is it worth buying a "non" lcd or plasma tv now?

elniniol999

looking at buying a new tv - wanting to get good value for money really.

is it worth buying a standard widescreen tv now? looking at a 28" sony wega. (£200)

or is that just crazy now? how far away is hdtv from hitting the mainstream? really been put off by the prices of all the new tvs (plasma and lcd). seems so much more than i had ever thought of spending.

any advice?

rolfw

It'll be several years before there is what could be called significant takeup of HDTV in my opinion, there is a huge percentage of the population, to whom paying more than a couple of hundred pounds for a TV is imponderable and paying an extra £10 per month for the privilege of watching the same stuff, but in HD is £10 too much, particularly as they are probably happy with their exsisting picture quality anyway.

There is no doubt that access to HDTV will become cheaper in the next couple of years, so spending a couple of hundred pounds now on a high quality CRT TV, rather than more than £1,000 for an HDTV equivalent, will be value for money.

__________________

Rolf If you enjoy our site, you can help support it by wearing our unique branded merchandise, you can do this by clicking on my baseball cap, making a direct donation with Paypal by clicking on the Donation button below, or using our site supporting advertisers, to do this, click on the central image below

hoppo

I wouldn't bother with widescreen either. You still get the letter box on them so the viewable screen is smaller. Use the zoom facility & the picture is the same (more or less) as the 4:3 tV's. Buy a good 4:3 tv for half the price & go plasma when the price comes down.

gameboy

Only my opinion but

Have all three types and the best picture is on the CRT.

As for HD - still a long way off before it will be free and the standard.

For picture quality right now stick with a TV that has a tube.

You may struggle to find one -

__________________

Only he who does nothing, does nothing wrong.

_stu_

That's not always the case, and there are plenty of programmes now that are broadcast in widescreen. Also, on mine I can zoom in on letterboxed films and it fills the whole screen without any noticeable geometric distortion, or cutting off the sides. Much better than on the similiar sized 4:3 telly I had before. Also sport is better in widescreen. Only downside is when braodcasters insist on broadcasting in 4:3, and you get the black bars down the side.

hoppo

Obviously i have a 4:3 tv But when i watch a widescreen TV at the bar or a mates the people all look short & fat (maybe i should watch something other than Fiji playing rugby

My mates with widescreen Tv's all wish they had bought a 4:3, because the letterbox is there on most widescreen transmissions if they don't zoom. Why should you have to zoom to watch a 16:9 transmission on a 16:9 screen? Lost on me.
Hoppo

theboss4

Hoppo, I dont think your mates and the bar have the tv setup properly.

I have been in numerous bars when they have their sky box etc set to 4:3 and they have widescreen tv's set the 16:9. Yes, they do look fat. because their equipment is set wrong. if they had set the sky box etc up properly in the first place, this would not be the case.

Also, the letterbox is not their on most widescreen broadcasts, its just their equipment is set wrong.

Yes, some broadcasters insist on broadcasting a 4:3 program in 16:9 with bars down the side, but still, if your equipment is set correctly, it will display it in the correct aspect ratio.

It's only foreign broadcasters who still broadcast in letterbox, i guess this is cause the majority of tv's in their respective country are mostly 4:3. And yes, this is when you need to zoom.

RedDevil_UK

setup wrong indeed..

remember dont just setup 16:9 on the TV... no good if the picture is coming through a Skybox or DVD player in 4:3

if you set your receiver and TV to 16:9, there should be no short fat people with egg shaped heads, or black bars..

its all in the setup

as for what TV to buy, it all depends how long you keep your TV?
i have freinds that buy a TV and dont bother getting another until the one they have breaks!!! which could be 15 years!!
i personally change mine about every 4-5 years.

it also depends on what size you want.. CRT only go upto 32" but the picture quality is good... if you want a 42" or bigger then go for a LCD

if you are likely to keep one for a very long time, then buy a LCD HD screen, only buy a CRT if your going to buy in another in 4 years, therefor taking advantage of HD broadcasts then

__________________

Jaffer

32 inch LCDs are available for around £600 (Sharp, Acer, etc). Buy an LCD if you can afford otherwise live with what you already have. Spending £200 on CRT is throwing money in the bin, in my opinion.

__________________
Every little helps and a little help goes a long way!

digiguy

Hi

I have the same problem. My Philips 32" Wide cost around £2k back in 1997/98 It is begining to look washed out, odd white blob on the top left corner (you can only see it when the pic is 4:3)

I want to make more room in my lounge. I've no idea what to go for. Plasma or LCD! If you go ino any of the usless chain stores, the pic quality on all their tv's is awful. They insist on paying their promo's that use a horrid red. This looks awful (you all know what I mean) Where can you go to see a decent demo of a Plasma/LCD? I want to see what sky sd looks like along with freeview etc.

rolfw

Go to somewhere like Richer Sounds, they normally have reasonable quality inputs to their display TVs.

__________________

Rolf If you enjoy our site, you can help support it by wearing our unique branded merchandise, you can do this by clicking on my baseball cap, making a direct donation with Paypal by clicking on the Donation button below, or using our site supporting advertisers, to do this, click on the central image below

iwol

thinking about a lcd but pic quality seems to be poor on standard inputs especially football ,hd well thats another thing but not much hd about anyone with any comments please

Jaffer

Go to nearest retailer and ask them demonstrate any Panasonic LCD (HD Ready) with Freeview. Also you can ask them to demonstrate DVD too.

You will see the difference. I bought a Panasonic and love it!

__________________
Every little helps and a little help goes a long way!

iwol

thanks jaffer what model you got and whats the scart input like from your sat rec please especially football

frund

What I've seen of lcd and plasma screens is that they are ok with a very good imput signal but totally crap with less than perfect signal. A crt is far more forgiving and a more realistic picture. I realise that some shops have their displays running on a poor imput but this really shows up the fact that lcd and plasmas have a long way to go. I think, in the near future, the current lcd's will be a thing of the past and obsolete. Not worth the money at the moment.... But I do like their slim profile.

Jaffer

It is Panasonic TX32LXD60 with 2 x HDMI , 2 x Scart & Component Video.

I have connected my Samsung A300W Satellite Receiver with component video out. It works great!

__________________
Every little helps and a little help goes a long way!

iwol

whats it like wth the freview and fast moving objects such as football jaffer any blurring ect cheers

Jaffer

Brilliant!

My suggestion is to visit any outlet and see it with your own eyes. Just watching the London Marathon on BBC1. No blurr at all.

__________________
Every little helps and a little help goes a long way!

iwol

cheers jaffa only seen it in comet no pics brill there though its ths or the tosh 32wlt66

BGonaSTICK

Sony Centres are normally pretty good for demos too.

I love my Sony 4:3 CRT but will upgrade to an HD screen of some sort in the next couple of years.

I only change my telly every 8-10 years, mainly cos I'm a tightwad. If it ain't broke and all that...

I was tempted by the Wega when I bought my 4:3, but it was £700 then!

What a kick-arse picture on them. Nothing came close for me, but just too expensive. £200 sounds very attractive though

Oh, and if I go somewhere where people are watching either short fat people or tall thin people, I want to beat them repeatedly with a rolled-up radio times until their eyes bleed. and setup your TV properly NOW!!!!

__________________

iwol

same here got a 32 inch woidescreen tosh perfect pic thats why i am reluctant to take the plunge dont want to fimish up with a worse poic

d122k7trb

I've to say although LCD and Plasma tvs are well equiped as are HD tvs but still some CRT TVs have better contrast and low maintenance.

The LCD, Plasma and those generations could have screen burn. They are ideal and best way for watching DVDs or the moveis in 16:9 format.

Arbi.