Hold off til 03 models arrive? 02 summary (1 Viewer)

[ross ish]

HD RPTV developing are being developed at a frenzied pace. It appears that in 2002 all of the major players made significant upgrades to their HD RPTV lines while in conjuncture also reducing their prices. As such, the forums pointed out some quality control issues from rushing out new technologies before being thoroughly debugged.

Nevertheless, the 2002 models offer enough advances where premature obsolence is not in the forseeable horizon. The question being, should I pull the trigger on an 02 model or hold off til the 03 come out in a few months (which hopefully solves some bugs and maybe offer further price reductions over their predecesor)?

new feautures for 2002

Toshiba hdx82-new hd wide crt, new theater fine screen, new cable clear dnr, the theater wide hd mode, new hd contrast, new adj vsm, new dvi...known problems flicker issue with new superfine phosphorus crt

RCA Scenium hdw140-new long neck crt, built in atsc tuner, new (dvi, firewire, ethernet)...known problems is sudden shutdown (fix in works from oversensitive surge protection circuit)

Hitachi xwx20-new super contrast lens, new wide neck crt, new virtual hd, new deep black shield, new magic focus...know problems ghosting, pastel pixel flesh, red push/green depush

Mitsubishi diamond-new micro fine plus crt...only known problem is red push. however, they lack dvi, 720processing, fine pitch screen, adequate analog upconversion

Sony-unknown changes for 2002..known problem flickering

 

[Rod D]

This is the dilemma that I am living right now. Buy now or wait. I have been looking and reading every thing I can about HDTVs and it seems like it's an ever evolving issue. I read in I think "Sound and Vision" that DVI will be obsolete for 2003 replaced with something similar to a USB jack. This jack will appear on TVs, receivers and other components. I am putting together a new HT system from the ground up, Digital TV, A/V receiver, DVD player, speakers and sub, HD Sat Box at a later date (waiting for Dish's new box). So I am very concerned about buying in a changing market. I don't want to buy now and find that I should have waited for the next years model missing out on significant improvements in connectability. I have been looking at Toshiba, Hitachi and Mitsubishi HD RPT and have decided on the Mitsubishi WS-55411. My decision is based upon my experience with the Misubishi line and to their "Upgradeability Promise", thinking that at lest I have some certaintee that my TV will be upgradeable in the future if there is significant change.

 

[Wesley S]

Although TVs aren't my thing I have found that it's similar to the PC market. If you keep waiting for the next latest and greatest, you'll be waiting forever. Something new and improved will always be coming out. I understand it's hard not to look forward to whats new and what features might be of importance to you in the future but you have to draw the line somewhere.

 

[Richard Paul]

I would not recommend a Mitsubishi since they lack a DVI-HDCP input. As for DVI-HDCP becoming obsolete that isn't true at all! Instead an improved DVI-HDCP with audio called HDMI will be coming out, but HDMI will be backward compatible with DVI-HDCP. DVI-HDCP is DVI with encryption to prevent the signal from being copied and is present on all 2002 rear-projector models from Hitachi, RCA, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and several others. The future High Definition DVD format will certainly use HDMI which is backward compatible with DVI-HDCP. The only major company in 2003 which will not include DVI-HDCP on their rear-projector models is Mitsubishi. I would recommend subscribing to Widescreen Review which will allow you to read their past two articles on HDMI from February and March 2003 in their back issues section. Besides learning about the newest developments in HDMI it is also the best magazine for home theater I know of. Also for Mitsubishi's "Upgradeability Promise" it in no way says that they have to upgrade your TV to HDMI and the price for their last upgrade was $1,000.

 

[Jan Strnad]

I agree. I wouldn't buy any set based on an "upgradeability promise" from any manufacturer. Either it's there right now or it isn't. Maybe it'll become available, maybe it'll be affordable or maybe, as with Mitsubishi, it'll be available at 1/2 of the price of a new set.

I also agree that something wonderful is always just around the corner. It can pay to wait, and it can pay to buy behind the curve and get a great deal on last year's model.

These are trying times, indeed....

Jan

 

[John Geelan]

I'm hoping to finally buy a HDTV this Christmas season so it would be nice if a clear-cut answer would arrive.

I'd hate to buy a TV thats obsolete right away.

 

[Guy Kuo]

The waiting game goes on forever. Next year always brings newer features. However, you don't get to hang around and postpone indefinitely. Every day that passes by is an expended resource you NEVER get back. At some point in your scant (average) 28,000 day lifespan you hopefully remember to treat yourself to things you enjoy. Waiting because it is fiscally responsible is one thing, waiting indefinitely for the next model around the corner is another.

 

[Wesley S]

I've always wondered is there a particular season thats good for buying TVs? What about a certain holiday? Is one better than another?