Should I buy a hdtv now or should I wait untill Christmas to see if prices drop?Diego_921

Prices are dropping on a monthly basis on these sets.  Rest assured there WILL be a special discount for Christmas.  The longer you wait, the cheaper and better set you'll be able to afford.

hey what if I connect my edtv to my ps3 via VGA cos it has a vga imput, would I get HD signals or just down converting the HD signals to a normal SDTV.gabriox3good

Depends on what your set does with VGA signals.  If the set doesn't process the signals at all, you may have to preset the PS3 to output 720x480 (assuming 16:9 format).  If it does downconversion, oesn't matter what you output from the PS3 (except 1080p, which it won't process) it will go down to that resolution.

On the plus side, if the set doesn't do any processing on the VGA input, there will be no lag on the set.  But no HD signal display, since the set is not HD.

[QUOTE="Thanos_of_MW"][QUOTE="0extremegamer0"][QUOTE="Thanos_of_MW"][QUOTE="0extremegamer0"][QUOTE="Thanos_of_MW"]

[QUOTE="0extremegamer0"]I have an HD with 4:3 ratio does widescreen really matter?

0extremegamer0

Not really, as long as the resolution holds. Is it one of those sets that can compress the scan lines into a 16:9 letterbox? (I assume it is a CRT? )

1080i. It is a CRT and it is HDTV. The aspect ratio is a little puzzling. Do you get HD signals in your home? (cable, satellite, etc) If it is 1080i it means it can put all 1080 interlaced lines on that screen. The part it doesn't describe is the width. Is it still 1920 pixels wide when displaying a 1080i channel? If so it must compress the aspect ratio and give you a letterbox. Interesting set.

This is what I mean by letterbox.

As you can see, you get black bars on top and bottom. It is still HD when it gets compressed vertically (you still have 1920x1080i), it just looks smaller because of the "empty" black space.

You are welcome :D

It is a good choice for you then.  The price is excellent and you still get HDMI.  You can always upgrade later.  If anything, these sets keep getting cheaper and better as time passes by.  Just think of it, you can get a 1080p set today for the price of a 720p set last year, so you'll be OK by the time you move.

[QUOTE="Thanos_of_MW"][QUOTE="0extremegamer0"][QUOTE="Thanos_of_MW"]

[QUOTE="0extremegamer0"]I have an HD with 4:3 ratio does widescreen really matter?

0extremegamer0

Not really, as long as the resolution holds. Is it one of those sets that can compress the scan lines into a 16:9 letterbox? (I assume it is a CRT? )

1080i. It is a CRT and it is HDTV. The aspect ratio is a little puzzling. Do you get HD signals in your home? (cable, satellite, etc) If it is 1080i it means it can put all 1080 interlaced lines on that screen. The part it doesn't describe is the width. Is it still 1920 pixels wide when displaying a 1080i channel? If so it must compress the aspect ratio and give you a letterbox. Interesting set.

This is what I mean by letterbox.

As you can see, you get black bars on top and bottom.  It is still HD when it gets compressed vertically (you still have 1920x1080i), it just looks smaller because of the "empty" black space.

[QUOTE="Thanos_of_MW"]

[QUOTE="0extremegamer0"]I have an HD with 4:3 ratio does widescreen really matter?

0extremegamer0

Not really, as long as the resolution holds. Is it one of those sets that can compress the scan lines into a 16:9 letterbox? (I assume it is a CRT? )

1080i.  It is a CRT and it is HDTV.  The aspect ratio is a little puzzling.  Do you get HD signals in your home? (cable, satellite, etc)  If it is 1080i it means it can put all 1080 interlaced lines on that screen.  The part it doesn't describe is the width.  Is it still 1920 pixels wide when displaying a 1080i channel?  If so it must compress the aspect ratio and give you a letterbox.  Interesting set.

I have an HD with 4:3 ratio does widescreen really matter?

0extremegamer0

Not really, as long as the resolution holds.  Is it one of those sets that can compress the scan lines into a 16:9 letterbox? (I assume it is a CRT? )

[QUOTE="Thanos_of_MW"]

[QUOTE="Richy59"]i saw a samsung CRT HD Tv the other day. it was quite cheap and was 32". how good do you think a CRT HDTV actually is and is it worth it? i have the space for it cause it wasn't that deep at the back, was heavy mind.
patcub

I have one :D  They are very good, but bulky and heavy.  Mine is old (1st generation HDTV) and still has superb image.  Nothing beats CRT (yet) for quality and contrast ratio, as well as response time.  My only "problem" is that my set only has component inputs. 

Newer ones have digital inputs, so I'm planning on upgrading just because PS3 has HDMI and so does my cable box and upconverting DVD player.  I know the cable company is limiting the quality on component even though they deny it, so I have to move up to a set with HDMI :D

As you have seen, price is cheap now (paid $1500 for mine back then) but it is a good option if you are on a budget, so yes, they are worth it.  I'll be waiting for more HDMI 1.3 TV sets to hit the market to compare.  SED is coming out at the end of 2006/beginning of 2007 and I want to take a look at that, as it is claimed they are as good as CRT (plasma killers :D )

Looks like you're going to have to wait a little longer than that.  In a recent article in Sound & Vision magazine it was stated that Toshiba is now looking to release SED sets in conjuction with the 2008 Olympics.  That would be about the 4th time the SED release date has been pushed back, and at this rate its difficult to see them ever catching up to LCDs/Plasmas.  IMO the real plasma/LCD killer will be OLEDs since they will be very cheap to produce and the technology is continually improving.  This however, is also likely many years down the road.

We'll see which is cheaper at the end of the day :D .  A lot of interesting technologies coming out in the near future, that's why I keep telling everyone here not to rush and get a HDTV now.  OLED I believe is still further away than SED.  I like it better than SED as it is not a phosphor technology, but they have yet to make a large size display (and by that I mean bigger than 40" :D ) 

f***k but the wrote HDTV compatiblity i think its HDgabriox3good

Compatibility doesn't mean it is.  Check the resolution.  As I said, your TV WILL take HD signals, but will downconvert them to 480p to display.  480p is EDTV resolution.  It is just like standard definition (SDTV) but with progressive scan.  Looks sharper and doesn't flicker, but it is not HDTV.

ok before i get the ps3 i wanted to take care the hdtv first ,so my dad bought a plasma tv 42 inches iam not sure if it is HD or not ,can u guys tell me if it is here is the link http://www.iisonicasia.com/lcd-model1-spec.php?productid=140gabriox3good

Sorry guy, you fell for the EDTV trap.  That set will take HD signals and downconvert everything to EDTV level (480p).  To be a HDTV set it has to be able to display 720p and/or 1080i natively.  That set is nota HDTV.

i dunno what it is about rear projections, but i have never really liked them all that much.. i think its been put in my head that the image is not that good if you do not look at it directly. When you look at rear projections in stores they are always lower down that your eyeline so they always usually look really faded.

they are also way too big for my room.

so do you think that the HD CRTs are better than HD LCDs for the price (£500, not sure what that is in dollars).
 Richy59

CRT technology is old and proven, therefore they are capable of lowering the price to a point where no other tech can compete yet.  For the same price, you are NOT going to find a LCD screen capable of the quality you'll get on that CRT. 

You are limited to 720p/1080i (I haven't seen any 1080p CRTs yet) but the quality is excellent and the price is the lowest you will find.