$1200 for Christmas. How are these big screens??? (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Sch.]

WEll i got aorund $1200 to spend and want to get a tv set. A big sceen to be exact.
I was looking at the Toshiba 50a61 that is not HDTV but looks damn nice. Any comments on this tv? Afte PM it would cost me $1088 including tax. Also, I have looked at the 55" Magnavox from bestbuy for $1000. Can anyone tell me about these?

Also whats the differece between the 50a61 and the 50a62???


Lastley, if i dont get a huge screen, i could upgrade my HT setup. Look at my signature for what i have now. If i do go smaller show me a good non hdtv deal. Cannot afford a HDtv

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Jeff,

Don't be too quick to rule out an HDTV w/ a $1200 budget. If you want a big screen, you might be able to find one on clearance/blowout--don't buy used/demo though. Someone recently posted that his local Sam's Club was selling the Panny 47wx49 for only $850(!). If there's a Sam's Club nearby, I suggest running out to take a look to see what they have. Do note that the 47wx49 has the caveat that 480p signals are locked into FULL mode, ie. 16x9 stretch, and SVM can only be disabled by disconnecting some internal cables. Also, it doesn't have DVI, but then again, neither will an NTSC-only TV.

If direct-view and the requisite smaller size are fine for you, Samsung makes a few models that fit into your budget. Also, maybe you can find the Toshiba 32H72 (4x3) to fit your budget, if not just a tad over.

Merry Christmas!

_Man_

 

[Jeff Sch.]

"""Do note that the 47wx49 has the caveat that 480p signals are locked into FULL mode, ie. 16x9 stretch. Also, it doesn't have DVI, but then again, neither will an NTSC-only TV."""

So does that mean i can only watch widescreen movies? What about digital cable broadcast and vcr movies?
ALSO WHAT ABOUT PS2 GAMES AND XBOX GAMES!!!!

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

The caveat about 480p (ie. progressive scan) "locked into FULL mode" can be worked around. The 47wx49 has it's own linedoubler, so you can always just switch to 480i (ie. interlaced/regular video) for non-16x9 DVDs and let the TV's doubler do the work for you. But the best thing to do would be to get a DVD player that can scale such DVDs to look like 16x9 to the TV. The current Toshiba's, the Panny RP91 and most JVC's of the last couple years can do this scaling for you. There are a few others, including the Malata's, but those are the ones most people use for this.

Even if you get a TV that doesn't have this caveat, you might still want such players since doing the zooming on the TV side is not as good as on the player's side. If you don't zoom/scale at all, non-16x9 letterboxed DVDs will have a small window-boxed image, ie. bars on all 4 sides. Of course, IF you go w/ a 4x3 TV, then this would not be an issue at all.

For other sources like cable/sat and VCR, I assume you won't have progressive scan video to send to the TV. For console games, I'm not sure. I know some games have progressive scan support, but you should probably be able to output in interlaced video, if any of them are not 16x9. You might want to look into this more.

Oh, one nice thing about the wx49 vs this year's Panny's is that it comes w/ a "game mode" that turns off the internal linedoubler. Digital cable/sat can look terrible when linedoubled, especially on a big screen. You may or may not find better results w/ the linedoubler disabled.

_Man_

 

[Jan Strnad]

I'd be really hesitant to spend $1200 without getting an HDTV-ready set. You are so close!
I seem to remember that someone got a 42H82 Tosh (projection set, 42" screen, HDTV, widescreen) for under $1400 recently. The difference in picture quality between this and an analog projection set is staggering. Even with the "locked mode" of the Panasonic (which is a pain) you'd get a better TV overall when compared with an old-tech analog set.
And do check those discounters like Sam's Club and Costco!
Good luck!
Jan

 

[Jack Briggs]

Saw a couple of bargains advertised in this morning's Los Angeles Times: Howard's Video is selling the 47-inch Panny for only $1,499, while Audio Video Center is pushing the 48-inch widescreen JVC for the same price. At this level, it makes zero sense to buy into an obsolete NTSC-only RPTV. (Bear in mind also that some manufacturers are ceasing production of NTSC-only RPTVs altogether.)

 

[JayQuinty]

Jeff,
I just bought the Sony KP-46WT500 from onecall.com and I was extremely happy not only with the ease of purchase, but the delivery was included in the price, no sales tax, and it got here in less than a week...Christmas included. The TV ran me a bit more than you're looking to spend, around $1650 delivered, but we are extremely happy with it. You can find the Panny 51 widescreen on the net for just under $1500 delivered if you use MySimon.com or Cnet shopper. I understand it's also an excellent RPTV for the money.
I have my TV hooked up to an HD direct TV receiver and the HD picture on HDnet is PHENOMENAL!! Granted, there isn't much, OK so there's hardly any, HD programming available, but it will only continue to improve over time. DVD's also look excellent, although not as nice as an HD picture. My advice would be to continue to save until you can get a widescreen RPTV.
Jay