What do you all think about this HD TV

[ProSat2]

I have been thinking about purchasing a HD tv. I don't have the money (or room) for a large widescreen tv so I was looking at the sub 30" models. I have always been a Sony guy, but there is a Samsung that has caught my eye and I was wondering if anyone had seen this model in use.

Samsung TX-P2670WH


http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1077626340538&skuId=6407836&type=product

I went to Best buy yesterday and they have it on display and although it had a descent picture, they had no HD feed going to it. Only coaxial. I asked the guy about it and he told me "nope sorry!". I went to Sears and they had the same model there as well, but no HD feed and I got the same answer. I was wondering if anyone has any opinion on it? I know it is a far cry from the large DLP, LCD and Plasma tv's, but I was looking for something larger than my 20" Wega 4:3.

Thanks,

LM

 

[toto]

The 30" Sony is the best 30" 16x9 HD ready in the market. If you're a Sony guy stick with it, you won't go wrong

 

[slacker9876]

I agree, however, the Sammy does have a built in HSTV tuner (ATSC) and that you will not find in the Sony st that price. FYI tube is still the way to go according to the most recent Consumer Reports. CRTs like this were rated higher than the high-end plasma TV's. FWIW

 

[KyDave]

My only advice (worth about .02 ) is that when you are dealing with smaller widescreen screens, 4x3 material (when not stretched) is smaller than you might imagine.

When dealing with the sub 35'' sets, I tend to recommend 4x3 HD sets.

Using this sight as a reference I compared a 26'' widescreen to a 26'' 4x3 HD:
http://www.cavecreations.com/tv2.cgi

The 4x3 image on a 26'' widescreen is equivalent to a 17'' set! In other words, the 26'' 4x3 set has a 50% bigger 4x3 image.

On the other hand, the 16x9 image on the 26'' widescreen is (obviously) 26'', while the 16x9 image on the 26'' 4x3 HD tv is 23.9'' (2 inches smaller). So the widescreen 26'' set has a 18% bigger widescreen image.

Again, this logic somewhat a moot point if you are going to stretch 4x3 stuff to 16x9. Also, factor in what you will be watching the most of (4x3 stuff or widescreen stuff).

Walmart has 2 HD sanyo models, a 30 inch 4x3 HD and a 32 inch 16x9 HD set. Both also have built in HD tuners.
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/sear...=atsc&ics=20&ico=0&Continue.x=22&Continue.y=8

Big discussion of these at AVS:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=435721

Just something to think about!

 

[dturturro]

When dealing with the sub 35'' sets, I tend to recommend 4x3 HD sets.

Back that train up a bit. I've got a 34" 16x9 and when a 4x3 image is displayed it's the same as a 27" set. I could not possibly imagine going back to a 4x3 set. And I've yet to find a non-CRT reproduce an image that even comes close to the picture I get on my tube.

Stick with the Sony and look for a cheap OTA tuner on E-bay. That's where most of your HD shows will come from anyway.

 

[korsjs]

i have a 52inch 4:3 and when in widescreen i believe it is a 45 incher.

 

[ProSat2]

"The 4x3 image on a 26'' widescreen is equivalent to a 17'' set! In other words, the 26'' 4x3 set has a 50% bigger 4x3 image.

On the other hand, the 16x9 image on the 26'' widescreen is (obviously) 26'', while the 16x9 image on the 26'' 4x3 HD tv is 23.9'' (2 inches smaller). So the widescreen 26'' set has a 18% bigger widescreen image."

Thank you all for your input. I am aware of the above information. Every time I go into a customers home and see they have ruined the picture on thir widescreen tv I can't help but preach to them. 99.9 percent of the time they are just uninformed. They pretty much just stretch, squash or zoom and cut their video anyway, but at least I feel better about making them understand what they were never explained to when they purchased it. I give my cell phone out to "Special" customers who are in the process of building a Home theatre. I am by no means a master, but I do know where to send them for information if I don't know. I have even gotten a call on my phone from a customer who said "My buddy here is saying that those black bars on the side of the screen shouldn't be there. I tried to explain to him, but he thinks he knows everything. Can you explain it to him over the phone please so he will shut his ****** mouth!" I gave the lecture about sticking a 4x6 photo in an 8x10 frame and what do you see. They eventually get it.

Sorry got off on a rant. For me I would rather have the best picture quality rather than the biggest size. I purchase all of my DVD's widescreen. There will be no stretching, zooming or squashing on my TV's. I would like a large model, but money and space are dictating what I get now.

Thanks again. I will take a closer look at the Sony models since it is my favorite brand of TV.

LM

 

[Carl B]

Read the latest Consumer Reports. Buy the best buy that you can afford. Get one with a built-in ATSC (HDTV) tuner, otherwise you are just buying a computer monitor. With the built-in tuner, you will always be able to watch some DTV even if cable and satellite raise their rates beyond your ability to pay. Personally I wouldn't go widescreen below a 30" WS (=25" 4X3). Oh, and Sony makes great CRT-type TVs, don't know about Samsung; however, Samsung makes great DLP/RP TVs.

 

[ProSat2]

Oh and on another note: If you think a 4:3 picture is tiny on a 26" widescreen tv then you should see the 16:9 picture on my 20" Sony Wega! Now thats narrow. I would also like to add that those Pan & Scan DVD's that are now labled "Full Screen" are incorrect. They should be labled "FILL Screen"

Thanks again,

LM

 

[ProSat2]

Update: After the lousy experience with Sears and Bestbuy I took your advice and went to Walmart. Out of the three places that I went to they were the only ones that had a HD source connected to their HD TV's. The 30" Sanyo looked very very nice. It didn't seem to have that cheezy feel to it that I expected. The brightness was indeed very high and after speaking with some employees I managed to get a hold of the remote and do some adjusting. After adjusting the brightness and color down a bit things really changed. The display was very stunning. The employees were very impressed and thanked me. It nearly doubled in detail (it seems) I had a group of 3 of them standing there with me and we all discussed various things in regards to that model and HDTV in general. I was suprised at the knowledge they had there. Much better than most other stores in the area as well as other Walmarts. They were eager to find out where I had gotten my information so I passed the Satelliteguys web address onto them. The downside to the whole thing is that the Superbowl had wiped out stock accross the country. I will have to wait between 2 to 4 weeks minimum before they could even give me a date as to when they will have stock. That really stinks.

Thanks again,

LM