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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
aroc
760 posts
 
get thee over to the avsforums!. Plan on reading for about 2 months straight! Then ye shall have the knowledge ye convets!

For us the choice was simple. DLP front projection at 92 inches! Joy.

And word of caution. There are no "perfect displays," even though the posters on AVS swear there may be such items. Try to research posts authored by people who seem to have the same priorities and budget that you do. You'll find a good match that way. One tip. If something is continuously recommended by people on the AVS forums, then it's probably not a stinker. It's likely a "safe buy." Just pay attention to people referring to picutre quality with SDTV satellite broadcasts or regular DVDs. You want something that is a good all-round performer. Pay attention to the TVs scaler and deinterlacer. Also take note of how people comment on the Tv's "gestalt." Are the colors good, etc. Any annoying artifacts, etc? As you'll be watching the TV and not just admiring the spec sheet once you finally purchase something.
warrenh's avatar
warrenh
2,299 posts
 
Go to Best Buy. They have oodles of plasma, lcd, dlp, crt, the whole nine. No front projection, however. Like Aroc said, there is not panacea, but there is "joy"
reubent
7,065 posts
 
One note of caution regarding my Panasonic Plasma recommedation: My Panny (current gen) has significant glare. If you are unable to control light in your environment, the glare might be an issue for you. For me it is not an issue because I can easily control the background lighting. However, if you have a big window behind your seating position, you will likely see that on the plasma display when watching(reflection).

If curious, go to BB or CC and look at their plasmas (and other TVs). Some are better than others at preventing glare/reflections.

Enjoy,

TIC
(Tom In Cincinnati)
cte500 OP
13 posts
 
Wow! Thanks for everyone's response. I'm glad to see i'm not the only one confused by this! I did check out AVSforum a few days ago and my head is still spinning! I will definitely take the advice of asking the store to display in SD.

Of the major networks, what % of programming is in HD?
avguygeorge
2,300 posts
 
Well 'we' are becoming a little like avsforum;aren't we.--I bought a JVC hd-ila set. In the store it looked great--on their demo loop. It looked fine at home till you watch a 'dark scene' movie.--Drove me crazy. I sold it and lost big-time--I then bought a Mits.65813.-(9in guns)--big,--huge--bulky-- but does black well.--- Don't expect a night -day dif. between component/ dvd-d and hdmi--(My Sim2 has hdmi)--If you're starting out--dvi and hdmi cables give the same pq---but at a lower cost.
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