Opinions on HDTV`s - Tube`s to be exact

[Whitethunder46]

I`ve been doing some research on TV`s. First off, I`m going to be having basic cable, so the HD I do receive will be over the air.



I`m debating between:



1.) 27" Samsung 4:3 screen HDTV Slimfit (CRT) - $521.99

2.) 30" Samsung 16:9; HDTV Slimfit (CRT) - $598.99

3.) 32" Samsung LCD (Latest model) - $986.79

4.) 32" LG LCD - $899.99





My main question: For those of you who have or have seen CRT TV`s that are HD compatible, is the HD pretty good?



I know the LCD will offer a much better picture with HD, but it`s only going to be over the air so I won`t have that much HD channels to begin with.

And also, I don`t know if I want/can spend that much on a TV.



The TV`s are ranked in order of the most likely I would get.

[imported_themightytimmah]

You`re making a good choice going with Samsung - we just bought a 42" plasma of theirs (1200 at BJ`s, deal of the century) and it is a world-beater. I`d stay away from the LG, a friend of mine has one of their LCD TV`s and we joke that it stands for "Low Grade".



My advice: get the 16:9 CRT. I`ve never been sold on LCDs, it`s either CRT or Plasma as far as I`m concerned.



P.S. The 4:3 TV is nice for now, but you`ll regret it in a year or so. I find that I watch far more HDTV than regular, and we only get 14 HD channels.

[Whitethunder46]

Let me add this. I`m only a college student, so $1000 is my absolute max budget.



I`m leaning towards the 30" CRT HD I think.

[imported_Frugle]

As long as you have your TV set up properly, LCD is absolutely incredible... i`ve seen a bunch LCDs that just look like crap, but I promise that is only because of the wrong setting.



My uncle bought a samsung 46" LCD HD 1080i TV, out of the box it looked like crap. it took me probably 5 minutes to figure out that it was looking at the wrong signal, and the several other things were off.. but once we had it looking in the right direction,



I have never seen something so beautiful in my life.. a plasma has never come close to looking that good... a lot of plasmas have a ghosting problem, especially after a couple of years.. (Keep in mind a plasmas life is only 6 years) and it just looks like crap.





LCDs don`t have the same lifespan problems, they don`t burn in as fast, and they dont` ghost.. they look twice as good, and their brightness is much greater.



my next TV will be an LCD TV.







that being said. do NOT waste your money on a TV while in college. do you really need a flat panel TV in your dorm? books are expensive, tuition is expensive, cars are expensive, gas is expensive... there are so many other things that you could use that 400 dollars on that i PROMISE will be more beneficial than getting a flat panel just becuase it is cool.



if you have the space, buy the CRT and wait 4 years for LCDs and plasmas to be just as cheap as a reagular TV (in I think 2008 all manufactures are required by law to have every single model of TV HD compatable. soo, that will make HD mainstream bringing the prices way down)

[Whitethunder46]

It`s an apartment.

[mrzeee]

CRT(Tube) HDTV is very underrated...And IIRC, they still produce the deepest blacks, the technology although "old" makes it a very know/proven commodity...Biggest drawback is that they are bulky and heavy..my vote for you would be #2

[Joshua312]

I bought an LCD TV within the past month, I hated it. Probably because I couldnt afford a $600 one and we don`t have HDTV. So I ended up selling it and purchasing the 27" Samsung SDTV Slimfit (CRT) for around $400 and I absolutely love it. If you can get your hands on the HDTV model definitely go for it, it is a great looking both the unit itself and the picture. The Turbo Sound option is pretty cool as well if gaming. I`ll take a picture of my setup

[Whitethunder46]

I`m going for the 30" 16:9 slimfit HD model. This way when I receive HD signals over the air, the picture won`t shrink going into a 27" 4:3 TV. I didn`t think of this.



I plan on getting the Samsung HD tuner receiver and a 5.1 Samsung or sony surround system as well after a few months of being settled in the apartment.

[TortoiseAWD]

I`m going for the 30" 16:9 slimfit HD model. This way when I receive HD signals over the air, the picture won`t shrink going into a 27" 4:3 TV. I didn`t think of this.On the other hand, CRTs are vulnerable to burn-in . . . if most of your viewing will be standard-def 4:3, you`ll either have to stretch the picture, or deal with black bars on the sides (which could cause burn-in). If most of your viewing will be widescreen, or you can live with a stretched 4:3 image, it`s not an issue.



Just another something to think about . . .



Tort

[Autoeng]

I would suggest visiting Home Theater Forum (http://www.hometheaterforum.com) and AVS Forum - Home (http://www.avsforum.com) as you can read some reviews and get some really good advice.

[imported_hooked]

To expand on what Tortoise said... 30" 16:9 screen for regular tv (4:3) is going to translate to something like a 26" picture because you will lose the sides to letterboxing. Otherwise, the image will be stretched out so Heidi Klum might look like Kirstie Allie.

[DETAILKING]

CRT sets typically have the best picture but are big and bulky. In a smaller tv like a 32-36" all technologies will look good. You start seeing the difference when you get up to 50" or so......



Pick your set according to your viewing distance.........tv should be your view distance in inches divided by 2 to 2.5

[Whitethunder46]

The floor plan for my apartment is this:



http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13/carolinaheels42/FloorPlan.gif



I don`t have any dimensions, but the entire apt. is only 625 sq ft.

From memory, I`d say the distance from where I would be sitting to a TV would be around 18 feet.



Because I`m going to be watching 85% standard def TV, I think I may just go with the 27" slim fit and then get an over the air HD receiver for those few shows/channels I can get.