NA, I just measured, I will be over 8ft away from the TV
[QUOTE=NinerAdvocate;208963]The major downside to DLPs, as I told MK when he was shopping for them, is that they use bulbs which [B]must[/B] be replaced. It’s not a good feature, it’s an annoying one, since the bulbs cost about $200 on average, and need to be replaced every 2-3 years. So the ownership cost of a $1000 DLP over 10 years is gonna be more like $1600-$1800, unless those bulbs get cheaper.
[/QUOTE]
That is exactly why I won’t be buying another rear projection lcd. I got mine (Sony Grand Wega) about three years ago and I’m on my 4th bulb now. Thankfully, I bought the service plan so I haven’t had to pay for any of them. I think that is the only service plan I’ve ever bought, but it has paid for itself several times over.
This is a good forum to find out more:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/index.php?
thanks for all the input. With having to purchase the bulbs, I think now I’m looking into a couple 42’’ LCDs w/ 1080p
[QUOTE=49erPress;209052]what are screen guards?[/QUOTE]
Its just a plastic screen that Mitsubishi puts over their TVs. It prohibits people or animals from getting to the actual TV screen (which can be scratched).
[QUOTE=moss2k;209062]NA, I just measured, I will be over 8ft away from the TV[/QUOTE]
50" will do ya fine then. Might even wanna look in the 46-47" range.
I have a 42" but only sit abut 6 feet from it. It’s not quite panoramic at that distance, but its plenty big. a 47" would completely fill my field of vision.
[QUOTE=Max Power;209071]That is exactly why I won’t be buying another rear projection lcd. I got mine (Sony Grand Wega) about three years ago and I’m on my 4th bulb now. Thankfully, I bought the service plan so I haven’t had to pay for any of them. I think that is the only service plan I’ve ever bought, but it has paid for itself several times over.[/QUOTE]
Thank you.
I dont mean to bag on DLPs, but most of the owners who give them super positive reviews are new owners who havent experienced this annoyance. And I showed MK discount prices on the bulbs for his and they were still $150+.
BTW - the reason why 480i (broadcast) TV looks so good on your DLP isnt the DLP technonology, it’s because it’s only being shown on a 720p screen that actually isnt even 720p - its more like 540p. The 720p plasma is actually 720p (well close enough anyway). Stretch any low res image bigger and display it on a high res screen, and it looks like crap. Dont buy a real HDTV if you arent also gonna invest in real HDTV content for it (HD-DVDs, Blu-ray, 1080i broadcast, etc). If you’re just gonna watch broadcast 480i and DVDs, get a cheapo EDTV. You can still get a huge screen and it’ll cost a lot less and look great.
Panasonic makes a sweet plasma EDTV with unmatched picture quality. I guaranty you could hang it on your wall, slap a regular old DVD on it, and guests would swear its the latest HDTV gadget.
[QUOTE=Max Power;209072]This is a good forum to find out more:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/index.php?[/QUOTE]
That board owns. Makes me feel stupid at times. Those guys are complete tech heads.
[QUOTE=moss2k;209075]thanks for all the input. With having to purchase the bulbs, I think now I’m looking into a couple 42’’ LCDs w/ 1080p[/QUOTE]
That’s what I’ve got Moss. Didnt cost me a fortune either. There are better TVs, but not for the money.
BTW, the xbox360 does 1080i over its component cables :shades:
thanks NA.
How much is a TWC HD package?
Also, how do the built-in-tuners work?
They have a special now with road runner that I think is probably $70/month. Add another $8 for the HD DVR. Regular price is over a hundred for both. It IS expensive as hell, and they dont have enough HD channels, but the ones that they do have are crack cocaine. They could charge $500/mo and you’d think about paying it.
My set has the QAM, ATSC and NTSC tuners. The QAM tuner works when you plug the cable line straight into the TV - no box or cable card. Its a trick that supposedly upconverts the 480i signal into something better. People on AVS forums swear that it makes a very noticeable difference, but I dont see it.
You just cannot make a 480i signal look good on a widescreen, 1080p display. It’s like polishing a turd.
(clarification - progressive scan 480p DVDs look fine on it)
The ATSC/NTSC tuners will allow you to get FREE over the air local HD channels, if you buy a good antenna. The # of channels you get is entirely dependent on where you are. And unlike analog - there is no “kinda get” the channel - you either do or you dont. No snow. My boss has a Sony with no antenna hooked up to it and he gets 5 or 6 channels anyway. Of course, he had to have all of them, so he’s paying time warner for the full package.
I happen to be a home theater guru myself, and I’d like to throw in my two cents…
Judge with your eyes, not necessarily the numbers. Unless you are buying something over 50", the majority of people (myself included) will not see a big enough difference between a 720p display and a 1080p display to warrant the big price difference. If you do notice a difference, and you’ve got the cash, more power to ya. They are beautiful television sets.
People also discount 720p when presented with 1080i. In actuality, all digital displays natively show a progressive signal (the “p” at the end of the term). What this means is that despite feeding it a picture in 1080i, the signal has to be processed and then scaled to a 720p display. Depending on the television, you can sometimes see a loss in picture quality when this conversion is done. For this reason, it is usually ideal to send a signal in the native format of the TV when possible. I have seen too many people automatically default everything to 1080i because it is a bigger number.
As such, it is important to remember the definition of those signals. 720p means that there are 720 lines being shown on the screen at the same time (progressive). 1080i means that there are a total of 1080 lines, but they are interlaced, meaning you will only see 540 on the screen at one time, but the fields fire so quickly, the mind perceives it as 1080 lines.
Lastly, the debate between HDMI vs. DVI vs. Component is overrated. All three cables are capable of displaying a more than adequate picture. HDMI and DVI will produce virtually the same result, as they are both digital formats. Component is an analog format, but has been shown to be equally capable. People perceive digital formats to be the purest form of the signal, but the truth is…these cables are just as susceptible to signal loss, there is no error correction, and the quailty of the picture will depend on how well the television is able to process and scale the picture. Some televisions will be better with the digital conversion, others may be better with the analog conversion. The point is that the picture will be processed either way, which is a big misconception people have about digital signals.
This may be information you already knew, some of it, maybe not. I probably got a little carried away, but hopefully you will find it helpful.
Btw, using the rule of the “optimal” seating distance being 1.5 to 2 times the screen size, the optimal range for 8ft is between a 48 inch screen and a 64 inch screen.
ok, how much are the antennas?
ok, how much are the antennas?
When I first got my tv, I picked up hd channels over the air without an antenna.
This is true.
[QUOTE]People also discount 720p when presented with 1080i. In actuality, all digital displays natively show a progressive signal (the “p” at the end of the term). What this means is that despite feeding it a picture in 1080i, the signal has to be processed and then scaled to a 720p display. Depending on the television, you can sometimes see a loss in picture quality when this conversion is done. For this reason, it is usually ideal to send a signal in the native format of the TV when possible. I have seen too many people automatically default everything to 1080i because it is a bigger number.
As such, it is important to remember the definition of those signals. 720p means that there are 720 lines being shown on the screen at the same time (progressive). 1080i means that there are a total of 1080 lines, but they are interlaced, meaning you will only see 540 on the screen at one time, but the fields fire so quickly, the mind perceives it as 1080 lines.[/QUOTE]
Disagree. There is a tremendously technical post about this on AVS forums. It is hard for me to “dumb it down” to my level, but 1080i is like 1080p, not 540p as you suggest. While I agree that the difference between 1080i & 720p is not readily noticable on sets smaller than 50", every one of these 1080 TVs displays a true 1080p picture. They take the 1080i signal, and de-interlace it to create a 1080p picture (this is what my TV does). In my experience, this means about a half second delay on startup of the signal as the de-interlacer does its magic. After that first half second, you cannot tell the difference between 1080i&1080p because the number of lines BEING DRAWN is the same. The 1080i signal is not being drawn 540 then 540, but 1080 lines on a single pass. The only hack job occurring is that the 1080i signal is repeating every 3rd or so frame (all 1080 lines of it), which is completely unnoticeable to the naked eye.
[quote]Lastly, the debate between HDMI vs. DVI vs. Component is overrated. All three cables are capable of displaying a more than adequate picture. HDMI and DVI will produce virtually the same result, as they are both digital formats. Component is an analog format, but has been shown to be equally capable. People perceive digital formats to be the purest form of the signal, but the truth is…these cables are just as susceptible to signal loss, there is no error correction, and the quailty of the picture will depend on how well the television is able to process and scale the picture. Some televisions will be better with the digital conversion, others may be better with the analog conversion. The point is that the picture will be processed either way, which is a big misconception people have about digital signals.
This may be information you already knew, some of it, maybe not. I probably got a little carried away, but hopefully you will find it helpful.[/QUOTE]
Agreed, although I find the HDMI signal @ 1080p to be a little sharper, but the colors on component to be a little fuller.
[QUOTE=Noreaster;209106]When I first got my tv, I picked up hd channels over the air without an antenna.[/QUOTE]
If you live well within the 485 loop, you probably wont need an antenna.
If you live near a geographical or broadcast obstruction, or live far away, you will need one.
You can spend anywhere from $40 to $500 or more on an antenna. The lower end should be fine.
When I first got my tv, I picked up hd channels over the air without an antenna.
This is actually what the QAM tuner does, allows you to receive digital cable signals without the use of a set-top box. Depending on your carrier, sometimes there are things available, other times not.
NinerAdvocate - My post on 720p vs 1080i was directed at the signal itself, and not necessarily the television. You are correct that a 1080i signal on a 1080p television will not appear as 540 lines at a time, it does get scaled to 1080p, just as a 1080i signal on a 720p set is scaled to 720p. NATIVELY (and this should only apply to CRTs) it would display just as I described. Thanks for pointing that out though, I wasn’t exactly clear now that I re-read the post.
[QUOTE=LugNutX;209116]This is actually what the QAM tuner does, allows you to receive digital cable signals without the use of a set-top box. Depending on your carrier, sometimes there are things available, other times not.[/QUOTE]
Just to clarify:
Over The Air = ATSC tuner
Unscrambled Cable Channels via Cable feed = QAM
[QUOTE=wikipedia]A QAM tuner is present in some new digital televisions and similar devices. It enables direct reception of digital cable channels without the use of a set-top box. QAM stands for “quadrature amplitude modulation,” the format by which digital cable channels are encoded and transmitted via cable. [B]QAM tuners can be likened to the [U]cable[/U] equivalent of an ATSC tuner which is required to receive [U]over-the-air[/U] (OTA) digital channels broadcast by local television stations[/B]. Many new digital televisions contain both and are labeled “with ATSC/QAM Tuner”. However, unlike the case with ATSC tuners there is no FCC requirement that QAM tuners be included in new television sets.
An integrated QAM tuner allows the free reception of unscrambled digital programming sent “in the clear” by cable providers; however most digital channels are scrambled because the providers consider them to be extra-cost options and not part of the “basic cable” package. Which channels are scrambled varies greatly from location to location, and can change over time. In the United States a television that is labeled digital cable ready can have a CableCARD installed by the cable provider to unscramble the protected channels, allowing subscribers to tune all authorized digital channels without the use of a set-top box.
[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=LugNutX;209116]NinerAdvocate - My post on 720p vs 1080i was directed at the signal itself, and not necessarily the television. You are correct that a 1080i signal on a 1080p television will not appear as 540 lines at a time, it does get scaled to 1080p, just as a 1080i signal on a 720p set is scaled to 720p. NATIVELY (and this should only apply to CRTs) it would display just as I described. Thanks for pointing that out though, I wasn’t exactly clear now that I re-read the post.[/QUOTE]
I think your point about 720p versus 1080p is a good one though. As the AVS folks will tell you, resolution should not be your top priority. A superior quality 720p display will beat the pants off of a generic 1080p display.
This was proven by the Panasonic EDTVs that were only capable of 840x480p (widescreen, progressive scan), but looked as good or better than the 720p sets they were competing against, because it had a higher quality panel.