high def tv

[gsaps]

i was wondering if any members out there have gone the high definition route yet with their tv's?
if so was it worth it?
have you got any recommendations re tv's, i'm finding it a mine-field of information out there and deciding on plasma/lcd, 37/40 inch and trawling through the reviews is making my nut hurt.

any advice from people who've taken the plunge is much appreciated
thanks
gsaps

 

[RogerS]

There's this thread.

While on holiday we visited the flagship Sony Building in Tokyo. They had an HDTV set modified to show normal TV resolution on the left half of the screen and HDTV on the right half. The two halves then made up the complete picture being displayed. The difference between the two was eye-opening.

I really would like an HDTV but my main concern (not being a Sky user nor intending to be one) would be where the program material is going to come from. Most likely a DVD player of one flavour or another.

Having said that I did read about the BBC lobbying for some satellite space to broadcast HDTV BBC 1 and 2 and so that would encourage me to get a dish. But then I'd need an HDTV set

 

[les chicken]

We also went round and round in circles when we needed to buy a new tele about 3 months ago. I spent many hours trolling around shops and the internet for advice.
In the end we purchased a sony bravia lcd hd ready digital/analogue hdmi all singing and dancing thingy. We bought it direct from a sony shop who gave very good advice and a free 5 year parts and labour guarantee direct with sony not a third party. The price worked out the same as comet where you only receive a 12 month guarantee.
One of the main things to look out for is the refresh rate for the unit it needs to be as low as possible, sony is 8ms some are as high as 15ms, if you are watching football the ball will look oval as the refresh rate is to slow. For the larger sets plasma was the norm but lcd now seems to be the best.

Hope this is some use, but the best of luck.

Les

 

[Argee]

I've had a Sony plasma panel for a while, because when I bought mine the LCDs just couldn't display shades of black properly. That's changed considerably now and the new Sony Bravia "X" sets are extremely good. There are at least three flavours of Bravia LCDs and the ones with "X" in the model number are currently the top of the range. The current top of the range Pioneer is also extremely good.

Having at least two HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) sockets on the TV is important if you want to connect a matching (HDMI) DVD player and a Sky HD box. Not all HD ready sets have two HDMI sockets, but the numbers are improving. You can get a switchable HDMI adapter, but that's something else to go wrong.

Currently, Sky HD (bigger subscription) doesn't have very many HD channels to watch and my part of the country won't switch over to digital until 2012 - so I'm in no rush to pay large sums for little choice.

Ray.

 

[RogerS]

my part of the country won't switch over to digital until 2012 - so I'm in no rush to pay large sums for little choice.

Ray.

Even when it does you won't get HD being broadcast terrestrially.