WEGA or Widescreen? (1 Viewer)

[JordyC]

As I said in my last post about burn-in, I have decided that my living space is far more suited for direct view than RPTV...At this point, it is between the newest Toshiba, Princeton (are they available in Canada?) or Samsung (of which I seem to have the best deal available to me) widescreen direct views or the top of the line 32 inch XBR-WEGA...
On one hand, I have been into buying a widescreen TV for quite some time and finally have the budget, on the other hand, I am somewhat worried about burn-in when watching 4:3 films made before 1953(I would otherwise matte broadcast TV also no more than an hour a day - news, Simpsons) and more importantly, from what I've seen, the WEGA is by far the best TV of the three - and that the widescreen window on the WEGA may actually be larger/same size as the widescreen sets....though a widescreen image on a 30 inch widescreen monitor is still far more panoramic than one surrounded in black bars...esp. films shot in scope.
If your answer is buy a WEGA - it is better, or buy a WEGA, small 16/9 direct views aren't worth it (views I've heard in various forms from high-end TV/Audio dealers here in Toronto)...don't answer the next question...
Next question is - which is the best 16/9 ws set? The new Toshiba's Specs look a hell of a lot more impressive than the rest of them, but the Samsung seems to offer similar specs - and I have found a fantastic deal on one...As well, I saw the previous edition of hte Toshiba widescreen set side by side with a WEGA at Reid and Cambell and the WEGA just blew it out of the water....(calibration is important, I know - but even an HD broadcast looked better on the WEGA)...I haven't seen the Toshiba and the Samsung side by side, but the Samsung seems better. Then again, the Toshiba offers more real-estate - but are those 4 inches an issue?...And does the new Toshiba seem to be an improvement on the old one....Also - I've heard great things about Princeton - if money is not an issue (it isn't neccesarily, within reason), is this the best of the bunch?
Also - what about picture modes - as someone with quite a few nonanamorphic letterbox DVDs (I am a Criterion fan), I'd appreciate a WS set with the capability of matting the 4/3 picture, hence filling the screen, as opposed to stretching the 4/3 pictures...as well, while you/anyone is at it, describe the diff. 4/3 stretch modes...
Only reason I'm asking all this here is that I have yet to find a home theater dealer that really knows his/her stuff (and isn't out to get me to buy something more expensive than I want)
Thanks
JLC

 

[Jack Briggs]

I look at the 4:3 WEGAs as good transitional sets for this period of, well, transition. That's why I bought one. But, ultimately, 16:9 is going to prevail, and you may as well get one now.
Is that new 16:9 34-inch WEGA direct-view within your budget? At $4,000, it's pricey, but it's future-proof.
As for viewing fullframe films, you know the score: Keep the contrast setting reasonably low and look at a variety of 4:3 and 16:9 programming. Burn-in, too, is less of a problem on direct-views (as long as that contrast setting is low).
You could make a lot worse choice if you were to opt for the KV-32XBR450, though. It's a terrific set.
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