High Def format war

[Caspian]

Re: High Def format war

You're in Mexico, right Raydeus? Whereabouts?

[Icemage]

Re: High Def format war

That Samsung has really good specs, but I can't gush happily enough about the unit I bought, which is this one:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1149208956900

$1899 Sony Grand Wega 50" SXRD (after instant rebate)

It's just an amazing TV. Awesome picture clarity, amazing size, great price, dual HDMI with 1080p support. And yes, works flawlessly with the PlayStation 3.

It's bigger than the Samsung 40, costs less, and has better picture quality and features. Only drawback is, like all rear projection models, it's a bit deeper than a true flatscreen (17.5 inches), and occasional replacement on the projecter bulb once every few years.

I really can't say enough good things about this TV. No other HDTV in its price range comes even close to it in size or performance.

There's a 60" version for $500 more with similar specs, too.

[Telera]

Re: High Def format war

Maybe I'm just too female. Maybe I'm just a party pooper. But when I see HDTVs, Blu-Ray 'performance' and so forth, I can't help but think 'Wow, what an exhorberant waste of money just to make things look marginally better.' I'll admit they look nice, but to me, DVD looks good enough. It has a clear image, good sound, and to be honest, that's all I need.

I don't need fine tuned honed edges so sharp I could cut a finger on them. I'm going to wait it out, see which comes out on top, wait on the industry to more or less *force* me to upgrade, and then I will. When it's cheap. Because at the moment I fail to see the point in sinking the money into it. I'm not a big movie person outside of my very small collection, so it doesn't affect me as much as it would some others, I suppose.

[Pai Pai Master]

Re: High Def format war

I would agree, but with the PS3 in my possession and a growing collection of Blu-ray discs, I found it to be a disservice to be watching my films in 1080i.

There's a line drawn for everyone, and for some it's a little lower than others.

1080p LCDs and DLPs are supposed to be dropping in price drastically this year. Hopefully more people will get the chance to enjoy 1080p picture soon.

By the way, Warner Bros. just announced A Scanner Darkly for Blu-ray/HD-DVD release on April 10th. That should be a fantastic showpiece film; I loved it.

[Raydeus]

Re: High Def format war

You're in Mexico, right Raydeus? Whereabouts?

The city is Aguascalientes, Ags. But Mexico is very limited when it comes to that kinda stuff, I can say we are at least 5 years behind what's aviable in the US right now and pay at least 30% more for it.

The PS3 will be sold here at around $900+ USD (10k pesos) when it comes out offically.

That Samsung has really good specs, but I can't gush happily enough about the unit I bought, which is this one:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1149208956900

$1899 Sony Grand Wega 50" SXRD (after instant rebate)

It's just an amazing TV. Awesome picture clarity, amazing size, great price, dual HDMI with 1080p support. And yes, works flawlessly with the PlayStation 3.

That's a really nice TV, of course I'd like checking them out in person before making a decision but I'm not gonna renew my visa just for that.

I'll try to find that one here as well, the downside about BestBuy and many other sites is they don't ship electronics internationally, so I don't know what price I'm going to get in the end.

Maybe I'm just too female. Maybe I'm just a party pooper. But when I see HDTVs, Blu-Ray 'performance' and so forth, I can't help but think 'Wow, what an exhorberant waste of money just to make things look marginally better.' I'll admit they look nice, but to me, DVD looks good enough. It has a clear image, good sound, and to be honest, that's all I need.

I don't need fine tuned honed edges so sharp I could cut a finger on them. I'm going to wait it out, see which comes out on top, wait on the industry to more or less *force* me to upgrade, and then I will. When it's cheap. Because at the moment I fail to see the point in sinking the money into it. I'm not a big movie person outside of my very small collection, so it doesn't affect me as much as it would some others, I suppose.

Yup, you are being girly but it's ok, I'll invite you watch some BD movies when I get my new TV, that'll convert you, mwahaha.

JK

Seriously though, there's no reason to upgrade to 1080p right now, the same way there's no reason to upgrade to Vista (that's one of the reasons I don't wanna spend much on this particular HDTV).

However if you get a PS3 now there's little to no chance you wont want to upgrade to really enjoy the system, even if it's 2-3years too early to do so.

[Caspian]

Re: High Def format war

I actually recommend that to most people, Telera. For me, I had the money, wanted a PS3, and then wanted to be able to watch BD's at the highest output possible. Though my reciever isnt TrueHD compatible (atleast not that I'm aware, nor whatever new sound output Dolby is on), and last time I priced receivers that good, they were still several thousand, and receivers that throughput 1080p were in the 7k range. Anyway, I digress, if you have the money, you want to blow it, I'd suggest getting some form of BD player and a 1080p tv. I myself love movies and have way too many, so BD seemed like the next step for me. The casual consumer, I'd suggest just waiting it out, it probably won't be but another year or so before there's a clear winner and prices will fall further.

[Icemage]

Re: High Def format war

Note to Caspian regarding audio:

As long as your receiver can support lossless LPCM over HDMI, you don't need TrueHD decoding. The PlayStation 3 has built-in TrueHD conversion to LPCM, and will be receiving firmware updates that will let it support DTS-HD and DTS-MA audio as well.


Icemage

[Telera]

Re: High Def format war

That 'tis the other problem, I don't have an HDTV or really, room for one. XD Or the money, I desperately need a better job. Just buying a Wii a few weeks back nearly broke my budget for the next two months. (Pathetic, isn't it?) So, I'll let you guys test it all out and determine who is 'teh win'. Then I'll go buy some nice new shiny TVs and players when they're around a DVD player's range. Surely by then I'll have a job that actually pays me enough to live off of *and* buy food. If only I could farm silk off caterpillars irl...

[Raydeus]

Re: High Def format war

If only I could farm silk off caterpillars irl...

I'd be killing gobs and stealing Quadavs' lunch gil.

[Icemage]

Re: High Def format war

That 'tis the other problem, I don't have an HDTV or really, room for one. XD Or the money, I desperately need a better job. Just buying a Wii a few weeks back nearly broke my budget for the next two months. (Pathetic, isn't it?) So, I'll let you guys test it all out and determine who is 'teh win'. Then I'll go buy some nice new shiny TVs and players when they're around a DVD player's range. Surely by then I'll have a job that actually pays me enough to live off of *and* buy food. If only I could farm silk off caterpillars irl...

If buying a Wii broke you for 2 months, don't come anywhere near HDTVs and Hi-Def movies for a while. Both will remain pricy for quite some time.

I still need to buy an HDMI-capable receiver and a set of decent speakers to complete my home theater setup, and I figure by the time I've done that I'll have spent about $4000 for the HDTV, PS3, receiver, speakers, miscellaneous cables, etc. And I'm not even counting the cost of games and movies...


Icemage

[Caspian]

Re: High Def format war

What speakers you looking at?
I'm still using my 7 yr. old polk audio bookshelf speakers. Running 6.1 plus a sub atm. Been thinking about new speakers, but not really sure where to start. Bose crossed my mind, but my knowledge of audio equipment is fairly lacking. Had to look around for quite awhile before I found my Denon receiver.

[Icemage]

Re: High Def format war

What speakers you looking at?
I'm still using my 7 yr. old polk audio bookshelf speakers. Running 6.1 plus a sub atm. Been thinking about new speakers, but not really sure where to start. Bose crossed my mind, but my knowledge of audio equipment is fairly lacking. Had to look around for quite awhile before I found my Denon receiver.

I haven't settled on speakers or a receiver yet, but looking at the Denon 2807 as a receiver.

Speakers... not sure what I want yet, since I still have to consider my room layout and where I can put the speakers before I go wild on audio gear. I have a lot of obstructions in my room (bed, computer, lamps, etc.) that will make placing speakers a tough task for a 5.1 layout.

For info on good stuff on audio and video though, you can't do better than AVSForum:
http://www.avsforum.com


Icemage

[Jei]

Re: High Def format war

dam. you guys got huge television...

/clean my 4 year old 15'' toshiba TV...

[Pai Pai Master]

Re: High Def format war

lol...I use my logitech 7.1 speakers for all my stuff. they came with one of those adapters to plug game consoles into so I can switch out and not.

The quality's good but not perfect though, so I'll probably upgrade to a home theatre system by the end of the year. Plus it's a pain in the butt not being able to change the volume while I'm farther away from the TV.

[Caspian]

Re: High Def format war

If you're looking for a receiver that will pass through 1080p, you're SOL unless you have an extra 6 or 7k laying around. Last time I checked late last year, the only recievers that would do it were each companie's flagship receivers. Denon has one, Sony has one, Onkyo has one, and I think Harmon Kardon has one, but I haven't checked it. They may have started adding it to some of their lower models, but I wouldn't expect to see it on anything lower than a $2k model for atleast another year. Best buy stuff probably wont see it for another 2 years. (I could be wrong about that, but I'm doubting it atm. Last year you had to spend over 1k just to get a reciever with multiple HDMI ports).
Icemage: I love my Denon reciever. works great and it can convert all your video signals to go through the HDMI cable regardless of what the original output is. I'm sure most companies are doing this now, but this was my first experience with it. One cable out of my receiver to my tv is great (except for 1080p signals). Renaming funcitons, 6.1 output, and an auto adjust featur using a mic in the center of your room to calibrate your speakers just make it too sexy. I'm sure the other companies do a lot of the same things, but I just love this receiver and can't say enough good things about it.
Pai, if you're looking for speakers too, I really like my polk bookshelf speakers. They've lasted many years and I've yet to have a problem with them. Bose are ofcourse, great, and I know sony makes good speakers as well. Let me know what you decide on.