Bought a Widescreen TV! Now I'm scared... (1 Viewer)

[Brian Ralph]

http://www.bestbuy.com/detail.asp?e=...cat=24&scat=25
I know it's a nice set, but I'm still a bit nervous. I don't have a progressive scan DVD player yet, and the wife is tiring of my "upgrades".
Wife: "So this is all we need to get that great picture?"
Me: "Well, yeah. Except we would need an HDTV receiver for about $500. Also would need a progressive scan DVD player most likely." [Sees frown creeping on wife's face] "But we don't really need that stuff. Just the TV will be fantastic..."
Also, I know it's a part of their job, but the Best Buy employee put the fear of god into me about turning down the service contract. "Needs something done every six months, or all the blacks turn orange" or something like that. Seriously, he did mention some maintenance to be done every six months to ensure no problems down the road. Sounded like hogwash to me. I assume if I calibrate it properly using Avia, watch a variety of programming (DVD, stretch mode TV), and leave it alone, I likely won't have a problem.
One last thing... How in the world am I supposed to decide what to watch first?!!!

 

[Daniel Becker]

Sounds like you've got a sweet set. I would recommend just making sure you get yourself a progressive scan dvd player first. You can get a decent one for $150-200 and that would make your movie viewing a wonderful experience. I would just wait on the HD reciever. Thats a whole new project for later.
Also, those Best Buy employees are certainly a bit dramtic when it comes to the warranty sale. Thats simply because they only make comission on those warranty sales. So, when you give a guy who's only making $9 an opportunity to make extra money, he's going to do whatever it takes to make it. That includes lying, exagerrating, and basically telling you anything he thinks might convince you to buy that extended service plan.
Dan.b

 

[Lew Crippen]

Another view is that some of the newer sets have very good line doublers.

If you are a sports fan, getting HD now could be a real plus, what with the announcements of ABC/ESPN on their HD telecast schedule later this year.

Sports in HD are just beyond description.

 

[MickeS]

He was most likely talking about calibration like adjusting the convergence. I've heard many Best Buy employees talk about that with their customers. I'm not sure they even do that though... and I'm definitely not sure I'd WANT them to do it.
/Mike

 

[Neil Joseph]

Absolutely do not let Best Buy or whoever their service department is, calibrate your TV. When you are ready, get a professional ISF calibration done. It will provide a big boost to your picture quality. We actually have 2 very good calibrators right here on the HTF as admins if ever you are deciding to get that done.
Regarding the future upgrades What can I say, yes, indeed, get that progressive scan DVD player if and when you can. FYI, the Panasonic RP-62 and RP-82 are 2 very popular contenders because of the Faroudja video processing and lack of the "chroma bug". Do a search on "chroma" and "bug" for more info on this.

 

[Brian Ralph]

Well I just might have to bite on that Panasonic RP-62. That's about the 3rd mention of it between here and DVDTalk, and Best Buy has it for $129 with a $25 mail in rebate. Assuming I can get good "trade-in value" on Ebay for my current player, it becomes almost a no-brainer (to me, likely not to the wife).

 

[Jack Briggs]

Congrats on the set, Brian. And I don't know if the BB saleskid said anything about it to you or not, but if you don't purchase the extended warranty your RPTV will be reduced to a mass of lumpy jelly after about a year's time. It would be harmful to children too.

 

[Brian Ralph]

I ordered the Panny progressive scan player from Best Buy. Could've saved another $13 by using the coupon yesterday, oh well...

Gotta be done for awhile. Between this and the DirecTV/TIVO unit just before Christmas, I dropped a bunch into my setup.

 

[BruceSpielbauer]

Congrats.

A Progressive Scan DVD player looks so great on an HDTV monitor, and the costs for these are now so low that this is definitely a "must do now."

You can wait for the HDTV set top box. The DVDs should keep you busy. I would beg, borrow, or rent a good calibration DVD (such as Avia, Sound & Vision Tune-up, Home Theater Essentials), and carefully calibrate the set. Then, relax, and enjoy those DVDs. While you are doing this, two things will be happening...

1.) The price on those HDTV set top boxes will continue to drop. The ones that were $1000 two years ago are now breaking into the $600 and $500 price areas. I have seen the Hughes E86 (which does DirectTV and antenna) for $475.00 now, often. I have seen some of the ones that just do antenna for $375.00 and $350.00. This trend will continue, and I expect they will not "settle" until they reach $100 to $150.

2.) The amount of HDTV content will continue to increase. The last six months have been the best yet for this, and I expect this trend to continue. Discovery's new HDTV is up and running. HDNet has just added three new HDTV channels (a movie channel, a sports channel, and an entertainment channel). ESPN is adding an HDTV version, slated to start in April. Cinemax has announced one, for this summer. Bravo just announced one. HBO and Showtime already have this. DirecTV just went from HDTV pay per view in late-night only, to a dedicated HDTV pay per view channel which runs all day and night. CBS is doing 3 playoff games in HDTV. ABC is doing the Superbowl in HDTV. Other recent announcements include such things as the Oscars, the Tony Awards, Masters, and similar "special events." Monday Night Football is coming in HDTV, and so are more NFL games.

The major networks continue to increase HDTV programming. CBS now does all new prime time series which are "scripted" in higd def. This means everything except the reality-based stuff, and the news. The other two major networks continue to increase programming. Even WB and UPN are adding HDTV stuff now, and announcing more to come.

And, at long last, the Cable TV companies have jumped on board. They were the most reluctant, but they now realize that 4 million HDTV capable sets means they were already beginning to lose some customers to DirecTV and Dish just because those two could offer a small smattering of HDTV. (I informed my Cable company of this, when I signed up for DirectTV. They are now piloting an HDTV offering in my location, for a future rollout).

The more of this that comes, the more the transition will increase in speed. The longer you can hold off (to a degree, right now), the more that will be available for you when you make the leap to HDTV. I waited 5 months. I am glad I made the leap, but I am also glad I enjoyed the DVDs thoroughly, calibrated my picture, tweaked and enjoyed. Time is on your side, at the moment. Re-evaluate HDTV in late, late spring, or this summer.

Enjoy,

-Bruce in Chi-Town

 

[Qui-Gon John]

There is also a website I found from HTF, don't remember the specific link though, where you can get good info on doing some calibration yourself. If someone could post the link, I think it had something to do with Keogh or similar.

 

[CraigEG]

I worked at best buy until very recently. Funny thing is they dont get commision on anything- not even service plans... Sup's and managers get bonuses based on their numbers, but the regular sales people get nada. How they brainwash the sales people to lie and exxagerate to pitch their service plans and accessories, (especially when most of them aren't even making 9 bucks) was totally beyond me- I must've called out that day. It defintely made working there a real drag though.

 

[Brian Ralph]

Well I couldn't find the Panny RP-62 at a local Best Buy to take advantage of the $25 rebate. I could've ordered it, but I wanted it with my TV on Friday.
I pricematched Best Buy's price at HH Gregg ($129). Unfortunately the rebate is a Best Buy exclusive. I looked through the Panasonic website, and found that you can get 5 Blockbuster Movie Cards with the purchase of that player as well. Movie cards are valid for one DVD rental. Here's the link:
http://www.panasonic.com/consumer_el...ster_promo.asp
Certainly not as good as $25, but it's something anyway.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

, those Best Buy employees are certainly a bit dramtic when it comes to the warranty sale. Thats simply because they only make comission on those warranty sales

The only commission they make is that they get to keep their jobs

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Found it, here is the link. A lot of good info. I used the info from here to calibrate my Pioneer SD-583 when I got it. Out of the box it had a big red push problem that caused dark scenes and black people to have a strong purplish hue. Starting with the service menu settings from this web site, and doing some minor tweaking for preferences, along with Avia greyscale on the screen, I got this set pretty damn good. Sure a true ISF Cal may be better, but I'm sure what I've got isn't too bad.
Here's the link:
http://www.keohi.com/keohihdtv/

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Brian,
Nobody answered the last question in your post, so here goes (even though it probably should be in the software forum ):
Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Edition(!)
Toy Story 2
What Dreams May Come (might be good for the WAF too )
The Matrix
Braveheart
Dark City
Saving Private Ryan
Baraka (as suggested on a different forum site, if it's your cup of tea)
And I'm sure there are plenty more...
_Man_

 

[Neil Joseph]

Star Wars: Attack Of The Clones is the best looking DVD in my collection anyway. Others worthy of mention include...
- Vertical Limit SB
- The Fifth Element SB
- Starship Troopers
- Gladiator
- Ice Age
- Fellowship Of The Ring EE
- Monsters Inc
- Shrek
- Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron
- Toy Story 2

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

I knew somebody would mention AotC. I just can bring myself to suggest it since I can't stand the SW prequels. Maybe that will change w/ Episode 3, but I'm not holding my breath...
Neil, I'm surprised you didn't mention Spiderman despite your sig. Actually, I liked it much better after seeing it on my new 53" TV. I thought the action looked to fake/fast on the old 32".
_Man_

 

[Brian Ralph]

Yeah, I think we're going with Spiderman. I haven't watched it on DVD yet (saw it in the theater), and it's one the wife wants to see too. With my supply of nearly 250 DVDs and my itch to watch them all again very soon, I'm going to have to find an awful lot of free time.

One quick question regarding setup. I know to bump down the contrast right away, but in regards to Avia, should I use it right away or let the set "settle" a bit first? I keep reading that it takes several days of use before you see a real picture difference, so it seems like waiting a few days to make adjustments with Avia would make sense.

 

[Neil Joseph]

If you are worried about burnin the by all means, bump the contrast down right away. Then, when you log in about 100 hours on the set, do the AVIA calibrations. In the future when you are able, you can spring for an ISF calibration if you wish. Make sure you are using that progressive scan DVD player by then since the results (ISF calibration) will differ slightly from the old interlaced DVD player. That is the dilemma I am in now.

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Use Avia when your set is delivered, then calibrate it with Avia again after about 100 hours. This is what I did. The initial calibration was to get the contrast down, the next one was to fine tune. It cannot hurt to calibrate with Avia right away (it will most definately help) and if your set does "settle in", just calibrate again - it's not that time consuming. Also, do at least a user convergence or (optimally) a service menu convergence if you can find out how to get into the service menu. These two things (Avia and service convergence) were the difference between a lousy and an outstanding picture on my Toshiba 56H80.