Going HD, need help

vRS

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Thinking about getting a HDTv and I have no clue where to start with them, firstly are they so much better than DVD that you need to spend a lot of cash upgrading?

If so Id like a cheap one, really cheap as I'm 16 and not made of money, I don't car about a big huge 40" bugger, 25" or under will serve my needs fine. I was in a big electrical store and the cheapest was ?600, in the sale mind you. Where can I get a good sized telly for under ?500

Secondly is buying a HD player for the XBOX 360 a better idea than buying a regular Sony or Toshiba player? any major differences in picture or sound quality? there aloty cheaper than a player so I think there may be a catch.
 
Small detail: the xbox360 doesn't have a hd-player built-in, it will be a (quite expensive) option later on (if I'm not mistaken).
 
1080i is good. 1080p isn't really worth it now.

There is also a new version of HDMI coming out that can transfer tons more bandwith, I dont know if thats important to you or not but if it is you may consider waiting.

I have a 30" 1080i LG tv and it is spectacular. I also bought an upconverting DVD player to go with it (around $65).

HDTV is well worth it IMO, its tough though since 90% of TV in the US in not in HD, watching crap quality in 4:3 is annoying when you know you should be getting beautiful 16:9.. it kind of makes you angry :lol:
 
Samsungs are really good quality, and reasonably cheap though (though I am in Australia). I just bought one, and I'd highly recommend it.
 
Go with a nice looking Samsung, i would not get all wet over 1080i as you have to be one of those people with gold plated SCART cables to notice 1080i vs. 1080p or even 730 or what ever the step down is.
 
I have a warning about Samsung TVs, they are nice to start out with, but many have been known to actually "die" as a result of their power systems failing and also many have geometry issues
 
I picked up the Samsung 26" HD ready Lcd a couple of days ago (now posted in the new toys thread)

Got it from Curry's in the end as a friend works there so I got extra discount but its currently at about ?560 in the sales.

Think the same one is going for a bout ?499 on Amazon at the moment
 
Samsungs are really good quality, and reasonably cheap though (though I am in Australia). I just bought one, and I'd highly recommend it.

Yeah I'm 100% with you on that, samsung make some great screens at very affordable prices (I have a sony 32" with denon receiver, lg set top box and a panasonic 400gb dvd-r with network adaptor) but the samsung screen was of a very similar quality and cost much less.
 
Small detail: the xbox360 doesn't have a hd-player built-in, it will be a (quite expensive) option later on (if I'm not mistaken).

The HD-DVD add on is dirt cheap. only $199 in the US, and it is USB and works with a PC.


in terms of quality:

HD (full 1080p) is about 2 million pixels
1080i is about 1 million
720p is about 950.000

and standard definition is about 150.000 pixels


so even teh lowest definition of "HD" is over 5x higher resolution than "normal" tv.
 
So that 2nd on is 720p?

yes.

most people will say you need at least a 60" screen to see the difference btwn 720p and 1080p in a normal living room setting. so most screens under 40" are 720p - it is the best value/performance compromise.

i've been running a 42" 720p Samsung DLP for about 3 years now and love it. i only get OTA HD, and since the broadcasts are only 720p and 1080i, a 1080p screen isnt very necessary. moreover, i like HD sports, and have noted the HD sports on Fox and ABC are far better than the 1080i sports on NBC and CBS - less motion artifacts due to the interlacing... and still FAR better than NTSC (you can INSTANTLY tell when they switch to a standard definition feed, etc...)



two interesting reads, both good thoughts on HDTV:

http://www.alvyray.com/DigitalTV/Naming_Proposal.htm
http://www.projectorcentral.com/video_signals.htm
 
Dont know which screen is best for you but going HD from SD is a big step forward. Also get at least 26" screen, any less and you will not see all the details offered by HD. I have 24" and 26" and I sit 1m away from 24" one to see everything.
 
as always, i say Samsung, Toshibaor LG. they are the only ones with picture quality i would be happy with. and the 32" samsung looks the best of the bunch. the clarity seems to go on the really big ones. the 26" sammy is also brilliant
 
as always, i say Samsung, Toshibaor LG. they are the only ones with picture quality i would be happy with. and the 32" samsung looks the best of the bunch. the clarity seems to go on the really big ones. the 26" sammy is also brilliant

Sharp Aquos are always excellent (perhaps the best) LCDs as well, though always expensive. I think currently the Sammy's are the best value - great picture, medium price range.
 
Also, you want to make sure it has the right hook-ups on the back. For HD, you want HDMI and you'll wanna look out for HDMI 1.3. Its the newest version of it that supposedly "vastly improves on an already-great thing"
 
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