First let me state that I am not and do not pretend to be a pro at modern day home entertainment systems but after our 6 year old 36" diagnal RCA CRT TV fizzeled out?..I had about 1 day and very little time to bone up and not make a mistake in my selection of purchasing my famailies new TV set...the following is just me reciting what I...
"RESEARCHED": (Primary Sources were "CNET.COM" & "Epinions.com") were Cnet basically stated that there could not be a worse or more confusing time for a consumer to purchase a new TV as "systems annnnnd signals" are in such a wild state of Tansition making purchase decisions that much more difficult for the consumer.
"Things I Heard & Learned": from numerous salesmen between Sears, Sears Essentials, (2) Walmarts, Circut City and BestBuy....
Basically?...there are 4 primary "Types" of TV's out there...they are...
1. Plasma Gas: Supposedly top of the line..high dollar...high maintainance and usually requires professional set-up...small "off brand" sets can be had as low as $1,000 (at wallyworld) to upwards of $2,000-$3,000+
2. L.C.D. (Liquid Crystal Display): Small 32" Cheapies can be had for just under $1,000 but for a decent (living room) sized, recently manufactured LCDTV of good quality you're looking at a starting price of approx. $1,200...flat panel...lightweight..plug 'n play set-up but...i did hear from several salesmen that while the LCD can an does display remarkably crisp images with a High Def Dig signal?...most leave much to be desired (as opposed to CRT or Plasma Gas) when dealing with analog signals...also?...some LCDTV screens can highly sensitive to well lit rooms where an abundance of natural light can actually cause a bit of "Washout" on the LCD screen.
3. Rear Projection: Seems to be on "Closeout Sales" these days as they suffer greatly in the "Viewing Angle" department...and the images tend to degrade slightly and then?...severly when viewed from anything other than a 0 degree viewing angle.
and finally?...
4. Good Old C.R.T. (Cathode Ray Tube): Low Cost...Low Maintainance but generally considered "Antiquated" by the masses however while not quite as crisp as the high end Plasma Gas?...Sony and Samsung both still support CRT contenders that are not far off the mark and sport "Dual Tuners" that can and do detect and recieve both analog and digital signals and display both incredably well including HD....and without the ghosting trails and shadows one might experience when attempting to view an analog signal on an LCD display.
I learned quite a bit in one day and only had approx. $1,000 to get the job done...and in the end?...I went with the good old CRT...a 34" Widescreen HDTV Sony FD Trinitron WEGA Model # KD-34XBR970...BestBuy had'em for $948...then I took advantage of $100 off for signing up for Comcast High Definition Service (which will only add $8.50 to my existing monthly bill) and walked out of BestBuy with HD Service and...this...
http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_KD....20.html
for a total of $904...tax included.
and the important thing i wanted to share?...was....get this...evidently?...my old TV was "Analog Only" while this new sony has both analog and digital tuners...well...my old TV?..to about 5 minutes to scan and search all the available channels during set-up...this new "Dual Tuner" sony?...took 50 minutes to set-up and search/scan all available channels...and here's the hook...I've been paying fpor years to get only about 1/2 of what it was i was paying for...cable service wise...as my old TV detected 71 analog only channels?...the new sony detected 71 analog and get this...a whopping 68 EXTRA DIGITAL CHANNELS...that i'd been paying for but not getting thanks to an old antiquated "Analog Only" TV...imagine that!
Thanks again to NJ and L8R, Bill.
"RESEARCHED": (Primary Sources were "CNET.COM" & "Epinions.com") were Cnet basically stated that there could not be a worse or more confusing time for a consumer to purchase a new TV as "systems annnnnd signals" are in such a wild state of Tansition making purchase decisions that much more difficult for the consumer.
"Things I Heard & Learned": from numerous salesmen between Sears, Sears Essentials, (2) Walmarts, Circut City and BestBuy....
Basically?...there are 4 primary "Types" of TV's out there...they are...
1. Plasma Gas: Supposedly top of the line..high dollar...high maintainance and usually requires professional set-up...small "off brand" sets can be had as low as $1,000 (at wallyworld) to upwards of $2,000-$3,000+
2. L.C.D. (Liquid Crystal Display): Small 32" Cheapies can be had for just under $1,000 but for a decent (living room) sized, recently manufactured LCDTV of good quality you're looking at a starting price of approx. $1,200...flat panel...lightweight..plug 'n play set-up but...i did hear from several salesmen that while the LCD can an does display remarkably crisp images with a High Def Dig signal?...most leave much to be desired (as opposed to CRT or Plasma Gas) when dealing with analog signals...also?...some LCDTV screens can highly sensitive to well lit rooms where an abundance of natural light can actually cause a bit of "Washout" on the LCD screen.
3. Rear Projection: Seems to be on "Closeout Sales" these days as they suffer greatly in the "Viewing Angle" department...and the images tend to degrade slightly and then?...severly when viewed from anything other than a 0 degree viewing angle.
and finally?...
4. Good Old C.R.T. (Cathode Ray Tube): Low Cost...Low Maintainance but generally considered "Antiquated" by the masses however while not quite as crisp as the high end Plasma Gas?...Sony and Samsung both still support CRT contenders that are not far off the mark and sport "Dual Tuners" that can and do detect and recieve both analog and digital signals and display both incredably well including HD....and without the ghosting trails and shadows one might experience when attempting to view an analog signal on an LCD display.
I learned quite a bit in one day and only had approx. $1,000 to get the job done...and in the end?...I went with the good old CRT...a 34" Widescreen HDTV Sony FD Trinitron WEGA Model # KD-34XBR970...BestBuy had'em for $948...then I took advantage of $100 off for signing up for Comcast High Definition Service (which will only add $8.50 to my existing monthly bill) and walked out of BestBuy with HD Service and...this...
http://reviews.cnet.com/Sony_KD....20.html
for a total of $904...tax included.
and the important thing i wanted to share?...was....get this...evidently?...my old TV was "Analog Only" while this new sony has both analog and digital tuners...well...my old TV?..to about 5 minutes to scan and search all the available channels during set-up...this new "Dual Tuner" sony?...took 50 minutes to set-up and search/scan all available channels...and here's the hook...I've been paying fpor years to get only about 1/2 of what it was i was paying for...cable service wise...as my old TV detected 71 analog only channels?...the new sony detected 71 analog and get this...a whopping 68 EXTRA DIGITAL CHANNELS...that i'd been paying for but not getting thanks to an old antiquated "Analog Only" TV...imagine that!
Thanks again to NJ and L8R, Bill.
