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HDTV: DLP, LCD FAQS ( Upgrading your television )
Chicago Tribune ^ | Oct. 16, 2006 | ERIC GWINN

Posted on 10/17/2006 4:01:37 PM PDT by george76

There are many reasons to buy an HDTV now.

1) Your team could be good this year.

2) There’s more stuff on high-definition TV than ever.

3) Prices are dropping.

If you’re looking, here are some things you should know:

DLP

•Millions of tiny mirrors reflect light to produce a picture. You can recognize DLP (digital light processing) sets in the store: They’re the big, boxy televisions.

LCD

•Electrically charged liquid crystals untwist just enough to let the correct shade of light pass through.

PLASMA

•Bits of gas are ignited to produce light.

FAQs

Which is better, LCD or plasma?

•Get to the store while it’s still baseball season, because a baseball game is a perfect test for a television. When the ball is moving, it should look like a solid object, not a blur...

Plasmas die quicker and have burn-in, right?

True, the phosphors in a plasma TV glow less brightly over time. Manufacturers say about 60,000 hours...

Plasmas do suffer burn-in...

After picture quality, what’s the most important feature on an HDTV?

A lot of connections. At least two HDMI inputs are good. HDMI stands for high-definition multimedia interface. And at least two component inputs. You’ll want to connect a DVD player, maybe a VCR, a cable box, perhaps two video game systems. Get a TV with lots of inputs. In order of video quality, the best inputs are HDMI, component, S-Video and composite.

What’s HD-DVD? What’s Blu-ray?

These are high-definition DVD formats battling for consumers’ hearts the way VHS and Betamax did in the early days of VCRs...

Instead, go with a DVD upconverter.

You’ll get great results watching your current DVDs on a $149 OPPO DV-970HD (or the even-better, $199 DV-971HD) and your HDTV.

(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; Computers/Internet; Music/Entertainment; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: bluray; dlp; dvd; hddvd; hdmi; hdmiinputs; hdtv; inputs; lcd; plasma; tv
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1 posted on 10/17/2006 4:01:38 PM PDT by george76
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To: Las Vegas Dave

The lighting is much brighter in a showroom than in your home, and bright lighting favors LCDs.

To truly compare, shop in a store with a darkened room full of TVs.


2 posted on 10/17/2006 4:06:19 PM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76

I love my DLP! :)


3 posted on 10/17/2006 4:06:58 PM PDT by Kaylee Frye
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To: george76

My Sony XBR CRT gives the best PQ you'll see in a TV.About the only drawback is that they weigh about a half ton.


4 posted on 10/17/2006 4:11:46 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative ("An empty limousine pulled up and Hillary Clinton got out")
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To: Gay State Conservative

How does the picture compare to a flat screen ?


5 posted on 10/17/2006 4:19:00 PM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76

Plasma! Still the best.

If I ran mine 24/7, in 6 or 7 years I'll replace it for around $500.


6 posted on 10/17/2006 4:20:48 PM PDT by TC Rider (The United States Constitution © 1791. All Rights Reserved.)
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To: george76

Since the old thread we were on last week I am still leaning towards the 65in Magnovox LPD even though our area Charter cable does not have HDTV.

It has it in the workings. I could go temp dish for the 65in and switch back to cable when it come out with HDTV.

BTW we watch in tv in a dark room since I tend to fall asleep and other still watch and so I did just that was to go to a dark showroom and look at tv from all angles and distances.


7 posted on 10/17/2006 4:34:17 PM PDT by Global2010
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To: Gay State Conservative

just bought the Sony CRT myself last week, What an awesome picture! Thing is frigging HEAVY though!! over 200 pounds i think.


8 posted on 10/17/2006 4:53:22 PM PDT by mowowie
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To: george76

I rather enjoy my two LCD's I got on clearance (both for less 1000 combined), took forever to tune the pictures in good but hey they still look ten times better than SDTV.


9 posted on 10/17/2006 5:01:01 PM PDT by aft_lizard (born conservative...I chose to be a republican)
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To: george76
I've been looking at a 46" LCD. Maybe I'll reconsider the plasma.

Being a greedy capitalist pig does have its advantages. ;-)

10 posted on 10/17/2006 5:04:30 PM PDT by TheBigB (So I'm over at Elvis's place, bangin' on the bathroom door, goin' "C'mon, did you die in there?")
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To: george76

The latest breakthrough is the Laser DLP, which offers better resolution at half the price of plasma.


11 posted on 10/17/2006 5:09:14 PM PDT by TommyDale (Iran President Ahmadinejad is shorter than Tom Daschle!)
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To: TommyDale

I have been following the Laser DLP...

it seems to be an interesting choice.


12 posted on 10/17/2006 5:33:34 PM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76

I understand it will be in full production, to be deliverable to homes in 2007. It seems worth waiting for, and the other technologies seem to be scrambling to get sales now, before the new technology hits the market.


13 posted on 10/17/2006 5:35:38 PM PDT by TommyDale (Iran President Ahmadinejad is shorter than Tom Daschle!)
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To: TommyDale

It seems to make some logic to wait.

I may replace an older small bedroom tv with an lcd flat screen with HDTV to practice.

Then get a bigger one for the den in 2007.


14 posted on 10/17/2006 5:41:00 PM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: george76
How does the picture compare to a flat screen ?

Better...by far.The model I have has the "superfine" picture tube which is,in its HD incarnation,is the finest picture tube ever made.Some of the shows on Discovery HD give a picture which is truly beyond words.

Problem is,Sony isn't making them anymore.

15 posted on 10/17/2006 5:42:42 PM PDT by Gay State Conservative ("An empty limousine pulled up and Hillary Clinton got out")
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To: george76

My new Panasonic plasma shows burn-in on hockey games (only shows up on the very white ice of HDTV, not noticeable otherwise.)

The burn-in lasts about 24 hours and then goes away so I am not completely flipping out. But I am careful now not to leave it on one channel for more than an hour if it has one of those dumb lower corner channel signatures.

But sports in HDTV (on the plasma) just blows your mind. Movies and Discovery and PBS documentaries are also amazing.

But I'd buy a Sony LCD next time.


16 posted on 10/17/2006 5:42:54 PM PDT by JustDoItAlways
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To: george76

I've been holding out on my old rear projection 61". Still a good picture, great sound system, wood cabinet. I hope they come out with something other than the cold grey plastic models like the recent ones. I would expect Mitsubishi to have a good quality set.


17 posted on 10/17/2006 5:43:57 PM PDT by TommyDale (Iran President Ahmadinejad is shorter than Tom Daschle!)
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To: george76
Here's an interesting article on the next emerging television technology here.

You didn't think television technology stopped at the plasma, did you? It's called SED TV and it's essentially a bunch of miniature CRT's bundled side by side together.

The article does a good job of pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of the plasmas and LCD's so it's informative in that regard. (Like how black is still somewhat gray on a plasma since the plasma cell that is trying to be black is still on, emitting light to reduce latency). Cost? Comparable to plasma.

I still have my 10+ year old 35" Mitsubishi tube and if SED plays out, I will have skipped the LCD and plasma generations for this.

18 posted on 10/17/2006 5:56:50 PM PDT by GreenAccord (I'm GreenAccord and I approved of this message)
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To: JustDoItAlways

Thanks.

The LCD Sony looks good.


19 posted on 10/17/2006 6:01:23 PM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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To: Gay State Conservative

I need something that will work above 6000 feet.

apparently plasma is a problem


20 posted on 10/17/2006 6:03:28 PM PDT by george76 (Ward Churchill : Fake Indian, Fake Scholarship, and Fake Art)
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