The best tv route........ help.

[Greco101]

Alright... so I've had the same 19" crt tv for years now... I'm tired of it. I'm not a big tv watcher but my gf likes to watch her shows and we watch movies and whatnot every night before bed sooooo...

What route should I take? I'm also something that I can hook the xbox 360 up to once I actually get one.

I don't really have room for a larger crt tv... the 19" is on the edge of my dresser and I already have a queen size bed, a 10 foot computer desk, a 5 foot dressor and a night stand so there isn't any room for an entertainment center.

I do have an 8 foot blank wall that would be PERFECT for a projector... but nowhere to put the projector unless I somehow mount it to the top of my headboard but I'm not drilling into a 3000 dollar bed frame lol. We're renting at the moment so I can't hang it either... because that would require running wires through the walls, otherwise I'd have a big ugly cord hanging from the ceiling lol.

plasmas are extremely overpriced so they are out of the question. Any ideas? do lcd tv's have decent picture? Large projection tv's are a dime a dozen on craigslist... how are they picture wise? Every one I've ever seen has dark crummy quality. :?:?:?

[Dilphat]

what's the budget that you are willing to spend dude?

[Greco101]

The best bang for the buck in the price range of 4-600.

[Dilphat]

I'll ask my uncle tonight after i get to his house. since he knows quite a bit when it comes to tv's.

[OvRiDe]

I must say with the parameters you have put forth.. LCD is probably the route.

LCD has come along way, and the picture is most likely going to be better then an older CRT TV. I have been looking at them for a while, and the best thing I can tell you is go to some place like Circuit City, Best Buy etc etc, where they have ALOT of different LCDs on display, and hopefully in close proximity to each other. Spend some time actually watching them. There is another option and that would be a DLP TV. Since you don't have a 4" thickness limit or its got to be hung on a wall, it could be another viable option. Again go watch them. It will help you make a personal decision on what you will like. The one downside to DLP is that the viewing angle might not be as broad as a good LCD will have, and there is still a bulb that will eventually burn out and need to be replaced. Hopefully prices will be lower, as of the last time I checked they were just over 100 bucks.

The other thing to remember over getting another CRT, is that standard def transmission is going to be phased out over the next couple of years.

Just my .02 hope it helps.. and Good Luck!!

[elbarto241]

sorry to hi-jack, but ive heard of this standard def transmission being phased out.. could some one explain :D ill give you a cookie!

[ontopic] describing your space limits [+budget], i have to agree with a LCD recommendation from override. doesn't take up too much space, can connect to your future xbox 360 and fits your budget. sounds like a headshot to me :D

[Luke122]

I have an LCD (37").. it's sweet. My mom bought herself a 19" lcd and it's wicked. I'd say go for an LCD for sure.. prices are coming down fast, and if you get one that's 720p capable, xbox looks STELLAR on it. :D

[Aero]

I just bought a new TV :P. I spent about $800 on mine. If you can get some extra cash I think it would be worth it. ITs a 32 inch LCD made by Toshiba (http://www.abtelectronics.com/product/28009.html)[thats where I got mine, its a local store here in Chicago, but I think nationwide shipping is free if I remember correctly]. I've had it for about two weeks now, and its amazing. I can pick up local channels in HD with the QAM or is it QUAM? whatever, the cool tuner thing thats built in. The picture is amazing. The black isn't quite as black as the newer $2500 Samsung LCD's, but its amazing compared to other LCD's I compared it to. Plus it goes upto 1080p, lol, my HD-DVD player can only hit 1080i :P. I would definitely recommend it.

I think its a Regza 32HL67U. Plus its got 3 HDMI ports and a PC input. There are cheaper LCD's like Haier or Vizio, but if you look at off angle the picture tends to become blue and you loose picture quality. The viewing angle on this Toshiba is probably about 165-170 degree if not higher. Plus I'm not sure on Quality. I've had no quality problem with Toshiba yet, I have 2 DVD players, and a laptop from them, nothing seems to be letting up (the laptop is 2.5 years old and still works flawlessly).

[Greco101]

I went to bestbuy tonight and found the projector idea is out of the question since there is only one possible place I could mount it and they pretty much have to be hung from a ceiling.

I looked at the DLP's and they are pretty damn sweet - same as the lcd's. Plasmas got cheaper and I guess they are very bad for gaming because the picture gets burned in? ...Didn't know that...

I wish OLED TV's would hurry up and come out so everything gets cheaper.

Bestbuy offers a 3 year payment plan with 0% interest... I'm really thinking about a 60" lcd. I'll be shopping around a little more though.

[Luke122]

Projectors are noisy also.. the fan noise will drive you nuts, they put out loads of heat, and you have to replace the bulb every 2000 hours (approximately).

Memory Express has a 37" Viewsonic LCD (my brother has one.. it's hella nice) for $850.

[Crazy Buddhist]

My 20" Dell LCD monitor is also my main TV though I have a 21" CRT hooked up too. The Dell is more pleasant to watch than the CRT.

:)

[Dilphat]

go with a Vizio lcd tv. i heard they are pretty good for hte bucks you spend on them.

[Eclecticos]

Well I just got one of these a week ago 50" Magnavox Plasma (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Magnavox-50-Plasma-HDTV-50MF231/sem/rpsm/oid/186040/catOid/-12869/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do).
Worth every cent. My only complaint would be the ugly remote.

[simon275]

sorry to hi-jack, but ive heard of this standard def transmission being phased out.. could some one explain :D ill give you a cookie!


http://www.pbs.org/opb/crashcourse/digital_v_analog/

[Greco101]

Well I just got one of these a week ago 50" Magnavox Plasma (http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Magnavox-50-Plasma-HDTV-50MF231/sem/rpsm/oid/186040/catOid/-12869/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do).
Worth every cent. My only complaint would be the ugly remote.

Gaming on a plasma will destroy it over time.

[OvRiDe]

sorry to hi-jack, but ive heard of this standard def transmission being phased out.. could some one explain :D ill give you a cookie!
:D

I may have misspoke to a degree.. Actually what is being phased out is the analog broadcast. All U.S. Television stations are being mandated to broadcast in Digital as of February 17, 2009. So this doesn't mean they can't broadcast Standard Def in Digital, and more of it is an assumption on my behalf that most likely the stations will begin to broadcast in Hi Def more and more over time. Sorry for the confusion, and here is some more information if you would like ...

http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/cat/-13416/edOid/145447/rpem/ccd/lookLearn.do

[Greco101]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=180161960159&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=008

this looks like a pretty sweet dreal. Input?

[OvRiDe]

It seems like a sweet deal, but if it were me.. I would go new instead of used something like this...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889234009

EDIT: If size matters .. this seems like a pretty sweet deal ...even if it is recertified.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889262010

[Eclecticos]

Gaming on a plasma will destroy it over time.

I was looking up information on that last night. . The only damage a gaming console can do to a plasma is "Burn In" Fortunitely the xbox360 has a screen saver the screen image becomes darker after 10 minutes of inactivity.

I'm not to worried about it I don't currently own a gaming console. .
I do all my gaming on my PC.

[Exley]

Gaming on a plasma will destroy it over time.

Burn-in problems have gotten much better. Don't let the fear of burn-in ruin enjoying your awesome new televison. My parents have a plasma and my brother and i have played xbox and on it since they bought the tv, just don't play the same game for a very long time ( we try to limit it to a couple hours ).

[Eclecticos]

Yea. I noticed a little ghosting of the white OSD bar, so I upgraded to HD Cable.
The Brighthouse menus are more Plasma friendly. IMO