Looking for a widescreen HDTV...please help

[AzraelX]

Hello all!

I'm in the market for a new TV and am looking at a widescreen HDTV. I don't know a lot about HDTV so I have some questions.

1.)Right now I have a 48" Sont projection that is about 5 years old. I have never had any burn in problems with despite playing tons of video games on it and watching CNBC for 8 hours a day with the tickers running along the bottom. Are these activites going to be a problem with an HDTV?

2.) I have direct tv right now but no HDTV channels...how will the current channels display on a widescreen tv? Of the shows I watch only 2 or 3 are presented in widescreen format.

3.) I see different digital tv that say 480i, or 720 or 1080. What do those numbers mean?

I am looking at spending between $3000-$4000 on the TV. I am going to look at a Sony 57" that was featured in Soundtracks ad this last weekend for $3300, sorry, I don't know the model number. I do watch tv daily..CNBC throughout parts of the day and the Simpsons and stuff at night. I am mainly looking at an HDTV for DVD's and the upcoming Xbox and Gamecube. Do you guys have any recommendations for me?

[ShaneMcFarland]

I am really new to this, so I am sure I will corrected if I am wrong. However, if you are watching CNBC for 8 hours a day and its NOT in HDTV wide format...I don't think you should be dropping for a 16:9 AR TV. It seems to me that you watch a lot more TV than DVD. I watch DVD 2x as much as TV and am still not sold on a 16:9 yet.

[1138]

Welcome to the forum AzraelX!

480, 720, and 1080 are the different resolutions. The 480 and 720 are progressive while the 1080 is interlaced.

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1138 - DVD File Forum Greeter/Moderator
It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care.

[AzraelX]

Which is better..progessive or interlaced??

[tomdkat]

Originally posted by ShaneMcFarland:
I am really new to this, so I am sure I will corrected if I am wrong. However, if you are watching CNBC for 8 hours a day and its NOT in HDTV wide format...I don't think you should be dropping for a 16:9 AR TV. It seems to me that you watch a lot more TV than DVD. I watch DVD 2x as much as TV and am still not sold on a 16:9 yet.

Well, I have to disagree with the recommendation NOT to go with a 16:9 HDTV because of the 4:3 viewing. As I understand it, by definition a HD image is in a 16:9 aspect ratio and HD broadcasts (I'm guessing now) will be broadcast in a 16:9 format. Current non-HD material is (obviously) brodcast in a 4:3 format.

Now, some of the newer HDTVs will be able to stretch the 4:3 image to fill the 16:9 screen and do a GREAT job as to NOT make the picture distorted.

You can see how "regular" TV looks on a Toshiba 50H81 here:
http://www.geocities.com/mv_us_2000/...0H81_HDTV.html

Scroll down to the "Theater Wide #1" section. I recently bought the 57HX81 and digital cable is completely viewing on the `6:9 set, using the "TheaterWide #1" video mode.

If anything, check out some 16:9 HDTVs and see how you like the viewing of 4:3 material. The new Mitsubishis HDTVs don't do as good of a job strecthing 4:3 material as the new Toshibas and the Pioneer Elites.

Good luck!

Peace.....

[Templar]

Well since no one's tried to answer this, I'll give it a shot...

Interlaced means that the guns that produce the picture you see produce every other line of picture on the way up the screen, and fills in every other line on the way down...I think current TVs (non HDTVs work this way.

Progressive means that the guns project every single line on every single pass.

I have never seen a side by side comparison of 1080i & 720p, but theoretically the 720p should produce the better picture...that's strictly for techies tho, I doubt the average TV user is going to notice a vast difference in picture quality on a 51" set...but I could be wrong...about everything in this post...so don't quote me.

[tomdkat]

Thanks for the info, Templar:

You can see examples of interlaced images vs progressive images here:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...e-10-2000.html

Peace.....