Best type of set for SD viewing... (1 Viewer)

[lloydMon]

I have been putting off buying a HD television because of the wife...she is certain to squeal if the SD picture quality is way worse than our current 32" Toshiba direct view set. I actually got her to agree to a small (15") LCD in the kitchen, but my understanding is a much bigger set will look a lot worse on the SD stuff.

Does any one technology seem to do SD better? I would probably be looking for something in the 40-46" range. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

 

[Arthur S]

lloydMon

There are very few flat panels that do SD quite as well as a 32 in CRT. The best LCD for SD is the $3,000 Sony Bravia KDL-V40XBR1. Having said that, your wife may be satisfied with the SD performance of a Panasonic TH-42PX60U plasma which might look just about as good, and cost as much as $1000 or more less than the Sony.

 

[lloydMon]

thanks, Arthur...I realize it won't be as good, but I'm hoping it will be close. I've been leaning towards a Panasonic plasma, especially if it's that much cheaper than the Sony LCD.

 

[Marty M]

I have a 55" SXRD Sony and the SD quality is not as good as my old CRT. Doesn't Sony make a widescreen HD CRT model? You might try that.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Get an ED plasma. In most cases (comparable quality and price points), they will actually do SD better than an HD plasma. But of course, depends on if you want to go HD someday too.

 

[Dan Joy]

Lloydmon,
I have Directv and just upgraded my 6yr sony 35" direct tube to an Elite 1140 50" plasma. All I can say is the picture depends on the source. Some stations look better (cartoon network), while my center ice hockey looks worse. The reason I bought the elite was supposedly handle sd better. I anticipated that the increase in size would make most viewing worse, but to me this is not the case. Good luck.