Hello programs...

I'm looking for a little help/advice. I'm considering getting the family a nice large screen HD TV for Christmas. This would be my first large screen TV and my first HD TV. The largest TV I've owned to date has been a 27" CRT so I have alot of catching up to do education wise so think if this thread as HD TV's for dummies.

I was a former employee of TI and I was really impressed with their early DLP TVs so I'm leaning that direction but that's not set in stone. Which brands should one avoid?

InFocus
LG Electronics
Mitsubishi
Optoma
Panasonic
RCA
Sagem
Samsung
Sharp
Sim2
Toshiba

Was a list I got here:
http://www.dlp.com/
The wife and I went looking locally for the first time yesterday and we saw a 62" Toshiba which looked very nice but after looking at Toshiba's web site I see they make several 62" DLP TV's and I'm not even sure which one we saw.
http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/televisions/dlp.asp
62MX195
62HM195
62HMX95
62HM95
62HM15
62HMX84
62HM84

I'm certainly not locked into a 62" TV either but just use this as an example. Just looking at one of the Manufacture's I see seven choices for a 62" DLP TV and I'm sad to say it but I can't tell the differences between them. Considering the amout of money these things cost I want to be an educated consumer and I know there are alot of smart people here so can anyone here help this HD TV convert wanabe?

Thanks,
Carl

From what I could tell, hear, and used from past experienceover ehre. InFocus has been really good. The only things with HD TV projectors are the lights themselves. Very costly to replace for a single lense projector. In the area roughly of about $400 Canadian to replace those suckers. The HD TV that you are looking into are they flat panel types or the projector types.?

Yeah...I'm kinda figuring that once HD becomes the standard, the price will fall to a more reasonable level.


What I would ultimately like to do is get a flatscreen that can double as a computer monitor...that would be SWEET

Compucore Wrote:The HD TV that you are looking into are they flat panel types or the projector types.?

I don't think you can get a flat panel DLP. Aren't all DLP TVs the projector types?

Carl

I spent about $600 on a Dell 2200mp projector and a $125 movie screen. Best purchases of my life. I now have a 7 foot television that rolls up to my ceiling when I'm not watching it. It's not the image you get from a flat panel, but it's not bad either. Just different, more like a theater experience. Add in my surround sound system and the fact that every video game system I have is wired into the projector with a switch box, I have very little cause to leave the house.

Here is some input I got on Toshiba's DLPs:

As for the differences between models, I can tell you that the X puts the model in the Cinema Series (higher end than the HM's or the Theaterwide). The 84 means last year's model. The 94 (and 95 I here) are newer models. I too could not turn up in a quick research attempt on your behalf any definitive answers as to what is the difference. On basic specs that the sales sites focus on, they are all very similar. I did find one forum post that said that the HMX has an extra HDMI input, a different color bezel, and a better internal speaker system. I also believe - and suggest that you verify - that the 90's and the HMX in either case have HDTV tuners built in while the HM84 does not. I believe something called CABLECARD is also a desirable feature for replacing cable boxes. Finally, HDMI is the highest form on HD input into the set. Some have one port and some have two.

How many HDMI inputs should a system have? I currently have DirectTV but I'll need to upgrade to their HD system. Does it have an HDMI output? When HD DVD players start coming out will they have HDMI output?

1080 is actually the number of verticle lines a 1080 signal is 1920 x 1080 usually at 60hz. The p stands for progressive scan, i stands for interlaced. Progressive scan draws each frame in sequence where as interlaced draws every other line each frame. Dont assume on the specs, if its not listed in the store look it up online.