum 1080 resolution. Would my TV be able to do the PS3 on 720?

[quote51f7e0b9d3="petezahut2"]ok, i know it seems like I'm an idiot, but if it has the full resolution (1080i or 1080p), does that mean it works on the lower resolutions too? Does TV even broadcast in 1080?

If that doesn't make sense, I'll give an example. Hypothetically, let's say the PS3 only supported 480 and 720. My TV has just that maximum 1080 resolution. Would my TV be able to do the PS3 on 720?[/quote51f7e0b9d3]
Yes, HDTV's will display all lower resolutions. What they do is upscale the input signal to the higher resolution. Most TV scalers are pretty good, and they will take whatever signal you feed them and upconvert to 720p or whatever. You always get the best results try to view a panel in its native resolution (720p in this case). Of course if you have a garbage signal coming in, it's going to look like even more garbage when scaled up.

And that TV is capable of 1080i, not 1080p. And yes, some OTA stations broadcast in 1080i. None in 1080p yet, that I know of (certainly not around where I live).

thanks for all your help guys, i think thats it

I heard plasmas don't last long, so is getting a LCD HDTV better?

[quotefc5d33f046="mpbollywoodking"]I heard plasmas don't last long, so is getting a LCD HDTV better?[/quotefc5d33f046]
You heard wrong. Unless you think 8-10 years of virtually 24/7/365 TV isn't "long." ;)

Early plasmas had a relatively short half-life (the time at which the image will be half as bright as it was when purchased) of a few years. Modern plasmas are now up to 60K-80K hours.

[ufc5d33f046]8 hours of TV per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year[/ufc5d33f046]
60K hours = 7500 days = 20.54 years
80K hours = 10000 days = 27.4 years

[ufc5d33f046]24 hours of TV per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year[/ufc5d33f046]
60K hours = 2500 days = 6.85 years
80K hours = 3333 days = 9.13 years

As you can see, you would more than likely want a new TV anyway by the time it's half-life is reached.

Also, another side note The PS3 uses hdmi 1.3 which is much better, at least spec wise, from the current hdmi. But, almost no HDTVs input 1.3 yet. There are some, but they're on the higher end. It probably doesn't matter at this point, but just thought I'd throw it out there. If you are planning on using this tv for a while, it might be a good idea to look into hdmi 1.3. Especially if you will use it to watch blu ray discs.

i want to spend at least $1,800 bucks on a TV. Which type/kind/model should I get? looking for a LCD HDTV. ANy free sites that i can do?