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An audiophile who know NOTHING about TV

Well, I've been thinking of buying a new TV and holy crap, is this one confusing subject! First, what technology should I get: Plasma, DLP, LCD, etc. 16:9, 1080. I don't know what any of this stuff means. The funny thing is that i'm scanning consumer reports and others like it to see what is the "best" LOL. I don't think I found my SME 30 or Aesthetix IO there! I would be aghast at anyone who told me they were buying a high end piece of audio equipment like that, but here I was doing the same thing. Looking to see which had the best specs. I stopped by a best buy today and actually found someone who seemed to know what he was talking about. He asked the right questions (from what I read): What do you watch, how far do you sit, etc. I answered his questions. Not interested in surround sound at all. Mostly watch broadcast TV and lots of sports (I use dish network as my source), sit about 10 feet from the screen (need to measure, i'm just guessing), watch an occasional DVD.

So, we're moving along and he seemd to be steering me towards DLP (Samsung) but there was a Pioneer Plasma that looked great. Then he mentions that "regular" TV broadcasts look terrible!!?? You won't be able to use the whole screen? What the hell, I can't have that. Isn't most TV non High-Def? Why would you buy Plasma/DLP if this is the case? I know we are headed to high-def, but unless i'm missing something I would think I should wait before I buy. I guess I can go RP CRT but isn't that "old" technology? That's funny, coming from a guy who listens to records and has an all tube-based system LOL.

I just want the best picture and biggest picture that makes sense in my room.

Oh, the room has a lot of natural light during the day, but most watching is done at night.
cte500

Showing 1 response by danlib1

danlib1
819 posts
 
I would keep the following in mind:

1. Over the next 2 years, DirecTV will rollout another 120 or more channels of Hi-Def.

2. Newest generation plasmas- especially the Panasonics- have VERY good black levels, incredible color and brightness, and a projected lifespan of 15 years or so with daily usage up to about 8 hours.

3. Standard definition broadcasts are a problem with ANY HD set, because of scaling/line doubling issues. The Panasonic EDTV Plasma, to my eyes, does the very best job with Standard def signals of any digital set out there. It also does a great job with HDTV as long as you dont sit close enough to notice the pixel size (for a 42" panel, about 8 feet or more away is ideal).

4. As Slappy said,make the salesman work. Tell him that you want to see not just a HDTV feed on the set you're considering, but a standard feed as well. Play with the screen-filling setting available with the set to see if you could stand watching 4:3 programming in "Stretchovision" on a 16:9 display. All these sets- and the HDTV receivers- handle that task a little differently...they don't all yeild an equally good result.

5. Do not listen to the Plasma urban legends- short life, major burn-in issues, lose plasma "gas", yata yata yata. Latest generation Plasma panels are extremely reliable and by all indication will yield long lives.

Have fun shopping!
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