Some questions about buying a HDTV

[Mike3207]

There are some pretty good reasons for buying a HDTV, but I've got some questions before I buy.

1. I've currently got no cable box, and the cable company beams analog signals to my TV. I'm assuming the cable programming wont look much different after I buy a HDTV as long as we don't make the switch to digital.

2. Will the picture for my PS3 games be improved if I buy an HDTV and connect it to my PS3.

3. The Blu-ray movies I bought looked a little strange on my analog TV. Will I see a difference if I play Blu-ray Movies on a HDTV?

4. Is there a high-definition version of a DVD player? I'd rather keep my PS3 for playing games.

Thanks for all the help.

[dickey1331]

Re: Some questions about buying a HDTV

There are some pretty good reasons for buying a HDTV, but I've got some questions before I buy.

1. I've currently got no cable box, and the cable company beams analog signals to my TV. I'm assuming the cable programming wont look much different after I buy a HDTV as long as we don't make the switch to digital. how do you have analog? i thought they made the switch to digital

2. Will the picture for my PS3 games be improved if I buy an HDTV and connect it to my PS3. you need a HDMI cable. It WILL make a difference

3. The Blu-ray movies I bought looked a little strange on my analog TV. Will I see a difference if I play Blu-ray Movies on a HDTV? Yes. Blue ray was made for HDTV

4. Is there a high-definition version of a DVD player? I'd rather keep my PS3 for playing games. idk

[Mike3207]

Re: Some questions about buying a HDTV

There are some pretty good reasons for buying a HDTV, but I've got some questions before I buy.

1. I've currently got no cable box, and the cable company beams analog signals to my TV. I'm assuming the cable programming wont look much different after I buy a HDTV as long as we don't make the switch to digital. how do you have analog? i thought they made the switch to digital

We had the option to go to digital when we made the switch, but it was decided to stay with the old service because of price. I'm assuming all existing cable boxes are digital, but we don't have cable boxes any more. We turned all ours in. I'm assuming the cable companies still have the option to provide analog service for customers who don't want to switch to digital.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Some questions about buying a HDTV

They have upconverted dvd players running at 720i but I would just buy a blu ray player. You can find some for just $128.

But what ever you do, stick with a brand that is well known. And look at the contrast ratio of the tv to a certain extent. I recommend Phillips, Sony, Samsung, RCA or Sharp.

Stay away from Vizios, half of their models are total crap, Viore, Haiger, Daewoo, Element and the other off name brands that arent a household name.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Some questions about buying a HDTV

Oh yeah keep in mind HDTVs are rectangular, not square. So a modern 32 is an old school 26. Anything smaller then a 32 will look hell of small at home.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Some questions about buying a HDTV

They have upconverted dvd players running at 720i but I would just buy a blu ray player. You can find some for just $128.

But what ever you do, stick with a brand that is well known. And look at the contrast ratio of the tv to a certain extent. I recommend Phillips, Sony, Samsung, RCA or Sharp.

Stay away from Vizios, half of their models are total crap, Viore, Haiger, Daewoo, Element and the other off name brands that arent a household name.

You recommend RCA but diss the Vizio? Seriously?

Any TV recommendations that don't include Panasonic plasmas is a major oversight. Definitely before mentioning a RCA or Sharp (that isn't in their Aquos line).

[Burns11]

Re: Some questions about buying a HDTV

There are some pretty good reasons for buying a HDTV, but I've got some questions before I buy.

1. I've currently got no cable box, and the cable company beams analog signals to my TV. I'm assuming the cable programming wont look much different after I buy a HDTV as long as we don't make the switch to digital.

It will likely look worse, depending on the quality of the signal and the TV's scaler. Personally, I've never seen any difference between an analog SD signal and a digital SD signal from the cableco. It's very likely that you will get your local broadcast stations in HD through the cable as long as you have basic service.

2. Will the picture for my PS3 games be improved if I buy an HDTV and connect it to my PS3.

Yes, just make sure you go online and buy an HDMI cable for it, just make sure you buy it online for less than $10 instead of the $40+ they charge retail.

3. The Blu-ray movies I bought looked a little strange on my analog TV. Will I see a difference if I play Blu-ray Movies on a HDTV?

Definitely, big difference.

4. Is there a high-definition version of a DVD player? I'd rather keep my PS3 for playing games.

You can get a decent upscaling DVD player for well less than $100, it's probably a wise decision to use it for DVDs rather than the PS3.

[GAMEC0CK2002]

Re: Some questions about buying a HDTV

There are some pretty good reasons for buying a HDTV, but I've got some questions before I buy.

1. I've currently got no cable box, and the cable company beams analog signals to my TV. I'm assuming the cable programming wont look much different after I buy a HDTV as long as we don't make the switch to digital.

2. Will the picture for my PS3 games be improved if I buy an HDTV and connect it to my PS3.

3. The Blu-ray movies I bought looked a little strange on my analog TV. Will I see a difference if I play Blu-ray Movies on a HDTV?

4. Is there a high-definition version of a DVD player? I'd rather keep my PS3 for playing games.

Thanks for all the help.

1. Correct. If you are using composite or S-Video the picture quality is not going to be very good. This will get even worse the bigger the tv screen size.

2. Yes, definitely. PS3 and 360 are meant to be viewed on a HDTV.

3. See above. Blu-rays and HD-DVDs are the few media that are in 1080p.

4. Can find a blu-ray player for as little as $78. Try Walmart this black friday for the Magnavox blu ray player. I'd highly recommend the LG 370 which can stream netflix for $150 on Amazon.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: Some questions about buying a HDTV

Moving this to E&T

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Some questions about buying a HDTV

Vizios are not all the same, seriously, depending on the model. Because I know the models of Vizios that Walmart carries, specifically their 32 inch and low end 42 inch are CRAP. I use to Walmart in the electronics department and we got at least 12 of those back EVERY week because customers would say it died on them, picture went out or sound went out.

Same thing with Walmarts 50 inch Sanyo plasma, those came back every week too.