Topic: New LCD TV on the way!

[Antares]

Woo!

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=147393

I normally loathe Circuit City, but they had it for $80 than I could find anywhere else aside from a place called Beachcamera who I've never really heard of. The TV was also out of stock almost everywhere I looked, even at all the Circuit City locations near me.  Fortunately shipping was free (+$5 for 3 day shipping since I didn't want to wait) so I should have my new baby in hand by early next week.

Reviews say the picture quality is second to none, and the speakers are mounted on the bottom of the unit so I'll be able to fit the TV into my existing entertainment center that is around 28.5" wide with the maximum screen size.

[scottws]

Nice!

[Antares]

Next Step: Xbox 360.

[ScaryTooth]

I've had my Sharp Aquos for over a year now, and I aboslutely love it.

[sirean_syan]

Another one joins the HD club. I'm all jealous and stuff.

[Quemaqua]

Oddly enough, our TV in the living room is going out and Julia actually *suggested* to me that the next one we get to replace it should be a widescreen.  I was like... what?  Really?  So once that goes out we'll move the gameroom TV into the living room and set up the widescreen TV in the gameroom.  Awesome.  Of course we're entirely too poor to afford this so we'll be waiting until the TV in question dies completely to the point of being unusable, but... still.  Something to look forward to.

[TheOtherBelmont]

HDTVs have gone down in price so much, I'm considering getting one too, maybe with my tax return or our awesome bonus we are getting in March.  My 10% discount will help out some if I get one at work and we have five or six models I'm interested in.  Since I'm most likely going to be getting a PS3 sometime this year an HDTV is almost a must.  We used to sell that one that you bought Ant and it looked good, we stopped carrying it for some reason though, even though it sold fairly well.

[Antares]

I'm excited out of my mind right now, I've been watching a 21" Goldstar in my living room since July. I almost relented a couple times and purchased a larger CRT, but I'm glad I waited until I could afford a really nice TV.

[Cobra951]

Yes, that's awesome.  I was shocked by the price drops in just the last year.  A 22" 1680x1050 LCD monitor for $300, and any sizeable HDTV for 3 digits, are things I thought I wouldn't see for a long time to come.  My brother has bought two plasma TVs in a matter of months.  He got one for his bedroom, then couldn't stand to watch the 36" tube in the family room anymore, so he got a 42" HDTV set for that.  It seems everyone is starting to bite finally.  I bet you we'll see a lot more cable-TV content for HD start up over the next year.

The Xbox 360 premium package comes with component cables, though they're not the best quality.  If you're a stickler for analog purity, there's always Monster.  Digital DVI is still not available, and if it needs that HDCP crap, then the hell with it anyway.

[Cobra951]

What do you think about this.  It has a $100 rebate off of that price too.


27" Viewsonic LCD HDTV (768 v res max, i.e., 720P max)

[Antares]

Not too shabby.  I'm not a huge fan of Viewsonic, but the price is hard to beat especially for an LCD that has a built in HD tuner.

[Cobra951]

Newegg has the 32" version of that for the same price, after multiple reductions & a rebate.  I hate to order screens online, though.  Don't know.  I need a TV for my room, and this seems about the cheapest for a TV with any future.  (I could always go for some 4:3 tube set on closeout somewhere.)  Deal's good for a while, so I'll hold off for now.  I'll try to see it in action next time I go there.

[Antares]

The only problem I found with ordering a TV from newegg is that almost all of them had the "bulk item" return policy which essentially means you're SOL as soon as you sign for the package.  You're still covered by the manufacturer warranty, but that will just result in shipping the TV back and forth for repairs for who knows how long.

[Cobra951]

Exactly, on the SOL.  I think I read that kicks in at around 26" sets.  The negative reviews for such TVs (like 1 star) always seem to involve the uber-headache of having to deal with the manufacturer directly, for replacing malfunctioning units.  One guy said it took 3 months to get a replacement.  I'd be too pissed for words.

[Antares]

It arrived this morning. Awesome.  It fits beautifully into my entertainment center, filling the space without looking like its too big for it.  As far as I can tell, not a single dead or frozen pixel.

I don't have cable, so I'm experimenting with off air HD for the first time, Of the channels I expected: ABC, CBS and NBC all appear to be without a digital signal.  I'm not sure if it only comes through for certain programming or what the issue is, I'll have to keep playing with it.  Both Fox and CW2 (the other main VHS station) have Digital signals that look plain awesome, also there is a spanish station comming in on HD.

DVDs look awesome, I'm using Component in with Monster cables and the picture is better than I've witnessed on just about any other TV for a regular DVD, although the difference in quality between a DVD and a HD signal is apparent.

The picture from my NCG looks a bit blurry but I was expecting this, I'll probably move it to my bedroom and to a CRT when I get an xbox 360.

One other pleasant surprise is that the audio quality is quite good, the setup is only 2 speakers at 10W per channel but they deliver excellent sound with full bass and clear dialouge.

[Cobra951]

My brother picks up the ABC, NBC, and CBS HD networks off the air.  I think they transmit full time, but only some of the content is truly HD.  Since it's digital, it either works or it doesn't.

I saw the Viewsonic set I was talking about at Microcenter.  I wasn't impressed.  There were other choices for around the same money which looked a lot better.  I'm still just looking.

Oh, so you did get the fancy cables.  Nice.

[Antares]

I actually sprung for those monster cables about 3 years ago when my mom's cat chewed through the standard A/V cables that came with the DVD player.

I've been fiddling with trying to get the networks over HD, I checked the websites, and they all do broadcast a digital signal 24/7.  There is a signal strength meter built into the TV, and while CW2 and Fox come in at 90-100% no problem no amount of tweaking can get any of the others above 50%.  Only thing I can think of is that they are broadcast from a different antenna that just isn't reaching my apartment.  Oh well...  It would have been nice to see Heroes broadcast in HD.