HDTV and XBOX ?'s

[DZNUTZ]

k fellow comrades....
within the next month i'm finally gonna get a HDTV. 61-65" i belive...and i needed someinput from you experienced members that know what ya talking about.

k, first off...dumb sales guy said that if i used xbox with it...that i risked buring in image. now i know of this "myth"..and i've been playing games on my ol school 50" RCA for about 10 years..even after extremely long paused screens...i've never had anything happen...and have never heard of anyone having this actually happen to them....whats your take on this question?

also..i need to know...for those of u that know alot about hdtv...what do i need to make sure i look for (i've heard some sorts of hdtv or becoming absolete?) any ways..let mw know what features i NEED to make sho it has...what proper cables i'll need for my XBOX..and other components such as surround sound and dvd and etc. and if ya'll suggest any brands..let me know or if u can give me a ballpark price range?

thanx in advance everyone

[Duke]

not much help for now, but one of my housemates works for an electronics store. I'll ask him your questions when I see him and try and get back to ya.

What are you looking to spend? Or do you just want high quality?

[l Maximus l]

My 50" Toshiba Widescreen HDTV was about $2500.00. Maybe a hair more and WORTH EVERY PENNY!

This HDTV is rated #2 on consumer reports only second to Pioneer which costs twice as much!

It's noteworthy to mention that my HDTV has a built-in technology that actually moves the screen ever so slightly, and cannot be seen my the naked eye, that dramatically reduces or completely eliminates the possibility for burn-in....This is ideal for video games that tend to have still images (like power bars and stuff). Though, having an HDTV, I strongly recommend being more cautious....if you leave a game on pause, simply turn the power off...just one button. Also, I recommend turning the contrast down to 50%. Often times, I have mine at 75% and sometimes 90% if I play a dark level on Halo, for example. If you ask me, if you play Halo's multi-player, it's probably very safe to have the contrast up to 100% because, if you die, your power gauge goes away and the entire screen is moving...so, there's absolutely no chance for burn-in. Also, when you switch weapons, your cross-hairs on your gun look different, so, there's no risk for burn in for that either.

As for connecting your XBox to it, I strongly recommend the High Definition A/V pack by Microsoft. Personally, I ended up buying the Monster 400 series Component Video cables mainly because I got them for such a great deal! $35 to be exact!! That's about half off and they perform brilliantly! 24k gold connections allow for a nice clean connection. They also have a TOSLINK input on them so you can run Fiber Optic audio to a Receiver for surround sound.

You will never go back to playing your XBox on a tube again!

[Duke]

damn you HDTV motherf*ckers. My set's only 6 mos. old and already I'm regretting not spending the extra dough.

Oh well, guess it's time to visit the bank.

[DZNUTZ]

what i'm considering at this point is a 61" RCA hdtv Builtin and it has that autocolor thingymagig that self colberates the colors from bleeding/running....its priced at 3500.

[MidniteArrow]

It all comes down to money. Mitsubishi has been in the business the longest, but I don't recommend them after having bought one. If you've got the money, get a Plasma. The most bang for the buck right now is the Viewsonic VPW-500. This is a 50" set that has an almost native widescreen pixel pitch (1280x768 where perfect is 1366x768 or something like that). It will accept any signal up to 1600x1200. This set would completely support all Xbox resolutions, plus allow you to hook a computer source up to it. I have yet to come across a rear project TV that will support a computer source at any decent resolution. Viewsonic is also coming out with a rear-projection HDTV which I expect to be very computer friendly but they have not released any specs yet. I wouldn't worry about all the built in HDTV tuner crap. Just get one that's HD ready and buy a tuner later. It would be sort of like buying a TV that's got your cable box built in. You'll pay more for the tuner if it is integrated in the TV, and you'll be tieing the two technologies together when it not needed (changes in the way HDTV signals are broadcast might require you to buy a new TV, when the actual TV needs no changes to work, just the built in tuner).

[DZNUTZ]

unfortunaltely my bugdet can't quite afford a plasma at this time.

by the way the rca i was looking at was 5 lens....if thats important at all? hey max..gotta a link to any sites that compare sets?

[l Maximus l]

Originally posted by DZNUTZ
unfortunaltely my bugdet can't quite afford a plasma at this time.

by the way the rca i was looking at was 5 lens....if thats important at all? hey max..gotta a link to any sites that compare sets?

Hmmmm...I don't know of a site, however, there are several different electronic enthusiast magazines that you can look at. That's what I did...I also looked at the Consumer Report magazine and that's where I discovered that my HDTV is #2.

I don't mean to urinate in your cornflakes, but, RCA is not a very good brand. In fact, it's one of the worst. It's not as bad as a Sylvania or anything, but, it's definately no Pioneer, Toshiba, or Sony either.

It's vital to do your homework on this. That's what I did and all fingers pointed to the Toshiba that I bought

[techie]

I personally would not suggest the RCA's. I have a 36"
Digital HDTV and if I could sell it and buy a different brand
I would. It has one of the clearest pictures I've ever
seen and yes the auto color from channel to channel is
pretty cool too. But the thing suffers from line jitter
pretty badly, so much in fact that I had to buy a line
doubler to help remove most of what I was seeing at
a cost of an extra $1000 bucks.

Now some would say that maybe it's just my set, but I
have looked at a lot of RCA's in different places, my
friend has one also, and his suffers from the same thing.
I've spoken to RCA about it and they tell me it's normal,
but the upside is that with a true HiDef signal the line
jittering clears up. Unfortunately the Xbox does not
seem to provide a true enough HD signal to eliminate
some of the jittering and other digital effects that appear
during gameplay. It still looks better than a regular
set, I just wish the television did a better job for the
amount of money that I've spent.

[Spaztic]

I am not fully feeling the hdtv deal since in two years you won't even be able to use it since the format is going to change. and by that time hdtv will be on all tvs so the price is going to drop!

[DZNUTZ]

dznutz-spits out his **** soaked cornflakes ..jk

don't trip...thats y i made this thread..to get the opinion of folks that have more experience on hdtvs then me...so thanx for all the comments...and keep em comming if u have any ideas/suggestions...

btw..bryanhls....what do u mean the format is gonna change?

[l Maximus l]

Originally posted by bryanhls
I am not fully feeling the hdtv deal since in two years you won't even be able to use it since the format is going to change. and by that time hdtv will be on all tvs so the price is going to drop!

Well, the format isn't going to change...but, the problem with buying HDTVs nowadays is that there are only a tiny handful of networks that are even using High-Definition equipment and providing a true HDTV signal. And, to get access to those channels, you need a satellite dish, not cable.

Admittingly, I rarely, if never, watch television on my HDTV...I use it for watching movies and playing games. I have my HDTV in a room that I turned into a multi-media room, a room dedicated for a home theatre only. I have my computer in there and a desk, too.

As for watching regular TV, I just use my 36" Toshiba Tube TV that's in my living room. That way works out the best for me

[DZNUTZ]

yea,,thats what someone told me...that u need satelite to get the hdtv reception and not only did i need satelite (which i'm getting anyway)..but that i need the "football" shaped recievers not the regular ones

[l Maximus l]

Originally posted by DZNUTZ
yea,,thats what someone told me...that u need satelite to get the hdtv reception and not only did i need satelite (which i'm getting anyway)..but that i need the "football" shaped recievers not the regular ones

Yeah, that's one way you can get an HDTV for a reasonable price. If you get one that is "HDTV ready" and then, later, purchase the HDTV receiver when HDTV broadcast becomes more abundant

Like I said earlier, I only use my HDTV for watching DVDs and playing XBox games. There is absolutely nothing like it! I'm in a state of euphoria every time I turn that mama jama on!

[Hugh_Jass]

Originally posted by MidniteArrow
I wouldn't worry about all the built in HDTV tuner crap. Just get one that's HD ready and buy a tuner later. It would be sort of like buying a TV that's got your cable box built in. You'll pay more for the tuner if it is integrated in the TV, and you'll be tieing the two technologies together when it not needed (changes in the way HDTV signals are broadcast might require you to buy a new TV, when the actual TV needs no changes to work, just the built in tuner).

Actually, you must worry about this because if you don't have an integrated tuner your digital TV will be obsolete when the new encryption laws kick in. They specifically exclude separate tuners and they will automatically be downgraded to an analog signal.

[techie]

Just an FYI, I read an article today that said several cable
companies are going to go ahead and provide HDTV content
as a service. They will provide a set top HDTV decoder box
as part of the service and are supposed to have this service
available by 2003. I've been trying to find the article so I
can post a link to it. The reason it caught my attention was
one of the companies listed was Cox Communications, they
are who provides cable tv/modem service for my area.

Found the article:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...atoday/4077770