Post #296,212
11/18/07 4:50:26 PM
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I'm revisting this, but still may not jump yet.
The lower priced 32" sets are starting to look more appealing, and there are even 1080p 32" LCD sets now (Sharp). But there seems to be a lot going on in the electronics that don't show up in the common reviews.
E.g. I've looked briefly at the sets at the local Target. They have Olevia, Westinghouse, Philips, Sony and maybe a couple of other brands. It's not clear whether they're displaying HD content (they're Target ads), but there's a vast difference in the picture quality. I seem to be especially sensitive to digital artifacts. The thing I especially notice is the jagged edges between regions on the screen of different colors. The Olevia sets look horrible, especially with motion. The Sony sets look much, much better, but not as good as an analog set in this respect. Of course, the Sony sets cost $500 or so more...
An obvious problem with a purchase like this is that you don't know how the sets were tuned (if at all), and you don't know how they'll look with standard NTSC TV or non-HD cable, by looking in stores. Relying on revies on the web seems just as prone to error. It's sort-of a crap shoot.
Any recent pearls of wisdom?
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
[link|http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=006978452673906630972%3A_5xhnlvpsn4|IWeThey Custom Search Engine]
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Post #296,213
11/18/07 5:32:30 PM
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LCD refresh rates
major weakness of LCD tech. Fast motion will give artifacts.
Best bet is still plasma. LCD prices are dropping faster but if you're going to go high def, plasma is still the better picture.
Too much of today's music is fashionable crap dressed as artistry.Adrian Belew
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Post #296,214
11/18/07 5:55:05 PM
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Plasma is The Suxxorz if you're a ham radio operator.
Great little RFI/EMI generators and they can't be "fixed".
I'll stick with LCD, thank you.
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Post #296,215
11/18/07 6:07:51 PM
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32" is the biggest that'll fit in our bedroom.
AFAIK, there aren't any 32" plasma sets.
The artifacts I'm talking about aren't just a refresh rate issue, but I'm sure that's also a consideration. The stuff I was seeing on the Olevia apparently was [link|http://www.highdefinitionblog.com/?page_id=101|mosquito noise and jaggies], but it was more than that. There was almost a halo on each side of a pronounced color line. It was terrible.
There was talk of 120 Hz LCDs a year or more ago, but I haven't checked into them. Let's see... [link|http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/home-entertainment/guide-to-120hz-hdtvs-which-sets-have-that-magic-number-233642.php|it looks like it'll be out of my price range for a while]. ;-)
While plasma has some advantages in dynamic range, I really wonder about the long-term reliability of the display technology, though they have gotten better. [link|http://www.greathometheater.com/LCD-vs-PLASMA.html|LCDs take less power though].
Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
[link|http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=006978452673906630972%3A_5xhnlvpsn4|IWeThey Custom Search Engine]
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Post #296,218
11/18/07 7:31:10 PM
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It's a crapshoot.
My Dad is interested in upgrading his 51cm 4:3 TV to a widescreen model. Digital tuner is optional; a set-top box will do him nicely. But he has a problem with the quality of the picture on all the LCD panels he has so far seen. I don't blame him: his mother bought a largish LCD TV for her bedroom and the picture is hugely over-processed. But it's hard to know if it's panel doing it because she had a digital cable box plugged into it.
For comparison, the pic on my MythTV box from the digital tuner is gorgeous. Artifacts only crop up when there are signal glitches. So it's looking like over-processing is rampant on LCD TVs. I told Dad he needs to start saying that to the salesmen. (Maybe I should get him to write to Choice magazine... if they pick up on it, there will be trouble in the marketplace...) So he's sort-of looking for a not-too-large widescreen CRT.
Wade.
Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
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Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please
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-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne. | · my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] · |
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Post #296,225
11/18/07 11:17:21 PM
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OT: what do you use for output on your Myth box?
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #296,247
11/19/07 6:48:48 AM
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Ummm...
(ducks head...) a 46cm TV with a composite-in video socket... from a GeForce 6200.
So I guess that probably doesn't really qualify as 'gorgeous', but it has to be said that the image out of MythTV is quite a bit better than the GNOME desktop behind it. Even at 800x600 on a PAL signal. And definitely better than our otherwise average analogue reception.
Oh and the composite encoder on the 6200 is really very good*. I happen to have an expensive VGA->PAL converter that I plugged in once out of curiosity and I was surprised to see the picture was actually no better.
Wade.
Is it enough to love
Is it enough to breathe
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
| |
Is it enough to die
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be Anything but Ordinary
Please
|
-- "Anything but Ordinary" by Avril Lavigne. | · my ·
· [link|http://staticsan.livejournal.com/|blog] ·
· [link|http://yceran.org/|website] · |
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Post #296,261
11/19/07 1:15:58 PM
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Thanks.
I'm using the Haupauge 350's out, which is great, but unfortunately MythTV is moving to OpenGL for its OSD, and the Haupauge doesn't support OpenGL. :-/
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #296,309
11/20/07 12:29:41 PM
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That sucks...
Wonder if my two Dual 500s will will last much longer.
I haven't updated in a LONG while, so I haven't done any reading.
--
[link|mailto:greg@gregfolkert.net|greg],
[link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] @ iwethey
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Post #296,230
11/18/07 11:38:58 PM
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For best prices wait till January! :)
Alex
Nobody has a more sacred obligation to obey the law than those who make the law. -- Sophocles (496? - 406 BCE)
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Post #296,234
11/18/07 11:48:31 PM
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There is that. :-)
[link|http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=006978452673906630972%3A_5xhnlvpsn4|IWeThey Custom Search Engine]
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Post #296,255
11/19/07 10:15:18 AM
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Im thinking projector for the next buy
was at fryes and saw several sub $1k that looked awesome.
thanx,
bill
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Any opinions expressed by me are mine alone, posted from my home computer, on my own time as a free american and do not reflect the opinions of any person or company that I have had professional relations with in the past 51 years. meep
reach me at [link|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net|mailto:bill.oxley@cox.net]
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