Finally getting an HDTV

[AcuraTech]

Jumped the gun and got a good deal on a Sony XBR7 40' 1080p 120hz. This one is last years model, so it was a bit lot cheaper than the newest models. Shipped to my door for $900. Was selling for around $1400 as little as 8 months ago. Anybody else have a Sony HDTV? Impressions or thoughts?

I've been using my trusty (new-ish) Sony Trinitron up until this point. (Only a 27" and weighs over 100 lbs. But what a picture for a 480p TV!) I really don't know if I can get rid of this beast for good, I might have to put it in storage.

Was skeptical about dropping loot on a TV, since I only watch it a few hours per week, but did it anyway. Now I just need a blu ray player and I'm all set!

 

[beanoil]

Yummy. I love my Sony 46". Two years old now, looks like day one. You got a good deal on yours. Enjoy.

 

[dwendt44]

Put it, the 27", in the bedroom; donate it to a senior center if they want it; any relatives that need a TV?

 

[hpichris]

You need a blu-ray player like there's no tmrw.

I spoiled myself by buying a 40 inch Sony LCD and mounted in my bedroom wall. I can't leave my room now. I am forever doomed.

 

[JustinH]

Order HD service from your cable/satellite provider.

We have Time Warner here, and I get their "free" hd service. It is very pixelated in comparison to the dish.

It still looks very good to the untrained eye however.

A neighbor of mine has verizon FIOS, and that is the best quality picture I have ever seen.

I'm on the fence about buying a blu-ray player. I think that on-demand hd is going to take off before more physical discs will.

Also the prices for the discs is too much money. I'm the type of guy that likes to rent a regular DVD for $1 at the redbox, so i'm not exactly the videophile in the area.

I would buy a $99 roku box, and get a $9/month unlimited netflix streaming account before I would buy a machine that plays physical discs.

 

[The_Jeff]

I got the "element" 32" a year ago. It's down to $328 at walmart now. Only does 720p but what a great picture! I used to think CRTs had a nice "glow" and flat screens were cold but this thing turned me around. No dead pixels, good OTA HD reception.

It also has VGA in (they pretty much all do) and I have it hooked up to a computer for netflix and even slide shows. When I get off my duff I'll get a proper video card with HDMI out.

And I believe it saves a little electricity over my old tv.

 

[G-MAN]

I got my first HDTV about a year ago. Didn't want to spend much so I got a 32" Vizio plasma. Upgraded my Dish to HD and got a Blu-Ray player and now there's no going back. For a relatively inexpensive set, the Vizio has been rock solid. No problems at all and a really phenomenal picture. In a room with low ambient lighting, plasma rocks.

 

[CivicFan]

I blame my weight gain on HD TV.

 

[greenaccord02]

I wouldn't mind having a flat screen, but one of the biggest reasons for my owning a TV is so I can play Nintendo and the zapper only works with CRT TVs. Once that changes, I'll make the switch to flat.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

We got a Sony 51" a couple of years ago. At first it almost hurt to have to watch all that TV! We got used to it pretty quickly though. The difference in picture quality is astounding.

You have to get HDTV from your cable provider to make it worth watching. When watching baseball on HDTV you can see the individual blades of grass on the field and the individual hairs tin the beards of the scruffy pitchers. Cheerleader closeups ain't half bad, either...

Ours is 1080i so blu-ray is more technology than we can see, but the wife buys them anyway for the future. I won't pay the difference, though.

 

[Papa Bear]

I get the best HD for our 42" Sharp from the outdoor antenna, pretty well stays on PBS. Canceled the cable when we got the tv.

 

[Kestas]

I bought my big flat screen TV three years ago... got a great deal. For the past two or three years the prices have been flat. Only recently have big flat screen TVs come down in price.

 

[nthach]

Cable HD is pixelated or overly compressed. The cable companies are still sticking to MPEG2/3 protocols and a typical cable network is still choked for bandwidth as they still carry a analog signal for their "lifeline" customers which I'm sure Comcast, TW, and Cox would want to see go to digital cable via DTAs(and they will sooner than 2012 thanks to a compliant FCC). Comcast is still running a few analog channels alongside SD/HD/DOCSIS/voice QAM channels.

IPTV such as U-Verse and FiOS as well as the satellite companies don't have such bandwidth limits - well for the exception of AT&T which is IMO still using a half-baked approach with fiber unlike Verizon. U-Verse is still distance and bandwidth capped for FTTN deployments which most U-Verse areas are. Supposedly pair bonding will fix that issue.

 

[uc50ic4more]

Originally Posted By: Mr_Incredible
Ours is 1080i so blu-ray is more technology than we can see


Nothing in the consumer market, including Blu-Ray, is currently of greater resolution than 1080. If you're referring to that fact that your machine is 1080i instead of 1080p, that shouldn't make too terribly much of a difference, although the source material had a lot to do with it.

 

[dwendt44]

3D TV is just around the corner.

 

[wantin150]

1080p > 1080i

1080p is true high def and will give the best picture. Most 720p HDTV's will process 1080i.

Once you go HD, you will never go back. I bought my 720p 37" Vizio (made in the USA) a couple years ago and live on the HD channels.

 

[benjamming]

Vizio made in USA. Come on now. You're pulling our leg. Got a picture of the label?

 

[CivicFan]

I think Vizio is just a marketing company and outsources their development and manufacture to companies in Taiwan.

 

[wantin150]

"Irvine, CA – November 17, 2009 -- VIZIO, America’s #1 LCD HDTV Company, announced today that it remains the #1 shipper of LCD HDTVs to the U.S. through the 3rd quarter of 2009 according to iSuppli’s Q3 2009 U.S. TV unit shipments*."

I stand corrected. Vizio is a US company but not a US manufacturer.

 

[G-MAN]

Originally Posted By: wantin150
"Irvine, CA – November 17, 2009 -- VIZIO, America’s #1 LCD HDTV Company, announced today that it remains the #1 shipper of LCD HDTVs to the U.S. through the 3rd quarter of 2009 according to iSuppli’s Q3 2009 U.S. TV unit shipments*."

I stand corrected. Vizio is a US company but not a US manufacturer.


Vizio plasma screens are made by LG. I'm not sure about their LCD screens. The finished products are made and assembled by a company in Taiwan called AmTran Technology.