vinnys025 Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 I found a 32 inch for 599$ and a 37 inch for 799$, both have two hdmi inputs and built in hdtv tuners and pc connections. They also both have 1080i. THe Cnet user reviews are pretty good getting an average 8.5 rating. Would you guys consider this a good buy? I'm torn between spending the extra 200$ for 5 inches, would it make a huge difference? Also, since I have DirectTV, do I have to get a new reciever? And does it cost more for hdtv stuff from DTV? I'm a newb at all this so please help me out, the military gave me a bonus for re-enlisting for 6 years so I'm going to treat myself to some hdtv pleasures this upcoming season of NFL JETS games!!! I want to see what all the hdtv fuss is about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitonti Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 TV in general is in this intermediate phase where the technology is better than the source feed most of the time, but still not great. The technology is good but the formats are still changing, there's not one format that's the must have. Maybe im cheap but i got a good Sony picture tube that has a great picture, im sticking with it until I absolutely have to make a move. By then the prices will be what they should be. there's this saying if you are gonna live on the cutting edge of technology there's gonna be some bleeding. Im not willing to bleed right now, despite the fact that my XBOX or Directv could look better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnys025 Posted March 26, 2007 Author Share Posted March 26, 2007 TV in general is in this intermediate phase where the technology is better than the source feed most of the time, but still not great. The technology is good but the formats are still changing, there's not one format that's the must have. Maybe im cheap but i got a good Sony picture tube that has a great picture, im sticking with it until I absolutely have to make a move. By then the prices will be what they should be. there's this saying if you are gonna live on the cutting edge of technology there's gonna be some bleeding. Im not willing to bleed right now, despite the fact that my XBOX or Directv could look better. I hear ya, thats part of my problem. I bought a 36 inch sony trinitron about 3 years ago for about a grand, if I would have waited, this wouldnt even be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny green balls Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 there are a lot more variables than screen size and resolution. such as: -viewing angle -contrast ratio -distortion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnys025 Posted March 27, 2007 Author Share Posted March 27, 2007 Well is there any advantage to having a built in hdtv tuner? If i'm going to get DTV I think I have to get the hd reciever anyway....or do I not need that if I get a tv with a built in tuner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebabyny Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 Well is there any advantage to having a built in hdtv tuner? If i'm going to get DTV I think I have to get the hd reciever anyway....or do I not need that if I get a tv with a built in tuner? That depends on how you plan to get tv. If you are going to get HD from your cable company or directv, then their receivers will hadle it and you do not need a tuner. If you plan on not getting that, then you would need the tuner to hook up an HD-compatible roof antenna to pick up the tv network over the air hd broadcast. Doing that is a pain in the @ss and you would not get most of the great hd programming that cable and directv offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnys025 Posted March 27, 2007 Author Share Posted March 27, 2007 WHat about the Xbox360? Do u need an hd tuner for that, or can I run it through my dtv hd reciever? Also, will my movies that I play from my xbox360 be in hd? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny green balls Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 WHat about the Xbox360? Do u need an hd tuner for that, or can I run it through my dtv hd reciever? Also, will my movies that I play from my xbox360 be in hd? is there a best buy near your house? go over there, make them think you'll buy a TV, waste 3 hrs of their time, then go home and order it online to save $500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnys025 Posted March 27, 2007 Author Share Posted March 27, 2007 is there a best buy near your house? go over there, make them think you'll buy a TV, waste 3 hrs of their time, then go home and order it online to save $500 So you're saying I'm wasting your time? I dont like talking to those guys. Also, you dont save money on tv's on the internet because you pay what you save on shipping. I have noticed that Sams Club has the most inexpensive hdtv's, so I guess I'll have to spend the 35 dollars for their bs membership so I could buy it. I have asked questions at radio shack earlier today and called directtv and spoke with them for a while, but I still have a few unanswered questions and would greatly appreciate it if someone would help me on them. So if i'm wasting your time, then dont click on the post. Thats an easy solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnys025 Posted March 27, 2007 Author Share Posted March 27, 2007 Ok I found out some info on my own so I will let you guys know in case anyone else wanted to know this. You do NOT need an HD tuner for xbox360, just an HD ready tv. You DO however need to buy an add on dvd player to play hd dvd's, but its very cheap compared to the hd dvd players on the market. I was set on this Vizio 37 inch for 799, but now I will look just a bit longer and see if I could get the same size but a lower price if the tv is without the built in hd tuner....so far I havent seen one. Maybe westinghouse or Olevia is my only chance...but i'm not familiar with those names.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebabyny Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 WHat about the Xbox360? Do u need an hd tuner for that, or can I run it through my dtv hd reciever? Also, will my movies that I play from my xbox360 be in hd? Ok, here is how it works. The federal gov't has mandated that all the tv networks switch from SD(standard def) to HD. The way tv's that are not connected to cable or sat work is that you stick an antenna up on your roof, and hook that up to your tv. The antenna grabs the airwaves and shoots it to the tv, and the tuner inside the tv turns that into a picture. The signal that the networks send out over the air for hd are different, and the standard tuner built into regular tv's can't convert that to a picture, so a hd tuner is built in. The original hd tv's that came out were either "hd ready" which meant the tv was capable or projecting an image at hd resolution, or an actual "hdtv" which had the built in tuner. Most pople who jumped into hd in the beginning before cable offered hd went with a seperate hd tuner plugged into an hd-ready set, because the hd standards were not totally set in stone yet. Today pretty much all tv's include the tuner, but in 95% of consumer installations it is not used since most people choose to go with cable or directv. So once again, an hd tuner is only for converting an over-the-air hd broadcast signal into a picture. For the sake of simplicity, you can view your HD cable box or HD directv receiver or xbox360 or bluray/hd dvd player or ps3 as having its own hd tuner inside it that will give your tv an hd picture. You would just use the component(not to be confused with composite) or hdmi connection from your source (cable box, xbox360) to your output (tv) and you are fine. So yeah, if your tv has an hd tuner, fine, but if not it doesn't matter, and should not sway your buying decision, except in the one case of wanting to grab the free hd programming from the big networks instead of getting them and a bunch more hd content from your cable system or directv. As for movies and games from an xbox360: If you connect the right cables (and make sure to switch on hd on the cables-most people forget) then the game will play at hd rez if the game is in fact in hd, some are not. As for movies, xbox360 does not natively support either of the 2 hd formats, you would need to buy the hd-dvd attachment to play hd movies in the HD-DVD format. This is different than the PS3 which has native support right out of the box for bluray dvd, which is the competing and most feel more advanced high def technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebabyny Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 So you're saying I'm wasting your time? I dont like talking to those guys. Also, you dont save money on tv's on the internet because you pay what you save on shipping. I have noticed that Sams Club has the most inexpensive hdtv's, so I guess I'll have to spend the 35 dollars for their bs membership so I could buy it. I have asked questions at radio shack earlier today and called directtv and spoke with them for a while, but I still have a few unanswered questions and would greatly appreciate it if someone would help me on them. So if i'm wasting your time, then dont click on the post. Thats an easy solution. dude, don't know much about sam's but if you don't have an exact model you want and can deal with one of their selection, Costco is awesome for this kind of stuff. They pretty much have a lifetime guaranty on all their products except computers. This means if you want to bring it back 3 years later, you just take it to the store, and they give you your original purchase price money back. And you don't have to buy the stupid extended warranty that everyone has to buy from the normal retailers. That can be a savings of 1-300 dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 I found a 32 inch for 599$ and a 37 inch for 799$, both have two hdmi inputs and built in hdtv tuners and pc connections. They also both have 1080i. THe Cnet user reviews are pretty good getting an average 8.5 rating. Would you guys consider this a good buy? I'm torn between spending the extra 200$ for 5 inches, would it make a huge difference? Also, since I have DirectTV, do I have to get a new reciever? And does it cost more for hdtv stuff from DTV? I'm a newb at all this so please help me out, the military gave me a bonus for re-enlisting for 6 years so I'm going to treat myself to some hdtv pleasures this upcoming season of NFL JETS games!!! I want to see what all the hdtv fuss is about. I wouldn't be too concerned about brand name HDTV's. Like PC's most of the manufacturers get their parts from the same vendors. I've heard good things about Vizios and the 2 HDMI ports is a plus. How big is the TV you are replacing? I replaced a 32" Sony tube TV with a 42" plasma and it fits the room perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnys025 Posted March 27, 2007 Author Share Posted March 27, 2007 dude, don't know much about sam's but if you don't have an exact model you want and can deal with one of their selection, Costco is awesome for this kind of stuff. They pretty much have a lifetime guaranty on all their products except computers. This means if you want to bring it back 3 years later, you just take it to the store, and they give you your original purchase price money back. And you don't have to buy the stupid extended warranty that everyone has to buy from the normal retailers. That can be a savings of 1-300 dollars. Well i'm pretty much sold on the vizio 37" for 799$. They sell it at Sams club and costco for the same price, however the costco membership is 50 bucks while the Sams club is 35$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Jet Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 Well i'm pretty much sold on the vizio 37" for 799$. They sell it at Sams club and costco for the same price, however the costco membership is 50 bucks while the Sams club is 35$. Check your pm's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxman Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 TV in general is in this intermediate phase where the technology is better than the source feed most of the time, but still not great. The technology is good but the formats are still changing, there's not one format that's the must have. Maybe im cheap but i got a good Sony picture tube that has a great picture, im sticking with it until I absolutely have to make a move. By then the prices will be what they should be. there's this saying if you are gonna live on the cutting edge of technology there's gonna be some bleeding. Im not willing to bleed right now, despite the fact that my XBOX or Directv could look better. Once you go premium with Draft Daddy you will be able to burn money! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
war ensemble Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 I'm getting a new TV as well? Is this one good for a 42" LCD, seeing as it's pretty cheap and has 2 HDMI inputs and full 1080p. I'm already a member of costco. So you guys tell me if I should go with this, nothing bigger will fit. http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?whse=&topnav=&prodid=11182950&ec=BC-EC877-CatHome&pos=13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor99 Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 Also, for the retarded guy... What's the difference between 1080i and 1080p? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitonti Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 i've heard some people physically can't tell the difference between 1080i and 1080p... their eyes can't pick up the extra frames - but am not an expert on that. yeah vin if i were you i'd wait... even longer. i've seen some of these monitors and that's cool when the setup is just right...i've heard that while most of the tvs use the same components the circuitry is very different between high end brand names and the no names. Again not an expert on that either, maybe other posters could weigh in on that. but it really sucks when you are watching analog regular TV on a high def TV. it just annoys the pants off of me, far worse than watching analog TV when i could be watching better than that. People say they need it for sports and that's fine but the commercials are crap. TIVO can't hold as many HD recordings as regular so i couldn't record as much. It sucks when people who shouldn't be seen on HDTV gets a closeup (that's 99.999% of all human beings btw). Even the stars look ugly, no one wants to see that crap. has anyone seen HD porn? I haven't but someone described it as people having sex in your living room. at what point is it too much detail? (probably about 13 words ago) i just don't see it as a must have... yet. there will be a time im sure but for me that time is not now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnys025 Posted March 31, 2007 Author Share Posted March 31, 2007 Also, for the retarded guy... What's the difference between 1080i and 1080p? "i" stands for interlaced, i think p stands for progresive. You dont need at 1080P at this point unless your getting a ps3 or a blue ray to watch movies on. There are NO 1080P broadcasts at this time and for many years to come. The bandwidth is too great for them to achieve. War ensamble....Do you have a fry's in your area? if not then go to their website and look up their 50" samsung. For 300 more you get 8" more and the TOP OF THE LINE brand when it comes to hdtv. THe only ones who are as good are sony and sharp. Fry's also has a 50" Phillips PLASMA for 1499!!!!!!!!! You cant beat that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
war ensemble Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 vinnys, no fry's near me, although that site looks great! Tons of sales on brand new stuff. 42" is probably going to be the biggest I could fit anyways, so I guess I'd just have to go with that. Hopefully the price cut for the one I linked to on costco stays for another month or two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinnys025 Posted March 31, 2007 Author Share Posted March 31, 2007 They have 42" Samsungs for under 1K at circuit city. Not only that but if you can get your hands on a coupon you might be able to get 10% off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EM31 Posted April 1, 2007 Share Posted April 1, 2007 dude, don't know much about sam's but if you don't have an exact model you want and can deal with one of their selection, Costco is awesome for this kind of stuff. They pretty much have a lifetime guaranty on all their products except computers. This means if you want to bring it back 3 years later, you just take it to the store, and they give you your original purchase price money back. And you don't have to buy the stupid extended warranty that everyone has to buy from the normal retailers. That can be a savings of 1-300 dollars. Your information is out of date joebabyny. Sad to say but too many people were abusing the Costco "no questions asked any time for any reason" return policy on TV's. People were treating them like rentals and returning them for a full refund after two and three years so Costco changed that policy earlier this year. I think it is now 90 days no questions asked. They will double the manufacturers warranty from one to two years and if you buy with their Amex you can get an extra year added to that without charge. If you bought a TV under the old policy you are grandfathered in on the lifetime deal. Oh, and about this Vizio... I own this Vizio and it is rated fairly highly over at AVSForums. No complaints, the picture is fine and it plays nicely with the XBOX 360. On the other hand these have been the going prices for some time now and prices in general are about to take another big drop. You should be able to get this set cheaper within the next 45 days or alternatively be able to get something a bit better at this price point (Either a Samsung or a Sharp for example). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebabyny Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 Your information is out of date joebabyny. Sad to say but too many people were abusing the Costco "no questions asked any time for any reason" return policy on TV's. People were treating them like rentals and returning them for a full refund after two and three years so Costco changed that policy earlier this year. I think it is now 90 days no questions asked. They will double the manufacturers warranty from one to two years and if you buy with their Amex you can get an extra year added to that without charge. If you bought a TV under the old policy you are grandfathered in on the lifetime deal. good to know, thanks for the heads up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainzo Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 "i" stands for interlaced, i think p stands for progresive. You dont need at 1080P at this point unless your getting a ps3 or a blue ray to watch movies on. There are NO 1080P broadcasts at this time and for many years to come. The bandwidth is too great for them to achieve. War ensamble....Do you have a fry's in your area? if not then go to their website and look up their 50" samsung. For 300 more you get 8" more and the TOP OF THE LINE brand when it comes to hdtv. THe only ones who are as good are sony and sharp. Fry's also has a 50" Phillips PLASMA for 1499!!!!!!!!! You cant beat that. Very true. In fact; ABC, ESPN and a host of other networks broadcast in 720p not 1080i. I watch sports in 720p and movies (HBO, DVD's) in 1080i. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joebabyny Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 Very true. In fact; ABC, ESPN and a host of other networks broadcast in 720p not 1080i. I watch sports in 720p and movies (HBO, DVD's) in 1080i. Some people do consider the progressive picture in 720p to be better suited to sports broadcasts than the interlaced picture of 1080i Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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