Dennis P
Auditioning
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2001
- Messages
- 13
Hello,
Sorry if this is long-winded, I'm a new member trying to educate myself on the morass of feature combinations and permutations that are available on direct-view TV sets. My viewing area is small, so for budgetary reasons I'd like to stick with 27-32", would like at least 480p for watching DVDs (I just bought a progressive player on sale, the Sony DVPNS700P), and I seem to like the flat screens. I've never liked the look of RPTVs (sorry!)
Samsung makes (made?) what they called EDTV ("extended-definition") sets with just 480p under the TSK series. Apparently they no longer make these, as their website is devoid of any information about them (they are pushing their new HDTV sets), and my local Tweeter has them drastically marked down (including one floor model for half price).
I've read about important things like the progressive scan line doubler, 3DYC comb filter, 16:9 vertical compression, etc.. and have narrowed my search to three models:
Samsung TSK2792F 27" EDTV 4:3 flat screen floor model (cheapest).
Samsung TSK3092WF 30" EDTV 16:9 widescreen (most expensive, even on sale)
Samsung TSL2795HF 27" HDTV 4:3 brand new model (almost as much $ as the 30")
Has anyone had experience with these specific sets, or Samsung in general?
With the TSK2792F I'm concerned because it's a floor model. Is it a bad idea to buy a floor model, even at a great price?
I'm concerned about the TSK3092WF because they have no demo and I can't have them run through a demo for me. Not sure that a demo of a "similar" set would be relevant.
I'd like to see how the various types of programming I watch would look: DVDs (both anamorphic and non-anamorpic widescreen, and 4:3 movies), analog cable TV in 4:3, and analog cable TV channels that are letterboxed (e.g. PBS and some movie channels). I'm really interested in knowing how the 16:9 tv will display the letterboxed cable tv shows... will I get black bars at the sides AND at the top? Or can I "zoom" in to fill more of the screen?
Finally, a comment on picture quality. I've looked at similar Samsung sets at different retailers, and the picutre quality seems to vary. I'm chalking this up to source differences or improper setup by the staff... but one thing that jumped out at me was an apparent slight "posterization", particularly noticable with gradations of color like a blue sky. What causes this? Again, I'm not an expert but I AM observant. I also tend to notice geometry problems more than the average person. I walk into a store and see the same program across 40 sets, and immediately notice that a circle is being displayed as a wide variety of ovals across the different sets. Unfortunately, that makes me a person with expensive tastes but without the wallet to back them up, as my wife likes to remind me.
Probably 80% of my viewing is 4:3 analog cable programming. This is why I concluded that a good 480p set with line doubler is enough for me. I can't see buying an HDTV set until there is more HDTV programming (I rule out anything that requires me to set up an ANTENNA again). By the time that happens, TVs should be more like computer monitors (e.g. LCD with DVI) and have truly digital inputs (e.g. FireWire or SVGA) from an HDTV receiver.
--
Brad
Sorry if this is long-winded, I'm a new member trying to educate myself on the morass of feature combinations and permutations that are available on direct-view TV sets. My viewing area is small, so for budgetary reasons I'd like to stick with 27-32", would like at least 480p for watching DVDs (I just bought a progressive player on sale, the Sony DVPNS700P), and I seem to like the flat screens. I've never liked the look of RPTVs (sorry!)
Samsung makes (made?) what they called EDTV ("extended-definition") sets with just 480p under the TSK series. Apparently they no longer make these, as their website is devoid of any information about them (they are pushing their new HDTV sets), and my local Tweeter has them drastically marked down (including one floor model for half price).
I've read about important things like the progressive scan line doubler, 3DYC comb filter, 16:9 vertical compression, etc.. and have narrowed my search to three models:
Samsung TSK2792F 27" EDTV 4:3 flat screen floor model (cheapest).
Samsung TSK3092WF 30" EDTV 16:9 widescreen (most expensive, even on sale)
Samsung TSL2795HF 27" HDTV 4:3 brand new model (almost as much $ as the 30")
Has anyone had experience with these specific sets, or Samsung in general?
With the TSK2792F I'm concerned because it's a floor model. Is it a bad idea to buy a floor model, even at a great price?
I'm concerned about the TSK3092WF because they have no demo and I can't have them run through a demo for me. Not sure that a demo of a "similar" set would be relevant.
I'd like to see how the various types of programming I watch would look: DVDs (both anamorphic and non-anamorpic widescreen, and 4:3 movies), analog cable TV in 4:3, and analog cable TV channels that are letterboxed (e.g. PBS and some movie channels). I'm really interested in knowing how the 16:9 tv will display the letterboxed cable tv shows... will I get black bars at the sides AND at the top? Or can I "zoom" in to fill more of the screen?
Finally, a comment on picture quality. I've looked at similar Samsung sets at different retailers, and the picutre quality seems to vary. I'm chalking this up to source differences or improper setup by the staff... but one thing that jumped out at me was an apparent slight "posterization", particularly noticable with gradations of color like a blue sky. What causes this? Again, I'm not an expert but I AM observant. I also tend to notice geometry problems more than the average person. I walk into a store and see the same program across 40 sets, and immediately notice that a circle is being displayed as a wide variety of ovals across the different sets. Unfortunately, that makes me a person with expensive tastes but without the wallet to back them up, as my wife likes to remind me.
Probably 80% of my viewing is 4:3 analog cable programming. This is why I concluded that a good 480p set with line doubler is enough for me. I can't see buying an HDTV set until there is more HDTV programming (I rule out anything that requires me to set up an ANTENNA again). By the time that happens, TVs should be more like computer monitors (e.g. LCD with DVI) and have truly digital inputs (e.g. FireWire or SVGA) from an HDTV receiver.
--
Brad
