RPTV Recommendations (1 Viewer)

[Ron Duca]

We are in the market for a 50"-60" RPTV. Most of what we watch is cable tv broadcasts, non digital. About 2-4 times a week we will watch DVD and/or VHS movies.
We auditioned some HDTV's from Pioneer, really nice ones, and Mitsubishi. When viewing a high def program, or even a DVD, the picture on these sets was outstanding. However, when viewing a regular cable or local broadcast program, which is what we watch most of the time, the picture was awful, very grainy. The same cable pictures on non-HDTV sets was much less grainy.
Are we really seeing what we're seeing? Are the high def sets only good when viewing digital images? If so, any recommendations for non-high def RPTV's, $3,000 or less?
Thanks,
Ron

 

[Abdul Jalib]

Cable usually has a very low signal quality, and complaints about how cable looks on HD RPTV's are more the rule than the exception. Get DirecTV and either a Pioneer Elite or else a DVDO iScan Pro plus just about any other set and you'll get a great DirecTV and OTA picture, but cable may still stink. I use a DVDO iScan Pro + Philips 60PP9601, and DirecTV looks quite good, though DirecTV overcompresses its signal, except on pay-per-view, where it approaches DVD quality. If cost is an issue and you want to go without a DVDO iScan Pro, then the Toshiba 56H80 may be your best bet, or maybe the Sony 53HS10.
Another way you could solve your problem is to get an HDTV receiver right away, assuming you have OTA HDTV in your area and/or a satellite dish. That way, you'll be watching mostly HDTV, and won't want to watch NTSC, much less poor quality cable NTSC.
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[MTrotter]

Ron,
All the graininess and squiggles you are seeing are a result of the line-doublers that all the HD sets contain. Every one I've seen make cable almost unwatchable. I wish they would make these sets so that you could turn the line-doubler off for cable or antenna usage. Next to lack of funds, this is the biggest thing holding me back from getting a HD set. No HD programming in my area, so I only want the set so I can watch DVDs without downconversion, which also creates graininess and squiggles.