Who's got HD TV?

[GlassJaw]

I can tell you that the talk about burn-in for plasmas is highly-overrated

Hmm, well that's good to know since most of the talk I've heard about plasmas is that burn-in is more an issue compared to RP's. I was never in the market for a plasma so I'm not claiming to be an expert.

 

[Ishamael]

I just got a 61" DLP. My HD cable is getting hooked up tomorrow, or so he cable company tells me.

Halo 2 looks sweet.

 

[Desdichado]

Seems to me that HD is only useful if you have a really big-ass system. I'm only clocking at just under 30", which is all that will fit in the big entertainment cart my wife picked up with our signing bonus when I moved up here, and I don't really need it.

My next-door neighbor, on the other hand, has a projection system, and his "monitor" is about 72". At that size, regular TV resolution is almost painfully ugly.

 

[Blue_Kryptonite]

I don't know if it would make a difference for me, as I have vision issues anyway. I know when I look at the HD TVs in the store, they seem to have a weird vibration to them that distracts from the picture, making it actually less clear to me.

Besides, most of my TV time is spent on Court TV, A&E, History Channel, and the Discovery/Science channels. I think they would be more or less the same, since half the time they're on, I'm only listening instead of watching.

 

[GlassJaw]

Seems to me that HD is only useful if you have a really big-ass system. I'm only clocking at just under 30", which is all that will fit in the big entertainment cart my wife picked up with our signing bonus when I moved up here, and I don't really need it.

My next-door neighbor, on the other hand, has a projection system, and his "monitor" is about 72". At that size, regular TV resolution is almost painfully ugly.

I agree. I think somewhere in between is a good balance (I have a 50"). The distance at which you are viewing the TV is also a big issue, especially with HDTV's. There no hard and fast "rule" but with a 50" screen, you should be at least 8-10 feet away.

I have also seen TV (both regular and HD actually) on a a projection in a relatively small room and I found it awful.

I know when I look at the HD TVs in the store, they seem to have a weird vibration to them that distracts from the picture, making it actually less clear to me.

Most likely it's bad grounding. Your big chain stores are probably the WORST place to compare HDTV's. They aren't setup correctly and the input signals they use are suspect at best.

Halo 2 looks sweet.

I'm a big fan of Metroid Prime and GTA.

 

[John Crichton]

Good stuff, so far, fellas.

I'm still doing research on things like the quality of signal in my area and such. Also, you wouldn't believe how many good websites are out there than can get you the hardware at a good price. At this point, I shouldn't have to spend more than $900 to get all this done. But I'm okay with waiting a bit more just to make sure. Nothing enrages me more than making a big purchase to only have the price undercut a few weeks later.

 

[WizarDru]

I agree. I think somewhere in between is a good balance (I have a 50"). The distance at which you are viewing the TV is also a big issue, especially with HDTV's. There no hard and fast "rule" but with a 50" screen, you should be at least 8-10 feet away.

I have also seen TV (both regular and HD actually) on a a projection in a relatively small room and I found it awful.

Actually there is a rule, primarily from the SMTPE; for a 4x3 aspected TV (the Standard Definition square shape we've all grown up with) the recommended distance is 2x the screen's measurement in inches. So for a 36" TV, they recommend sitting 72" or roughly 6 feet away. For a 16:9 aspected TV (widescreen), they recommend 1.5x the screen size, because of the field of view...so a 43" TV would be roughly 5.5-6 feet. Those, however, are the minimum viewing distances.

All of which, however, is just a guideline, since part of the experience is subjective. However, many large TVs need to be viewed from a distance, or you get distracted by identifying the individual picture elements. When watching an SD picture on an HD tv, if the TV doesn't do a good job of converting the image, you'll notice lots of 'jaggies' and other artifacts. It's not that the picture has changed, just that it's become big enough that you can discern the elements, which becomes bothersome.

As for TV viewing in the store...it depends on the store. If you go to a Circuit City....well, just don't. Best Buy isn't as bad, but they still don't have the ability to truly show off the TVs or to configure them properly. If you want to look at a HDTV, go to a smaller shop that specializes in such things, such as Tweeter or WorldWide Stereo. No one said you have to buy it there...just check it out. I ended up changing my TV choice based on seeing it in the showroom.

Sorry for blabbing on and on, but I spent two years picking out my TV and system, and the opportunity to actually use all that research makes me chatty. All the compliments I got on Superbowl Sunday was very validating.

 

[thalmin]

Make sure you have a good strong cable signal. I picked up a 42" plasma HDTV. They delivered and set it up with my cable. The picture wasn't very good and I sent it back. Turns out my cable signal is very weak. What is snow on standard TVs becomes more annoying on HD. I am looking into signal boosters if the cable company can't fix it for me, then I'll give it another go.

 

[Ishamael]

I'm a big fan of Metroid Prime and GTA.

I haven't hooked my GameCube up to it yet, but I imagine Metroid looks wonderful. Never cared much for GTA's graphics, but Mercenaries looks amazing.

 

[WizarDru]

Resident Evil 4 in 480p is AWESOME. Metroid rocks, and even Mario Party 6 looks great. Halo 2 is suh-weet, as are several others. I haven't played Metal Gear Solid 3, yet, but I'm looking forward to it.