Opinions on TVs?

[tutusue]

Re: Opinions on TVs?

[...]The Vizio brand seems to be a bargain and Costco doubles the manufacturer's warranty.

That's very cool! It appears I need to spend some time at Sears and Costco! And that for someone who would rather have a root canal than shop!

[GregLee]

Re: Opinions on TVs?

I was disturbed by what I think is the aspect ratio. Everyone and everything looked "fat"...it stretched the picture horizontally. I tried to find a way to correct that but my untechiness took over. A friend, far more techie than I, couldn't find the answer either. We both found the picture disconcerting to watch. Is this typical and correctable?

The fatness results from stretching a standard definition 4:3 aspect ratio picture out to occupy the entire screen of a 16:9 aspect wide screen TV. So long as the picture is 4:3, the only alternative is to put blank bars at left and right, called "pillar boxing". Ordinarily, it's the wide screen TV that's doing the stretching, so if you don't like it, you can just tell the TV to stop doing it by changing the aspect control. In some cases, it's the TV station doing it, though -- HDTNT often stretches out SD material. Then, there's nothing you can do.

Some wide screen TVs have a stretch mode, called "Just" on my Panasonic, which stretches the sides of the picture more than the middle. That looks a little better. TVs also have "Zoom" modes which stretch a 4:3 picture uniformly vertically as well as horizontally, which avoids the aspect distortion but loses the top and bottom of a SD picture.

Pillar boxing risks "burn in" on CRTs and plasmas, where the bars eventually leave permanent marks on the screen.

[oceanpacific]

Re: Opinions on TVs?

My VIZIO LCD set has a "zoom" setting which fills up the screen without making the picture appear "fat." But, with the 4:3 aspect, the top and bottom get compromised and you lose at least part of the text of any sub-titling.

Using the "zoom" with 16:9, the black bars across the top and bottom are lessened, while the sub-titling remains intact.

[tutusue]

Re: Opinions on TVs?

Greg and OP...thank you very, very much. I'll take your info with me during my shopping foray!

[buzz1941]

Re: Opinions on TVs?

I've been told that plasma screens lose effectiveness at higher altitudes, They're almost unusable in places like Denver. Dunno if that's still true...

Flat-screen tech is changing so rapidly that whatever you buy is, by definition, already obsolete.

[tutusue]

Re: Opinions on TVs?

I've been told that plasma screens lose effectiveness at higher altitudes, They're almost unusable in places like Denver. Dunno if that's still true...

Flat-screen tech is changing so rapidly that whatever you buy is, by definition, already obsolete.

Heh. Just like all other electronics!

Just so I can see the dang thing both on and off center in a bright condo on the 19th floor, I'll be happy!

[Erika Engle]

Re: Opinions on TVs?

Hi Tutusue!

I turned in my column and an unexpected PM-notice in my e-mail brought me here this afternoon.

I'm no expert on plasma vs. LCD, aspect ratio, or anything.

I just wanted you to know that per an Oceanic TWC engineering exec, neither you nor any other Oceanic subscriber, even with an analog TV, needs to worry about digital transition.

http://starbulletin.com/2007/04/19/business/engle.html

... and for your convenience:

The expansion of digital and high-definition TV offerings is a prelude to the elimination of analog TV broadcasts in February 2009.

Nationally, broadcasters and the government are working on plans to educate the public about the transition that will make over-the-air-viewing of analog TV sets impossible.

However, most Hawaii viewers won't need to buy a new TV, since most subscribe to cable or satellite service.

"Whatever they have today will be fine," said Mike Goodish, vice president of engineering for Oceanic Time Warner Cable.

[tutusue]

Re: Opinions on TVs?

A big smooch to you, Erika!!!

[GeckoGeek]

Re: Opinions on TVs?

I just wanted you to know that per an Oceanic TWC engineering exec, neither you nor any other Oceanic subscriber, even with an analog TV, needs to worry about digital transition.

For now .....

The question is how many years will it be before cable decides they'd rather use that spectrum for something else? Or the supplied set top boxes won't supply that format anymore?

However, as long as your set takes a standard video (not RF) input, I'd think you should be able to find some kind of tuner to feed it. At least for the reasonable lifetime of the set.

[joshuatree]

Re: Opinions on TVs?

For now .....

The question is how many years will it be before cable decides they'd rather use that spectrum for something else? Or the supplied set top boxes won't supply that format anymore?

However, as long as your set takes a standard video (not RF) input, I'd think you should be able to find some kind of tuner to feed it. At least for the reasonable lifetime of the set.

I think an HD tuner should take care of that problem?

Tutusue, let us know what you decide for a tv, like to hear what kind of deals are out there.

[tutusue]

Re: Opinions on TVs?

[...]Tutusue, let us know what you decide for a tv, like to hear what kind of deals are out there.

Will do. It'll probably be a few weeks before I get around to it but if any of you see a great deal advertised, please post it here for all of us to see!