LCD/Plasma/CRT/DLP - questions

[amorenod]

The LG set includes VGA->DVI and DVI->DVI cables

[Dazzla]

The LG set includes VGA->DVI and DVI->DVI cables

Excellent, I intend on connecting my new iMac to the LG so the VGA->DVI saves me ?25.

[Simmy]

Ok here's a real n00b question for you, what does a screen need, to be 720p NATIVE ? I know from watching a vid of the MS media guys, that they were stressing that any HD TV that people pick, should be 720p NATIVE to produce the best images from the 360. I presume a 720p native resolution is 1280x720 where as most LC tv's of the moment seem to be 1366x768 which I presume means they do not have a 720p native resolution.

Seems to be a thread debating this on avforums atm, but I can make little sense of what they are talking about over there. It would seem however that one of the TV's I am considering (Phillips 9830) displays 720p nativelly but with a black border all round, due to its 768 resolution, the same resolution which the other tv I'm looking at has (Samsung LE40M61BX) also has, and I presume suffers the same problem. I have to admit I would be rather disapointed with a bordered image on my flash new tv, although on the samsung atleast I guess it is hard to see where the screen ends, and the border begins

I know that through VGA connection you can select on the 360 an output resolution of 1360x768, but as this is being scalled (is that correct) will not be as good as the native 720p resolution through composite.

Sure I'm worrying about nothing, and maybe it is already generally understood that HD tv's will have borders on 720p, just wanna make sure I'm getting the most out of my 1800 quid !

[Rushy]

Bought my new tv yesterday - Toshiba 37wlt58 ... lovely screen and this comes with 2 HDMI slots, VGA, 3 Scarts (2 are RGB), component, composite *spit* and s-video.

Running dvds via component in 720p and 1080i - colours are ****ing stunning in both ... xbox I have running through component and it looks lush, same with gc and ps2

the tv comes with freeview - and the freeview channels are so ****ing clear, the colours are superb (as you can tell i am pleased with my new toy)

Any pictures and additional feedback on this set would be useful, as at the moment this is the set at the top of my list within my budget.

But one question is specific, how does the SD image quality compare to that of a decent CRT set? As I know the HD image is excellent but the likes of freeview and sky are still unknowns for me in comparison to a CRT set.

[Soi]

I've just ordered a Toshiba 37wlt58... It seems great value for money tbh.

It bet it won't look as good as my 32" Sony for SD stuff, but I'm watching less and less normal tv anyway. My other half watches far more SD stuff than me, and I doubt she'll notice (or care) is the SD picture isn't as good.

[John Beaulieu]

freeview is built in - some channels look poor (that is showing older shows) but others are top notch. compared to my sony crt tv i would say the image is about equal

putting the stand up this weekend so will take pics then

[Salsa Party Animal]

So what the price for Toshiba TV Sol just interested.

[Simmy]

So what the price for Toshiba TV Sol just interested.

?1,557.50 seems about the best price for that set delivered !

[Soi]

Yeah, quite a few places have it online for that.

[Simmy]

Just been quoted ?1645 delivered for the new Samsung 40' by my business IT supplier. I think he's made a mistake though and quoted the old model price for the new LE40M61B ! Gotta try and get him to hold to that though, as it will be a steal at that price


Lovelly

[PH]

Where did you order your TV from Soi?

After much thought i've finally decided to go 37" (instead of 32") and the Toshiba (over the JVC.) Problem is finding any shops that have stock. I've phoned and emailed 7 companies this afternoon and not one of them had any 37WLT58's.

[Simmy]

Best price I've seen is here http://www.digitaldirectuk.com/produ...9845&sa=WINDOW
No idea if they have stock though.

Empire have stock though, but you'll pay an extra ?150 for the privilage.

[Dazzla]

Damn that's a nice Samsung TV Simmy. ?2000 is way more then what I wanna spend though, you're damn lucky for getting it for ?1645. Who's your business IT supplier :P

[Geezer]

I went to have a look at the 26" Sammy and LG today, both are gorgeous, not much in it picture wise (although they weren't displaying a great source). Availability will make my decision for me

The LG seems to have more inputs, the inclusion of both DVI and HDMI is great, meaning that I can hook up an Oppo, 360 and PS3 in future without having to use switchboxes

I'd like a bit of info from people with Oppo DVD players, are they really that good?
Is the difference very noticeable when compared to watching DVDs at 480p on a run of the mill player?

Geezer

[sj33]

I think so, you can switch to 480p on the Oppo and see a definate quality difference.

But the Oppo isn't all just about the rescaling. The use of DVI improves things too, but it isn't even all just about that... it's just excellent (for the price) at processing, deinterlacing and improving the image.

I'll be honest, if you just use your DVD Player to watch a film with the girlfriend once a week or so, then maybe the ?140 is better spent on stuff you need. But if you watch a lot of DVD's, it's money well spend.

It's not night and day. A DVD will always be a DVD no matter how much they filter and improve it... but it does make the best of the outdated source material.