HDTV Questions

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Dave

Dave

Staff member
Well, I want to finally take the plunge and get an HDTV but I have questions that I need answers to before I will do this. I like the idea of having an HDTV for football season and sports in general, but not sure if it's worth it.

Right now we have a HUGE 36" TV in the living room. There's nothing wrong with it other than it not being HD. If we buy an HD the biggest we could fit in our entertainment system is 39" W 32.5" H. This means that most 40" will be too big. I saw some that would fit but just barely.

1) Would going from a conventional 36" to a 40" even be worth the upgrade?
2) If I didn't purchase additional HDMI cabling ($30-50 each) would I even see a better picture? That adds quite a bit to the price as I'd need 1 for the cable, 1 for the PS3 I would buy for the Blu-Ray.
3) Is it true that I wouldn't need to go to 1080p because of the screen size? This article is the only place I've seen that.

Basically it's a fairly large purchase and if it's not going to be an upgrade then I won't do it. But if getting an HD for sports is as much better as I hear it is then I want to be totally informed before I make the leap.

Any HDTV information you can impart would be worthwhile.
 
Hylian

Hylian

1) I think the upgrade would be worth it but it is really up to the individual themselves to decide.

2) go to http://www.monoprice.com/ they have dirt cheap cables (and they work great!)

3) While it is true the smaller the TV the less likely it will be that you will notice the difference (unless you are right up on it) But I personally still think it is worth it.
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
1) How much 4:3 content do you watch?

2) I second hylian's recommendation of monoprice cables. Yes, you need HDMI (or component) cables to send HD signals, but HDMI cables don't have to be expensive.

1 & 3) If you can see the difference between SD, 720p and 1080p on a given screen size depends on how far away you're sitting from the screen. For instance, at about 2' - 3' you only need a 21" - 23" screen to be able to see 1080p (if you've got decent eyes), which is why I love my 21" 1080p computer monitor. Use a Viewing Distance Calculator to figure out how big a TV needs to be for you to be able to see the full resolution.
 
sixpackshaker

sixpackshaker

try to skip the 720p. I bought one years ago and hooked a PC to it to use as a jukebox for my stereo and to surf the web from my easy chair. The PC looked horrible on the 720. It is like having half the desktop space to work with.

A 40" is likely shorter than a 36" normal, but man, the quality pays off.

As for size, pace off the distance between your chair and tube, go to Wal-Mart or Best Buy and watch some different TV's. That should tell you if 40" is enough.

Also price HD content, that shit has not gone down in price yet...
 
C

Chazwozel

Dave said:
Well, I want to finally take the plunge and get an HDTV but I have questions that I need answers to before I will do this. I like the idea of having an HDTV for football season and sports in general, but not sure if it's worth it.

Right now we have a HUGE 36\\" TV in the living room. There's nothing wrong with it other than it not being HD. If we buy an HD the biggest we could fit in our entertainment system is 39\\" W 32.5\\" H. This means that most 40\\" will be too big. I saw some that would fit but just barely.

1) Would going from a conventional 36\\" to a 40\\" even be worth the upgrade?
2) If I didn't purchase additional HDMI cabling ($30-50 each) would I even see a better picture? That adds quite a bit to the price as I'd need 1 for the cable, 1 for the PS3 I would buy for the Blu-Ray.
3) Is it true that I wouldn't need to go to 1080p because of the screen size? This article is the only place I've seen that.

Basically it's a fairly large purchase and if it's not going to be an upgrade then I won't do it. But if getting an HD for sports is as much better as I hear it is then I want to be totally informed before I make the leap.

Any HDTV information you can impart would be worthwhile.
Click to expand...
A big HDTV is going to cost you if you want to do shit right, especially for watching on a nice, crisp screen for sports.

Most HDTV's are widescreen, so a 40 inch will not be as big as a 36'' 4:3 I have a 46 inch Samsung and it suits my room just fine (I'll give you the room dimensions later).

I recommend ditching the entertainment center and moving it to another room (with your 36 incher..basement...bedroom..).

Get a nice coffee table type entertainment center from WalMart for like 200, or pay like 100 bucks extra to get your stuff wall mounted or both. http://www.walmart.com/ip/French-Country-Entertainment-Center/9907223

If you have comcast or any cable service you will need to upgrade to an HD cablebox; their HD program and, yes, you'll need an HDMI cable to get 1080i or 1080p. For TV's bigger than say 30 inches, I recommend a 1080 unit. Make sure you get at least 120 Hz if you're going for an LCD TV. This is pretty much my TV here, Dave : http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Samsung...HDTV/9783649.p?id=1218173774957&skuId=9783649

It's amazing for sports.

All in all my suggestions will run you about 1,400 without the PS3.

I don't use Blu Ray, despite the PS3. I've bought like 2 Blu Rays, and to be honest, the same movie looks identical in Blu Ray and upconverted 1080p DvD format.
 
K

Kitty Sinatra

Don't forget the cost of the HD cable package in your cost figuring. SD channels can look like shit on an HD TV.

. . . or is HD not even an extra down there? I wouldn't really know.
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
I've decided that the smaller screen wouldn't be worth the money. Getting rid of the entertainment center is not an option so I'm passing on the HDTV even though it'll probably be a cold day in hell when I can afford it again.

Thanks for all the insight. Not the right time.
 
C

Chazwozel

fade said:
No, you DON'T need HDMI. Component cables (a lot cheaper) will carry HD just fine. HDMI just keeps the signal digital between the box/DVD/BluRay and your TV.

Before someone gets their panties in a bunch:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Component_video#Analog_component_video

http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/122868.html
Click to expand...
HDMI cables aren't that crazy expensive either... not if you get em from NewEgg instead of that Monster shit they try to peddle at Best Buy.

---------- Post added at 11:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:16 AM ----------
Gruebeard said:
Don't forget the cost of the HD cable package in your cost figuring. SD channels can look like shit on an HD TV.

. . . or is HD not even an extra down there? I wouldn't really know.
Click to expand...
SD channels look find on an HDTV, they just get shrunk down or unconverted through the cablebox.
 
fade

fade

Staff member
I also will not be giving Newegg any business. They screwed me over on a rebate, and according to a Google search, I'm not the only one. They use some shady rebate clearinghouse that is impossible to contact. The number on the rebate form and the one that Newegg gave us go to some unrelated business.
 
C

Chazwozel

Gruebeard;352539][QUOTE=Chazwozel said:
SD channels look find on an HDTV, they just get shrunk down or unconverted through the cablebox.
Click to expand...
Some of them I get look like kinda lousy. Do all of yours look good on your TV?[/QUOTE]

Yep. I mean if you're sitting an inch from the TV, they'll look like shit, but they're fine from where I sit on the couch. Most of the SD channels get shrunk down and maintain a tight resolution.
 
fade

fade

Staff member
I haven't noticed any problem with SD. I mean, sure, they look worse than HD, but not any worse than they did before I got HDTV.
 
Hylian

Hylian

I think the picture quality for SD programs depends on several factor.


How large you have it stretched. If you have it stretched to fit you full screen than of course it will be more pixelated.

The Cable provider who is broadcasting it. If they are using compression to fit more shows with the same amount of bandwidth than the shows take a hit and the SD channels are more noticeable.
 
figmentPez

figmentPez

Staff member
Don't forget the difference between analog, and digital. Depending on how good the comb filter is on your TV, and how much the digital SD channels are compressed, there can be a big difference in quality between the two. Digital looked a lot better when I was borrowing my sister's HDTV, but there might not always be such a marked difference.
 
SpecialKO

SpecialKO

If you can get a good HD programming package, and find a good 40" that will fit, going from an SD 36 to an HD 40 will look great. The widescreen HD picture will look miles better, and if the 4:3 channels are delivered digitally, they'll look better too even if the picture will be slightly smaller because of the difference in aspect ratios.

At 40", and say a 5-6 viewing distance, you won't really see a difference between 1080i and 1080p, but not a lot of TVs only support 1080i anymore. Regardless, 1080i is a huge improvement on 480p, to say nothing of 480i.

You only need a component cable for 1080i, but the advantage of HDMI, besides 1080p-capable, is also that it carries high-quality digital audio. Some TVs come with one, some don't, and as others have pointed out, you can get them for cheap if you look around a bit.
 
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