Keep my old TV for a while? What am I losing out on? (1 Viewer)

I currently have a Toshiba Cinema Series 57HX81 HDTV, purchased circa 2001 that used to be a highly regarded unit in its day.

A couple of days ago, I posted to the Displays forum regarding ideas for upgrading from this to something newer and I have been researching models and technologies. However, I have recently been asking myself - what are the deficiencies of the TV I have and what will I get in a newer one that should trigger a purchase?

A little background - I am not a heavy movie watcher or a heavy TV watcher either. Since purchasing the TV, we have had HD off and on through Dish, but our TV viewing has been voluntarily curtailed due to the presence of young children, which is just as well.

Some potential advantages of buying a new set:

1. Current TVs/technologies (DLP, LCoS, etc.) are much better PQ-wise.
2. Current TVs are much sleeker and take up much less space. I am moving to a condo and space is somewhat at a premium and I must admit the 57HX81 is a behemoth.

The questions I have are a) is the 540p/1080i capability of the 57HX81 is a serious liability at this time since it doesn't have 760p, and b) is the picture quality of the set, while very good for its time, simply doesn't match what can be available today.

Given the fact that I am not an early adopter of things like HD-DVD, I don't know if I need 1080p anytime soon.

Any guidance here would be greatly appreciated. I am leaning towards waiting and not pulling the trigger quite yet to take advantage of the price curve of 1080p sets, but then again, given my impending residence move, the chance to clear the decks and start afresh is intriguing.

So, you say you don't watch many movies or much TV and you want to know if you should upgrade to gain advantages, which you largely won't take advantage of, for the sake of a small improvement in PQ, which probably won't even show on the source material you use. I'm just taking a stab at it, but I'd say, probably not. The only valid reason I see is the size of the set. If that alone is enough reason, go for it.

lol... John, you have a way with words!

Yeah, I'd say the most compelling argument for switching is space. I'll have to go look at some newer models to see if there is a dramatic difference. I am not sure moving from a CRT RPTV to a DLP/LCoS is a significant space savings and large size (>60in) flat panels are still too expensive for me, so I'll probably wait until the large LCD FPs come into the price range of mere mortals.

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond to what in hindsight seems like a rather silly message.

I'm just glad you took my response in the spirit it was intended. Not everyone does...

Keep the old TV! You've already got a very nice TV and if you don't watch many movies or broadcast I personally would spend the money on something else I'd enjoy more. My projector is the first 'tv' I've bought since my other one in 1993.

I don't know what it is with those 1080 big plasma screen HDTVs. The picture looks like it has digital compression problems.

since you don't watch allot of movies, I would just save the money and keep your set for the time being.

if I was you I would keep the old one if you dont buy a hd receiver and outdoor antenna because your off and on with sat. you get it for free it not that great but you can get more of hd during the off time with sat.