HDTV - what NOT to buy

[joepic]

Thinkin' about getting an HDTV? Before you buy, read these articles for a better understanding of what NOT to buy.

HDTV Quest: The Never-ending Story
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1052887,00.asp

LCD vs. DLP Shootout: LCD Panels Fade
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1049289,00.asp

one of the best sites for finding service menu tweaks
http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/

HDTV discussion forums
http://www.avsforum.com/
http://www.hometheaterspot.com/

[spiderman2k1]

I can say this about flat screen that they can burn in like old TV's if you watch tv station that have there LOGO's on the corner they can burn in. So I would never buy flat screen unless you only buy it to watch DVD's but I watch more TV then DVD's

[Marco33]

I've had my 43" HDTV WS for about 6 months. I don't regret buying it. I watch mostly DVD's and on an HDTV, dvd's look killer... coupled with 5.1 surround sound... you can't beat it.

Regular TV is another matter. I have DirecTV. The picture is about eaqual to VHS quality. That's to be expected when they compress 900+ chanels through a litttle coaxle cable.

The market is shifting towards HDTV. Why? Has to do with the goverment wanting to sell off the old standard. When...hmm 5 or 6 years. NOT buy? If you watch a lot of TV, it's not realy for you. If you watch a lot of DVD movies then, yes.

All info gathered from

http://www.network54.com/Forum/213962

[vhelp]

@ marco33,

I'm not sure I fully understand how those 900+ channels cause the poor
quality in DirecTV's output, but I do believe it to some extent though, cause
I'm not blind. The quality IS quite pixelated on all the channels (though
still good quality) .. ..

But, you also have to factor in some other OUTSIDE/EXTERNAL issues at
play here:
* who "tainted" the source ie, STrek Enterprise is tainted
* poorly done conversions/transfers
* 2nd hand and 3rd hand pre-processes and hand-overs (from one station
...to the next)
* and a few more in the back on my mind.

It's all a conspericy to me. Cause, like i said in a past thread elsewhere's..
3+ years ago, when I first got Satellite (and they had fewer channels) the
quality was outstanding. ie, blacks were blacks, and not chizeled or smokey
looking and/or sun or solar flare looking, as in many of those Strek Voyager
solid scenes.
When you looked at a video, it was like (or very close to) DVD quality.
But, today, it's another story. However, some videos do come out nicer
than others. I did a short capture of TCM and AMC (new channels I got
w/ an upgrade package) and the quality of these movies were very good,
though not at good as they could have been (and probably had ben) back
3 years ago. AMC aired, "The good, bad and the Ugly" and I was VERY
happy w/ the quality !! Also, on TCM, they aired a letterboxed version of
"Guys and Dolls" and that too, was in very good quality. So, my guess is
that you have to learn all the channels that produce a given airing's shows
quality, and that could vary. Who has time for all this nonase ?? Well, I
guess it all boils down to how far you will go in your video-to-CD/DVD
endeavors

-vhelp