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[Ryck]

Ok so I've finally decided after months of going back and forth to buy an Hdtv Ive narrowed it down to a few choices (Im on the $1500 and under price range)

It's only 1199.00 for a 52" screen!!!! but im concerned about burn in picture quality and such I've never owned a projection television so im weary......

Not too bad plus it has two component inputs (sony 30" hd $999.00)

The most expensive at 1399 but it's a 36" screen with two component inputs (very important)

Im new to hd so certain things are confusing me such as the difference between hd and hd ready ....I figured if it was hd and I had a pro scan dvd player id have hd ...I dunno

also as far as it being widescreen does it automatically remove those black bars from widescreen movies (Ill be using my xbox as the dvd player) or is there something else I should be looking for ???

any alternante suggestions would be grately appreciated

 

[The Shadow]

I wouldn't worry about burn in if you switch channels frequently and/or don't watch a lot of those news channels with the constant scroll bars on the bottom. Calibrate it properly and turn the contrast down to reduce the risk of burn in.

Widescreen doesn't necesarily eliminate the bars on the top and bottom. It depends on the aspect ratio. HDTV is 16:9 but some movies are filmed at an even wider aspect (forget the ratio), which means you'll still see bars, though they'll be much smaller than if you viewed the movie on a 4:3 TV (standard TV). Plus, you have to remember that if you watch programs on a Widescreen HDTV that were ment for a 4:3 TV, you'll have bars on either side, unless you stretch the image to fit the screen.

 

[Ryck]

I wouldn't worry about burn in if you switch channels frequently and/or don't watch a lot of those news channels with the constant scroll bars on the bottom. Calibrate it properly and turn the contrast down to reduce the risk of burn in.

Thanks for the reply.. What about gaming though wont that raise the risk of burn in a bit higher?

 

[Cooper]

Im new to hd so certain things are confusing me such as the difference between hd and hd ready ....I figured if it was hd and I had a pro scan dvd player id have hd ...I dunno

Quick terminology overview: TV signals are categorized as high definition if they are either 1280x720 pixels (progressive), or 1920x1080 pixels (progressive or interlaced). An HD-ready TV is capable of displaying at least 720 pixels vertically, but does not have a built-in tuner to receive HD broadcasts; you'll need to buy an external tuner for them. This is the setup I use to watch HDTV - our DLP is HD ready, and our external HD receiver is the HD Tivo.

HD built-in means the TV has a tuner which can receive HD broadcasts, usually with an over-the-air antenna, but a few support HD cable.

DVDs are not HD, progressive or not, since they are only 480 lines. They will still look nice though.

also as far as it being widescreen does it automatically remove those black bars from widescreen movies (Ill be using my xbox as the dvd player) or is there something else I should be looking for ???

The term you're looking for is anamorphic. If the DVD is anamorphic and you tell the DVD player you have a widescreen TV, it will expand the movie to the proper aspect ratio. Note that "proper" doesn't necessarily mean "filling the screen." As Shadow mentioned, if movies are wider than 16:9 (1.78:1), there will still be bars. Most DVDs published are anamorphic, so you won't have to worry too much unless you're buying older discs. You might see "Enhanced for 16:9 TVs" on the back of some DVDs. This is synonymous with anamorphic.

 

[Ryck]

Quick terminology overview: TV signals are categorized as high definition if they are either 1280x720 pixels (progressive), or 1920x1080 pixels (progressive or interlaced). An HD-ready TV is capable of displaying at least 720 pixels vertically, but does not have a built-in tuner to receive HD broadcasts; you'll need to buy an external tuner for them. This is the setup I use to watch HDTV - our DLP is HD ready, and our external HD receiver is the HD Tivo.

HD built-in means the TV has a tuner which can receive HD broadcasts, usually with an over-the-air antenna, but a few support HD cable.

DVDs are not HD, progressive or not, since they are only 480 lines. They will still look nice though.



The term you're looking for is anamorphic. If the DVD is anamorphic and you tell the DVD player you have a widescreen TV, it will expand the movie to the proper aspect ratio. Note that "proper" doesn't necessarily mean "filling the screen." As Shadow mentioned, if movies are wider than 16:9 (1.78:1), there will still be bars. Most DVDs published are anamorphic, so you won't have to worry too much unless you're buying older discs. You might see "Enhanced for 16:9 TVs" on the back of some DVDs. This is synonymous with anamorphic.

awesomness thank you very very much

 

[Eggo]

All your DVD's are going to have black bars on the top and bottom, no matter what the aspect ratio is. They're just going to be a lot smaller than normal. The only way this won't happen is if your TV has a zoom feature, in which case you'll be pan and scanning basically and losing much of the image.

For gaming, you shouldn't have to worry about burn in. Just don't leave your TV on the same image for like 8 hours. If you play a lot of fighting games, there's a slight chance the health bars can burn in, but just don't play for a day straight without stopping and you should be fine. If you're really worried, just change channels, play another game, or rest the TV for a while.

 

[Ryck]

I got the Sony 30 " and I love it!!!! also some movies do have very small bars some don't have them at all........Is there a website with a list of the hd compitable xbox games and their respective resolutions? (480, 720, 1080) Halo looks stunning but Soul Calibur 2 takes the crown so far as best looking game ......too bad it's not widescreen..

 

[seismologist]

i'm getting that Sony set too. They're pretty hard to find right now. Most places are backordered.

 

[Ryck]

I got mine at Circuit City ( they are offering 100 merch card rebates on it ) once I walked in and saw the three with my own eyes there was no real decision to make...If you go to there website you could buy it and select store pickup and it will give you a list of the stores that have it available.