Need a new TV on a low budget

My 12 year old Sony 27" TV finaly died last night.

Any suggestions on a new TV ? I would like to have a wide screen format which could support my progressive scan DVD player. I don't have much space in my living room so a smaller set is best. I had a 27" and it was fine. I would like to spend under $1000 but I am willing to go higher if need be.

If anyone has some good sites which can get me up to speed on all the different technology these days that would be helpful also. I need to study up quickly so I can replace my set.

What should I be looking for in my new set ?

I am usually partial to the look of Sony sets.

Here are a few quesions I have from my search so far.
1) Should I get a HDTV capable set or is HDTV compatable (no tuner) enough for now ?
2) Sony has a 27" TV model KV-27FS210 which claims to have a 16:9 Enhanced Mode which displays anamorphic widescreen content in its full detail. Is this hype ? How can a standard TV display anamorphic widescreen ? Their description reads "16:9 Enhanced Mode --- delivers maximum picture quality by concentrating all viewable scan lines (up to 1080i on Hi-Scan® circuitry equipped models) within the letterbox image. Displays anamorphic widescreen content in its full detail. " This set is only $499 so might be a candidate.

I have the Panasonic 47" Widescreen HDTV. I've had it for 3 years and have not had a single problem. There is a forum (panny.tv) that shows you all the tweaks to make it perform to it's top potential. Everyone comments on how good of a picture my set has. I noticed this weekend that Wal-Mart here in Louisville, KY has it for $1100. That's a deal.

I haven't bought one yet, but what I'm looking for in a TV are the inputs. Right now, if the TV doesn't have a DVI-HDCP input on it, well, I think you're going to end up having to replace it in a few years. DVI is really where all the HDTV stuff is heading toward. Actually, they're going toward HDMI but I think you might be able to get away with just DVI. Right now, Zenith is offering a 32" HDTV set with dual HDTV tuners built-in with a DVI interface for around $1000. If you go over to AVS, there's also a great article about why you might want to stick with a 4:3 ratio set as compared to a widescreen set.

I've also heard not so great things about the "FS" line of Sony TVs. I think the quality of those is just not up to that of their upper series.

At this time, video just has sooo many options. If I had to buy a set right now, I don't know how I would do it without making some sort of compromise.

Which model do you have ?

I just bought a Samsung TXN2668WHF at Sears monday evening. $599. No interest, no payments until March 2005. It's a 26" widescreen, CRT, HD monitor (with regular CATV tuner) that has replaced an 18 year old Toshiba 26" 4:3 that has died (is dying?). Fits perfectly on the chest of drawers where the Toshiba used to live. Picture with analog CATV and non-progessive DVD is beautiful.

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pat----

email: pat@sklenar.info ---===--- home page: Grumpy's Lair

An opinions on the Sony KV30XBR910.

I can get it for $1749 with a free stand.

Looks interesting. I will have to go to sears and check it out. Thanks.

I increased my budget limit and decided on the KV30XBR910. So far I love it ! Exceptional video with 1080p source. I am now seeing the video flaws in DVD's I kept reading about in DVD reviews. With my old basic TV I didn't get what they were talking about.

Wow...I just looked up the specs on your new set...very impressive!

Now, I'm jealous!

Thanks Jason. You mentioned the DVI-HDCP port in your previous post. What is it for ? My set has one and my HD-Cable box has one but I don't know what it does. I have the set hooked up with component cables.

DVI stands for "D"igital "V"ideo "I"nterface and provides a digital link between your digital, hi-def cable signal and your digital TV. In other words, from what I understand, you lose a Digital-to-Analog conversion step using this connection, thus giving you a better picture.

The "H"igh "D"efinition "C"opy "P"rotection allows you to receive encrypted broadcasts from providers who believe you're going to copy their hi-def signal otherwise. The thinking is that if you're watching a hi-def transmission of a movie, you won't be able to copy that to a disc and produce a DVD that's higher quality than the regular release. It's sort of related to why there isn't a standard digital connection for DVD-A and SACD.

The second Q&A on this page from the Secrets website answers a very similiar question much better than I can:

http://128.121.62.219/qa/qa2003/qa375.html

Thanks again Jason. Interesting link.

[This message has been edited by desperado (edited March 23, 2004).]

smaller format widescreen tvs would be lcd projection and dlp around 42 inches. you can also get sony widescreen crt tvs in 30 in or 34 in. the sony crts are the best picture quality though their durability is suspect. i would NOT BUY a 4:3 tv or a non hd tv in your price range. dlp and lcd projection are more than you wanted to spend, so you should look at sony's lineup, keeping in mind that this years hi-scan was last years xbr for a lot less $$, though they actually did make some improvements on the new xbrs that i really like. one of them is whati would buy if i needed a little tv (well little compared to my current tv).

enhanced mode is a little better because no lines of resolution are wasted on the black bars, instead you get all the resolution on the actual picture.

keep in mind though that a 27in in widescreen will be A LOT SMALLER THAN A NORMAL 27 in. so much so you will hate it.

Not sure I agree with the conclusion here.

I just replaced a 26" 4:3 with a 26" 16:9 and more than happy with the size. I haven't gotten a photo of my new set up on my web site yet, but will try to do so this evening. I'll post an update here when it's up. I'll take the picture from the same location I took the one on the site now (of the 26" Toshiba on the chest of drawers) for ease of comparison.

Just my two cents,

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pat----

email: pat@sklenar.info ---===--- home page: Grumpy's Lair

if you read my statement correctly, i said a 27in (tv) "IN" widescreen will have a much smaller picture than the 27 inches diagonally. our poster here was thinking about buying a 4:3 hd tv that was 27in, so i was merely pointing out to him that when watching widescreen sources his picture will in fact be much smaller on his traditional 4:3 (not widescreen) tv. i agree that 27in on a widescreen hd tv may be suitable, but that is not what i was talking about or what he was thinking about buying.

oops. okay, i admit it ... i completely zoned out over the double "in" in your post - "... 27in in ...". i guess my brain farted.



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pat----

email: pat@sklenar.info ---===--- home page: Grumpy's Lair