I replaced my 36" Panasonic HD tube with a Toshiba 42" DLP. Sears had them on sale for $999 and 24months no interest. We watch most everything in HD and I though I need a 16:9 set. It blows away my Panasonic and Sony 32" HD set. It had been a while since I had a RP tv though and I hate the brightness issues from extreme angles. It's not a big deal unless I'm tring to look down from the catwalk to catch something. Yo didn't even think about with the tube. I am very glad I made the move. The picture is much better than I expected.
HDTV Recommendation
- Thread starter Jim Doolittle
- Start date
jwilson56
Senior Member
jwilson56
Senior Member
http://www.pcvideoonline.com/productdetail...d=6158&crtag=cr
Free shipping.... $1689
John
http://www.pricegrabber.com/p__Samsung_LNS...D_TV,__22019791
Free shipping.... $1689
John
http://www.pricegrabber.com/p__Samsung_LNS...D_TV,__22019791
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
A co-worker is also pondering the purchase of the Samsung LNS4095D 40 inch Flat Panel LCD TV.
I'll admint I know little about the latest televisions and their accompanying options. One question he asked me is he currently has "basic" cable TV. How are people interfacing basic cable (i.e. non-digtal) into their TV's such as this? I heard how "analog" input signals don't achieve the greatest results. What happens if one just uses the provided "cable TV input" with basic cable service? Are their better ways (without using an external media PC)?
Thanks,
BSR
I'll admint I know little about the latest televisions and their accompanying options. One question he asked me is he currently has "basic" cable TV. How are people interfacing basic cable (i.e. non-digtal) into their TV's such as this? I heard how "analog" input signals don't achieve the greatest results. What happens if one just uses the provided "cable TV input" with basic cable service? Are their better ways (without using an external media PC)?
Thanks,
BSR
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
Thanks, really curious as someday I'll be in this boat also.Skibum said:
Guy Lavoie
Active Member
My Sony Bravia TV has a built-in NTSC/ATSC tuner so it can receive basic (analog) cable. In my case, it looks quite good! I'm sometimes surprised that I'm on analog cable (wife often does that accidentally by pressing any digit key on the TV remote) without noticing it until I try to change the channel. But any ghosts or other defects in the analog signal really does stick out like a sore thumb. Viewing videos made with a camcorder also looks quite rough.
Michael McSharry
Active Member
My initial install just used the svideo feed that went from my sat decoder to my old TV. The picture quality was roughly the same between old TV and new TV. The biggest difference was the ability to play DVD at 16x9.
The next step was changing my PC's MCE output from svideo to DVI. What blew me away was the sharpness of the text and general clarity of the entire screen. Also recognize that the video source was changed from 640x480 to 1920x1080 so the text was both much smaller and much sharper.
Third step was component video from the HD decoder to the TV which was then followed by HDMI between the two. I cannot recall there being much difference between between component video and HDMI. If there was it was less than the marginal difference between svideo into the old TV vs into the new TV.
The answer to the question of basic cable into a new generation TV may depend upon the TV, but in my case there were no compatibility issues and the picture was at least as good as before.
I suspect, as mentioned before, that the source artifacts will be amplified rather than subdued with the new TV. One obvious adjustment that should be made is to turn down the sharpness control all the way. There is no need to sharpen the source video unless, perhaps, you are playing your parent's family recordings from a VHS/Beta tape.
When you do get the HD feed, however, your tendency will be to want to turn sharpness contol up because now all the SD source material will look blurry when contrasted with the HD source.
The next step was changing my PC's MCE output from svideo to DVI. What blew me away was the sharpness of the text and general clarity of the entire screen. Also recognize that the video source was changed from 640x480 to 1920x1080 so the text was both much smaller and much sharper.
Third step was component video from the HD decoder to the TV which was then followed by HDMI between the two. I cannot recall there being much difference between between component video and HDMI. If there was it was less than the marginal difference between svideo into the old TV vs into the new TV.
The answer to the question of basic cable into a new generation TV may depend upon the TV, but in my case there were no compatibility issues and the picture was at least as good as before.
I suspect, as mentioned before, that the source artifacts will be amplified rather than subdued with the new TV. One obvious adjustment that should be made is to turn down the sharpness control all the way. There is no need to sharpen the source video unless, perhaps, you are playing your parent's family recordings from a VHS/Beta tape.
When you do get the HD feed, however, your tendency will be to want to turn sharpness contol up because now all the SD source material will look blurry when contrasted with the HD source.
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
Thanks for the replies. I guess my co-worker is thinking along the lines, "why pay for a new TV if I only have standard cable? He doesn't want to pay the premium monthly cost for digital cable.
I was wondering along some of the suggestions given here. It seems there may be some improvement if an MCE PC was introduced, then put the standard cable into the MCE tuner card, then go digital output from the DVI graphics card of the MCE machine into the new television.
Thanks again,
BSR
I was wondering along some of the suggestions given here. It seems there may be some improvement if an MCE PC was introduced, then put the standard cable into the MCE tuner card, then go digital output from the DVI graphics card of the MCE machine into the new television.
Thanks again,
BSR
Michael McSharry
Active Member
While the computer generated images look great with the digital connection, the source analog does not change any from if it was directly connected from the cable decoder to the TV. The only benefit gained will be the 16x9 and perhaps a little better with DVDs if using a component cable set vs svideo. The standard DVD source is roughly SD quality.
My original thinking was why waste money on a HD feed when I was perfectly happy with the SD one. I decided it was really a small amount to pay for something that I use everyday.
On a related subject, I was never happy with the MCE output to my desktop LCD's native 1280x1024 even with the DVI connection. I was concerned I would have the same problem with the 1920x1080 MCE to the TV, but that worked extremely well.
My original thinking was why waste money on a HD feed when I was perfectly happy with the SD one. I decided it was really a small amount to pay for something that I use everyday.
On a related subject, I was never happy with the MCE output to my desktop LCD's native 1280x1024 even with the DVI connection. I was concerned I would have the same problem with the 1920x1080 MCE to the TV, but that worked extremely well.
jwilson56
Senior Member
I would have to say that my Samsung HD-960 upscaling DVD player really makes SD DVDs look much better. Way way way better than standard cable channels. I have downloaded some 1080p video content for my MCE PC that is running 1080p out with a new 7600GS video card and it looks awesome. My previous video card did not look as nice. So it all depends on the card.
But if I stick in Serenity DVD into the DVD drive it looks amazing. I went from a 35" Sony CRT to a 56" Samsung DLP and I have no regrets. SD cable looks poor but I watch (and timeshift) OTA HD now.
John
But if I stick in Serenity DVD into the DVD drive it looks amazing. I went from a 35" Sony CRT to a 56" Samsung DLP and I have no regrets. SD cable looks poor but I watch (and timeshift) OTA HD now.
John
A worthwhile link....
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=312535
CR rates the picture on SD as well as HD. It is obvious that the techno savvy here don't care for CR - but they are the only ones that do this type of rating. And yes, the particular TV makes a big difference. The techno savvy apparently have full time HD on all channels. I'm still waiting.
The TV should handle the upscaling - What? It didn't cost enough?
GLT
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=312535
CR rates the picture on SD as well as HD. It is obvious that the techno savvy here don't care for CR - but they are the only ones that do this type of rating. And yes, the particular TV makes a big difference. The techno savvy apparently have full time HD on all channels. I'm still waiting.
The TV should handle the upscaling - What? It didn't cost enough?
GLT
jwilson56
Senior Member
Its not a matter of the TV handling the upscaling (which my Samsung does). The reason its better to have the DVD player do the upscaling is simply to be able to keep the picture digital all the way through the process. The DVD player upscales then outputs 1080p through a HDMI connector. When you use a typical DVD player the best your going to do is component which degrades the picture quality and then that degraded quality is then upscaled. I have tried both and trust me that the upscaling DVD players are worth their money (which is relatively cheap anyways).
My experience is to always keep the signal digital. This applies to audio as well as video. My MCE PC is connected via a DVI <> HDMI cable. I also tried a VGA cable. The difference was stagering.
John
My experience is to always keep the signal digital. This applies to audio as well as video. My MCE PC is connected via a DVI <> HDMI cable. I also tried a VGA cable. The difference was stagering.
John
Michael McSharry
Active Member
John,
Why don't you use your DVD player via MCE rather than using a dedicated piece of hardware? Seems like the all digital routing for video and the optical for sound would be as good as one could get.
While the all digital path must be the best, my eyes could not see any significant difference between a 3ft component cable from the HD receiver vs the HDMI cable. But then, my ears cannot tell any difference between bulk speaker wire and the stuff with the Monster label on it.
Why don't you use your DVD player via MCE rather than using a dedicated piece of hardware? Seems like the all digital routing for video and the optical for sound would be as good as one could get.
While the all digital path must be the best, my eyes could not see any significant difference between a 3ft component cable from the HD receiver vs the HDMI cable. But then, my ears cannot tell any difference between bulk speaker wire and the stuff with the Monster label on it.
