Some questions about RPTVs (1 Viewer)

[EugeneR]

We just got a new living room set and my better half wants a big new TV to complete the project; in order to promote domestic harmony I have to comply (pity me ). I have a few questions:
--I'm thinking about a 16:9 set, but I'm a little worried about burn in, since we do watch quite a bit of regular TV. Any advice?
--If I go for a regular 4:3 TV, how much resolution would I be losing when watching DVDs, especially if I get a bigger set since they are cheaper than 16:9's?
--I'm considering a Panasonic PT-47WX49, a Samsung HCL4715W, a Samsung PCL5415RX (4:3) and a Toshiba 50H72 (4:3). Anyone have any experiences, good or bad, with any of these sets?
--Anything that I should be aware of in general when buying an RPTV?
Thanks in advance for your responses.

 

[Allan Jayne]

Since the whole family is on to a bigger TV, you can now push for progressive scan and all the other bells and whistles you want. You're fortunate. A lot of folks on this forum can't do the upgrade becaus other family members don't want to go along with it.
If you keep the contrast down (under 1/3) you should not have any problem with burn in. For video games, keep the contrast at one fifth or lower, or better yet don't play them on the big TV.
GEt a set with 16:9 mode and you can leave the DVD player in 16:9 mode and not lose resolution from the player's downconversion letterboxing.
Avoid sets that lock in 16:9 mode during progressive or HDTV input. Some 4:3 models do that too.
Avoid sets that have just one regular video input and just one S-video input -- you can't have things plugged into both of the jacks at the same time.
Video hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/video.htm

 

[Michael Reuben]

--I'm thinking about a 16:9 set, but I'm a little worried about burn in, since we do watch quite a bit of regular TV. Any advice?

How big of a threat is burn-in for 4:3 material on 16:9 TV?
M.

 

[EugeneR]

How the hell did I miss this part of the forum?! I looked for five minutes for a TV forum and missed it. Thanks for moving it.
I think I'll definitely go with a 16:9 set. Now the question is which one? Anyone have any experience with one of the above sets? I'm also thinking about the Toshiba 42H81 which is getting rave reviews, but is only 42" versus the others' 47" for the same price--as we all know, size matters!

 

[Chris Perkins]

I personally recommend the Panny 47"- I researched a lot of different sets, and found the Panny to be superior. Check out www.panny.tv for all the info you could ever imagine on this particular set. For the prices I've seen lately, you will be more than satisfied!
Chris