Question about HDMI/HD and making the sacrifice.

kathos

So no one really replied to my other message about which TV to buy, it was pretty broad and I was pretty sleepy so I thought H/A would do it for me (sorry! ).

But my never-(soon-to-be)ending quest for a HD tube TV has led me to a local who is having a moving sale and selling off a "Samsung TXM3298HF 32 inch Neo Slim Design DynaFlat HDTV" for half a grand.

It's an HDTV, and there's a consensus among Amazonians and random forums that it's a pretty solid and even back when it retailed for 2k+ it was a real bargain.

But it doesn't have HDMI inputs. Only composite and component, this link (go to Chapter 1: Rear-Panel Jacks) will show you that.

This thing is HD ready and has 1080i. And I want to get the most of my 360/PS3. So how the hell am I supposed to do that?

Hlubocky

Wasn't there some problem with the PS3 and those tube tvs that didn't support 720p? I would check into that before plopping down money on that thing. Is there any reason you can't just hook up the XBox360 with component? It works ok for me

edit: I think the problem was something like - some games only supported 720p, so if your tv didn't support it, you were SOL. I'm not sure if that has been addressed in a firmware update (to add scaling to all resolutions).

vonPoonBurGer

kathos wrote: »

This thing is HD ready and has 1080i. And I want to get the most of my 360/PS3. So how the hell am I supposed to do that?

If your 360 has the component cables, that's no problem, just use those. If you have a 360 with HDMI out, I think you can get the component cable separately. For the PS3, I think every single model comes with HDMI standard, but you can get component cables for it separately.

On the whole, though, I'm not sure I'd recommend that TV. It's 4:3 instead of 16:9, and it only has 800 scan lines, which means if it does actually support 1080i it's doing it by scaling it down to fit in the 800 lines. I'm not sure where you live, but here in Canada, Future Shop has a 32" Toshiba LCD HDTV on sale for $599. I can't find a ton of info on it, but the little I can find seems positive. Bonus: the LCD in question has two HDMI inputs. Anyway, it leads me to think you can probably find a decent flat panel with the proper HD aspect ratio and 720p support for not much more than you're thinking of spending right now.

Djeet

Hlubocky wrote: »

Wasn't there some problem with the PS3 and those tube tvs that didn't support 720p?

FUD.

I can play in either 720p or 1080i on my PS3, outputting over component cables to my tv. I know I've been able to do this since at least firmware 1.92, before that I never encountered any issues anyways. I'm using my PS2 AV-component cables to connect PS3 to tv.

Edit: Crap, you said tube tv. Mine's a CRT rptv. Sorry don't know from personal experience regarding hd CRT directview. My bad.

kathos

vonPoonBurGer wrote: »

kathos wrote: »

This thing is HD ready and has 1080i. And I want to get the most of my 360/PS3. So how the hell am I supposed to do that?

If your 360 has the component cables, that's no problem, just use those. If you have a 360 with HDMI out, I think you can get the component cable separately. For the PS3, I think every single model comes with HDMI standard, but you can get component cables for it separately.

On the whole, though, I'm not sure I'd recommend that TV. It's 4:3 instead of 16:9, and it only has 800 scan lines, which means if it does actually support 1080i it's doing it by scaling it down to fit in the 800 lines. I'm not sure where you live, but here in Canada, Future Shop has a 32" Toshiba LCD HDTV on sale for $599. I can't find a ton of info on it, but the little I can find seems positive. Bonus: the LCD in question has two HDMI inputs. Anyway, it leads me to think you can probably find a decent flat panel with the proper HD aspect ratio and 720p support for not much more than you're thinking of spending right now.

:O Which futureshop was that? I work at one (in Toronto) is why :S.

vonPoonBurGer

kathos wrote: »

:O Which futureshop was that? I work at one (in Toronto) is why :S.

It's on the website: linky. Still in stock online, but there's none in stock at any FS locations near me. You can use the "Check Store Stock" thingy if you want to check in the Toronto area.

Nova_C

You'll regret it if you don't go widescreen, I guarantee it.

I picked up LG's 32" LCD for $800, a bit more than the one at Future Shop, but it has amazing color and picture. Two HDMI inputs as wells as the optical audio out - and it even sends analog input through that optical. So if you plug a non-digital source into the TV, it'll still send the audio through the digital connection to your receiver. Nice since that pretty much means I have two cables going to my receiver instead of a zillion.

focused7

Keep in mind you can only use your 360 as an upscaling DVD player if you have an HDMI or VGA connection. So unless the TV itself has a really good upscaler your normal DVDs won't look all that impressive.

Honestly if you are willing to wait and spend another $200-$300 you can pick up a pretty decent 32" LCD widescreen I think you will be much happier with.

PirateJon

And I want to get the most of my 360/PS3. So how the hell am I supposed to do that?

Not a lot of choice so it's pretty easy. Xbox 360 via component input 1. PS3 via component input 2. Done.

There may be some issues with DVD up convert /blu-ray /HD-DVD and the non-copy protected ports. I don't know from personal experience, but you should be able ti find some info on google.

Nova_C wrote: »

You'll regret it if you don't go widescreen, I guarantee it.

Truth. A top end CRT is like getting the most bad-assed horse-n-buggy on the road.


Don't forget this spec:

Weight: 151.7 lbs