So i need a TV. I hate my trappy toshiba 19 inch stereo tv. It's small, old, heavy, and it sucks. I just want a TV that will go great with console gaming, very crisp and detailed (preferrably Xbox). Thats all i need it for - gaming and DVD's. I dont care what it looks like.
I did some research. Poked around on the Best Buy website, and looked at some of the Flat Tube HD ready TV's. From what I understand they are pretty good (with a HDTV source.)
Here's two i found
Advent 27" HD Ready Flat Tube $400 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... pe=product
Panasonic 27" HD Ready Flat Tube $550 http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... pe=product
Will i be paying $150 more just for nothing? I cant see a huge difference in the two...
Now i've seen 1080 and 480 and 720 i/p mentioned before in a few gaming articles. Dosent 1080i mean theres a 1080 lines in the picture? I'm not sure what 1080p means. I dont knowwhat my Xbox will run at.
I'm sure you're all yelling at your computer screen, "GET A PLASMA OR LCD TV YOU MORON!!!! HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS?!?!" If i had money, i'd be looking into plasma and LCD TV's.
As I said, the main reason for me getting a new TV is for gaming and DVD's. Any help i can get on this is good. Reccomendations are welcomed. Thanks...
Lookin' for a new TV
Moderator: TheMachine
Lookin' for a new TV
i am a liberal.
This is my tv I got from BB.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... pe=product
I like it, I can't stand watching anyone elses TV now. I watch movies/tv and play PS2 on it, no complaints so far.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... pe=product
I like it, I can't stand watching anyone elses TV now. I watch movies/tv and play PS2 on it, no complaints so far.
Re: Lookin' for a new TV
Your Xbox can output up to 1080i and 720P although most games are 480P or 480i.MooZilla wrote:
Now i've seen 1080 and 480 and 720 i/p mentioned before in a few gaming articles. Dosent 1080i mean theres a 1080 lines in the picture? I'm not sure what 1080p means. I dont knowwhat my Xbox will run at.
I'm sure you're all yelling at your computer screen, "GET A PLASMA OR LCD TV YOU MORON!!!! HAVE YOU BEEN LIVING UNDER A ROCK FOR THE PAST 3 YEARS?!?!" If i had money, i'd be looking into plasma and LCD TV's.
As I said, the main reason for me getting a new TV is for gaming and DVD's. Any help i can get on this is good. Reccomendations are welcomed. Thanks...
720P and 1080i are High Definition. i = interlaced, p = progressive
interlaced refreshes every other line each full screen scan while progressive refreshes every line each scan. I've seen awesome picture quality HD sources in both 720P and 1080i.
If you buy the HD video pack for your XBox, you can go into your dashboard under video and choose or unchoose the formats your TV can handle 480P, 720P and 1080i. 480i is the default that all TVs can use. Even going from 480i to 480p is a nice picture improvement.
There are two ways to connect HD to your TV. Component and DVI. Xbox uses the Component method (red/green/blue RCA type inputs) Most "HD Ready" TVs have component inputs. Only a few and mostly Plasma and LCDs have the DVI as well. Most new projectors also have DVI.
My screen is 10 feet in diameter as I use a HD projector. At that size, the highest quality matters because any little flaw is magnified but at 27 inches, I'm not sure how much difference higher definition will make. I'm pretty sure the standards for HD state 40 inches as the smallest screen size for the low end range.
Of the two you linked, the Advent has two component inputs while the Panasonic only has one. They go fast so two is nice. I need 4 on my projector and only have 1 DVI and 1 Component but 4 HD sources which could easily be 5 so I had to buy a component switchbox to be able to get all my Component/HD sources connected.
You may decide to get an HD cable box or HD DirecTV (and even cheap new DVD players are progressive with component output for better picture) at some point so that would already be two component inputs needed. I know Panasonic is a decent company. I have no clue about Advent though.
I looked a both of those TV's a little more thoroughly...The only differences i could see were the Advent having 1 more component video input, and a few more other inputs. The Panasonic has a 700 line horizontal resolution, and the Advent one is not rated. The panasonic only has a 3 comb filter while the Advent has 4. The Advent has only fixed audio outputs, while the Panasonic has fixed and variable audio outputs.
Those are the only ones that i can find...The only reasons i can think of for the panasonic being $150 more expensive is that it's lighter and smaller, and/or does everything the advent can do, but just with better quality stuff?
Edit: DVI is better than component video input, right?
Those are the only ones that i can find...The only reasons i can think of for the panasonic being $150 more expensive is that it's lighter and smaller, and/or does everything the advent can do, but just with better quality stuff?
Edit: DVI is better than component video input, right?
i am a liberal.
I wouldn't even look at Advent. My roomate bought one from Best Buy...and lets just say she is getting her moneys worth out of that stupid extended warranty. I would say you could worry less at night with a Panasonic and not buying Best Buys warranty...although I wouldn't buy a panasonic anything.
I suggest you refine your search further, and go look at Toshiba's and Phillips/Magnavox. Both are lower price than Sony and such, but have great quality standards.
I paid 350 for my Magnavox, and no warranty...4 years strong and running. Mostly games and dvd on it...although I have to settle for s-video...no component.
I wouldn't worry about all the HD Ready stuff. If it has component hook ups...your set!
I suggest you refine your search further, and go look at Toshiba's and Phillips/Magnavox. Both are lower price than Sony and such, but have great quality standards.
I paid 350 for my Magnavox, and no warranty...4 years strong and running. Mostly games and dvd on it...although I have to settle for s-video...no component.
I wouldn't worry about all the HD Ready stuff. If it has component hook ups...your set!
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Siji
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A. Don't buy a rear projection TV if your purpose is to be able to play games on it. They're bad at getting screen burn-in. (Rear project != projection like Winnow's)
B. Don't buy Plasma. They're way overpriced and the plasma wears out and needs to be recharged (assuming the model you buy can even be recharged) Cheap ones get really hot.
C. Normal TVs with component hookups will look better than ones without, but an HD tv will look much better. There's really no reason not to buy an HDTV these days. Your cable box and your XBOX console will both control your HDTV and you don't need to buy the HD thingie just the TV. Make sure to get the HDTV version of your cable box from your provider; most have one.
D. No name TV's usually are no name for a reason.. buy a name you know and has been around awhile. Warranty work, quality, support, etc are all usually better. (Excluding Samsung - I've read nothing but bad about most of their sets I looked at)
E. If you can, check out some of the wide screen HDTVs as well. Here's the one I picked up for gaming on and love it (until I can get somethin' like Winnow has - /envy!):
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... pe=product
B. Don't buy Plasma. They're way overpriced and the plasma wears out and needs to be recharged (assuming the model you buy can even be recharged) Cheap ones get really hot.
C. Normal TVs with component hookups will look better than ones without, but an HD tv will look much better. There's really no reason not to buy an HDTV these days. Your cable box and your XBOX console will both control your HDTV and you don't need to buy the HD thingie just the TV. Make sure to get the HDTV version of your cable box from your provider; most have one.
D. No name TV's usually are no name for a reason.. buy a name you know and has been around awhile. Warranty work, quality, support, etc are all usually better. (Excluding Samsung - I've read nothing but bad about most of their sets I looked at)
E. If you can, check out some of the wide screen HDTVs as well. Here's the one I picked up for gaming on and love it (until I can get somethin' like Winnow has - /envy!):
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... pe=product
Siji... shut the hell up.... There is no such thing as a plasma getting a refill... or recharge or any such thing... that is misinformation.
Plasma's are bad for consol gaming simply because they are suceptable to burn in... if your looking to play Xbox... look at the 1080 capable CRT's or one of the new microtechnology rear projections (LCD, DLP).
From my personal experiance... panasonic tube TV's are very nice... Im not so much a fan of Advent.. but thats cause they are a speaker company... not a TV company... in the past few years they have started marketing TV's and I would be willing to bet they are having someone else build them for them.
The one component video input is a problem that you can solve by getting a switchbox as Winnow suggested... two isnt really going to make a difference because if you get HD cable/Satallite and a DVD player... your already out of inputs...
Plasma's are bad for consol gaming simply because they are suceptable to burn in... if your looking to play Xbox... look at the 1080 capable CRT's or one of the new microtechnology rear projections (LCD, DLP).
From my personal experiance... panasonic tube TV's are very nice... Im not so much a fan of Advent.. but thats cause they are a speaker company... not a TV company... in the past few years they have started marketing TV's and I would be willing to bet they are having someone else build them for them.
The one component video input is a problem that you can solve by getting a switchbox as Winnow suggested... two isnt really going to make a difference because if you get HD cable/Satallite and a DVD player... your already out of inputs...
This 2cp has been brought to you by DOKURANGER!
I can confirm this. My old Toshiba rear projection HDTV has burn in where the letterbox black or grey bars were while I was playing FFX and Champions of Norrath for hours and hours with the brightness turned up above what it should be slightly so I could see mobs faster as they came out of the shadows! Even without playing games, you have to be a little careful watching too much standard definition with RPTVs or you will eventually get burnin. The chances of this are reduced if you keep the brightness and contrast low but I don't want to have to worry about it at all which is why I doubt I'll ever get a RPTV again.Siji wrote:A. Don't buy a rear projection TV if your purpose is to be able to play games on it. They're bad at getting screen burn-in. (Rear project != projection like Winnow's)
Front projectors aren't the same. The two predominant types are LCD and DLP. It's nice not having to worry about burn in. For anyone going this route, be sure to get one that has 1280X720 resolution. That's 1:1 HD pixel mapping for the widescreen HD format. Don't go cheap on projectors. You can get an excellent Projector for 2K these days. The 1K jobs don't have the resolution for HD and have various possible issues like rainbow effect and vertical banding. There was a breakthrough in the front projector industry this year. The 2K models are the 5K models of a year ago so front projection home theaters are more of a posibility for everyone.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... pe=product
That looks like a good one. A lot better, and has a DVI input with 2 component inputs. It's also a widescreen....
I never got my question answered. Is DVI better to use than component video?
That looks like a good one. A lot better, and has a DVI input with 2 component inputs. It's also a widescreen....
I never got my question answered. Is DVI better to use than component video?
i am a liberal.
For a CRT TV, which is what you're looking for, there is no difference between DVI and Component if you have decent cables. DVI makes a little positive difference for LCD and Plasma displays (for any digital display types). I've switched back and forth between DVI and Component watching HBO HD and couldn't notice a difference and that is with LCD. Your DVI and Component connection settings may be different so you may have to make adjustments to get the picture you want. (brightness, contrast, red/green/blue adjustments etc)MooZilla wrote:http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... pe=product
That looks like a good one. A lot better, and has a DVI input with 2 component inputs. It's also a widescreen....
I never got my question answered. Is DVI better to use than component video?
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Siji
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Ok, I'll accept that as I was going by what someone else told me when I was shopping TV's. However..Ransure wrote:There is no such thing as a plasma getting a refill... or recharge or any such thing... that is misinformation.
http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plas ... s-lcd.html
Granted.. that's a long time, but it does wear out over time."Plasma, on the other hand, utilizes slight electric currents to excite a combination of noble gases (i.e., argon, neon, xenon), which then glow red, blue, and/or green. This is an essentially active phenomenon, so the phosphoric elements in plasma displays fade over time. The half-life of these gases is approximately 25,000 to 30,000 thousand hours. At this point, the phosphors will glow half as brightly as they did when the set was new. There is no way to replace these gases; the display simply continues to grow dimmer with use."
(LCD lasts appx 50-75,000 hours)On plasma displays, static images will begin to "burn-in," or permanently discolor the pixels displaying it, after only a short time-just 15 minutes or so, in some cases. Though such "burn-in" can be reduced or "washed out," doing so reduces the overall lifespan of the display unit itself.
Plasmas use a lot of electricity lighting each and every pixel you see on a screen-even the dark ones. These are truly power-hungry devices.
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Phugg_Innay
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OK another thing you guys are failing to mention ... 4:3 vs 16:9.
I set up HD boxes every week and have almost pitty for the people who actually buy a SQUARE tube Hig Def set. When you are watching regular tv (via the cable box) its fine , you can stretch the pic the fill in the whole screen. On the other hand ... when in true HD (16:9 1080i/p) You are SCREWED.
One gent had a very nice pic , BUT it was shrunk top and bottom to fit. Now the poor shmuck paid almost $1200 for a SQUARE hd 40in set, I told him there i nothing we (Comcast) could do for the guy. He would either get his HD in smaller (like 25in) or go spend the cash on a real set.
quick summary , spend the extra few bucks on WIDE SCREEN
I set up HD boxes every week and have almost pitty for the people who actually buy a SQUARE tube Hig Def set. When you are watching regular tv (via the cable box) its fine , you can stretch the pic the fill in the whole screen. On the other hand ... when in true HD (16:9 1080i/p) You are SCREWED.
One gent had a very nice pic , BUT it was shrunk top and bottom to fit. Now the poor shmuck paid almost $1200 for a SQUARE hd 40in set, I told him there i nothing we (Comcast) could do for the guy. He would either get his HD in smaller (like 25in) or go spend the cash on a real set.
quick summary , spend the extra few bucks on WIDE SCREEN
Phugg Innay Bard ( retired )
WTFO ,,, (What the Fuck , OVER)
WTFO ,,, (What the Fuck , OVER)
Wise advice! This extends to projectors as well. Buy a projector that has a native resolution of 1280X720 which is Wide Screen Format. Your standard definition picture will still be huge (and you dont necessarily want a standard definition picture that big anyway as the resolution doesn't support big pictures well) but you will use all of your picture when viewing Wide Screen High Definition which is what it's all about anyway. Xbox games mostly support the wide screen progressive format as well.Phugg_Innay wrote:OK another thing you guys are failing to mention ... 4:3 vs 16:9.
I set up HD boxes every week and have almost pitty for the people who actually buy a SQUARE tube Hig Def set. When you are watching regular tv (via the cable box) its fine , you can stretch the pic the fill in the whole screen. On the other hand ... when in true HD (16:9 1080i/p) You are SCREWED.
One gent had a very nice pic , BUT it was shrunk top and bottom to fit. Now the poor shmuck paid almost $1200 for a SQUARE hd 40in set, I told him there i nothing we (Comcast) could do for the guy. He would either get his HD in smaller (like 25in) or go spend the cash on a real set.
quick summary , spend the extra few bucks on WIDE SCREEN
Here are some more that i found..
Philips 30" Widescreen HD Ready TV
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... pe=product
That looks good...Kinda pricy for what im looking for, but it looks good.
Samsung 26" Windscreen HD Ready TV
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... pe=product
No simulated surround, not too much of a big deal. It is a widescreen for a lower price than the 30", but its smaller of course. 1 DVI and 2 component inputs. Only thing is that someone said that they heard nothing but bad things about Samsung...
Philips 30" Widescreen HD Ready TV
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... pe=product
That looks good...Kinda pricy for what im looking for, but it looks good.
Samsung 26" Windscreen HD Ready TV
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp ... pe=product
No simulated surround, not too much of a big deal. It is a widescreen for a lower price than the 30", but its smaller of course. 1 DVI and 2 component inputs. Only thing is that someone said that they heard nothing but bad things about Samsung...
i am a liberal.
While the bestbuy site was down i explored the Circut City site...Found this. Looks to be the best out of all the ones there.
Magnavox 27" Flat-Screen HDTV Monitor -
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c ... =91329&m=0
There were these too...But ^ that seemed to be the best one.
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c ... =94929&m=0
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c ... =90895&m=0
While a few people reccomended those over the Magnavox, they all had small complains about them. Nobody had anything bad to say about the Magnavox, everyone said its the best.
Magnavox 27" Flat-Screen HDTV Monitor -
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c ... =91329&m=0
There were these too...But ^ that seemed to be the best one.
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c ... =94929&m=0
http://www.circuitcity.com/detail.jsp?c ... =90895&m=0
While a few people reccomended those over the Magnavox, they all had small complains about them. Nobody had anything bad to say about the Magnavox, everyone said its the best.
i am a liberal.