Need Help Picking Out Rear Projection HDTV (1 Viewer)

[Jon Th]

I am new to the board and need some help selecting a rear projection HDTV in the 42-50" range.

I have looked at some Samsungs, Toshiba's, Mitsubishi's, etc., but get more confused as I look.

Can someone give me some insights on what brand is better for the price?

Most have similiar features, but the Mits seem to be about $500 more in price.

Also, I have seen some stuff about DVI. Can someone also tell me what that is about and how it is used?

I appeciate any help you can give me. Thanks.

 

[Will Orth]

Well I asked a question what DVD PLAYER TO GET AND -0- REPLYS! So dont feel bad.


Will

 

[Iver]

Here's a page with some popular models of HDTV's. Personally, I would go with one of their sale-priced Toshibas such as the 42H81 for $1411 or the 50H81 for $1650. The 42H82 is pretty similar to the H81, but it comes with free shipping so it might be a good choice at $1800.
These are all 16:9 (widescreen models) which I would suggest for anybody interested mostly in displaying DVD's and eventually viewing HDTV broadcasts. These sets are all HD-ready, meaning they will accept the high-def analog output from an HDTV tuner which you must buy separately. HDTV tuners have now dropped to around $300.
My suggestion of the Toshibas is based on overall quality, features, and, mainly, image quality. The Tosh sets look especially good when displaying DVDs. Other people will probably have other preferences and some will also possibly suggest you go with a 4:3 (standard) screen.
The DVI is a new digital connection standard for video signals. It does appear to be slowly catching on with some manufacturers, but it is not something you have worry about too much right now. Just the standard component-video inputs on any HD-ready RPTV will let you hook up to pretty much any DVD player on the market and any HDTV tuner.
It is not too likely that component-video inputs will cease to be used for high-def signal sources (HDTV tuners, the new HD-DVD players when they do finally hit the market) because this would cause quite a protest from the roughly three million people who now own HD-ready TV's with component-video inputs. Plus it would eliminate them as possible consumers of any device lacking this type of output.
So DVI may catch on. It's not a bad thing to have on a set, but you do not need to rule out a good deal on a 2002-model RPTV just because it does not have DVI.
If you want to read some reviews of specific sets with more details, go to this page where I have more information on recent Toshiba and Sony sets (you'll have to scroll down to get to these).
Also, the search function here is very useful. Put in "dvi" and you will get back quite a few informative threads.

 

[Robert_J]

AVS Forum has a section on rear projection TV's, HDTV hardware and local HDTV reception. Read, read and read some more before posting. It's more technical than this board so you might not understand everything the first time. Search on terms you don't understand and someone at sometime has explained them.
You have a ton of choices when it comes to HDTV's. Pick the size that you want or pick a budget. Make a list of all the TV's that fit and list the features and read reviews. After all of this I decided on the Mitsu WS-55411. It had multiple component HD inputs (I didn't care about DVI), no ATSC tuner (I'm using a Hughes E86 DirecTV receiver for OTA signals) and it was more tweakable than others (you could turn off SVM, etc.).
-Robert