brainsmile

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InfiniteNothing

I prefer the
http://www.onecall.com/ProductDetail...=true&id=28438
Best looking TV I've ever seen but I'm no TV critic.

DarkFury

Honestly, based on a recent conversation I had with a sales guy (which may or may not be the facts... but what I'm basing this statement on.) I wouldn't even bother with a TV that doesn't do 1080p which is what will be the final standard. The TV you linked to does 1080i but not 1080p.

(Ok.. please don't shoot at me for putting that out there... I'm just repeating what the sales guy said. Honestly, I'm still waiting to buy a HDTV myself...)

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ArkiStan

How common is 1080p nowadays anyway? And when is it supposed to become standard?

hapoo

Don't just get a tv that displays at 1080p, make sure it has inputs for 1080p, otherwise its useless.

MikeD

No. You would be better off doing this:

http://www.sevenefour.com/sa46dltvhlhd.html

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Kudos

1080p isn't even used yet for anything except blue-ray as far as I can find.

My cable company (cablevision) only broadcasts in 720p digital and doesn't plan on going to 1080p anytime soon

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DarkFury

Understood, however according to the guy at the store, 1080p has already been determined to be the "standard" of the future... so if you buy something that isn't capable of that now, then you are buying into planned obsolecence.

Personally, I try to avoid that myself.

Either way, I'm gonna keep on waiting for now to see what develops... the picture of the future of HDTV still isn't very clear to me right now and I can't afford to make such an "expensive mistake" going with the wrong standard right now.

Slakker182

...

InfiniteNothing

I disagree. Keep in mind you were talking to a sales guy. They'd do anything for a buck. Broadcasters already want to cut down on their bandwidth. They are not likely to move to 1080P. Recording 1080P to DVR would take like 20gigs/hr so it's hard to imagine consumers wouldn't double their recording time to go with 720P. Even 720P DVRs aren't prevalent. I also doubt that the textures on games will be so detailed that there would be a difference between 720P and 1080P. DVDs remain a question mark. Really, I only suggested a 1080P set because it looked amazing.

I wouldn't say useless. With a good (built in) deinterlacer an upconverted 1080i picture is very very close to a 1080p picture. This means that 1080i programs will look great on a 1080p TV. Still, DVI, VGA, HDCP, HDMI, etc are always good features.

attgig

with the shoddy quality of electronics now-adays. i figure even if someone were to buy a 1080i/720p set, the set would go out on them (or need to replace a bulb for 500 bucks) by the time 1080p becomes the standard (at which point, that tv will cost the 500 bucks).

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DarkFury

I hear ya... but giving credit to the sales guy, he wasn't trying to push a "hard sell" on me when I talked to him and he appeared to be giving me his honest opinion on where things were going.

Plus, he actually showed me the difference between a few different sets with the different standards so I was like... Hmm... Ok, I can see how that is better and whatnot.

All in all... I still haven't made a final decision (as it will probably be at least another year before I do... hoping that some breakthrough will shake out the standards and eliminate the obvious non contenders).

I will say that from what I saw on display the DLP sets seem to have the advantage as far as the flexibility versus cost with these standards in mind.

DarkFury

People always say this, but honestly YMMV when buying a TV set...

I highly doubt that 1080p sets will get down to $500 just as even the regular new 50" + analog sets from days gone by still haven't gone down to that level (if you can even find one for sale)... even though they are on the hard road to obsolesence.

They pretty much hit the rock bottom at around $800 and then they disappeared. To find them at the $500 price, I almost expect something to be wrong with them (either cosmetic, floor model closeout, or refurbished).

zero2dash

Absolutely... seems like companies are still scrambling trying to "one up" one another, meanwhile they're throwing out technologies and inputs like mad and lord only knows how many more we'll see before "standards" are chosen.

I'm doing some "educating" myself on HDTV technologies and was almost tempted to buy a Hitachi 55" LCD Projection...until recently hearing that LCoS (or in Sony's terms "SXRD") is the best of the DLP world (better contrast and black tones) with the best of the LCD world (no rainbows)...so I think I'm waiting for the 1080p SXRD sets to come down...like this one. (IN linked to it in the 2nd post)

It'll probably be a year before we buy an HDTV though...it will be a projection one though...either LCD or LCoS (depending on price)...55" or 60" probably.

BTW 1080p is what (rumored) the Ps3 will run every game at natively...most Xbox 360 games run at 720p and I believe the Revolution will bring up the rear at 480p (Nintendo's not big on the "hi def" idea in order to save costs). Plus I'm sure with more HD channels on the horizon, we'll see a lot more 1080p support especially some of the larger ones (like Discovery HD).

brainsmile

I hear that Betamax will be the industry standard over VHS

ArkiStan

Only until they release something called the "Laserdisc." I know the concept of using "lasers" may seem preposterous, but it's the format of the future. You might as well go out and buy a player now. .

Apex

I'd wait for the next gen Sony SXRD coming out in a few months.

If you want a TV now, that one InfiniteNothing linked is great.

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InfiniteNothing

In a related story, I hear that 1080p is going to be called EHDTV. Kinda a cross between EDTV and HDTV.

brainsmile

I hear that laser will be placed on the moon and be called "the death star"

-Dr. Evil

Grubbie

It is a pain when I recored all my shows in HD as it sucks up HD space on my comcast HD DVR. I believe at the moment I can only record 15-20hrs of HD stuff before my DVR fills up, I can only imagine how fast it would fill up with 1080P. Then again this is Comcast so the HD isn't that great in the DVR.


Oh and DF, my problem with buying a 1080p set right now is I belive it will be a couple of years before TV is broadcast in it. To me, I would rather buy a good HDTV that does 720p nicely and then in a couple of years when I go to buy a new HDTV get a nice 1080p set IF more stuff is being broadcas/displayed in 1080p. Also for me the xbox 360 doesn't do 1080p and I doubt the PS3 will do it nicely since I don't think it will be able to handle 60fps at 1080p(as much as Sony says it will be able to do two 1080p signals at 60fps...).

DarkFury

Oh I do understand... but if you have the cash to blow on it now and can afford to blow it again later, then by all means, go for it... it's your money.

However, some of us aren't afforded the luxury of doing it like that (as we have other priorities and can't tie up $3,000 + in a "television" for the moment only to replace it a few years down the road for the next big thing.)

I guess you got it like that.

Grubbie

Nah not really

I ended up splitting my 50inch samsung with my gf as a graduation from college present. But I just think in 3-4 yrs you could easily get a nice 1080p set for around 2k. I'm not saying he should go out and buy a 70inch tv now and then a 90inch tv a couple years down the line

I just dont see 1080p being used a lot for broadcast in the next 3-4years. But for the next generation of digital video discs I could see it happening. I would rather wait out the war for a little bit before I start buying a ton of movies.

InfiniteNothing

Exactly. The bad part is that if you're watching most of your programs recorded in low def, you just wasted the money on a high def TV. At that point, you might as well buy an EDTV. That's another reason not to get 1080p just because it's 1080p. Probably a good plan.

DarkFury

Using that kind of logic... it just makes more sense for me to "stay pat" on my analog 56" TV since I don't plan to have a PS3 nor do I own an Xbox 360 and I don't use Digital Cable or Direct TV, rather than drop the cash on all that high end stuff.

The one thing I can afford to do is to wait until the prices drop and the picture of the future broadcasting and technology clears (unless my 56" TV dies on me before then...)

Kudos

to be honest with you, I just bought a Sony LCD RP TV even though I really wanted the LCoS TV. THe deciding factor was simply cost, and the use I would be getting out of it.

I don't doubt I'll have this TV for the next 5 years, and it only broadcasts 720p

Which is fine with me, because that's what my cable company broadcasts now, that's what the xbox 360 broadcasts at now, and my computer won't actually be hooked up to this tv since I have a 30inch LCD for the computer.

Now, in 5 years 1080p may be used more. I know sony is pushing hard to get the blue-ray technology out there and the PS3 will have a blue-ray drive, so the PS3 may very well output 1080p

But, with so many unknowns who can say what's going to happen in 4-5 years? Pull the trigger on a 1080p tv now and they may come out with a better tv technology that you'll want in 5 years when 1080p becomes more mainstream.

I picked up the Sony KDFE50A10 for a nice price, and I'll def get the use out of it that I'm looking for.

It's all about finding a good looking tv that will keep you happy for the next few years, so if you think 1080p will be useful for you in the future you should get a tv that outputs that.

And let me tell ya, the Sony LCoS TV's look...wonderful!

InfiniteNothing

Honestly, I'd recommend 480P for you DF. The picture quality is worth the dough alone. I think a good EDTV won't be obsolete for years and years. I can't imagine anything looking terrible down converted to 480P

DarkFury

Nah.. I'm gonna hold pat. The only thing I wish I had that I don't now is the ability to use my big screen as a "monitor" for my HTPC. It's way too blurry for that.

Otherwise, everything less works/looks fine with the current broadcasting services I have.

bachviet

I'm so very happy with my 47" Panasonic RP HDTV ($1300 - in the living room) and my 42" Panasonic HDTV plams ($2100 - in my bedroom). HD programming even only in 720p looks hell a lot better than anything else (digital or analog).

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ArkiStan

bach, you a rich pimpin' bling bling viet.

Houdini

One can only hope. I love Beta and still have and use a couple of decks. Vastly superor quality, but Sony screwed that one up.