a big screen thought.... (1 Viewer)

[MarkWC]

After much research and thought, I was thinking, what justifies purchasing a 4:3 non def set over the highly demanded and purty 16:9 HD Monitors?
First off, I only watch standard def satelitte, non digital cable, and maybe 1 or 2 a week dvds. Why, because I live on an island and this is what is available. I really don't think I will have too much available HDTV feeds in the near future.
I am most concerned about buying unused technology and the stretch modes of a 4:3 picture on a widescreen. I am beginning to think a 4:3 screen may be more adequate for my relative atmosphere. Foremost, I want the best possible picture meaning I will buy a 16:9 if the CRT and other technology is more advanced than that of most 4:3 sets.
Bottom line, am I crazy??
The fact is, most of my viewing would be unformatted and dvds would still be a lot more cinema like than my 32" direct view.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

But what 4x3 non-HD TV would you buy?

I can understand if you're sticking to direct-views since HD direct-views are still quite a bit more expensive than non-HD. But if you want an RPTV, I don't see why you'd want non-HD even if you want to stick w/ 4x3.

FWIW, I did almost buy a Toshiba 4x3 HD set, but decided to go w/ a Panny 16x9 since the price was almost the same and my primary reason for getting a new TV right now is to watch DVDs. Of course, I do watch more DVDs than you--maybe 5 or 6x per week--and have kids who watch DVDs everyday also.

_Man_

 

[Jack Briggs]

Buying an NTSC-only RPTV now is not wise. Some manufacturers have stopped producing non-HD-capable RPTVs altogether. If you like the 4:3 aspect ratio as a native starting point, purchase such a set if it has a user menu-accessible 16:9 mode.

 

[Tom Kindel]

Hi All,

1st. post for me here...but this thread is exactly the conundrum I currently find myself in.

I'm upgrading my living room entertainment system to something that at least resembles HT. Like Mark...while not on an Island, I'm not impressed with the HDTV content that is currently available. 80% of my viewing is/will be analog cable with the occasional DVD. For that reason I am seriously considering staying with a 4:3 format display. But like Jack said, I'm making sure it is HD ready in at least an attempt at some "future proofing". I figure the majority of my viewing will be in the native 4:3 mode. If the screen is big enough, when it goes into 16:9/letterbox mode for a DVD it will be at the enhanced resolution and still large enough to look good. My biggest study project is researching RPTV's Vs direct view CRT.

In my anticipated price range...

 

[Patrick Sun]

Your best bet is to go for a Sony 4:3 HDTV that has the squeeze mode for 16x9 material.

There might be some other brands with the same capabilities, but I don't know of any off-hand (perhaps the Toshiba has a model that fits the bill).

 

[Tom Kindel]

Patrick Sun said:
"Your best bet is to go for a Sony 4:3 HDTV that has the squeeze mode for 16x9 material... (perhaps the Toshiba has a model that fits the bill)."
Actually, that's one reason I picked the Tosh 36HFX. It has the 16:9 squeeze mode, a highly rated line doubler, SVM that can be turned off, 3D Comb Filter, setting memories for each input...etc. I've seen several very positive reviews on it and it compared very favorably in the Home Theater store today to more expensive brands/models. They're running a Christmas special of $1799 on it. I may gamble that they run a little better "after Christmas special". I'm not quite ready to pull the trigger on the TV yet. Besides needing some more study on the TV purchase, I'm also working a deal for a demo Marantz SR9200 (at half MSRP) that has me drooling right now! Gonna have to work some OT to finance my anticipated hobby acquisitions...
Tom

 

[Patrick Sun]

Tom, do you know of a larger sized Toshiba model with the same features? 36" might be too small for Mark (or maybe not).

 

[Tom Kindel]

Patrick...and Mark for that matter,

The Tosh 36HFX72 is a 4:3 direct view CRT TV. AFAIK, Sony is the only company that makes anything bigger in a direct view CRT TV, their 40" monster, the KV40XBR800 (Also 4:3)! A whopping 304 Lbs. without stand and 3 Kilobucks! I believe if you want anything larger you'll have to go RPTV or one of the exotic (read High $$$) technologies like Plasma.

The main reason I'm looking primarily at direct view CRT's is the forgiving usable viewing angle and their inherant brighter picture. I still have a problem with the narrower viewing angle of RPTV's, although they're getting better.
--
Tom

 

[Jan Strnad]

I have a small viewing area and settled on a 16:9 42" RPTV (Tosh). Satellite has never looked better, thanks to the line doubling that eliminates scan lines. DVDs are outstanding, and I find it psychologically satisfying that widescreen movies are bigger than broadcast TV.
The Tosh's stretch modes are great (everyone's stretch modes are getting much better) and we can often watch the non-linearly-stretched picture without feeling that the pictue is distorted. I switch back to 4:3 with side bars for narrow movies and sometimes just to keep the #@!% network bug moving. I also sometimes zoom in, as on Trio, to get the bright bug off the screen entirely, scrolling the picture down to see the top of the picture and cutting off only the bottom. (You can do all of these adjustments with the remote and the user menu.)
My wife loves the form factor of the 42" Toshiba, as do I. I just find a wider screen more pleasing to look at, even when it's off.
I watch no HDTV at all, but I'm glad to have a set that will provide it whenever I decide it's worth paying for a HDTV tuner.
For $1500, delivered, the 42H81 (last year's model) was the perfect choice for me. YMMV.
Jan