Support NeoGAF

[wandering goat]

Backstory: I'm going to need to save money for college and so I've put my HDTV plans on hold. In several years I'll have more to choose from, better quality, and cheaper prices anyway. My parents made me an awesome deal though. If I get a cheaper, non-HDTV set right now, then when I'm done college, they'll buy it from me and I can buy myself a better quality HDTV set when I move out/get a good job than I can now. The TV I have now doesn't even have S-Video input and the headphone plug is screwed up causing the sound to dissapear at times so I need a new one.

The Point: So, I'm considering buying a CRT that can display 480p in addition to 480i as this will make enough of a difference for me for the next couple of years, especially compared to what I have now and what I plan to use it for (non-HD broadcasts, DVDs, Nintendo Revolution .) My budget is $600 US - that's the absolute max, I'm trying to save money by not going HDTV yet - for a 27+ inch EDTV. I'd like it to have at least 2 component inputs if possible. Anyone know of any good ones on the market? It doesn't seem like there are too many of them out there based on what I can find myself.

If there aren't any cheap yet good options (though 480p won't look good on HDTVs, so what's the point of not having dedicated sets for it?), can people recommend any other inexpensive options? Besides that, feel free to post anything you want on the subject of EDTVs/480p.

 

[tedtropy]

Wal-mart has a 27" RCA CRT TV that'll do 480p and 1080i for about $300. It has a component input, three s-video inputs, and a DVI input. Don't expect anything incredible for that price, but it's an EDTV for damn cheap.

 

[VisionaryQuest0]

I recently bought a Philips 30" Widescreen "HDTV" for only $445 from Philips Outlet. It does 480p and 1080i, good quality, nothing special and extremely cheap. Should be good for when the new systems arrive.

 

[wandering goat]

Thanks for the responses so far. I found a Samsung one for $450 MRP, though who knows how good it is. It surprises me how little EDTVs (expensive Plasmas aside) there seem to be. I mean, all DVDs and most current games support 480p but manufacturers still only make SDTVs and HDTVS, in which the formats aren't displayed as well as they can.

VisionaryQuest0: I'm guessing it's a CRT display? How good does SD/ED? Most good CRT HDTVs in Canada are about $1000 ($800+ US) so it's not too feasible an alternative. Anyway, I want the best possible SD/ED quality right now, so HDTVS aren't in the running until I can buy an awesome set a several years down the line. If there's nothing quantifiably good out there I think I'll just get a good 480i TV for cheap.

 

[VisionaryQuest0]

Yeah, it's a CRT. Forgot to mention that. With games and DVDs it looks great but the picture is only so-so with regular cable. I just bought this a couple of weeks ago so I haven't gotten HDTV cable for it yet but will soon.

 

[tedtropy]

What kind of quality difference is there between 720p and 1080i, as none of the cheaper HD sets seem to support the former?