34" to 36" direct view HDTV (1 Viewer)

Hey folks,

I'm looking to buy a 34" to 36" direct view HDTV. What are the features that I should be looking for? What are the advantages and disadvantages of 16:9 and 4:3 ratio TV? Any recommendations? PS. What is the life expectancy of a plasma monitor? Sorry for all the questions... got tired after reading 200 threads.

Sim

Greetings

Plasmas are rated for more than 30000 hrs which equals many years of service.

Regards

IF the 36 inch has a compression mode (which almost all do) thent he 36" is the better choice, assuming they are the same price.

the bottom line is the 34" has a different shaped box around the screen, it offers far less picture size when watching 4:3 material(I believe it is a 28" equivalent for 4:3 material).

the 36" loses a little bit of screen size when showing widescreen material (i believe it is a 33.1" equivalent widescreen)

Personally i would rather lose .9" on widescreen material than 8" on 4:3 material. unless you actually prefer stretched TV, sure many people get used to it, but many people like fullscreen versions of movies too.

Thanks guys,

John are you suggesting that it is better to get a fullscreen than a widescreen if all else is equal because overall you lose less screen size.

Sim

I am in the same boat, but I am leaning towards going with the 34" widescreen.

I watch very little TV during the day. Most of my viewing is done in prime time, watching prime time shows. My local cable carrier is carrying half of my networks in HD, with the other half soon to follow. That means I can watch my favorite shows in the correct aspect ratio with no distracting black bars in High Def.

In the future, there are going to be more and more HD signals, and I don't want to regret not buying a 16x9 set at that time.

Finally, my other reason is purely asthetic. The 34" 16x9 set, while longer, just looks sleeker and much smaller then the taller, boxier 36" set. In a small room like mine where 36" might seem too big, the 34" should look perfect.

The price of both are very close to each other so it will be hard for you to go wrong.

Simon, yeahthats basically what im saying, but to be clear i dont mean to take it exactly by the numbers. in this case 34" vs 36" you lose a little widescreen and about 9 times as much fullscreen. when the price tag is the same i cant see the justification.

Astetics play a big role for some people, but for me picture size dominates, well that and price. I would take a 34" over a 32" any day, but id take the 32" of the 30" and thats usually where the price points match up unfortunately.

Hey Dwight,

Have you narrowed down your selection yet? What features do you think are must haves for the TV?

Sim

Yes, I have made up my mind. Just today I took my wife to our local CC to see the Sony 34HS510 34" widescreen set. Just as I thought, she really likes the look of the set and agreed that the 36" sets would just look too big in our living room (very high).

I am already sold on widescreen because I have a 47" Panny widescreen set that I love. This is in my basement and I am looking for a smaller set to watch regular broadcast tv. The Sony has 2 main features that I am looking for. First is stretch modes. I do plan on watching some non HDTV shows, and Sony has excellent stretch modes. My Panny does not, and my wife has commented several times how people look fat. I have a friend with a 65" Sony and the stretch modes look great, with the wide zoom I can't even tell it's doing it's job. (Granted, you loose a little bit of picture, but for regular SD viewing I am ok with that).

The second feature I really want is connectivity. The Sony set has 2 component inputs which I need (a could really use a third if I plan on bringing my Xbox up from the Panny set), as well as a DVI input. Although I do not have a DVI device, I would hate to buy a TV at this late stage and not have one. My Panny does not, and I do fear that someday I will only be able to watch 480P DVD's on it.

Beyond those features and looks of the set, picture quality is the final choice. I need a direct view because this is going into a very suny room with very wide viewing angles. I know that I will be able to tweak this image enough to the point that I am happy with it. Perhaps I will even get it ISF's like I did my 47" set.

I plan on buying before December, and even sooner if a couple things happen personally. Let us know what you decide to do.

why do you lose some picture on the sides of a 36' direct view HDTV???