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I'm finally upgrading my television (27" Sony Trinitron), and I've decided to go HD. I've got a couple of models in mind:
Sony 30" Widescreen HD TV
Sony 32" Flatscreen HD TV
Who else is running HD TVs and how happy are you with the support from ye olde console makers?
BB.com is offering free shipping and a free DVD player with the purchase of TVs too :_)
I have a Zenith 27 inch HDTV I bought back in January when I moved out here to Vegas. In retrospect, I kind of wish I'd waited and gotten a larger one, as 27 just feels too small.
Zenith has been a good brand for me and my family, despite reports I'd heard from various sources of their quality. Masaka, from what I know, you'll generally either want to go with a Sony (really nice screens, great performance, sometimes questionable reliability) or a Toshiba or Panasonic (still nice but not quite as nice as Sony screens, but better performance and reliability) for an HDTV.
If you plan on hooking up a DVD player to it or watching DVD movies, I HEARTILY recommend you pick one up that has 16X9 and Widescreeen support. Also, learn for my mistake and don't get one that's any less than 32 inches (though I suppose that 30 inch widescreen you're looking at ain't too bad.) That's about all the advice I can give :)
My sister has a 48" JVC widescreen HDTV, although the HD aspect of it isn't being used due to having plain-ass cable and the DVD player setup through S-Video...
i have a philips 27 inch HDTV...
i originally bought it refurbished for $500 (including shipping!), but it died soon after i got it.. Philips warranty rocks though, so they replaced it with a NEW hd of the same model..
i love it, except that you can't switch between progressive and component on the only input that supports progressive without getting in back and switching all the wires around, so sometimes it's a pain in my ass.
wow they replaced a refurb with a new one? lucky sob :)
If you plan on playing games on the Sony 4:3 model, you should know that it compresses any HD signal into 16:9 mode. I.E. no full-screen progressive scan games :(. I was looking at that one too and that feature really turned me off. I ended up getting a standard analog WEGA that has the 16:9 compression mode for movies (which looks as good as HD IMO). Kind of the best of both worlds for me, since I didn't want to spend over $1000 on a TV, the majority of what I watch is on DirecTV which reportedly looks like complete crap on HD sets, and I didn't want to have to upscan all the non-HD stuff I watch.Quote:
Originally Posted by Masaka
Once HD content is more standard I'll go HD. Right now there's just not enough for me to bother.
Wait for the plasma screens to come down in price. Some new plasma tech was developed a little while ago that should drive prices down over the next year or two.
I did the same... no regrets.Quote:
Originally Posted by K3V
I've heard that plasma will burn out quicker than the current tube technology. Any truth to that cause I'm really interested in eventually picking it up but only if it lasts really long, and as long as games don't damage it of course.
D
This isn't true. We have the 32" Sony HDTV at work and it displays progressive XBox signals just fine without doing the anamorphic squeeze.Quote:
Originally Posted by K3V
And on a related note, how can I force my analog 36" Wega XBR to go into anamorphic mode on games that offer 16x9. It does it on the XBox dashboard but then defaults back to 4:3 when the game starts.
I bought this TV a few months back and i love it:
Quote:
Yep, I think K3V might be talking about 1080i and 720p modes. 1080i is always in widescreen, and since most Sony HDTV's upscan 720p to 1080i, 720p is always widescreen by default. Not that many games support 720p anyway, and all the ones i've played with the exception of Soul Cailbur 2 have a widescreen mode so its not a problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by Compass
Yeah, I have the same problem. I played PD Orta for about half an hour right after I got my TV before I realized it was supposed to be in widescreen mode. :sweat:Quote:
And on a related note, how can I force my analog 36" Wega XBR to go into anamorphic mode on games that offer 16x9. It does it on the XBox dashboard but then defaults back to 4:3 when the game starts.
I might be wrong, but all the research I did claimed that was the case. GameCynic probably has it right, but I never personally tested out the TV for myself so I can't say for sure. Just what I read.Quote:
Originally Posted by Compass
As far as plasma, everything I read steered me away from them. Yes, they are cool, but they have a short lifespan, burn in easily, and don't offer high enough resolutions. And they're damn expensive.
I can't say that I know too much about HDTV's, but I accept donations of old 27" Trinitrons :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Masaka
If the trinitron works great still and is in tip top shape, i'd buy it.
I have a widescreen HD and I will never go back.
NEVER!
Well, on my standard analog Wega, there is an option under the "setup" heading of the onscreen menu. You go down to 16:9 enhanced mode and switch it from "auto" to "on." That will force it into the anamorphic squeeze.Quote:
Originally Posted by Compass
Seems like your TV doesn't auto-detect the anamorphic signal with Xbox for some reason. Funny because mine does, but doesn't with anamorphic PS2 games.
Thanks much for all the input guys. I may actually see about taking a console up to BB and trying them there. I'd like to see how Metroid, GGXX and SSX3 all look.
I'm giving plasma a wide berth. I've heard the burn in stories as well, and even if they come down to the 2k range, the risk isn't worth it.
:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by GohanX
I've had this TV since '99 when I picked it up in Chicago. One of my friends is actually going to buy my old one off of me, which is partly why I'm bothering with the upgrade.
That and 12 month no interest financing :D I could buy it straight up, but I'd rather put the money somewhere it can grow and just make the payments.
I have an old Sony 66 inch projection Tv. We bought this TV at a store-closing the same day we got our N64 (and Starfox!). So, it isn't the best of televisions out there. The sound isn't half bad, since we had it upgraded, but it's nothing to marvel at and certainly pales in comparison to sorround sound or the like.
The thing is, my father's been looking into HD's for a while. Because of money being very tight, we wouldn't be able to get anything too impressive. Maybe a 27-32 inch... In a year or so. Right now we couldn't buy a 27 inch regular.
Would it be worth it? I've been on this massive beast of a TV so long, I don't really know if a thirty-some inch widescreen HD would be worth the sacrifice in size.
Instead of buying a new TV, I'm just saving up for a decent quality projector. Unfortunately, that's not gonna happen for a long-ass time, because I'm saving up for a motorcycle first.
Though, I am very wary of plasma screens, because of the burn-in problems I've heard of.
However, standing outside of Tweeter and watching Discovery HD on a huge Mitsubishi TV has made me want to apply for a job there, just so I can see more of it. Insane. Never knew TV could look that good... probably still boring, though.
You sure about 720p always being displayed widescreen? I saw someone playing THUG at work and it looked sharp as hell (even sharper than normal 480p I thought). I assumed he was using the 720p mode (which I think this game supports) but I suppose it may have just been 480p. It was in 4:3.Quote:
Originally Posted by GameCynic
What model tv do you have? I have a KV36"XBR250 and I'm pretty sure I don't have that option in my menus (gotta check at home).Quote:
Originally Posted by Teddman
It auto-detects the anamorphic signal just fine (and it looks great) with DVDs on my regular Toshiba DVD player. Don't know why XBox is hassling me.
Anamorphic PS2 games I've tried don't activate the mode on my set either by the way.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....oryId=cat03002
This is the TV I was thinking about getting. What do you guys think? Am I to understand that since this is widescreen that my DVD movies that are 16:9 won't have the black bars at the top and bottom? Also how would I watch regular TV would it have to be streched? If I were to run my Xbox or Gamecube in progressive scan will it fill the whole screen? Thanks!
I was planning on getting the 27" Advent HDTV but I saw it in the store and it really seems small to me. I'm thinking of going 30-34" but I still want the HD capabilities. It seems most non-widescreen HDs have a 16:9 compression mode and I'm wondering if you guys think it would be wiser just to get the non-widescreen HD then pay a few more hundred bucks and get a few inches smaller and widescreen?
One thing that concerned me about the two models that I was looking at was that there was a lot of talk of being "HD Ready" I'm assuming that's for receiving digital signals from say, a TV source, rather than from a console system or DVD player that's directly outputting a progressive scan signal.
If anybody's got some good reliable resources for info on HD in general, I'd appreciate it.
God damn... getting tired of a 27" Trinitron. I just got basically the same thing (made by Toshiba) this summer.
I'm pretty sure the "HD Monitors" will output progressive scan and such from a DVD player or console but won't upscan a TV signal without a set-top box or digital reciever. And what from I get out of it "HD Ready" will come with a built in "NTSC tuner" and upscans the signal to 480p or 1080i or whatnot.
On the note of anamorphic squeeze, on my 32'' wega (noot HD) when I'm watching a DVD that already places the black bars on the video, and I put it on anamorphic squeeze mode, it squeezes the picture so it has double black bars, any ideas?
www.avsforum.com is god.Quote:
Originally Posted by Masaka
Napolm, in the DVD player's options, tell it that you have a widescreen TV. It sounds like it's set to 4:3 letterbox.
Animegirl, some widescreen movies will still have bars on an HDTV. The one that you're looking at has an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (width to height), while movies can be 1.33:1, 1.66:1, 1.78:1, 1.85:1, 2.35:1, and possibly a few others. The first two will have horizontal black bars (with 1.33:1's being wider), the second two will have no black bars, and 2.35:1 will have small horizontal black bars.
I have a 53" Widescreen Panasonic HDTV and I love it.
Everything looks like sexy butter.
Thanks Tones, boy this shit is confusing!
This is a pretty good sight, they've listings for what games support what resolutions tooQuote:
Originally Posted by Masaka
http://www.hdtvpub.com/
Well, it might have been playing on a really nice HDTV. :) I think 720p is normally a full screen resolution, but not a lot of HDTV's (at least not the cheaper ones like mine) support it in its naitive format; so it gets upscaned to 1080i which is a fixed widescreen mode. Consequently, whenever I play Soul Calibur 2, it gets displayed in a box in the center of the screen, like its letter boxed horizontally and vertically which really sucks. But like I said, its the only 720p game I've seen that doesn't support widescreen so its not that big of a deal.Quote:
Originally Posted by Compass
Just (last couple of months) got a Samsung 32" HDTV. It was a crazy deal from work and I'm more than pleased with it. I only have two component inputs :cry: so the Gamecube is still looking like ass with the standard composite crap. Still looking into a switchbox.
IMHO it's a waste of money to get a large set that *isn't* HD. You're paying $500+ for something that's already outdated. Of course this thread isn't about HD vs. Analog so I'll shut up.
I wasn't a believer in the power of quality cables until I got the tube. The wires are 100% of the difference in clarity.
Don't buy a HDTV just yet if you still play lower res video games (ie. 32-bit 3D, low res 2D). Stick with the regular analog Wega. Most HDTV lack scanlines on the screen, and older games just aren't meant to be seen without them. Third Strike is such a pixelated eyesore on my HS510. High res images on the other hand (which is basically DVDs at this point, meh), look absolutely stunning.
Until HD becomes the standard for television, HDTVs are kind of a worthless luxury at this time.
Okay so not much mentioned about gaming on this puppy (edit: except Taito above). Masaka, will you be running systems besides the Xbox, GC? Because if so, I recommend having an interlaced set or RGB monitor too for the older stuff.
Right now I own interlaced sets, RGB sets, and a HDTV, so I will talk from that perspective.
First off, HDTV is the way to go. It is the future. If it says HD ready, that is in regards to HD signals because you can buy more expensive sets with the tuner built in.
I have a standard set and really do wish I had gotten a widescreen. I do have 16*9 mode on mine and it runs in progressive so that is fine.
Now, why do you want a HDTV? If it's primarily for anamorphic DVDs, Xbox and GC, then you are in for a treat. I run the GC, Xbox, and the DVD player in progressive mode on the games that support it and it is pure bliss -- the most beautiful picture you are ever going to see. I can run the DC too -- just make sure your HDTV has a VGA input the same as computer monitors (I can, but I don't because it's a mess, read on for more).
But I know you are a GGXX and old school 2-D player so I must warn you about that -- older systems and low-res games look like utter garbage, complete crap on non-interlaced, i.e. HD sets.
Let's even start with Xbox -- even running CvS2, MvC2, etc. in progressive mode sadly does the pixel explosion you get when playing low-res games on a VGA screen...
DC does the same thing, except for hi-res games like GGX and 3-D games on the system. Now on to PS2 -- it looks like ass. Blurring all over the place. HDTV makes you realize how crappy the PS2 really is. I thought the 3-D stuff would look crisp and clean in component, well I ended up returning my component cables and hooking it up to my interlaced set with s-video for a while and it now resides on one of my RGB setups.
One thing you'll notice when you make the jump to HDTV is that systems that are not outputting a pure progressive signal will have blurring on movement. That means, say you use s-video on DC to bypass the pixel mess of progressive mode, well then you get insane blurring on movement. Maybe some people won't notice this, but I do -- and my HDTV booklet even makes mention of this. Older systems become almost unplayable, because of the blur.
And don't even consider going backwards -- the Genesis (even my modded s-video version) looks horrendous, the Saturn looks craptacular, the N64 is a mess, NES is unplayable -- you get my point.
So yeah, HDTV is good for some gaming applications -- the Xbox stuff looks brilliant, Metroid Prime will look insanely good. GGXX may look good for you IF you can get it to boot in Hi-res like it's supposed to. The problem is the game is encoded at 525p, an odd Japanese progressive signal that my TV won't recognize.
So you might want to hold onto to that interlaced set or pick up a small RGB monitor. The difference really is night and day. Older and low-res stuff is untoppable in RGB, while new stuff (hi-res 2-D and 3-D) looks too good.
Hope this helps.
Does your TV have a VGA input? You can get a custom VGA cord from Matt on these boards to play progressive GC games on your HDTV. Also, http://www.cablewholesale.com/ has an adaptor to plug 2 component sources into one...I'm thinking of trying a couple out, because I don't really don't need a $100+ swithbox for 1 or 2 more component sources.Quote:
Originally Posted by Six
Hmmm... what version is that? I have the Xbox version in progressive and it boots it down to 480p since my TV doesn't have 720p. I have the Zenith 27 inch HDTV. That's really strange. Even if I set my tv to 16*9 mode, it still works fine, no upscanning or anything. Glad I got the set I did after hearing some of these horror stories.Quote:
Originally Posted by GameCynic
Its the XBOX version of Soul Calibur 2. Like I said its not a huge deal, because if the game supported Widescreen mode (like most other 720p games do) it would look great. Its easily fixable by just turning off 720p mode on the xbox dashboard, but I'm kinda lazy about stuff like that :)
My GC SCII has a widescreen option. The XBox one doesn't?Quote:
Originally Posted by GameCynic
if you get your TV professionally calibrated or at LEAST use AVIA to set up the display, then playing older consoles games is fine. I was horrified when we got our original flatscreen (and it wasn't even HD), and I saw how horrible TV, 2D games and old 3D looked on it (pixelly and grainy). Had a professional calibration and did a little bit of personal taste tweaking and now everything's perfect. My SNES, etc games have never looked better, and Xbox, Cube etc look great! DVDs in anamorphic 16x9 mode... there's no going back. I would also recommend against a widescreen set if you're like me, and play a lot of SNES etc shit. Sure you can put on bars to give you the proper 4:3 aspect, but it just feels weird playing and having that part of the screen un-usable. I just couldn't get used to it. You don't really gain anything with a widescreen set anyway, except you don't have to look at black bars when watching DVDs...whoopy. Also, a regular CRT will still give you the BEST Television picture quality. Plasma technology doesn't have quite as good or accurate picture quality and has less contrast to boot, and those screens burn fast. Only an LCD projector display (or VGA monitor) will give you better image quality. And don't ever think of touching projection if you care about optimal picture quality! Fuck size...! 36" should be enough to deal with...or if not, get that super large 40"...
Word.Quote:
Originally Posted by DHG Otaku
How much did professional calibration cost you? I was thinking about getting it done on my new Sony 36" KV36FS100 WEGA, but I wouldn't know where to begin to find someone in the area to do it, or how much it would set me back.
You make a good point, but we're talking about professionally calibrating a $1000 or less HDTV set for a couple hundre bucks, when you could get a 25 inch RGB monitor for under 100 bucks and get the best possible picture on almost any consoles. My main problem is that even with calibration, low res 2-D games are still going to pixelate through progressive for the DC and Xbox...
Is the blurring really gone even with calibration? I thought this comes from the original signal being interlaced. Even with proper color calibration, blurring in older systems and 2-D fighters is still going to occur, right? Or can they calibrate it to remove this?
I think he was saying he had his non-HD set calibrated which fixed things. The blurry-ness and general ugliness of old systems played on HDTVs can't be calibrated away (from my understanding). That's why I'm keeping my analog 36" Sony set even if I do end up getting an HD one in the near future. Two giant tvs in my little room... a gamer must sacrifice the living space!
I have the KV32FD model, it's about two years old now. The standard mid-range Wega with the speakers on the sides, but not the XBR. Interlaced, non-progressive set.Quote:
Originally Posted by Compass
Anyway, are you sure your XBR doesn't have an option to be forced into 16:9 enhanced mode? Pore through the manual... I find it hard to believe that Sony would only have an auto mode enabled, because some DVD players and consoles don't send the signal that triggers it. PS2 is incapable of sending an auto signal.
My cheaper 2 year-old Wega has the option, yours ought to have it too...
I never have this problem with letterboxing. To me the black bars are no different than the plastic frame around the screen, the stand the TV is sitting on, the wallpaper, or anything else in the entire room that is not part of the picture. I look at the picture, and I ignore everything else that is not the picture.Quote:
Originally Posted by DHG Otaku
No, it doesn't. Fucked up, eh?Quote:
Originally Posted by Compass
I think its a problem with the Xbox in general, I have the same problem. The Xbox dashboard goes automatically into 16x9 mode, as does my DVD player. Every widescreen Xbox game in 480p mode goes to full screen, and you have to manually turn on widescreen enhanced mode otherwise you get a stretched out, ugly picture.Quote:
Originally Posted by Teddman
Yeah, I double-checked. The only way to force it on is through the service menu which is a fairly big hassle not to mention ridiculous that I should have to do that in the first place. Good ol' Sony.Quote:
Originally Posted by Teddman
On my old 24" WEGA you had to do it in the service menu, but on my new 36" it's an option right in the menu system.
Damn. Well, now I know to check that any 4:3 HDTV set I buy in the future has both a ON mode for anamorphic squeeze and can play progressive material in full-screen.
Has anyone checked out Samsung's new DLP line? I'm usually pretty anti rear-projection, but the demo model I've been looking at is stupidly beautiful. Since I'm thinking of getting a massive one in February, I'm wondering if there's any info that I should know; maintenence, average life, blahblahblah.
Now I'm pretty much debating on getting a 32" Zenith HD non-widescreen or a Samsung 32" non-widescreen HDTV or go with widescreen Phillips Widescreen 30" HDTV, or a Samsung 30" Widescreen HDTV.
I guess the real desicion maker is if I really need the true widescreen aspect. The non-widescreens have 16:9 compression so I could still use that, plus they are $100 cheaper and I lose 2". Anyone have any experience with the big differences in these? Also if anyone has ever had any Zenith or Samsung HDs, which should I go with if I chose non-widescreen?
Hold the phones, it seems that the Zenith model has optical audio out and DVI input, skip you Samsung!
For all of your Home Theater a/v questions, some really good help can be found at:
http://www.hometheatertalk.com/cgi-bin/Ultimate.cgi
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/index.php
hometheaterforum.com
They know their shit.
Everyone keeps calling 27" TVs "small," but here I have a 20" and like it just fine. *shrugs*
So, wait, first you say that black bars are bad, and then you say getting rid of the black bars on widescreen DVDs is no big deal. Which is it exactly?Quote:
Originally Posted by DHG Otaku
Widescreen is the future. Pretty much every DVD release now has a widescreen transfer, and as time goes on more and more TV shows are switching over to being broadcast in widescreen. Anybody who purchases a new TV and purposely avoids getting a widescreen unit, with the exception of a prohibitive cost, is crazy. Widescreen becoming the standard for home television is only a question of when, not if.
This post reminds me of a question I've always had about the new digital broadcast standards for TV networks. What's going to happen to all past TV programs (reruns), recorded in 4:3, after the standards are in effect? Are they going to be shown in fullscreen on a 4:3 television, or will they be tailored for widescreen TVs, resulting in a much smaller picture for everyone using regular square sets?Quote:
Originally Posted by shidoshi
Thanks a ton for all of the info guys.
I went up to Best Buy this weekend and they let me hook my PS2 up to the 34" Sony widescreen. GGXX actually worked fine, despite its weird progressive mode, and it was awe inspiring.
I wound up actually ordering the 30" model I mentioned initially, since it was 500 bucks cheaper, and I the same as the 34", except the size. BB.com has free shipping and no interest financing till next January, so rather than buy it outright, I just financed it.
HD gaming in Chateau de Mas starts December 17th :)
I do have to say that BB.com's customer service is mad shitty. I almost didn't buy it, because when I called them to make sure the TV qualified for the financing, the guy on the phone wouldn't give me a straight answer. He kept getting evasive when I asked if the item I selected qualified for the financing, so finally I was like "screw it" and wasn't going to get it.
The next day, each of the qualifying items had notes saying so :)
Nice. :) Post some pictures once you get it all up and running.
I'm hearing more and more people recommending staying away from plasma screens due to the short life, burn-in, etc, but what about LCD screens? I'm starting to see more and more of those, and so far, the pictures on them have been outstanding. Unfortunately, they are even more expensive than plasmas. How is the life and burn in, and any other problems of LCD's compared to plasmas?
"Wierd?" You mean because of the 525p? And yeah, once you play GGXX in progressive you can't go back. It hurts.Quote:
Originally Posted by Masaka
Hmm, I would guess that the same problems attributed to computer LCD screens could be applied to TV screens. Burn-in is a problem with all types of screens, it's just that plasmas are more prone to it. If I recall correctly, burn-in isn't a problem with LCD RPTV's, so it may be the same with standard LCD screens.
Compared to plasmas (from my experience with looking at them in stores), the black levels aren't as high with LCD's, but there's a certain look that they have--almost a smoothed out look. Depends on what you prefer, I guess (and judging by your response, it's LCD). What models did you look like? Size?
Soul Calibur Xbox is widescreen in 480P, but NOT in 720P.
PS: Gamecube has no 720P option.
Masaka i was at my friend's place between classes at the College, and his appartment downtown is sweet, mostly because of the sony Wega. It's the same one you're asking for, it's great quality and well worth the price. Although I dont know THAT much more then the average person on TV hardware, I know that it's one of the sweetest televisions' at reasonnable price.Quote:
Originally Posted by Masaka
it'll usually run 200-300 bucks...quite steep so I'd only recommend if you have a nice big 32-36" or bigger TV. Then again, all I care about is picture quality and if I couldn't afford to get my TV callibrated, then I'd buy a smaller set to have enough money for it. :P I was able to get mine done for free (36" Wega) from a good friend who taught me all the stuff about TVs that I didn't learn in college. :PQuote:
Originally Posted by K3V
no...watching a movie with bars is different than playing a game with bars. When you play a game with bars on the side of the screen, the way the screen scrolls with those bars feels like my character isn't moving across the entire screen. Like say, I hold right for a few seconds to move my character right across the screen and with the black bars it feels like I need to hold right longer to get my guy across the screen... (just one example of my personal experience) I'm sure I'd get used to it or whatever, and I haven't talked to really anyone else who had this problem except for me, but that's all that matters since I'd be the one using and paying for the TV. :P I'd rather not deal with it since I play a lot of old and 2D games and all I'm gaining with a widescreen TV is not having to see black bars when I watch DVDs...I'll cope.Quote:
Originally Posted by shidoshi
Broadcast TV is still SEVERAL YEARS away from being all broadcast in widescreen. It'll be some years before MOST of the stuff you watch will be in widescreen and even longer until just about everything is being broadcast widescreen. When you say "as time goes on" we are talking about years here man...not a matter of months or a year or two.
As for pro callibration fixing those low res blurring problems on HD sets that is a damn good question I'd love to investigate. I'll need to ask some from the ISF about that perhaps since I plan on getting an HD version of the 36" Wega I have now (analog). I may be in trouble if there are some problems...and yeah, like someone mentioned if that is the case I might just get a monitor to play old stuff but I'd still rather use the main TV in my living room. That's just where I play games period. On a nice big 36" TV (any bigger is too big for me, but a monitor even 24 or so inches is just too small for me) with nice 5.1 rich sound. Picky picky picky...I know! I get enough complaints from the people around me. :P
Well, I finally have my TV, but man was it a PITA. If anybody's thinking of ordering something big from Best Buy.com, do yourself a favor and don't.
Short version: There were some problems with the delivery process, and as a result, I got the 34" model instead of the 30" model at a pretty good discount. I'll post some pics of the setup once I get it finalized. We ran through a bunch of games last night, from Viewtiful Joe to Smash Brothers, and everything looked fantastic. I picked up the wrong PS2 component cable at Software etc though, so I'll have to wait on the PS2 games.
The long version is below for anybody who wants to read it.
I placed my order for the 30" model on the 7th, for delivery on the 17th of December. I was supposed to get a call on the 16th to set up the delivery time. 9pm on the 16th, still no call. So I call up the "local" store (45 minutes away in another city) and they tell me the TV isn't in yet, and won't arrive till the 20th. They apparently only make deliveries to my town on Wednesdays, so they wouldn't be able to deliver it till the 24th. Problem is, I'm going to be on vacation. Ok, whatever, they'll deliver it on the 30th, day after I get back.
On the 18th, I get an email from Best Buy.com saying "Thanks for your order, our records say you've received your tv, have a nice day", etc. So I call their 800 number to tell them that no, I don't have the TV, they say call the store. I call the store, they say call the 800 number. I finally get somebody half decent on the phone at the 800 line, and he works out the problem. Bout the only helpful person I dealt with through the whole thing.
So off I go on vacation, and head back on the 29th. While in the airport, I happen to check my messages to see what's up. There's a call from BB on the 20th saying that the TV had arrived in the store and they'd call to set up delivery. Yay, everything's cool. Yet, it's about 8pm on the 29th, and there was no message about delivery time. I call the store up and hear "Oh, we don't make deliveries to bburg on Tuesday, we'll have to deliver it Wednesday." I speak to the manager, and he gives me the same story. Shrug, one more day, big deal right?
December 30th: I go off to a friend's birthday party that night, confident that the TV will arrive the next day. I get home around 11, and on a whim decide to check my messages at work. There's a call from the warehouse manager saying: "We're supposed to deliver a TV to you tomorrow, but it hasn't arrived at the store yet"
Naturally, I'm like "Uh, wtf?" And of course, the store is closed now. So I call them the next day and just straight up ask for the manager. Apparently my TV was sold to somebody else while I was gone, and he had to work it out with his GM, and he'd call me back in a bit.
At this point, I was about ready to say screw it and just go to like Circuit City, but I figured I might be able to get something out of the whole mess. I shoot off an email to BB customer service outlining the problem, and asking if they could help at all. I get back the following response:
Right.Quote:
Originally Posted by Best Buy Customer Service
I never hear back from the manager that day, so I call the store yesterday and told them that I needed a resolution to the problem now. After some discussion, it came down to I could wait until next Wednesday for the 30" model with a discount, or I could get the 34" model for about $200 bucks more (which is about $300 less than it sells for), and have it delivered that afternoon. I just sold an arcade cabinet I'd fixed up, so I had the extra money for it, so being an impaitent American, I went with that option, which was delivered that afternoon.
I have an early HDTV, Proscan/RCA 36" 1999, which has some really convenient featuers such as 2 VGA inputs but requires a transcoder to get 480p. What's really annoying is that the XBOX and GC do not output 480p from the dashboard so I can't see what's going on unless I plug them into the 480i input. :\ I guess it's more the manufacturer's fault than the console makers but that's quite annoying and probably not an issue with newer sets.
Shou: Yeah, newer HD sets will automatically switch to the proper display mode, if it supports that resolution.
I've never gotten an answer on how much professional calibration helped a HD tube. If you've got a HD projection screen then, I've heard, it's majorly important as they lose about 1/3 of their brightness in the first 1000 of use. Then it sorta levels out, which is the point at which its adviseable to get the pro calibration.