Widescreen Premium a Rip-Off??

I, too, hesitated to buy a 16:9 TV until I saw some good DVD's on a 65" Mitsubishi set. Wow! That changed my mind. Since I watch little TV and mostly movies, I have been quite happy for the last month, let me tell you. I probably would have been very happy with the conventional 61" Sony set I was going to buy, but for only $500 more, I got the widescreen set. To me it was worth it. To others, it may not be. Make your own decision.

Problem with signal quality a real one with analog cable and some satellite channels. My Loewe 16:9 is awesome with a good signal (and esp. good DVD), but less than outstanding with poor signal. Its not a true HDTV (1080i), it is a progressive scan DTV. Totally revealing of any deficiencies in the source material, but incredible. So if your use is primarily DVD and/or HD, then I would go widescreen; if its TV then I would carefully check out the real world performance.

Swampwalker -- Do you have the 30" Loewe? Are you familiar with the new Aconda 38" that the dealers are raving about? I am trying to decide if these are worth the price and the wait or if I should maybe buy the Panasonic 34 " 16:9 which seems to have an amazing picture. There is also a ProScan 38" which Lyric HiFi in New York claims is the same tube as the new Loewe. (?) I watch only movies, mostly DVD, but my girlfriend is a compulsive TV surfer with Time Warner "D TV" Cable. If you or anyone could recommend one of these TVs I would greatly appreciate it.

William- I have the 30" Loewe Planus. It has what is supposed to be a very high quality internal doubler and thus is a progressive scan digital, not HD TV. As I said, brutally revealing of the source. I would find a way to demo it on your cable, if your significant other is compulsive surfer (as is mine). Have not checked it out with digital cable, but note significant differences in picture quality across various cable and DSS channels. Last night watched a movie on Encore and it was awesome. Some DVDs great, others fair. Sample scenes at beginning of Video Essentials disk incredible. With respect to the 38" Aconda, it seems unlikely that there are two sources for 38" direct view tubes, so the comment from Lyric sounds reasonable. Note that the tube for that sucker probably weighs 2-300 lbs, so you better have a good stand. Keep us posted. Also check out AVScience HDTV forum (www.avsforum.com). If you think hi end audio is confusing...