Superbowl time! http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/31/technology/HDTV_guide.fortune/index.htm?cnn=yes How to buy an HDTV Print this guide and take it to your electronics store - it's all you need to get the right HDTV. FORTUNE Magazine By Oliver Ryan, Fortune January 31 2007: 2:45 PM EST (Fortune Magazine) -- You let the holidays come and go without pulling the trigger. But March Madness looms, not to mention the new season of "The Sopranos." You know it's time to go high definition, but with all the 1080p's and HD MIs and whatever, buying the right TV seems as straightforward as buying the right nuclear submarine. Good news: Now that prices, and the technology, have stabilized, HD is officially a no-brainer. So take this guide and pick your set. Download printable PDF LCD $250-$6,000: Up to 40 inches or so, LCD flat panels are the best option. They provide the brightest HD picture at the best price and are also the most energy-efficient. Higher-end models will serve gamers well and double as computer monitors. PLASMA $1,000-$8,000: For big rooms, plasma still wins on price-to-performance, though LCDs are catching up. Screen "burn-in" problems are mostly fixed. Live in the mountains? Be careful: Some plasmas overheat at high altitudes (not enough air). REAR PROJECTION $1,000-$5,000: Of the three flavors of rear-projection TV, the most popular is DLP. DLP screens are more affordable than plasma but are also much bigger and heavier - and the picture fades noticeably when viewed from the side. FRONT PROJECTORS $1,000-$35,000: For those with a big budget and plenty of wall space, a high-definition projector will dish up that magical movie theater experience. But bear in mind: massive screen and awesome speakers sold separately. Key Questions How cheap will these things get? Price declines are tapering off. That means there's little danger you'll end up kicking yourself for not holding off another month. What's 1080p, and do I need it? There are several levels of HD resolution; 1080p is the high end. The vast majority of HD content, including cable and broadcast programming, will be sub-1080p for years to come. Unless you're a hardcore gamer - or rich - 720p is fine. How big a screen? Viewing distance should be at least 1.5 times screen size; any closer and the image looks bad. So don't splurge on that 84-inch set unless you can sit 102 feet away. Three can't-lose HDTV sets Should I get External speakers? Yes. A "home theater in a box" system is the most cost-effective way to amp up your TV experience. What about HDMI connections? Yes. And the more the better. Newer components - DVD players, DVRs, stereos, etc. - will use HDMI. The cables are nice and compact too. Are "premium" cables worth it? No. The cheap ones work fine. Do I need a universal remote? Yes. Try a Logitech Harmony. Is it worth it to get a warranty? Maybe. The math is a wash at best. But if you'll sleep better, do it. Top of page
if you have a 50 inch+ TV, you must be an idiot to be sitting that far off the center. the rear-projection (DLPs etc) are great.
to start off, maybe you can edit the title to be the "ultra efficient hdtv thread" (kinda like the video thread) since a lot of people inquire about these. anyhow, getting either lcd or dlp in the next few weeks (just heard too many stories of plasma going bad). looking for 42" to 50". leaning to dlp and since i'll be playing games on it most likely 1080p. question... with dlp, the only thing i hear is about the bulb going out. how often does this happen? i hear they're like 200 bucks. is it worth getting that warranty from best buy, circuit city, or conns? seems to make sense since the warranty isn't that much more than the bulbs. it just matters how often that they go out. is it that common?
1080p is a must.......for gamers. I have three 1080p LCDs in the house....... And one in the garage with a big ole WII remote imprint in the middle of the screen. DD
the bulbs going out isn't a 'problem' its suppose to happen. you are suppose to replace every 3years (normal viewing, whatever that means). you got to see what the warranty covers. bulbs are suppose to go out, so that's not a real problem. a problem would be the screen having wierd problems and colors. my 1st hdtv, i got a 5 year warranty, sold the tv this year. no problems at all. I got my TV off the net. onecall.com. Tigerdirect and crutchfield are also good. you have read the reviews about the DLPs (I got 3LCD (Sony Grand Wega)). Some of them have lots of video game lag. The newer ones come with a 'game mode' that's suppose to fix the problem. I got the Wega and have not no problems.
hahaha that's thefirst thing i thought of, too.. sadly edit: unless they meant "10.5 feet" somehow instead of 102 feet..cause that would be 1.5 times 7 feet..
that's actually a pretty good guide. for those of you who have not made the leap... DO IT NOW! seriously.
maybe one or two are in true 1080p. BTW, it's been nted before that unless your TV is like 50" or more, 1080p is a waste.
drive to best buy. pick a model. put it to your cart. pay at the counter. load into your truck. drive home. set it up. superbowl time.
How to buy one? I'll let everyone in on my secret.... We went to Circuit City and found on we liked, then went to Best Buy and found the same one. Circuit City was priced about $100 less than Best Buy. I asked to speak to a manager at Best Buy and told him that Circuit City had the same TV for $1000 less. I told them if they beat the other price I'd buy it there, and they did (by $100) with no questions asked. So we saved $1100 on the TV, which still seemed too expensive after all of the extra stuff we had to buy for it! Pugs
what do i do about watchin the superbowl in HD? i have the tv, two of em actually. but i have no programming. is it too late? or can something be done.
SLRocket, If you have an HD-capable monitor/tv, you need an external HD converter. I bought one a long time ago for $199 but there should be some cheap ones out there... or buy one at Wally Martinez and take it back a month from now. I still have mine even though I have a DLP with integrated HD tuner. If you have an integrated HD tuner, all you need is a local AMPLIFIED ANTENNA. Anything with a powered antenna will do... don't get suckered into the HDTV-advertised antennae that are really expensive. Something like this at Wal-Mart will do: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2625059 (did I understand "no programming" correctly? You don't have Cable or Satellite, right? THe local channel 11 will do.)
do you have cable or satellite? you can trade in your old cable box for the hd ones, they wont charge you extra.
I will be making a purchase either this weekend or later in the month. I'm looking at 50-60 inches. Not sure what I want though. I was going to wait til April to June to make the purchase, but I might do it earlier. No rush for me. It's not that big of a priority for me. I actually might but two televisions. One for my room, something like like 20-30 inches.
Out of the games released for the PS3, NBA 07, Ridge Racer 7, NBA 2K7, GTHD, Tekken 5 DR, Marvel:UA, and some of the other downloadable games support 1080p IIRC. Maybe a few others too. I think Virtua Fighter 5 was just recently confirmed to support 1080p, although not 100% sure about that. Most are 720p, especially if you look at games on both the 360 and PS3. At this point, most of the games that support 1080p probably wouldn't even look good at 2160p. Seems like devs prefer to push more graphical effects at 720p than supporting 1080p (at least until they understand both architectures a little better). Here's another 1080p game (Lair) that actually looks REALLY good, although I'm worried about the framerate: Spoiler
I read the guidelines in the first post and all the other posts. Still have these questions: For a 42 inch TV and bigger: A) Which of the types (plasma, dlp, lcd) shows the BEST hi-def? Which one is the least quality? B) Which one lasts the LONGEST and is more DURABLE? C) Is 1080p a way to go NOW? And whats the forecast on when it will matter? D) I'm considering a CRT now (regular tube tv). Can they indeed show HDTV just as well as the new types? (A few salesmen have said so. I'm aware that they are heavier and bulkier. And of course cheaper) E) What would be the LEAST amount of HDMI connections to have on a TV? Someone help aid and end this complex HDTV search
