JimThompson

Opinions on the best HD set if much of what you watch is standard TV? I've researched and found HD sets I'm OK with for HDTV, but I'm not sure how my ordinary TV viewing will be.

I have my eye on the JVC HD-ILAs (2k,720) and the Samsung HLR5078(3K,1080). I don't watch much TV except news and golf. I want a new TV, though, so I may as well get what's out there. Will also use it for a PC monitor when I am too lazy to go to my office. Plasma not an option for me. Despite the brilliant picture, every plasma TV I've seen is basically a mirror, and I do not watch TV in a dark room. In fact, I can't figure out how people pay so much for a good plasma picture and then see a reflection of everything in the room--very distracting for me.

Anyway, of course I'd like all my TV fare to be HD, but right now the offerings from Comcast are limited. I'm worried that if I buy an HD set I'll get great occasional HD viewing and crappy everyday viewing. Saw the JVC HD-ILA and the salesperson couldn't get a decent SD display, period. But of course it may have been he and not the set. A few things I've noticed:

1. The aspect ratio issues are VERY annoying. Short, fat people, or people with fat left arms and normal bodies, or cropped pictures...I'm a little surprised that folks obsess over HD PQ and ignore distortion. I will definitely plan to watch undistorted SD and live with black bands.
2. I want to make sure the bands are black and I don't know how to research this. My brother's TV (Samsung/Akai, wide-screen but not HD) has bright silver sidebands for "regular" TV programming. It is so distracting and annoying that he uses the full screen and lives with image distortion or crops. Observations? I am aware that watching a distorted image for long enough will let some people's brains reprogram the distorted image to "normal" but I am not one of them.

Cost is not an issue except I'm too cheap to spend much considering my casual, non-aficionado viewing habits, and the limitations of the current broadcasts. I'm not in a contest to get some spectacular set which "blows away the competition." I just want a decent HDTV that gives me a decent everyday experience. I'm OK with paying a few thousand if the TV will position me for future improvements in broadcasting; certainly over $3500 would make me start to complain a bit. If anyone has advice, or can point me to the right place, I'd appreciate it. Many thanks.