Making the LCD plunge! 32" CRT to...? 32 - 37 LCD?

andsoitgoes

Hi all,

I'll make this quick. I have a 32" old CRT. Old. Decrepit.

I'm looking into LCD, and my choices are limited (we're buying from Sears)

There's a few options I'm looking for, I don't want to spend more than $1100, so here's what I have in front of me:

32" Sharp w/ 1080p
37" whatever w/720p
37" Sharp with 1080p

NOW - the second is out of my budget, by a few hundred dollars - HOWEVER, I want this tv for a very, very, long time, I plan on using it for my 360, HD Sat and probably BluRay later down the line.

I'll be sitting about 8 - 10' back.

I don't care about sound, I have a stereo system. Inputs don't matter that much - again, amp does most of the HD imputs/switching

Some of the models I've been looking at are on the Sears Canada website, they have a TV sale on right now.

I just want to know - with the budget I have, what should I be looking at? I used to love Toshiba in the past, but I know Sony is great as well - But this is all new ground.

I know this has probably been dealt with 1000 times, but I have a very specific list to go on, and would love the incredibly advice I've seen here lurking

Thanks.

gwalkeruns

With your budget, you could even go 40 or 42 inch. The bigger the better if you are going to go blu-ray and enjoy 1080p. price is not that much different. I just bought a 42 inch, 1080p vizio for 999 at Costco. Excellent first months, great warranty.

Scottnot

Your old 32" CRT has a 4:3 screen aspect ratio. The screen size is 19.2" H x 25.6 W.

New HDTVs have a screen aspect ratio of 16:9.
So, a 32" HDTV will have a screen size of 15.7" H x 27.9 W.
When viewing SD content the image display will be 15.7" H x 20.9 W which is considerably smaller than you are now getting from your old set.
If you are accustomed to the viewing size on your present CRT TV, you will probably find a new 32" set to be too small for much of your viewing.

A 37" set will get you closer with a screen size of 18.1" H x 32.2" W and a SD image display of 18.1" H x 24.1" W.

A 40" set 40" set will be slightly larger with a screen size of 19.6" H x 34.9 w and a SD image display of 19.6" H x 26.1" W.

And, finally, a 42" set would be a "step up" in size with a screen size of 20.6" H x 36.6 W and a SD image display of 20.6" H x 27.5" W.

Of course, watching HD content on any of the sizes will tickle if not thrill you.

wilwom

$999 plus shipping for Sharp AQUOS 1080p last years model at COSTCO

andsoitgoes

The problem is, I need to do it at sears, where I can put it on the card and make payments.

I can't do Costco or I would.

I think the 37 sounds pretty good to me. I'll upgrade my sat box for HD, and go from there.

Now - of course - there's all the talk about burn in/out/etc - And stretching vs keeping the SD image. I'm just interested in having a good looking picture and a TV that will last in good quality for some time. Can someone point me to a thread that discusses it in depth?

I did some searches, but I don't know the exact terms.

Scottnot

As for burn-in, that's only an issue with plasma sets; if you get a LCD you don't need to worry about it.

When watching SD, if you stretch to fill the screen everything gets distorted.
So, if you want a good looking picture just watch SD content in 4x3 aspect ratio.

Joe Las Vegas

Yeah man! for that kind of money just get a 1080p 42" LCD at Costco, at least you'll have a decent size tv that will be good for the next 10 years (less if stuff changes dramatically, who knows with electronics )

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