Yes, ANOTHER HDTV thread

Graviija

Yes, it's that time again. The most recent thread was from about a month ago, so I figured this'd be all right.

Anyway. I'm looking to get my first HD set. I've been looking for something relatively cheap (between $600-$800). Just a nice, "My First HDTV" kind of HDTV. Just browsing through BestBuy I found this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8256601&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050044&id=1169512772303

A 26" Westinghouse that has 2 HDMI, 2 Component, and a VGA connection. As far as my "requirements" go, that about fills them. I know several people who have Westinghouse TVs, and they all seem to like them.

So what I'm asking here is some opinions. Would this be a good idea? Does SDTV look like shit on it (I'm mainly getting this for videogame/DVD purposes)? If there are any major flaws, any other suggestions in the price range?

Thanks in advance, fellas.

whuppins

Just keep in mind that 26" isn't very big for a 16:9 screen. A 26" SDTV screen is almost 16 inches tall, but a 26" HDTV screen is less than 13 inches tall. I'd recommend actually going into your local Best Buy and seeing the screen in person. Is it worth your $700 or do you want to keep saving for a bigger screen? Prices are dropping all the time.

Graviija

...hmm. Do you think it'd be better to go for a 32"? That seems to be the next screen size up, and I can't go TOO big, since I have somewhat limited space.

cloudeagle

I'm going on a month without my HDTV. I found a 42' Magnavox LCD on sale at Wal-Mart for just shy of $1,000, and internet reviews seemed to indicate it was good/not a lemon. But it crapped out on me less than three weeks after I got it.

I can't take it back since they almost immediately stopped carrying the model after I bought it, and buying an equivalent would run me a few hundred more. Since it's under warranty, I took it in to get repaired. They swapped out a circuit board, that didn't work. They ordered another circuit board, waited nearly two weeks for it to arrive, and THAT didn't work. Now they're going to swap out the display... the local repair guys said usually Magnavox would just give you a new TV at that point, but no longer. Of course, the display has to be back-ordered.

Arrrrrrgh.

FreddyD

Screen size is irrelevant. It's all about your viewing angle. A 26" computer monitor is omg huge.

I bought an Olevia last Black Friday for about $400 and I was shocked by the picture quality. My XBox 360 games look just as good as the ones in the store kiosks, and my PC games look even better.

whuppins

FreddyD wrote: »

Screen size is irrelevant. It's all about your viewing angle. A 26" computer monitor is omg huge.

Come on -- sizewise, a 26" screen is a 26" screen is a 26" screen. If that calculator says he can sit, say, 15 feet away from a 26" screen without noticing a decrease in picture quality, well, fine. But that doesn't mean it still won't look small. Size and quality are two distinct factors, and I'd say they're equally important.

That said, OP, I wasn't advocating a bigger screen. I was just making sure you weren't thinking that a 26" widescreen display would be as drastic a change as a 26" 4:3 monitor would be. It was one of the things that snagged me when I was shopping for a widescreen computer monitor: I went from a 19" 4:3 screen to a 23" widescreen, which sounded awesome until I got it home and noticed that its height was about the same as my old one. Still beautiful and worth the money, but different aspect ratios means you're comparing apples and oranges if you're going strictly by diagonal screen measurements.

Again, not saying 26" is too small, I'd just recommend seeing it in person to get a good feel for how 'big' it really is compared to your current TV. Or be a huge nerd like me and spend some time with cardboard, scissors, and the pythagorean theorem.

AngelHedgie

Graviija wrote: »

Yes, it's that time again. The most recent thread was from about a month ago, so I figured this'd be all right.

Anyway. I'm looking to get my first HD set. I've been looking for something relatively cheap (between $600-$800). Just a nice, "My First HDTV" kind of HDTV. Just browsing through BestBuy I found this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8256601&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050044&id=1169512772303

A 26" Westinghouse that has 2 HDMI, 2 Component, and a VGA connection. As far as my "requirements" go, that about fills them. I know several people who have Westinghouse TVs, and they all seem to like them.

So what I'm asking here is some opinions. Would this be a good idea? Does SDTV look like shit on it (I'm mainly getting this for videogame/DVD purposes)? If there are any major flaws, any other suggestions in the price range?

Thanks in advance, fellas.

Costco has a Vizio 32" that meets all your needs, for cheaper than that TV.

Balefuego

The only problem with Westinghouses is they do not scale well at all, sub-720p content will look like shit on them.

Graviija

AngelHedgie wrote: »

Graviija wrote: »

Yes, it's that time again. The most recent thread was from about a month ago, so I figured this'd be all right.

Anyway. I'm looking to get my first HD set. I've been looking for something relatively cheap (between $600-$800). Just a nice, "My First HDTV" kind of HDTV. Just browsing through BestBuy I found this:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8256601&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat95100050044&id=1169512772303

A 26" Westinghouse that has 2 HDMI, 2 Component, and a VGA connection. As far as my "requirements" go, that about fills them. I know several people who have Westinghouse TVs, and they all seem to like them.

So what I'm asking here is some opinions. Would this be a good idea? Does SDTV look like shit on it (I'm mainly getting this for videogame/DVD purposes)? If there are any major flaws, any other suggestions in the price range?

Thanks in advance, fellas.

Costco has a Vizio 32" that meets all your needs, for cheaper than that TV.

Holy crap. I just checked Costco's site, and they have a 42" 1080p Magnavox for $1000 even. That seems RIDICULOUSLY low. But I see which TV you're talking about, too. So many options...

Balefuego: And that pretty much confirms no Westinghouse. I'm still gonna have regular cable, so I need the new TV to have a relatively good SD picture.

whuppins

Graviija wrote: »

Holy crap. I just checked Costco's site, and they have a 42" 1080p Magnavox for $1000 even.

Uh, hope it's not the same one as this one (from above):

cloudeagle wrote: »

I'm going on a month without my HDTV. I found a 42' Magnavox LCD on sale at Wal-Mart for just shy of $1,000, and internet reviews seemed to indicate it was good/not a lemon. But it crapped out on me less than three weeks after I got it.

I can't take it back since they almost immediately stopped carrying the model after I bought it, and buying an equivalent would run me a few hundred more. Since it's under warranty, I took it in to get repaired. They swapped out a circuit board, that didn't work. They ordered another circuit board, waited nearly two weeks for it to arrive, and THAT didn't work. Now they're going to swap out the display... the local repair guys said usually Magnavox would just give you a new TV at that point, but no longer. Of course, the display has to be back-ordered.

Arrrrrrgh.

Graviija

whuppins wrote: »

Graviija wrote: »

Holy crap. I just checked Costco's site, and they have a 42" 1080p Magnavox for $1000 even.

Uh, hope it's not the same one as this one (from above):

cloudeagle wrote: »

I'm going on a month without my HDTV. I found a 42' Magnavox LCD on sale at Wal-Mart for just shy of $1,000, and internet reviews seemed to indicate it was good/not a lemon. But it crapped out on me less than three weeks after I got it.

I can't take it back since they almost immediately stopped carrying the model after I bought it, and buying an equivalent would run me a few hundred more. Since it's under warranty, I took it in to get repaired. They swapped out a circuit board, that didn't work. They ordered another circuit board, waited nearly two weeks for it to arrive, and THAT didn't work. Now they're going to swap out the display... the local repair guys said usually Magnavox would just give you a new TV at that point, but no longer. Of course, the display has to be back-ordered.

Arrrrrrgh.

Ahaha, yeah, it almost certainly is.

cloudeagle

Graviija wrote: »

whuppins wrote: »

Graviija wrote: »

Holy crap. I just checked Costco's site, and they have a 42" 1080p Magnavox for $1000 even.

Uh, hope it's not the same one as this one (from above):

cloudeagle wrote: »

I'm going on a month without my HDTV. I found a 42' Magnavox LCD on sale at Wal-Mart for just shy of $1,000, and internet reviews seemed to indicate it was good/not a lemon. But it crapped out on me less than three weeks after I got it.

I can't take it back since they almost immediately stopped carrying the model after I bought it, and buying an equivalent would run me a few hundred more. Since it's under warranty, I took it in to get repaired. They swapped out a circuit board, that didn't work. They ordered another circuit board, waited nearly two weeks for it to arrive, and THAT didn't work. Now they're going to swap out the display... the local repair guys said usually Magnavox would just give you a new TV at that point, but no longer. Of course, the display has to be back-ordered.

Arrrrrrgh.

Ahaha, yeah, it almost certainly is.

That's not it... mine was just 720. Looks like this is the "new" model.

Like I said, I did some net research and didn't run into people bitching that Magnavoxes are lemons, so maybe I just got unlucky.

That issue aside, it seems to be a great value for the price. On mine, the contrast ratio is good and everything looks great, even if the menus are a bit hard to navigate.

Graviija

So to bring my thread back from the brink...

Circuit City have a 32" Olevia and Vizio for $550 and $600, respectively. Any thoughts on these? Is one of the other better in any way?

Invisible

Graviija wrote: »

So to bring my thread back from the brink...

Circuit City have a 32" Olevia and Vizio for $550 and $600, respectively. Any thoughts on these? Is one of the other better in any way?

This is purely anecdotal, but Olevia, as a brand blows. I've heard nothing but horror stories from people who bought them; either they don't work out of the box or break down less than three months. From what I'm told customer service is also not their strong suit.

The squeaky wheel is the loudest, but it's certainly made me wary of them.

FreddyD

Invisible wrote: »

Graviija wrote: »

So to bring my thread back from the brink...

Circuit City have a 32" Olevia and Vizio for $550 and $600, respectively. Any thoughts on these? Is one of the other better in any way?

This is purely anecdotal, but Olevia, as a brand blows. I've heard nothing but horror stories from people who bought them; either they don't work out of the box or break down less than three months. From what I'm told customer service is also not their strong suit.

The squeaky wheel is the loudest, but it's certainly made me wary of them.

That's weird, because I've been running mine 12 hours a day for over a year and haven't had any issues (knock on wood). The reviews on Newegg are mostly positive, with only a few people getting a bad model.

But make sure you can return a defective tv straight to the store before you buy it. You never know.

chasm

My dad's been using a 27" Olevia for about 2 years now at 8 hours a day. No problems at all. My Olevia 532H is on 10-12 hours a day and has been for the last 4 months and I haven't had any issues.

Graviija

Well, I think I'm gonna try the 32" Olevia. After looking around the internets, it seems the majority of feedback is positive, and the price is really good (it's on sale now, apparently). I appreciate the help, guys (yours as well, Invisible). Hopefully it all works out.

mntorankusu

Graviija wrote: »

Well, I think I'm gonna try the 32" Olevia. After looking around the internets, it seems the majority of feedback is positive, and the price is really good (it's on sale now, apparently). I appreciate the help, guys (yours as well, Invisible). Hopefully it all works out.

Which Olevia model is it? The 332v is the best as far as picture quality. The 5-series and the 2-series both have ghosting issues on non-HD content, but they also include ATSC/QAM tuners for getting digital OTA broadcasts, and digital channels over cable. The 3-series doesn't include any sort of tuner at all, so you'd need a VCR or something else with a tuner if you have regular cable.

I got the 227v because I wanted an HD tuner, and I don't mind the ghosting, but it could be a big thing for some people.

Edit: I guess it might just be that *some* of the 2- and 5-series models have ghosting issues, depending on which video processor that particular set is using. The ATI Xilleon processor applies a crappy noise reduction filter that makes some stuff look very slightly better but causes ghosting on dark images (only on 480i/p content), but from what I can tell the MTK MDDI processor that some of them use doesn't have this problem.

Battman23

Your best bet for size/$ is a big-ass rear projection tv. I got a Hitachi 50" 1080i (w/ HDMI) for $450 at CC about 3 months ago. The picture quality is fantastic and the SD content actually looks better than my old regular TV. Rear projections aren't as available at stores like CC and BB and an open box deal should give you by FAR the best deal. When I got my TV I actually went there to buy the 32" Olevia LCD and got this instead. And if you are willing to spend a bit more money you could probably find a good 48" rear projection LCD for about $850. They are a bit bigger than LCD's, but are still table top.

TL;DR

Save some money and get a big-ass rear projection.

PS - Don't forget to go to cheapassgamer and print out the coupons for 10% off a TV $199 & up.

Bob The Monkey

Reading this thread makes me depressed at the cost of televisions in Britain.

720p? 32"?

$940

Caswynben

I reiterate this in every HDTV thread, but. Check the aspect ratio before you buy! A lot of cheap LCD HDTVs are actually computer monitors with an aspect ratio of 16:10. This is bad, as HDTV is 16:9. Measure the width of the TV and divide by the height and it should come out to 1.78. If it doesn't, back away!

Snowcone

AngelHedgie wrote: »

Costco has a Vizio 32" that meets all your needs, for cheaper than that TV.

I have the 37" ($799), but the 32" is $599.

chasm

mntorankusu wrote: »

Edit: I guess it might just be that *some* of the 2- and 5-series models have ghosting issues, depending on which video processor that particular set is using. The ATI Xilleon processor applies a crappy noise reduction filter that makes some stuff look very slightly better but causes ghosting on dark images (only on 480i/p content), but from what I can tell the MTK MDDI processor that some of them use doesn't have this problem.

Weird...I have the Xilleon processor-equipped 532H and I don't have any ghosting issues on SD content. My dad's even bitched several times because SD content looks so much better on my LCD than it does on his Samsung DLP.

Eteric

I wish 26" HDTVs would hurry up an drop below $400 for a decent one. I need a TV for my room.

It won't be much fun playing a 360 on a 13" CRT.

chasm

Eteric wrote: »

I wish 26" HDTVs would hurry up an drop below $400 for a decent one. I need a TV for my room.

It won't be much fun playing a 360 on a 13" CRT.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889022052 ?

Graviija

Yeah, so...despite saying I was going to get the Olevia I got the 32" Vizio.

Oh, glorious HD. Oh, glorious widescreen. It makes me feel all poetic.

My first test was Dead Rising. What's this? You mean that constant chatter was in English? I just assumed it was gibberish, because I could read it until now. Oh yes, it's so clear! You mean there are SURVIVORS scattered around the mall? Well, this is news to me!

Anyway, the SD side of things is decidedly less than spectacular, but this was mainly for gaming/DVD purposes anyway. I've only had it a couple hours, but it looks awesome thus far.

Now to get some glorious widescreen RE4 going.

Improvolone

What are you using to hook everything up with?

Graviija

Improvolone wrote: »

What are you using to hook everything up with?

I'm using the included component cables for the 360, and some component cables I just picked up for the Wii. I have component for the PS2 as well, but I haven't tried anything out on that yet.

Anywho, 480p wisescreen RE4 is slightly disappointing. There be jaggies in them thar hills. Sonic and the Secret Rings looks good though, as do the VC games I tried. I can read things on the Wii Internet now, which is good.

Quick question though - if I'm gonna play a DVD on the 360, do I need to put the resolution down to 480p for it to look right?

Improvolone

Time for surround sound

SniperGuy

Graviija wrote: »

Improvolone wrote: »

What are you using to hook everything up with?

I'm using the included component cables for the 360, and some component cables I just picked up for the Wii. I have component for the PS2 as well, but I haven't tried anything out on that yet.

Anywho, 480p wisescreen RE4 is slightly disappointing. There be jaggies in them thar hills. Sonic and the Secret Rings looks good though, as do the VC games I tried. I can read things on the Wii Internet now, which is good.

Quick question though - if I'm gonna play a DVD on the 360, do I need to put the resolution down to 480p for it to look right?

Shouldn't have to change any settings. Worked fine for me.

And it looks all shiny!

Spore Cloud

I too am in the market for an HDTV, mainly for gaming on the 360. The 360 says it supports 16:9, 720p, and 1080i. I basically want a HDTV that wont make me feel I'm missing out on anything in the game, picture and graphics wise. So I was thinking something along the lines of http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5633684 and thats about as much as I'm willing to spend on one too. Anyone have any better ideas?

chasm

Spore Cloud wrote: »

I too am in the market for an HDTV, mainly for gaming on the 360. The 360 says it supports 16:9, 720p, and 1080i. I basically want a HDTV that wont make me feel I'm missing out on anything in the game, picture and graphics wise. So I was thinking something along the lines of http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5633684 and thats about as much as I'm willing to spend on one too. Anyone have any better ideas?

I'd avoid RCA. Personal preference. I have my 360 hooked up via VGA and it outputs at 1360x768 while my LCD's native resolution is 1366x768. It looks fantastic and it upscales over VGA, IIRC.

mntorankusu

chasm953 wrote: »

mntorankusu wrote: »

Edit: I guess it might just be that *some* of the 2- and 5-series models have ghosting issues, depending on which video processor that particular set is using. The ATI Xilleon processor applies a crappy noise reduction filter that makes some stuff look very slightly better but causes ghosting on dark images (only on 480i/p content), but from what I can tell the MTK MDDI processor that some of them use doesn't have this problem.

Weird...I have the Xilleon processor-equipped 532H and I don't have any ghosting issues on SD content. My dad's even bitched several times because SD content looks so much better on my LCD than it does on his Samsung DLP.

It's pretty hard to notice. That's why I said I didn't mind it.

It's easiest to notice when the screen fades to black. If things are moving around as it fades out, they leave a subtle trail behind.

domite

What Is the difference between Plasma, LCD, and DLP TV?

domite

Also, how does this tv look to you guys?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16889114018

domite

Anyone?

chasm

Looks like a good deal to me. Make sure to do some research on review sites about that particular model before you buy one, though. Read some more about the manufacturer, too. I took about a month to narrow down the LCD I was going to get, and I'm glad I did take that extra time to thoroughly do my research. See if there are any reviews or info about it on AVS.

Mr Peepers

I am really wondering why my friend has an HDTV.

His cable is plugged in through composites, his Xbox is not hooked up to it, his DVD player is composites...

Why has no one in that family realized that they are not watching ANYTHING in HD?

Improvolone

domite wrote: »

What Is the difference between Plasma, LCD, and DLP TV?

wiki them, you'll learn more

JohnnyFirebird

SniperGuy wrote: »

Graviija wrote: »

Improvolone wrote: »

What are you using to hook everything up with?

I'm using the included component cables for the 360, and some component cables I just picked up for the Wii. I have component for the PS2 as well, but I haven't tried anything out on that yet.

Anywho, 480p wisescreen RE4 is slightly disappointing. There be jaggies in them thar hills. Sonic and the Secret Rings looks good though, as do the VC games I tried. I can read things on the Wii Internet now, which is good.

Quick question though - if I'm gonna play a DVD on the 360, do I need to put the resolution down to 480p for it to look right?

Shouldn't have to change any settings. Worked fine for me.

And it looks all shiny!

I did notice that when you put in a DVD, it does revert to 480P, rather than bumping the resolution to 1080i. You can tell this by bringing up the blade during playback. Still, it's good for watching DVDs for the most part.

My TV, the 34" Sony CRT WEGA is getting dirty cheap now if you can find it. And if you can lift 200lbs. But seriously, it's an awesome tube, the best colours you can get on HD. And cheap!

bhealey

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