HDTV on a budget

[pratt733]

So my wife has given the go-ahead to buy an LCD HDTV. I was hoping to buy something in the 37" - 42" range and spend no more than $1300. Can anyone give me a few suggestions? I will be connecting it to my HTPC via DVI/HDMI.

[autoboy]

how far will you sit? I just bought a sony 1080p 40" bravia for $1800 and I don't sit close enough to see the difference b/w the 1080p and 720p models. I could have saved some cash. Also, I bought my TV at the local magnolia Hifi by going to online price comparison shops and finding the lowest price of the certified venders. I paid an extra $100 locally but it was much easier to buy and I can return it if I have problems. As far as TVs go, I can't help you much.

[jbarr]

I'm using a Westinghouse W4207 42" LCD HDTV monitor, and it works very well for us. I purchased it on Black Friday for $999, though it has been on sale for that price several times since then.

Just be aware of 2 things about the W4207:

1. It is an HD monitor without any tuners, so you mustuse an STB or an HTPC (which you will, of course, if you use SageTV.)

2. It has VGA, dual DVI, and HDMI connections (among others.) But as I understand it, PC video cards don't tyically output to HDMI, so regardless of what TV you purchase, unless it has a DVI or a VGA connector, you will need to use a DVI to HDMI cable. That's one reason I chose the W4207--it has lots of connections other than HDMI.

I keep the TV set to "source" and let SageTV handle all the aspect ratio stuff.

Hope this helps!

[pratt733]

I've heard a lot of good things about the Westinghouse. Could you recommend a retailer?

I like the idea of all the connections, but I don't have a problem with buying a cable if the tv doesn't have DVI. I would definitely like something that can handle the highest possible resolution, unless there's a reason not to.

[jbarr]

Ooops, sorry! I bought it from Best Buy.

[pratt733]

Do you think there's any reason for me to look for something that supports 1080i/1080p?

[bcjenkins]

Costco has a 37" LCD for 799

http://www.vizio.com/products/detail.aspx?pid=16

42" Plasma for 999

http://www.vizio.com/products/detail.aspx?pid=19

I have the 42" and love it.

B

[OttoNP]

If you ever plan to take full advantage of hd-dvd or blue ray, in theory you need a 1080p

[flavius]

With that I'd wait another year or two, and by then he will be on his second much better HDTV

[Razillian]

The Panasonic 1080p 42" "industrial" plasmas are selling for about $999. The panasonic line is the first plasma rated for 60000 hrs of use (what CRTs used to get, LCDs are about half that). I have a generation or two behind what is out now, but it is still incredible. The current model I've seen for about $1K is TH-42PH9UK. Just FYI, by industrial, these things are displays only. They usually come with a VGA input card, a component input and a composit input. There is no TV tuner on them (you can buy additional cards to plug into it though for coax tuning, DVI etc), and no speakers. Which for me, makes them perfect for the home built entertainment system featuring a Sage PVR.

Happy hunting.

[flavius]

I can foresee a 32" LCD monitor connected to my Mac, but otherwise I'd prefer those with tuners, since I have lots of kids.

On the other hand - who watches Live TV anymore?

[pratt733]

Honestly, I don't watch live tv and even if I did, it would be through the satellite stb. I also don't need speakers since I have a home theater system and we never use the speakers on our existing Sony WEGA.

That being said, what's the difference between plasma and lcd?

[bcjenkins]

Originally Posted by Razillian

The Panasonic 1080p 42" "industrial" plasmas are selling for about $999. The panasonic line is the first plasma rated for 60000 hrs of use (what CRTs used to get, LCDs are about half that). I have a generation or two behind what is out now, but it is still incredible. The current model I've seen for about $1K is TH-42PH9UK. Just FYI, by industrial, these things are displays only. They usually come with a VGA input card, a component input and a composit input. There is no TV tuner on them (you can buy additional cards to plug into it though for coax tuning, DVI etc), and no speakers. Which for me, makes them perfect for the home built entertainment system featuring a Sage PVR.

Happy hunting.

This panel does not appear to be 1080p reading the specs, the native is 1024x768.

B

[Polypro]

Olevia 542i here, $800 on Black Friday. 1366x768, 1:1 Mode, DVI>HDMI from a 7950GT is fine. LOST looks INCREDIBLE There's a thread on AVS.

P

[pratt733]

That's the second plug for Olevia I've heard this week. Mind if I ask where you bought it?

[Apap]

I am very happy with my Olevia 542i also. I dont live near any Microcenters that had it on Black Friday sale so I ordered mine online from Target. As far as I can see, the only real caveat is only 1 HDMI port. I am running my PC through VGA and both text and Video are fantastic.

[pratt733]

I can deal with only one HDMI input for now since it's only my PC. I think if I were to get a DirectTV box with HDMI, I would upgrade my receiver and get one that has HDMI switching. Does that sound like a viable option?

[Apap]

Originally Posted by pratt733

I can deal with only one HDMI input for now since it's only my PC. I think if I were to get a DirectTV box with HDMI, I would upgrade my receiver and get one that has HDMI switching. Does that sound like a viable option?

That sounds like it would work. I currently have a Directv H20 receiver connected directly to the HDMI input. I am using a Harmony 880 remote that is programmed to automaticly switch inputs on my receiver and tv, that works great.

[GTwannabe]

Westinghouse sells a 37" 1080P LCD monitor for ~$1000. They also have a 42" 1080P LCD display that you can occasionally find on sale for $1300.

Avoid displays with non-standard resolutions and non-square pixels to avoid HTPC headaches. As far as receivers, you might want to get one that does analog to HDMI upconversion, rather than the more typical HDMI passthrough. HDMI upconversion lets you plug the TV into the receiver with a single HDMI cable, and lets you switch audio/video inputs directly from the receiver. I'm planning on buying the Onkyo TX-SR674 ($500 @ Crutchfield)

[riekl]

Originally Posted by OttoNP

If you ever plan to take full advantage of hd-dvd or blue ray, in theory you need a 1080p

Why ? NEITHER format has a 1080p player yet.

Yea BluRay says they do but internally it converts 1080p->1080i->1080p so you lose any benefit, its all 1080i right now.