Upgrade question (obvious?) (1 Viewer)

[Gary.Blevins]

Greets,
I am looking to upgrade our Sony KP53XBR200, but am severely limited regarding chassis size, as 48.5" wide is the max our wall cutout will allow. I was looking at a new SONY KP51WS500 (48" wide), but had a few questions:

1. Would an "entry level" HDTV monitor give any improvement in picture quality over my older XBR? (Assuming that I do not want to spring for the HDTV receiver at this time.)

2. Given the size limitations, would I be better purchasing another 4:3 HDTV monitor in a larger (53") size, versus a 51" 16:9?

3. Finally, are there better options for a 16:9 HDTV monitor with a 48" chassis than the SONY KP51WS500?

Thanks,

Gary

 

[Gilbert ^P]

i would DEFINATLY stick with widescreen.

Not sure on measurements but, you can check it out yourself

Sony 51 WS500
Sony KP 46WT500 (I HAVE THIS ONE)
TOSHIBA 50 H82 OR HDX 82
HITACHI 51 INCH
MITISUBISHI 48 INCH
JVC 48 INCH

THERE ARE OTHERS PROBABLY BUT CAN'T THINK OF ANY MORE. THESE ARE ALL WIDESCREEN I'M REFERING TO.

 

[Gary.Blevins]

Thanks for the reply Gilbert!

Gary

 

[Gary.Blevins]

I guess my XBR is so old, that no one else has any opinions?

Gary

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Gary,

If memory serves, your set has DRC (line doubling), but is not HD capable and will not display a 480p signal from a progressive scan dvd player, nor does it have a squeeze mode for anamorphic dvds??
Sorry if I'm wrong on this.

Sony's DRC is much better now than the early version on your set. The picture for ntsc sources on the current HD-ready sets is not nearly as soft as on the old DRC sets.

The ability to display 480p natively is also a plus over drc. A widescreen set also will display anamorphic widescreen dvd much better, as the player won't have to "throw away" every 4th scanline and interpolate the lost picture information.

 

[Gary.Blevins]

Thanks Steve!

Now I just have to decide if it is better to settle for a smaller size screen and a another model/brand, if I cannot find any others with a 51" screen and a 48" cabinet.

Gary

 

[Steve Schaffer]

Gary,

A 51" diagonal screen is 44.5" wide. The frame around the screen on the Sony KP51WS500 is about an inch wide, so it's overall width is maybe 2 or 3 inches more than screen width. Should just fit in your 48.5" cutout. Anything over 51" diagonal isn't gonna fit.