1080i vs 480p

rickbbb

bhphotovideo.com..........this is a fantastic website to buy new products for your HDTV system at a discount price.I just received a monster cable with hdmi and dvi mix..since I'll probably be buying the Sony XBR960 television soon..it has a Hdmi on the tv and my Dish Network 811 receiver has a Dvi D input.

Can someone convince me to take the plunge and buy this XBR960 tv..consumer reports said it has an excellent picture and excellent sound.This tv set has a built in off air antenna ..HD signals from an antenna will come in crystal clear I heard..with a good outdoor antenna.

I also found out when I chatted online LIVE with a customer service person at Sony.com that this tv has no headphone jack..BUT you can buy a receiver and connect to the tv set and use wireless headphones.

Circuitcity.com is selling this tv for $2,199 and with tax I'll pay $2,300 something.Plus they deliver the tv at no charge right now and will also set it up for you.The only problem is when you call circuitcity at their websites phone number they try to sell you the 3 year service contract..which adds over $300 to your already steep bill.
The thing is the tv set comes with a 2 year warranty.Can you say COMMISION..in regards to Circuit City's push for their own service insurance contract option?

I figure if I buy this tv it wiull take me about 6-7 months to pay it off..unless an emergency comes up.

IF I don't buy this tv..what BRAND tv..whether it be LCD HDTV or Tube HDTV is the best to buy?What is the sharpest picture? What brands?

Snarlynx

rickbbb - I work at circuit city and no one is on commision anymore... they made too much money.

That being said, the warranty is worth it on some things but I wouldn't buy it for that. Sony tube TVs are built like tanks.

That being said, if something did go wrong putting a 240lb TV in a crate and shipping it to wherever wouldn't be cheap even if the part and labor was covered under warranty.

If you decide to get a dlp or lcd projection I would get the 4 year because the bulbs are covered and you're pretty much gauranteed to need one in the next four years. the bulb is 300 and instalation is extra if you didn't want to do it yourself.

I'm a fan of the Samsung hlp5085w... if it fits your living room decor. If not, the Sony LCD projection is really nice although you'll need to play with the colors a bit as the green level tends to be low in my experience.

brianwat

IF I don't buy this tv..what BRAND tv..whether it be LCD HDTV or Tube HDTV is the best to buy?What is the sharpest picture? What brands?[/quote]

Rickbbb :Love my Hitachi....both Tube and LCD are highly rated. Also
suggest you go to a site like CNET.com and do some comparison shopping. Ecoustics.com has a board where they discuss individual TV's...warts and all. Watch out for bias....but it's informative.

gollum

rickbbb: You could also consider the Sony XS955 if you whant to a save a little $.

And the Philips Priority extended service plan looks good.($194 for 16:9 sand $158 for 4:3s for 5yrs.)

I also noticed that BestBuy.com does not sell the KD34XBR960...
They just opened a new BestBuy 5 min. from my house, so I went to see if they maybe had one in the store, but I could only find the XS955. I asked one of the employees and he said that the new XBR was an exclusive to CircuitCity. was it just this guy or is it an exclusive to CC?

miamivice55

If At All Possible Get Sateliite It Offers More To The Hd Viewer Overall.

drecar

OK, I've had all kinds of buggy stuff happening with my DSR500, but finally I got an amazing picture using the 1080i setting. I don't exactly know which series of tweaks fixed the problem of 480p looking better than 1080i but I am very happy with the result. In the on screen menu I've set tv type to 4x3 pan and scan, 4x3 over ride to off and front red button to 1080i. With these settings HDTV programs are stunning and SDTV programs are good and all programming fills my 16x9 screen. Finally! Starchoice is sending a tech to solve my intermittent problem of sound cutting in and out.

I think maybe my colour temp may have been set too low. When I have some money available I may get my set calibrated professionally, for now my settings look better than before.

dmarsden

I will be interested to hear what SC's tech has to say about the sound cutting out intermittantly. My DSR 500 has the same problem. Are you in Western Canada?

drecar

Yes, Surrey BC. This morning the picture kept turning on and off, not pixelization.