Should I think about upgrading my TV? (1 Viewer)

[Howard_S]

I currently have a Pioneer Elite SD-P5193 monitor. I bought it 4 years ago and for me I had quite a bit of money invested in it. It's still great but it's not 16:9 (it's wider than 4:3 but not 16:9) and it's not HDTV. Every component in my home system is 4 years old now and technology has changed quite a bit over the years and I was wondering if I should seriously consider upgrading my tv among other things. I have no idea what to do with old TVs though. My family doesn't buy a tv until the old one breaks.
One problem is that I don't see myself going to a smaller screen even though I can save a lot of money by doing so. Buying another 51inch Elite monitor will cost $7000CDN.

 

[Allan Jayne]

>>> (it's wider than 4:3 but not 16:9)
If you can continuously adjust the picture height and width and can get both 4:3 and 16:9 settings,
If there are composite and S-video jacks that can be used simultaneously and selected via the remote,
If the convergence, geometry, etc. are good,
If the picture does not show noticeable burn in of staion logos, etc,
If the picture looks nice overall,
Then
You don't really need a new TV.
You can get a lot of enjoyment without component video or progressive scan. You can get HDTV tuner boxes that plug into the S-video jack.
Since there is so much talk of Hollywood withholding movies from over the air HDTV, except watered down to approximately NTSC quality or as pay TV, it is a good idea to hold off on buying newer technology unless you absolutely have to, namely the old TV breaks.
Or at least you can take your time when shopping around for new gear. Sacrificing picture size for other niceties or cost considerations is a big sacrifice when you already have a good TV, IMHO.
Other video hints: http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm
[Edited last by Allan Jayne on November 04, 2001 at 09:19 AM]

 

[Howard_S]

I think my tv is a widescreen. Just not HDTV widescreen so when the screen is 16:9 I will have black borders since mine is 16:10.7? or something like that.
I'm a pretty advid gamer and the thought that I couldn't run games at 60fps or something bugs me a bit. But you're right. My tv is still good to me. I just don't know if being able to run progressive scan is worth it to me.