Any Advice on an HDTV?

[Hulk]

Can someone tell me how either works for using it as a monitor for a PC or Laptop? Maybe not regularly, but perhaps when you want to share something such as a video or pictures, or even surfing the web? It seems like it would be a logical choice because of the price to size differential between them and computer monitors, but I am guessing there is some sort of gap that prevents them being used that way as a primary source.

[JPkempo]

Plasma is cheaper than LCD. They both have their good and bad points you need to look at them to see what you like. The inputs are important. What are you attaching to it? If you have cable, HD-DVD and Blu-ray you would want 3 hdmi inputs, not all units have this. You can get around that if your surround sound amp has the inputs.
I have a 50-inch Vizio 720p. If you look at the charts the average person cannot see the difference between 720 and 1080 when sitting at a normal distance for any thing below a 50-inch. As far as 1080i or 1080p there is nothing out there that has a frame rate that high so there really is no viewing difference.

You will want to get a DVR from your cable co this is one of the only ways to record in HD.

As far as Blu-ray or HD-DVD you need both. Each side says there winning but it's all BS. I lke the HD-DVD format better but There are more titles out on Blu-ray. Blu-ray was winning but 2 companys jumped ship and are now only putting out on HD-DVD. Good news is there is no regional coding on the discs so you can get them from any place and they will play. The porn industry says that blu-ray wont put out there titles because of Disney, Many think this will push up the HD-DVD sales and they will win.

[highquality]

I run a store which sells HDTVS. Here's a few models I think would work for you. I ranked them in order of which I think would work best:

1.) 50" 1080P Panasonic TH50PZ77U Plasma. Panasonic is the industry leader in plasma. At last count it held 65% of the market share, which is incredible. The TH50PZ77U is not only Panasonic's first series of 1080P plamas, they're also the first to use an Ant-Glare shield on the screen. A few things I've noticed about plasmas over lcd: 1. They handle fast motion MUCH better than most lcds. 2. They don't have backlights like lcds, so they're able to achieve better contrast and black levels. 3. You get bigger sizes for the money.

2.) 46" 1080P Sony KDL46W3000. Sony has some of the most impressive lcd displays I've seen. This model is the next step up from Histrionic Spock's KDL46V3000. Spock's TV offers an impressive 16,000:1 Dynamic contrast ratio, while this model offers 24,000:1. It also comes with a titanium colored brushed metal bezel which is sure to turn a few heads. You should get XBR performance out of this one without the XBR price tag.

3.) 46" 788P Sony KDL46S3000. This model fools most people in my store. EVERYONE thinks it's a 1080P resolution. While all HDTV broadcasts are either 720P or 1080i, this model should perform well within those ranges without the huge expense of 1080P. It also got huge ratings with Consumer Reports.

4.) 47" 1080P Toshiba 47HL167. This model utilizes Toshiba's super high speed 14 bit video processor. I believe even the best of Sony's are 10 bit. Toshiba is really poised to be the best selling lcd flat panel over the next few years.

[Sideshow Spock]

We recently purchased a 46" Sony LCD 1080p KDL-46V3000 and got digital HD cable hooked up. Like z3zep said, the regular channels look decent at best. And there are a LOT of regular channels. We only get about 30-40 channels in HD, and they seem to vary in quality. There are no current broadcasts in 1080p, so to fully enjoy a 1080p TV, you need to watch an HD DVD I think. Many of the HD stations are in 1080i, and they look very good, but nowhere near 1080p. The best the networks currently offer is 720p, which still looks pretty amazing. Football games in particular are a pleasure to watch.

The TV itself we're very happy with, but I can't help the feeling that it's currently under-utilized. We have yet to get an HDDVD player or even an upconverter, so we haven't been able to enjoy any of those yet.

[Adam West]

Thanks, I'll check it out. I meant to say 1080p not 1060i, I can't keep up with the technology these days.

It doesn't have to be a 50 inch TV but I definitely would like something between 45-50.

Since my room gets a lot of ambient lighting, my initial thought is leaning more toward an LCD. It looks like the Sony KDL-46XBR4 seems to be highly rated albeit expensive. I'm not one to upgrade tv's with the latest trends so I don't mind paying a little more knowing that I'll keep it until it dies.

I'm just curious how analog TV and regular DVD's will appear on this. Keep the suggestions coming since I am not convinced one way or the other just yet.

All I know is that my wife has given me the small window of opportunity so I know I need to pounce soon before the window closes.

[z3zep]

Try this site for info.

http://www.audioholics.com/education...ila-crt-page-3

I have a 37 inch LCD and love it, but with the 50 inch you might want to go plasma. Also, any reason you want 1080i and not 1080 p -- cost?

In my area you have to get digital cable in order to get HD channels, in addition, note that analog channels look worse on an hdtv that on an old tube tv. So, not everything will look fabulous, but the HD channels and shows are just amazing. Especially if you like sports and/or nature shows.

maureen

[Adam West]

My wife finally is bought into the idea of purchasing an HDTV. We are probably going to buy something in the 50 inch range with 1060i but we aren't sure whether or not to go with plasma or LCD.

The tv will be sitting in our family room which does get quite a bit of natural light during the day. We are planning on upgrading to digital cable but I have too many regular dvd's and don't plan on upgrading to blue ray.

We won't be using it for gaming...strictly television and dvd viewing. Any thoughts?

Also, does anyone have a good website resource that is pretty reliable and objective in their ratings....cnet.com perhaps?

I can see the pros and cons of both but am really at a loss at this point.

Thanks