What’s all the fuss about High Def TV??

[Mike Circo]

Well now I know. After moaning about the cable company always going out, I got a brainstorm and checked the old TV. Seems that the coax input is sick. After the TV warmed up for about 30 minutes… fitzzz, out went the signal. Old 9” TV was fine as were the other inputs on the old TV.

So before I could talk my self into working around the issue on a 15 year old CRT television I hit the electronics stores and got a high def replacement.

Plugged it in. Nice, but no big deal. Then a trip to the cable company office for a HDTV cable box and BOING, now we’re talking. I expected the detail to be amazing, but I did not expect the increase in color vibrancy, lack of motion blur and great contrast. The real stunner came during the opening scene of the Olympic coverage. An aerial flyover of the Rockies, over Vancouver and forests. No words for the clarity and beauty. Now I can see what the big deal is. I can’t wait to see “Planet Earth” in hi-def. (My kids have a PS3 with built in BlueRay so I’m set!)

BTW. It is a Toshiba 42” (42” was the biggest I could fit in my entertainment center, wasn’t ready to replace that yet.) It is full 1080p, 240hz refresh ( very cool, actually a 120 hz scan with some software to double the effective rate. Smooooth action). And something I liked on a LCD set not in many I saw was a 100,000 / 1 Contrast ratio. Cheap sets are in the 15,000/1, some of the best comparable sets are at 50,000/1 so this was nice to get. Makes images almost 3D in quality.

Anyway. I’m a few hundred bucks poorer, but have fewer reasons to pay $10 at the multiplex and $10 for stale popcorn and a coke. Only 52 movie rentals away from it paying for itself.

[David G Baker]

Mike,
What is the model number?

[Mitchell Andrus]

Welcome to the club. Once you join, you'll never leave.

I remember seeing HD for first time. It was a MLB game at a big box store. I was hooked but couldn't afford the then $8,000.00 price tags. I'm glad prices have tempered a bit.... a lot.
.

[Mike Circo]

What is the model number?

Toshiba 42ZV650U "Regza"

I got it from CompUSA in this area. Go to their site and it comes up on the main page. $800, not bad. The same TV is also available in other screen sizes, but again 42" was the one I needed for proper fit.

M

[Pat Germain]

Glad you're enjoying the HD experience. But I thought CompUSA went belly-up?

[David G Baker]

Thanks Mike. I am in the infant stage of researching a new TV and have always favored Toshiba. Not quite ready to plunk down $800 but at some point in the near future I won't have a choice.

[Darin Kauffman]

Have fun with the new tv. I sold my plasma and bought a movie projector. We only have a little tv for watching basic cable now. HD is really noticeable.

Oh, and Planet Earth in HD is ridiculous.

[Mike Circo]

But I thought CompUSA went belly-up?

Gee I hope not.... I just bought a TV from them!



I think they downsized a bunch. Now it is more of a warehouse type store, not the flashy, huge and overstocked place it used to be. Also, they do more web based business so the big stores are overhead.

Just happened to have one near me so it was one of the few places to shop besides Best Buy to look for a TV. With Circuit city gone, the choices have been cut down considerably.

[Rob Robinson VT]

Congrats on entering the fabulous world of high-definition! You purchased a pretty decent current generation display and may want to check out the review below from CNET for some tips on adjusting its many controls for the best picture (pay particular attention to the "Click to see picture settings" link at the top of the 2nd page):

CNET Review of Toshiba Z650U Series

I spent my entire working life in high-end consumer electronics, specializing in very high-end home theater the last 10 years or so. Since retirement I've become an ISF-certified HDTV calibrator and, as such, I've calibrated a couple of displays in this same series and they dial in very nicely. You should be set for the next several years (or until you decide to get rid of your current size-limiting entertainment center!).

The original CompUSA DID go out of business (well, sort of) and was acquired by Systemax a couple of years ago. Systemax also owns TigerDirect and bought the online rights to Circuit City and operates online retail sites for both of those names as well. So, not to worry, you're probably in relatively safe hands.

What others here has said is correct, once you've seen "Planet Earth" in 1080p you'll truly appreciate just how much better today's displays are than what we've all been used to in the past.

Feel free to holler if you've got any questions. I don't hesitate to call upon other members here for advice on all things woodworking so, in fair exchange, I feel compelled to share my knowledge and experience in the area that I know best.

[Glenn Clabo]

Okay Rob...you asked.

I'm about to take on a condo in Boston...and I have a 50" Sony Plasma in the house right now...AND LOVE IT but not sure I want to move it.

If you were to buy my next ~50 inch...what would you buy...and why?

[Van Huskey]

I have been a HDTV devotee since 2001 and have loved every minute of it.

To Glen, if you want the best and your viewing room/habits allow plasma get a Pioneer Kuro (if they still make then then, long story) they are simply the best displays out there.

If you don't want to spend the money on a Pioneer but want a plasma the Panasonics are the way to go, if you want LCD then the Samsungs are hard to beat. But this does vary somewhat based on budget and size.

One really important thing is ISF calibration, whether you have it done or teach yourself. I rarely (basically never) see a HDTV calibrated even close in a persons home. They tend to leave them in "torch mode" even though some manufacturers are getting better about factory presets. Many people look at my sets and think they look "flat" but they are just correct. If your picture looks anything like the display TVs in a Big Box they are WAY off.

[Rob Robinson VT]

Okay Rob...you asked.

I'm about to take on a condo...and I have a 50" Sony Plasma in the house right now...AND LOVE IT!

If you were to buy my next ~50 inch...what would you buy...and why?

Since you're already a plasma fan and if the room doesn't have too much natural light it would probably be either a Panasonic TC-P50V10 or Samsung PN50B650 plasma as they have the best black levels out there at the moment, wonderful natural colors and calibrate beautifully. Nearly as good as the about to disappear forever Pioneer Elite Kuro displays (and I'm not in the habit of recommending a line that the manufacturer is about to completely discontinue).

If the room is very bright then you're probably going to want an LCD (although the antiglare coatings on some of the soon to be released plasmas from Panasonic and Samsung I saw at CES were awfully good) and, particularly, a local-dimming LED backlit LCD such as the awesome new 240-zone local-dimming sets from LG.

If your new condo is not pre-wired for HD and you want to hang your new HDTV in an area not exactly adjacent to where your electronics will be, the new 2010 sets coming from LG all feature an add-on wireless option that works really, really well (up to 100 ft from the media box to the TV and through walls!). Their current 47" 47LH85 and 55" 55LH85 wireless sets are a particularly awesome buy right now ($1,000 off MSRP) on NewEgg.com and they work really well so long as the media box and TV are in the same room, in a general "line of sight" and within 25-30' of each other. I recommended one of these for our best friends just before the holidays and they are absolutely thrilled with it (and they paid $200 more than the current sale price).

One thing that I love about LG is that all of their sets feature ISFccc calibration controls which allow professional HDTV calibrators such as myself to fine tune them for maximum performance AND give our customers separate, optimized settings for Day and Night viewing.

[Rob Robinson VT]

I have been a HDTV devotee since 2001 and have loved every minute of it.

To Glen, if you want the best and your viewing room/habits allow plasma get a Pioneer Kuro (if they still make then then, long story) they are simply the best displays out there.

If you don't want to spend the money on a Pioneer but want a plasma the Panasonics are the way to go, if you want LCD then the Samsungs are hard to beat. But this does vary somewhat based on budget and size.

One really important thing is ISF calibration, whether you have it done or teach yourself. I rarely (basically never) see a HDTV calibrated even close in a persons home. They tend to leave them in "torch mode" even though some manufacturers are getting better about factory presets. Many people look at my sets and think they look "flat" but they are just correct. If your picture looks anything like the display TVs in a Big Box they are WAY off.

In over 10 years of being involved with some of the highest-end video out there (for years I co-exhibited at trade shows with industry leaders such as Runco, Vidikron, Da-Lite, Lumagen and Stewart Filmscreen) and over 2 years as an ISF-certified professional calibrator, I can honestly say that I have NEVER walked into a client's home and found a display that was closer than 70-80% of being properly adjusted. One thing is certain, when I leave I am absolutely 100% certain that my customers are getting the most out of their investment in HDTV.

Manufacturers purposely put their sets into "torch mode" so that they'll stand out on the sales floor (most consumers would never purchase a properly calibrated display as it would look "dull" or "washed out" compared to the overly bright, overly saturated displays beside it). Plus, for proper calibration, the internal components in a display need to first be "burned in" for at least 100 hours as their values can and do change drastically as they begin to work and have various signals applied to them. So, even if manufacturers wanted (and could afford to, it takes most ISF-calibrators at least 3-4 hours to properly calibrate a couple of inputs on a display) to calibrate their sets on the assembly line it wouldn't be accurate after it had been in their customer's home for awhile.

I'm impressed that it you've taught yourself how to perform ISF calibrations. What colorimeter and signal generator are you using? My setup is a Sencore OTC-1000 tri-stimulus colorimeter and Sencore VP-403C HD signal generator with the Sencore AutoCalPro 6000 (6500 for ISFccc displays) calibration software. My total investment in hardware, software and training (at both ISF and Sencore) was nearly $20K and then I did about 3 months of free calibrations for friends and family before I felt comfortable going into clients' homes and charging for my services.

[Bob Borzelleri]

When we built our house in 2004, I included a media room (which doubles as a music room and office for me). 120" screen and projector, 1500 watts of amps, 2 healthy subwoofers and the best Blu-Ray player available for any price.

Sometimes it's hard to leave the room.

[Tim Morton]

In over 10 years of being involved with some of the highest-end video out there (for years I co-exhibited at trade shows with industry leaders such as Runco, Vidikron, Da-Lite, Lumagen and Stewart Filmscreen) and over 2 years as an ISF-certified professional calibrator, I can honestly say that I have NEVER walked into a client's home and found a display that was closer than 70-80% of being properly adjusted. One thing is certain, when I leave I am absolutely 100% certain that my customers are getting the most out of their investment in HDTV.

Manufacturers purposely put their sets into "torch mode" so that they'll stand out on the sales floor (most consumers would never purchase a properly calibrated display as it would look "dull" or "washed out" compared to the overly bright, overly saturated displays beside it). Plus, for proper calibration, the internal components in a display need to first be "burned in" for at least 100 hours as their values can and do change drastically as they begin to work and have various signals applied to them. So, even if manufacturers wanted (and could afford to, it takes most ISF-calibrators at least 3-4 hours to properly calibrate a couple of inputs on a display) to calibrate their sets on the assembly line it wouldn't be accurate after it had been in their customer's home for awhile.

I'm impressed that it you've taught yourself how to perform ISF calibrations. What colorimeter and signal generator are you using? My setup is a Sencore OTC-1000 tri-stimulus colorimeter and Sencore VP-403C HD signal generator with the Sencore AutoCalPro 6000 (6500 for ISFccc displays) calibration software. My total investment in hardware, software and training (at both ISF and Sencore) was nearly $20K and then I did about 3 months of free calibrations for friends and family before I felt comfortable going into clients' homes and charging for my services.

Let me know if you ever make it down to southern VT....i could use a touch up on my calibration...HLS5687w..i had it professionally calibrated about 2 years ago. Trouble is they guy(excellent calibrator) is from NJ and i doubt i will ever get him back to vermont again