help with explaining tv's

hmc

please

i dont really understand all this hd ready stuff

im looking to upgrade my old square tv in the jan sales

money is tight as always
do i need hd ready if i have a sky box and dish up and running(no sky contract though)
should i get freeview(already get most of their channels for free anyhow)

i suppose what im asking is whether any old widescreen will be ok with the change over

thanks in advance

BillScarab

HD is nothing to do with the changeover from Analogue to Digital. The digital signal from Freeview, Sky and Virgin Cable is still the same format as the analogue so any widescreen TV will be fine.

You only need a HD Telly if you have a HD source. Currently the only HD sources are from HD-DVD discs or Blu-Ray discs, for both of these you need the appropriate player of course. The other sources are from Sky, they broadcast some HD channels but I think you have to pay extra or Virgin Cable have a very limited selection of HD material if you have a V+ box. Also if you have a Sony PS3 or Xbox 360 they output in HD.

Of course you could still buy a HD Tv now with a view to future proofing your TV.

When I decided to get rid of our old 4:3 CRT (i.e. 'square') Telly I bought a second hand 32" widescreen CRT for £50. The main reason being that often the old standard definition picture doesn't look very good on a Plasma or LCD Telly. In a year or two when they are a lot cheaper and HD sources are more common I'll get a HD TV.

Conor_3

Basically to make sure you're future-proofed.

You want one with integrated Freeview (although it's not essential if you've got a set top box/satellite) and a HDMI connector with HDCP support. (HDCP is a new copy protection system which is required to get HD pictures from HD players in the future - many TVs have HDMI but not with the HDCP support so they'll not get HDTV from a HD player when HDCP is used)

Spec wise, contrast ratio is all. Do not buy anything less than 1000:1 as the picture will look washed out. Ideally 3000:1 and better. Don't get too hung up on brightness or the "refresh rate".

Brand wise - Sony, Panasonic, Philips, LG, Samsung.

hmc

thankyou very much for replying

i wont bother with hd ready then
will just keep an eye out for best deal on a normal widescreen

just want to update my living room really and make a bit more room

thanks for explaining

Conor_3

Personally, I'd agree. Spend your money on a very good standard definition widescreen CRT. Sure, they're not as slim as a LCD/Plasma but unless you subscribe to a HD service, the picture quality will be far better. Sadly, standard definition LCD TVs are truly horrendous.

A_Nice_Englishman

I'd agree with Conor on this one. CRT will give a much better picture in your case and if you put your TV in the corner like most peope you won't gain any space by going LCD/plasma.

Oh, and as you say money is tight there are loads of people selling their old CRT's cheap having bought LCD/plasma.

You know you can get widescreen on your existing TV by selecting 4:3L under Picture Settings on your Sky box, don't you?

Finally, you won't even notice ASO (Analogue Switch Off - I think that describes what is happening more accurately than DSO oir Digital Switch Over) if you only watch via the Sky box.

350nutter

My way was to buy a non-HD ready plasma 2nd hand a few months ago. It's a Panasonic PW7 model 42" screen.Because it doesn't have the HD ready tag many 'must haves' are flogging them off to get HD TV's and preces are falling through the floor. I'm not recommending you buy this model as it's specialised which suited my application. I'm just pointing out that a 2nd hand SD panel by one of the big names may be an alternative to a CRT


With a normal TV source on my screen the picture is excellent. The HD ready TV's are reputed to be inferior at displaying a SD picture. You'll find more information and good trading forums at http://www.avforums.com

bookduck

hmc wrote: »

please
money is tight as always

should i get freeview(already get most of their channels for free anyhow)

There is a lot of hype at the moment around the current upgrade - another story to get consumers to part with their hard earned cash. I'd think twice before you buy into it.

If money is tight just wait till the tv dies, then replace it.

My mom has a normal crt tv with freeview and imho the extra channels are not that great, mostly repeats and shopping channels. Sport and !!!!!! are encrypted so you need a card slotted box to get access. All her friends tell her to get a dish as there are more channels and better programs than freeview.

All the old stuff and some new are in the narrow 4:3 format. The big gain are in modern films as you get to view more area around the actors.

I've a 32 widescreen crt TV, the auto picture changing resolution from wide to narrow during film adverts gets to me, so set it permanently to wide, this makes people look fat.

I'd still be in 2 minds whether purchasing my 32" could be justified in any way as the gain is not enough for me and if it went faulty I would not necessarily buy another.

Think London goes over to DTV in 2012, so by then all the technical stuff should have been sorted out, cheaper prices and better reliability?

hmc

thankyou everyone for your help

i understand a little better now
tv is set as someone suggested throough sky but still cuts people out o the picture sometimes

so i wont go hd route and wont bother with inbuilt freeview i reckon i get more on my sky box

just wanted to update my living room and maybe free up a little space though i know it seems mad to freecycle a perfectly good tv though it is around 7yrs old

will see if i have saved well by the sales
thanks again
helen

elektra

bookduck wrote: »

There is a lot of hype at the moment around the current upgrade - another story to get consumers to part with their hard earned cash. I'd think twice before you buy into it.

If money is tight just wait till the tv dies, then replace it.


All the old stuff and some new are in the narrow 4:3 format. The big gain are in modern films as you get to view more area around the actors.

I've a 32 widescreen crt TV, the auto picture changing resolution from wide to narrow during film adverts gets to me, so set it permanently to wide, this makes people look fat.

I'd still be in 2 minds whether purchasing my 32" could be justified in any way as the gain is not enough for me and if it went faulty I would not necessarily buy another.

Think London goes over to DTV in 2012, so by then all the technical stuff should have been sorted out, cheaper prices and better reliability?

I agree with you about being 'forced' to part with cash;. So far have resisted widescreen ( I too think people look fat), but TV is very close to being unusable so and not worth repairing(19 years old!) so will be forced to buy a new one and feel son and husband would prefer widescreen for movies especially. I don't expect any new TV to last 19 years.

A_Nice_Englishman

If people look fat in widescreen your TV is set up incorrectly.