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Need Help Buying a TV(HD or regular)

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geek2005

Registered
Joined
Feb 25, 2005
Here is my situation...I currently have a 27" Sylvania TV. It is not flat screen(to prevent glare) and it only has composite(single yellow cable) inputs.

Thus, my plan is to sell it and get a new TV. However, what kind of TV should I get? I already decided it MUST have S video and component(3 seperate colors) inputs.

However, on top of that, should I be getting a HD TV or not? For a 27" HD TV they sell for around $500. Now my question is...is it really worth that money just for progressive scan capability in DVD's? I'll only have the regular cable in a dorm room and my video games aren't progressive scan(only 2 out of collection).

So does it really make sense to buy an HD TV? Or would it be better to just buy a regular 27" TV with those video components for around $250? Granted it won't have progressive scan, but is progressive scan really that important?
 
I personally would say don't bother. I haven't watched HD TV ever, but I can't imagine wanting to pay $250 to have a crisper image when I don't consider the current one I view to be bad. I however don't watch much TV, so maybe it would be more of a consideration for you...
 
i noticed picture got better on my projector using component cables/480p

hdtv is the future

compare it to getting an AGP/PCIE card
 
One thing: Don't buy those cheap projection TVs! They don't last very long. (I have read a story where a cheap projection TV used at a school for presentations had very visible burn-in in just a day of use.)
I suggest just buying a direct view LCD monitor and a HDTV interface card.
For a projector, go for DLP.
 
ok, here i go. please stop if i start talking too much. so being a recent best buy employee and setting up enter. systems for friends and fam for the past 10 years, i must say, if you are going HD, go HD. You need to get an HD Tv, an HD Box, HD Cable service, probably DVI cable to push the HD signal to the Tv which runs no less than $100 [yes, just the cable] not too many channels are HD right now. as mentioned above, yes HD is the future, but far future. also mentioned, dont get anything cheap. FOR SURE do not get anything cheap. for testing purposes i got a maxthon 26" hd flat panel, it was a pos. when you get an hd tv and try to watch regular channels, it looks crappy because you have 1080 pixels going accross the screen and only 640 feeding to it, what does this mean? the monitor/screen has to make up colors in between to try and stretch the picture throughout all those pixels. i dont want to go into too much detail i may be way off topic by now, so you can pm if u got ne ???s, for now i recommend a regular tv, flat [glass] helps even though there is a glare, it looks MUCH better. tv i have now; 36" flat glass, silver sharp from costco. they have a smaller size as well i think its a 27, that tv is perfect for you.
 
Ok...thanks nstabl and the others. It seems as though HD just isn't worth it at the moment.

Most likely I'll just go to Circuit City and buy a new TV when I get home from Army basic training before going off to college. Do you think I should get a 19" or 27" for a dorm room? A 27" is a hassle...but I love the size. Or do you think I could get an absolutely top of the line 19" that would be better?

I at least want component connections. I got a 321 BOSE DVD system and its got those connections, so why not use them?! I'm on compositive right now...which I heard is horrible. Is component really that better?

So that's the question...should I sell my current TV and buy one with component inputs? Or just stick with my current one and use composite?
 
I would personally go for HDTV... all the new games for Xbox 360 and PS3 are going to be in high definition, and if you plan on getting that, you would want to play the game as intended.
 
crap...I completely forgot about the new consoles coming out. Since I'm a heavy gamer...HD gaming would be a huge factor. That would allow the quality to be significantly better when rendering things.
 
anybody? It seems it might make a huge difference on video games such as those for the Xbox 360. Then again...the question remains how big of a difference. Whether or not it would justify the extra $250-400 is debatable. I good 27" flat screen TV with component inputs is around $250...which is obviously not bad.
 
If you want to see a small peek at the difference, find a friend that has Gran Turismo 4. Buy some component cables and hook them up to a HDTV, you will see GT4 has never looked better. :p

Personally HD is the way of the future...
 
well Cullam3n...from what I heard XBOX 360 is suppose to be completely High Definition. From what I've heard, even games like GT4 aren't HD. Granted they are in progressive scan on a HDTV, but not fully high definition yet. So imagine the difference then what EVERY game is going to take full advantage!
 
It is a great suggestion...but I have no friends with a HDTV... or friends period ;)

It really is a tough decision. On what hand, I am a video quality freak. In fact...I'm kind of disappointed by my new LCD 17" PC monitor as it doesn't look as good as my CRT did. And it's got 12MS response times and on a DVI connection. There's no lag...even in top PC games...just something else I can't quite explain.

However, for college, how much do I really need HD? I could just buy a cheap 27" or even 19" and get by probably. I've also heard LCD TV's are good...but darn expensive.
 
Geek? How dare you... :) Oh wait...just my name...

Not a bad TV...although I never owned a sharp TV. I guess maybe I'll have to wait until I get back and see how much money I have after I buy a car. Maybe I'll feel like buying top car speakers instead of HDTV? Who knows...

But, does anybody own or watched an HD DVD or broadcast? My PC can play back 720p or whatever resolution HD stuff from that HD windows media website, and I can tell you that it's definitely better than DVD. Of course, my PC can't play the 1080..but I assume that's even greater.
 
Hey,

Im getting a Dell Widescreen 20.1" off of there website.

HERE: http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-4111&category_id=4009

and also waiting for the online coupon from Slickdeals.net

HERE:http://www.slickdeals.net/

That gets the price of the LCD TV down to <400 bucks. Im not sure if its HD or not, but its widescreen and you wont have to worry about the black bars while playing Xbox360. At the moment, the coupon from slickdeals.net is expired, but is expected to be renewed soon.
 
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