37 inch LCD recommendations

[daviethek]

I must be the last person in Westmoreland County to buy a flat panel, but here goes.

I am interested in a 37 inch. It seems to the the perfect size for my family room. What I am concerned about is how the tv might display old video material. Is there a set that clearly has an advantage in terms of processing technology in the display of non HD program material? Also, in my investigations, I have observed that nearly all the off-brand TV's just don't look as well as the top 4 or 5 units. Any suggestions?

Mille Grazie, dk

[Groundbeef]

I must be the last person in Westmoreland County to buy a flat panel, but here goes.

I am interested in a 37 inch. It seems to the the perfect size for my family room. What I am concerned about is how the tv might display old video material. Is there a set that clearly has an advantage in terms of processing technology in the display of non HD program material? Also, in my investigations, I have observed that nearly all the off-brand TV's just don't look as well as the top 4 or 5 units. Any suggestions?

Mille Grazie, dk

Where is Westmoreland? I have both a 37" and a 50" plasma. 37" is one of the last that Sony made. The 50" is Pioneer, and you can really tell the difference in technology. The 37 is nearly 4 years old, the 50 is just under 1 year.

Picture quality is great for both, but the "Black" is much "Blacker" on the 50". The problem with buying, is what is on in the store, usually is in HD. I would request that they show you SD programming so you are not suprised at the difference in quality. SD tends to look pretty crappy on flat screens unless the TV does a good job converting the signal.

Also, if you are really sure 37 is the right size, don't change your mind in the store. A 37 in the store will look puny compared to even a 42 or 45. They are MUCH bigger when you get home.

Take your time, and good luck!

[pixelthis]

I must be the last person in Westmoreland County to buy a flat panel, but here goes.

I am interested in a 37 inch. It seems to the the perfect size for my family room. What I am concerned about is how the tv might display old video material. Is there a set that clearly has an advantage in terms of processing technology in the display of non HD program material? Also, in my investigations, I have observed that nearly all the off-brand TV's just don't look as well as the top 4 or 5 units. Any suggestions?

Mille Grazie, dk

my Visio has a pretty nice scaler, forget who makes it but it starts with a D, and that
is going to make most of the difference, how your TV scales a standard def picture to
its native resolution.
On mine digital TV seems to fare better, guess it has less noise, analog cable is almost
unwatchable, so I watch my stuff through a digital cable box.
A lot of this is that you get "used" to digital or HDTV, so when you watch "standard"
you see the warts that your brain used to filter out.
Watching TV with 380 lines of resolution was fine when EVERYTHING was like that , in comparison to the new resolutions I'm afraid that a lot of standard def stuff is going to look pretty bad.
Some hi-def dvd watchers are already claiming that its hard to go back to DVD after watching BLU-RAY or HDDVD.
This is also why I dont watch much dvd anymore, HDTV is just so much better:1:

[pixelthis]

Anyway for what its worth I reccomend LCD, sony if you can afford it, Visio if you cant.
LCD lasts longer and while the black level is played up by some the truth is that, Plasma or LCD, most of the new formats will have less black level than CRT.
LCD is also easier to handle, cheaper, and glare free, great for family rooms:1: