HD Dilemma - What TV Should I Buy?
I recently wanted to upgrade my home video system to something more in line with the 21st century, which meant I would need to dump my 10 year old rear projection TV - which I was quite okay with doing!
Like any good husband I had to get my wife's buy in on the upgrade and after promising not to break the bank, I started shopping around for a flat screen. What follows isn't really a review or meant to be a technical article, it's more or less what I experienced as a shopper trying to figure out what to buy. Just your average Joe trying to buy a cool TV without getting the wife upset!
Since I wanted something larger then 42 inches, a quick scan of prices confirmed that for now anyway a LCD probably wasn't in my budget. While their prices have been dropping steadily (and I expect that to continue) they had not dropped down to where plasma is. So plasma was it, but which model?
First I went online, looking at online comparison shopping engines, visiting websites to read reviews, stopping by manufacture sites to comb over specifications and features. Bit by bit I started building up a mental image of what I wanted and what I really needed, what the range of prices were that I could expect to find, and who the players were in the market.
My feature list wasn't really too big. It had to be at least a 50 inch display. It had to be HD ready out of the box. It could not be expensive - $2000 was my max. I wanted HMDI inputs as well as RGB. The ability to support both 720 and 1080i was essential - HD DVD is here already but not all players support all formats. PIP would be nice, and built in speakers in case I didn't want to use the home stereo system. Wall mountable, but hey, I'd like a stand in case I placed it on a table top instead of mounting it. And did I mention it couldn't be expensive?
Next, it was time to visit all the electronics stories in town (and neighboring cities as well). These were pretty sobering experiences for the most part. What the salesperson would show first was more or less what they were pushing at the time. At one store I was told all I really needed was a 42 inch display, and "Oh My, we have a great sale on them right now." (Translation: inventory was being dumped.) At another it was DLP TVs, which really look great but were not flat or wall mountable. At another it was all high end home theater systems, because "Really, when you buy a new TV price should not be an issue. It's all about the experience." Yeah, right! What about the experience I'd have when I got home and told my wife that?
After that I went back online and started price and feature shopping on DigitalMediaShopper.com. (That's one of our sites BTW.) I narrowed things down to a couple models, and several sites that I was sure were reputable.
But bit by bit, I was homing in on what I needed. Now all that was left was pick a model and a vendor.
However, then I went shopping with the wife at my neighborhood Costco, and of course started wandering through their TV section - which I had not done before. They had one of the models I liked, a Vizio 50 in Plasma. The price was right, and before I (or my wife) could change my mind, I made the buy!
So far the experience has been great. My local cable company offers HD channels (not enough) and when we watch something that was shot for HD the quality is just superb. However, when watching local non-HD channels, the artifacts in the compression are quite visible. (This isn't a flaw in the Vizio, its a flaw in the standard video my cable provider sends out. Just way over compressed video.)
While I want an HD DVD player, I haven't yet decided on Blu-Ray or HD DVD, so I went with the Oppo 981 HD up converting DVD player. It does a pretty darn good job making standard DVD's look better, and can up convert to 720p, 1080i and even 1080p. (However, I couldn't get 1080p to display on the Vizio...) Once prices drop and some consensus is reached on the new generation DVD players I'll look into getting one of them. But for now the OPPO 981 HD works well.
So that's my story. After a bit of agonizing and some fact finding, I was able to make a fairly informed decision on a HD TV, and my wife still speaks to me!
For those who are interested, I've listed the features and specs of both the Vizio TV and the Oppo DVD below.
VIZIO P50HDTV10A P50 - 50" Plasma HDTV
- Features
- High Definition Television (HDTV) with a native resolution of 1366 x 768.
- Integrated NTSC and ATSC tuner allows over-the-air analog and digital broadcasts with an external antenna or cable*
- High Brightness (1000 cd/m2) providing a more vivid, brilliant picture in any environment.
- 24 bit color depth supporting 231 billion colors.
- Multiple video format support with HDMI, component video, composite video, S-Video and RF antenna inputs allows you to enjoy video from a variety of sources.
- Wide viewing angle (>170º) so that everyone can view the picture from practically anywhere in the room.
- PIP (Picture in Picture) and POP (side-by-side) for ultimate video enjoyment while watching 2 video programs
- 60,000 hour panel life provides over 20 years of use before half brightness
- DCDi by Faroudja Low Angle De-interlacing Processing for superior video quality.
- Specifications
Size: 50-in*
*Viewable: 49.98-in
Tuner: Integrated NTSC/ATSC/QAM HDTV Tuner
- Supported TV Formats
1080i, 720p, 720i, 480p, 480i
- Native Panel Resolution: 1366 x 768
- Supported PC Resolutions
1366 x 768, 1280 x 720, 1024 x 768, 800 x 600
- Specification
Panel Type: 50" Diagonal*, 16:9 Wide Screen, Plasma Panel
Panel Specifications: N/A
Pixel/Dot Pitch: 0.81 mm (H) x 0.81 mm (V)
Display Compatibility: HDTV (720p)
Signal Compatibility: 480i (SDTV), 480P (EDTV), 720P (HDTV), 1080i (HDTV)
Response Time: NA
Colors: 1.07 Billion (10 bit)
Brightness: 1,000 cd/m2 (typical)
Contrast Ratio: 10,000:1 (max)
Viewable Angle: >178° (horizontal and vertical)
- Inputs
RF (F Connector for internal tuner): 1
HDMI with HDCP: 2
Analog Stereo Audio for HDMI Inputs: 2
Component YPbPr plus Stereo Audio: 2
Composite Video: 2
S-Video plus Stereo Audio: 2
Computer RGB plus Stereo Audio: 1
Service Port: 1 DTV, 1 Analog (RJ11)
- Outputs
Analog Audio out (RCA): 1
5.1 SPDIF Digital Optical Audio: 1
Headphone (Stereo Mini-Jack): 1
- Additional Information
Picture-in-Picture (PIP)
Picture-outside-Picture (POP)
Closed Caption (CC)
V-Chip
3D Comb Filter
Zoom
Freeze
DCDi De-Interlace
3:2 or 2:2 Reverse Pull-down
ATSC with 8VSB & QAM demodulation
ATSC with MPEG-2 decoding
NTSC Video decoding via RF: Yes, thru Antenna, Cable, or Satellite
NTSC Video decoding via Video: Yes, thru CVBS, S-Video, or Component
Progressive Scan Video: Yes, thru Component YPbPr, VGA or HDMI
HDTV: Yes, thru HDMI or Component YPbPr
Computer: 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768 thru VGA or 640x480 thru HDMI
Sound enhancement: Yes, SRS TrueSrround XT
Color Temperature: 6500K (standard), 5400K and 9300K
Color Fine Tuning: Independent Red, Green and Blue
Audio: Built-in 15W x 2
Lamp (LCD) / Panel (PDP) Life: 60000 hours
Power: IEC Connector for direct power line connection
Voltage Range110 ~ 240 Vac at 50/60 Hz
Power Consumption: 440W average
Removable Base
- Weight
Gross:144 lbs
Net: 122 lbs
Without Stand: 108 lbs
- Dimensions
Carton: 55.8" W x 39.3" H x 16.9" D
Net: 48.8" W x 33.2" H x 12.2" D
Without Stand: 48.8" W x 33.5" H x 3.9" D
Certifications: CSA, CSA-BRTL, FCC Class B, Bets-7, ICES-003
Price: $1699
http://www.vizio.com/products/detail.aspx?pid=5
OPPO DV-981HD 1080p High Definition Up-Converting Universal DVD Player with HDMI
Features:
Universal DVD Player Features:
- DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD (SACD) and DVD-Video universal playback
- Compatible with Audio CD, HDCD, WMA, Kodak Picture CD, and other digital audio/video/picture media and formats
- Official DivX® Certified product, certified to the Home Theater Profile
- Plays all versions of DivX® video (including DivX® 6) with standard playback of DivX® media files
- Plays XviD and .SRT, .SMI, .IDX and .SUB format
- Note: The DV-981HD does not play Blu-Ray nor HD-DVD discs
Video Up-Conversion Features:
- High definition up-conversion with film-like picture quality to up-convert 720x480 interlaced video encoded on DVD discs to 480p/720p/1080i and 1080p
- DCDi by Faroudja video processing technology with progressive scan, film mode detection, TrueLife? enhancement and motion adaptive noise reduction.
- Video is analyzed on a single pixel granularity to detect presence or absence of angled lines and edges, which are then processed to produce a smooth natural looking image without visible artifacts (jaggies)
- High-quality pure digital video and audio through a single HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) cable
- Multiple high definition video formats through HDMI output: NTSC: 480p/720p/1080i/1080p; PAL: 576p/720p/1080i/1080p
- Compatible with HDTV, HD-Ready TV, HDTV monitors and projectors with an HDMI or DVI input
- Direct PAL/NTSC disc and TV compatibility and system conversion
- For more information about DVD video up-conversion, please read our white paper article Getting the Most out of DVD on an HDTV Display
- Supports screen aspect ratio 4:3 (standard) and 16:9 (wide-screen)
- User adjustable video controls: Sharpness, Contrast, Brightness, and Saturation
- Composite video and S-Video outputs (standard-definition output only)
Optimized Audio Features:
- High-resolution multi-channel digital audio output through HDMI supporting CD, DVD-Audio, SACD, Dolby Digital and DTS sound tracks.
- Individual analog 5.1-channel surround and down-mixed stereo outputs
- 24-bit, 192kHz high resolution audio D/A converters
- Optical and coaxial digital audio outputs with DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro-Logic II and Linear PCM support
- 3D Surround (Virtual Surround): Concert, Live, Dance, Techno, Classic, Soft
- Built-in equalizer, channel trim and channel delay functions
Compatibility Features:
- PAL/NTSC disc and TV compatible with automatic or manual system conversion
- Compatible with CD-R/RW, DVD±R/RW and DVD+R DL* (* Playability of self-recorded discs may vary depending on media and formatting software types)
- Dual-laser optical pickup head with excellent error correction
- Enhanced dual-layer disc support with fast layer change
- Wide range universal power supply (~100V-240V, 50/60Hz AC)
Convenience Features:
- Special disc tray - thin, flexible and strong. Can tolerate some bending without breaking.
- Smooth and easy navigation of photo albums, music collections and video files on DVD and CD
- Selectable subtitle and audio tracks
- Discrete ON/OFF remote control IR code for programmable universal remote controls
Connectors:
- HDMI - High Definition Multimedia Interface: 1
- Analog Stereo Audio (Mixed 2-Channel Left/Right): 1 group (2 connectors)
- Analog 5.1 Channel Audio: 1 group (6 connectors)
- S/PDIF (IEC-958) Coaxial Digital Audio: 1
- S/PDIF (IEC-958) Optical Digital Audio: 1
- Composite Video: 1
- S-Video: 1
- No Component Video (YPbPr/YCbCr) on the DV-981HD model. This model is designed for use with a display device with HDMI or DVI digital video input.
Accessories Included:
- High-quality certified HDMI cable with gold-plated HDMI connectors
- Remote control with "glow in the dark" keypad (batteries included)
- Stereo audio cable
- Composite video cable
- User manual and warranty information
Specifications:
Designs and specifications are subject to change without notice.
Disc Types:
- DVD-Video, DVD-Audio, Super Audio CD (SACD), DivX®, XviD, Audio CD, HDCD, Kodak Picture CD
- Official DivX® Certified product, certified to the Home Theater Profile
- Plays all versions of DivX® video (including DivX® 6) with standard playback of DivX® media files with encoded video resolution up to 720x480 30fps and 720x576 25fps
- CD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R DL (Compatibility with user-encoded contents or user-created discs is on a best effort basis with no guarantee due to the variation of media, software and techniques used.)
Output:
- Analog Audio: Stereo, 5.1ch
- Digital Audio: Coaxial, Optical, HDMI
- Analog Video: Composite, S-Video (Y/C) - standard-definition output only
- Digital Video: HDMI with HDCP (NTSC 480p/720p/1080i/1080p, PAL 576p/720p/1080i/1080p)
- No Component Video Output. The DV-981HD is designed for use with a display device with HDMI or DVI digital video input.
Video Characteristics:
- HDMI: HDMI Specifications 1.1, CEA-861-B
- S-Video Amplitude: Y: 1.0Vp-p (75 Ohm), C: 0.286Vp-p (75 Ohm)
- Composite Video Amplitude: 1.0Vp-p (75 Ohm)
Audio Characteristics (Nominal specification):
- Frequency: 20Hz ? 20kHz (+/-1dB)
- Signal-to-Noise Ratio: >100dB
- Total Harmonic Distortion: < 0.01%
General Specification:
- Power Supply: ~ 100V ? 240V, 50/60Hz AC
- Power Consumption: 20W
- Dimensions: 420mm x 270mm x 41mm, 16-1/2 x 10-5/8 x 1-5/8 inches
- Mass: 2.4kg / 5.20 lbs (DVD player unit only)
Operating Temperature:
Operating Humidity:
- 15% - 75% No condensation
Firmware Updates:
Price: $229
http://www.oppodigital.com/dv981hd/dv981hd_image.html
Posted at 06:31PM May 07, 2007
by Lou Wallace in Consumer Electronics |
