LCD/Plasma/CRT/DLP - questions

[Shozuki]

can I have people's opinions:

im after:

40" - ish LCD TV

must have 2 - 3 HDMI ports

VGA

Component

preferably 1080p (720p will be kool providing it'll scale 1080p for Blu-Ray)

?2000 is the budget

what can people recommend?

[amorenod]

I'm happy with my LG, but I'll make sure I don't get near a Bravia. Reading the posts from previous LG owners like Shakey_Jake33 and Concept, looks like I would not resist the urge to buy a new TV.

[andrewfee]

nice, im sooo confused as to what to get i've saved up 2k for a new telly - but the more I read on them the more confused I get...

Well maybe we can make it easier:

Do viewing angles matter? (eg are you only going to be watching straight on)
How far are you going to be sitting?
What are you going to be using with it?
How bright is the room you watch in? (will you be watching in the dark?)
Have you got any requirements? (eg must have at least 2x HDMI for PS3 and HD-DVD player etc)
Will you be using the TV's speakers or not?

[Shozuki]

Well maybe we can make it easier:

Do viewing angles matter? (eg are you only going to be watching straight on)
How far are you going to be sitting?
What are you going to be using with it?
How bright is the room you watch in? (will you be watching in the dark?)
Have you got any requirements? (eg must have at least 2x HDMI for PS3 and HD-DVD player etc)
Will you be using the TV's speakers or not?

1. nope, not really i'll be in front

2. around 3 metres away

3. i'll be in the dark - thats how i like my gaming and films

4. 2x HDMI for PS3, DVD Player (i'd be nice of theres a spear for my PC)

VGA - Dreamcast and Component for 360

5. Yeah, i'll be using TV speakers for the moment

[sj33]

How much is the Sony 1080p screen you were mentioning before? Does it do 1080p over Component and VGA?

[Shozuki]

just HDMI and I believe its around ?1900 - ?2200 which is alright for me..

Sony Bravia KDL40X2000

[Lyris]

No Sony screen available takes 1080p over Component. They all take it over HDMI.

The W-Series also seems to take it over VGA but it's not officially supported.

[Shozuki]

im thinking about getting the W instead - it'll save me some cash for a sound setup.

the only thing that concerns me, is the difference between the X and W that visible?

[andrewfee]

1. nope, not really i'll be in front

Well that makes things easier.

2. around 3 metres away

1080p is pointless then, on my 37" Sharp, I had to be around 5ft away to actually resolve 1080p, and I have great eyesight. At 9ft, you would need a 71" TV to see 1080p, and 50" to fully resolve 720p, so anything 50" and smaller wouldn't see any sort of improvement from being 1080p native.

3. i'll be in the dark - thats how i like my gaming and films

Hmm, well the BRAVIAs certainly do better with black levels in a dark room, although not significantly.

4. 2x HDMI for PS3, DVD Player (i'd be nice of theres a spear for my PC)

VGA - Dreamcast and Component for 360

2x HDMI rules out the cheaper BRAVIAs, so you're then stuck with WCG-CCFL, which doesn't look very good in my opinion, but it seems to be a love/hate thing. You really need to demo this somewhere with a source you know before you buy a set using it.

There's no way 1080p would be usable as a monitor at that kind of distance, and most 720p sets use VGA for 1:1 mapping - what are you planning on using the PC for?

5. Yeah, i'll be using TV speakers for the moment

Well, most people seem to think the BRAVIA's speakers are pretty poor, and Toshiba teamed up with Onkyo for the WLT68's but I don't really rate them. (but it's been a long time since I actually used TV speakers, so for all I know they could be some of the best there is)


While not being 1080p native, the WLT68 will do 1080p over Component and HDMI, although honestly you're not going to see the difference between 1080p and 720p at that sort of distance. Even up close many people have a hard time seeing the difference. As a monitor, the lower resolution is actually better, as everything will be too small on the BRAVIA.

My recommendation would be the 42WLT68, as it's got 3x HDMI, great colour reproduction and 100Hz mode, which definitely makes a difference to image sharpness with motion.

It's also quite a bit cheaper than the BRAVIA, so you would be able to buy a surround kit (my recommendation for gaming would be the Sony HT-SS1000 for price/performance) and Toshiba have those great "floating" glass stands.

[Kotatsu Neko]

On a vaguely related theme, as there is no VGA cable for the Wii, are there any component to VGA convertor boxes available? (and for a reasonable amount of money)

[Lyris]

I think we can bet on seeing an unofficial VGA cable for the Wii in the not too distant future so save your money. Saurian has confirmed that all the necessary video parts (R,G,B,H,V) can be pulled off the video chip.

[EvilBoris]

The vdigi VD-Z3 is a nice little adapter to do that, costs about ?40 if I recall.

But if I remember correcty it will ONLY accept a progressive signal and outputs in some non standard formats.

[Lyris]

You can get them for ?40 now? Wow... have you tried it out?

[sj33]

I've had one ages, though I have no use for it now. It's nice for the price, the untrained eye won't see any real difference.

[Soi]

I have one. The picture quality is ok, but a bit darker.

I ordered it from the vdigi site (which is awfully designed) and it came in about 3 days.