TiVo Community Forums Archives - Plasma Tv's

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Plasma Tv's - HDTV?
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Posted by: buffstitch

I was looking at the ads in the Sunday paper yesterday and saw several 42" Plasma TVs that vary greatly in price. I read several posting in this forum that HDTV Tivos are suppose to be introduced soon so I am starting to look for a new HDTV TV.

My question is are all Plasma TV's HDTV? I really don't know much about them. I just like the idea of hanging a 42 inch tv on the wall like a mirror and getting rid of my giant entertainment center. Are there any links that describe what to look for when buying HDTV or plasama tv? They aren't cheap and I really don't want to make a mistake.

Posted by: Bernie

No...not all plasma TV's are HDTVs. I learned this several weeks ago when a Daewood 42" Plasma was calling to me, at just under $3,000. When I asked the clerk why a television manufacturer would bother to make a Plasma without HDTV his response was "to make them more affordable."

Bernie

Posted by: edrock200

Take a look at this thread, it may answer some of your questions:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-v...threadid=158484

Posted by: steuert

Look in the AVS Forum for more about plasma TV's than you probably want to hear.

There are "ED" (Enhanced Definition) sets available that have nominally lower resolution than bona-fide HD sets, and usually cost $1500 or so less. Several posters on the AVS Forum, however, say that ED sets look at least as good with HD broadcasts as do "HD" sets, unless you sit very close to them.

FWIW, if I were in the market today I would probably buy a 42" Panasonic ED set, which you can find online for a little under $3000 (although they're in short supply right now.) The alternative - endless research and comparison of features, such as one would ordinarily do prior to buying such an expensive item - may just leave you running in circles.

Posted by: Hemi

buffstitch,

If you are really interested in understanding Plasma TVs, then I suggest that you check out this forum:

AVS Plasma Forum

It will dispel many of the plasma myths such as burn-in and limited lifetime.

Dan

Posted by: HDTiVo

An important aspect of plasmas (and LCDs) is the actual resolution. Some of them are as low as 850x480 - which is really just regular TV resolution.

You want something that is at least 1280x720 - which can show 720p format. The variables and complexity involved in the various specs is enormous.

One thing you might look at is the DLP (rear projection) TV. Samsung has them out from 43" to 60" A little bigger and heavier - but possibly a much better picture for your tastes. They start at $3,500.

DLP is also resolution dependent and the Samsungs are all 1280x720.

I personally found a tremendous amount of digital compression artifacting on the DLP - like watching a TiVo in Basic/Medium. The store only had a ABC NBA game on so I was watching SD analog converted by the TV.

Posted by: DJRobX

quote:
Some of them are as low as 850x480 - which is really just regular TV resolution.

Not really. A standard TV is 720x480i, which is really 240 lines of resolution alternating back and forth to give the illusion of more detail. And standard def TVs rarely resolve the whole 720 horizontal pixels perfectly, either.

It's easy to compare. Hook a PC up to a 850x480p plasma and compare to what you get on a TV-OUT connection on a standard def set, I think you'll be stunned at the lack of clarity and definition on a television set despite the fact that they are at the same "resolution". That same clarity will apply to down-converted HDTV.

IMHO, at 42", the sets are just too small to see a big difference between 480p and 720p at normal livingroom viewing distances, unless you have eagle-eye vision. And, the resolution corresponds better to DVD and standard definition viewing, so those are likely to look better on those sets also.

If I went with a 42" I'd definitely have gone with an EDTV rather than an HD set.

Posted by: buffstitch

Thanks everyone

Lots of homework to do. Now all I need is the HDTV tivo unit. I bought my series two in July and with the lifetime membership and HMO I've got $700 invested in it. Don't know if I'll sell it on ebay or just put it in our bedroom.

Posted by: LifeIsABeach

quote:
Originally posted by buffstitch
Now all I need is the HDTV tivo unit. I bought my series two in July and with the lifetime membership and HMO I've got $700 invested in it. Don't know if I'll sell it on ebay or just put it in our bedroom.

FYI - Only DirectTiVo HD units have been announced and are due out in a month or two. AFAIK there has been no announcement on a SA HD TiVo release date.

Posted by: rstaveley

Plasma does not guarantee HDTV. TiVo, however, will guarantee that you will NOT receive HDTV, even if you have an HDTV set/receiver. Wait for the HDTV TiVo if you really want it, and even then, be careful.

Posted by: HDTiVo

Ok, let's calm down and get realistic.

Unless you are getting an HD DTiVo, don't rush to dump your existing TiVo.

You will want the current TiVo to record/buffer all content. It will be connected to an SD input (S or composite) on your "HDTV." In addition, if you receive HDTV content, you will want to route that directly to an HD input of your "HDTV" and so you can watch it live.

Posted by: buffstitch

[QUOTE]Originally posted by HDTiVo
[B]Ok, let's calm down and get realistic.

Thanks HDTivo but you are responding to a guy who can't figure out how to get his cable box, tivo, vcr, and dvd all connected to one tv. I've had my series two for 6 months and haven't been able to watch a dvd since I hooked up the tivo. biggest problem is our entertainment center weighs a ton and it takes 3 guys to pull it away from the wall to get to the cables.

I really like the idea of hanging a tv on the wall like a mirror and having all the other components in a small rack where I can get to them. But you are right I probably won't sell the series two, at least not right away.

Posted by: steuert

I did almost exactly what you describe, a little over a year ago. I had a large home entertainment center with a 27" TV; I suspect the whole thing weighed about 200 pounds and getting to the back to connect cables was a major problem.

I bought a plasma and mounted it on the wall, and then disassembled the entertainment center and used wood from it to make a small vertical cabinet which now holds 2 DTiVos, a DVD recorder, a carousel DVD player, and, last and definitely least, an S-VHS VCR. I mounted this cabinet on wheels, and now connecting/disconnecting stuff is a breeze. (Surprising how often you want to do this over the course of a year.)

Only remaining problem is what to do with the Medusa's head of cables that connect all these things. For the time being I have stuffed them all in a corner behind the equipment cabinet, where they are out of sight and out of mind.

Posted by: kensteele

I picked up a 32" HD Sanyo Plasma
1280x720 - which can show 720p format
after months of research, not sure if you can mention price here but it was less than 2 large.
You can hang this like a picture.

Forget about non-plasma, forget about ED, forget about DLP.

The Super Bowl, the Grammy's, InHD TV...some of the best TV I have seen anywhere.

IMO. :D

Posted by: HDTiVo

When you guys hang the Plasma on the wall, where do you put the equipment rack relative to it?

How do you route the cables to the TV? Are they visible?

Posted by: HDTiVo

Ok, So you clearly want a plasma screen.

Remember there are many variables that go into the quality of the picture, and these have alot to do with the cost - which varies dramatically as you've observed.

Shop carefully, and be sure to view content of the type you will be watching before buying. (ie. DVDs, regular TV, HDTV) Watch these with the various aspect settings of the TV... ie. 4:3 in normal 4:3 mode, and stretched to 16:9... at least to the point where you've seen what you are going to watch in the way you will watch it at home.

This is an expensive purchase, so I am sure you want to be thorough.