does widescreen hdtv look good to you?

[Nevada Sixx]

hi, im about to get a new tv, circuit city has a panasonic widescreen hdtv, 42 inch on sale now at 1199,, for some reason, those tv's seem hard to focus on. i watch just regular cable and vhs/dvd rentals. im almost tempted to just get a regular 36 inch..
anyway, anyone got widescreen? do you like it and did you notice anything about the picture seeming out of focus?

thanks.

 

[kmccune]

We have a 36 " LCD and it did take awhile to get use to it, but now I don't like regular screens :think: I like that I can pick it up with out going to the chiropractor too :nod:

 

[SpDyKen]

I was amazed, when I set my new Mitsubishi 40" plasma right next to my trusty old tube Mitsubishi 36". The plasma has a great picture, but the tube picture is crisper and more sharp. Don't get me wrong, I like watching the plasma, but even side-by side, which they still are right now, I cannot get the colors adjusted as bright and vibrant on the plasma as they are on the CRT TV.
So, compare carefully, and side by side!

Sorry for my mistake; the plasma is a 50"!

 

[oldguy]

we have both a 42" plasma (Sylvania) and a 50 Samsung DLP. Both have a great picture but sometimes show some pixelation on the Satelite (directv) programming. The few over the air HD programs we get in this area are really great.
My wife was not in favor of the 50" at first in the store even after the salesman made his pitch but as we were walking away from the showroom she turned and looked at it again and this time loed the picture. Turns out she kept standing to close to get the effect- lesson learned be sure your room is big enough for the size you buy. We have a room that we sit 10 to 20 feet from the TV which is just right for the 50"

 

[junkjeeps]

It takes a while to get used the the widescreen. After your eyes get used to it, you'll think regular TV looks funny. Everybody looks fat and wider for the first few weeks. Movies look regular when viewed in widescreen format.

 

[CR Swade]

For regular cable broadcasting htat isn't in HD, the screen will be distorted or you should have different screen options to accomodate non-HD signal.
For HD signals which carry nature shows or shows w/ travle/art such as Discovery HD or PBS HD the signal is truly stunning. Sports events in true HD make the players actually take on a 3D look. No comparison at all HD signal w/ a HD tuner to regular cable/satellite broadcast on a regular TV.

Keep in mind a HD tuner will not be in HD unless you are getting HD channels, which are not your regular cable channels. In that case, if you are just wanting to use cable w/out HD I wouldn't bother w/a 16:9 HD set. After you see a 16:9 HD set w/ HD signal though, you wont to ever go back to regular TV...its that drastic

 

[kawicam250]

that plasma/ HDTV wont look any good if you throw your Wii controller into the TV screen.......LOL!! they are now making silicon cases for Wii controllers because of such happenings.

 

[motometal]

we have both a 42" plasma (Sylvania) and a 50 Samsung DLP. Both have a great picture but sometimes show some pixelation on the Satelite (directv) programming. The few over the air HD programs we get in this area are really great.
My wife was not in favor of the 50" at first in the store even after the salesman made his pitch but as we were walking away from the showroom she turned and looked at it again and this time loed the picture. Turns out she kept standing to close to get the effect- lesson learned be sure your room is big enough for the size you buy. We have a room that we sit 10 to 20 feet from the TV which is just right for the 50"

Uhh, maybe I should just sit close to my loser old school 25" Zenith CRT I inherited from grandma and I would get the same effect, right? I mean, if the TV is actually so big you have to back up...I can't see the advantage, unless you are trying to entertain a large group of people.

 

[SpDyKen]

Yea, MM, Consumer Reports confirmed that it is tough to beat the color and sharpness of a good CRT TV. Of course, how many of those do people go out & buy these days to impress their friends?

Oh, and then their is those high-def. broadcasts; I LOVE it when they put the grey bars on the top & bottom of the picture, and then sometimes black bars on each side. They make my $3000.00, 50" TV have a wonderful, 3-D like picture, about the size of my 36" CRT located 10'' to the right of my plasma! :nener:

 

[RYDMOTO]

I have you all beat.I put a garage door opener in my family room and hooked up my 19" HD LCD monitor on it.I just click open and instant widescreen tv! And I can custom tune it too with a click here an there.When I am done.just click close and it's out of the way.Go ahead and spend your thousands! lol

 

[MrLuckey]

A garage door opener and a 19" LCD??? I must be missing something :coocoo:

 

[wardy]

i was just asking myself the same thing? are you projecting this on a garage door which you installed in the family room? OR did you make a family room next to the cars in the garage???

 

[CR Swade]

If your 50" plasma is still showing bars on the sides w/ a HD broadcast show, then there could be a problem w/ settings on your monitior or maybe the broadcast isn't in HD 16:9. Until all the broadcasts are in 16:9 HD, there will be quite a few shows that don't fit the 16:9 format. A true 16:9 HD broadcast will have no distortion and will fit the screen full. It looks just like a 4:3 set only full wide screen.

BTW, you guys that are thinking 3K on your 50"...they are down to $1500 and dropping. Should bottom out around $1200 for a good set...or so I am told. I went ahead and bought at $1500 as we have a bunch of free-air HD signal here in KC, plus $11 gets me a bunch of cable aired HD channels to go along w/ it.

 

[Okiewan]

HD 16:9

The definition of HD IS 16:9. What he's probably seeing is a digital channel that's not in HD. A lot of folks confuse digital and HD as being one in the same.

 

[CR Swade]

HD channels will broadcast some shows and commercials in a non-16:9 format...maybe not all of the free air broadcast on HD stations is HD?

Lastly, the Disney movie Cars on 50" is flat ridiculous...better than the theater. The kids were digging it last evening...surround sound shaking the house and the picture was plain off the chart. But the real fun starts here in about 2 hours when NFL comes on. Gotta see it to believe it

 

[oldguy]

Uhh, maybe I should just sit close to my loser old school 25" Zenith CRT I inherited from grandma and I would get the same effect, right? I mean, if the TV is actually so big you have to back up...I can't see the advantage, unless you are trying to entertain a large group of people.

We needed a new TV when we moved since the old one did not survive the move. I had planned my old rec room around a 50" screen TV but found out the day I finished the room that my wife would be forced to relocate for employment so we held off with the old TV. As long as the moving company was replacing the one they dropped we bought another for the living room ourselves.
After checking around we found that the layout of the new rec room was perfect for a 50" because of the viewing distance.

 

[RYDMOTO]

I was just goofing around.I did buy a HDTV tuner for my computer awhile back.AVS forum has a ton of info and I am reading up on OTA transmissions using an antenna .With the right antenna and a rotor looks like I can get5-6 local cities here and have all the channels i need.After i get this down I may upgrade to a larger plasma tv.

 

[SpDyKen]

The definition of HD IS 16:9. What he's probably seeing is a digital channel that's not in HD. A lot of folks confuse digital and HD as being one in the same.

I have the former Adelphia's complete package, then changed a few weeks ago by Comcast (a real mess!) I receive 18 HD channels. I just checked, and this is what I found:
- 8 channels with grey bars top & bottom
- 7 channels with grey bars top & bottom, black bars on sides
- 2 channels with grey bars top & bottom, Black bars, also top & bottom, between grey & picture
- 1 ch. (espn2HD) with grey stripes on each side, with Verticle "HD" graphics in the stripes.

2 of the channels have the network identifcation logo partially in the black portion.

NONE fill up the entire 50" screen with picture.

Yes,, I have adjusted my TVs an cable box settings for the different format settings.

 

[Okiewan]

You've got some problems bro ...
Keeping in mind, not every program (and most commercials as mentioned above) are broadcast in HD, even on a HD channel. Some sports on ESPN/HD are still in digital only (thus the "HD graphics" on the sides.

Almost all shows on network prime time are broadcast in HD now. DiscoveryHD, NG HD, HDNet, etc are all HD, if you are seeing them with bars, you've got a setup problem.