HT Upgrade

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  • 11-30-2005, 10:53 AM
    lbrande
    HT Upgrade
    Hi all,

    I am upagrading my HT system from the dish to the TV this year, and the problem that I have is that I did not keep up with the state of the technology for the past 5 years.

    What I will require is a Satellite tuner for HD (1080p if available) 60+ inch HD TV and more than likely a processor that has 1080p. The DVD player will be replaced, but only after the 1080p becomes available. I would prefer digital/HDMI/DVI connectores where possible.

    I would appreciate your input in order to make my selections. Price is not as much a concern as quality.

    Thanks,
    Lew
  • 11-30-2005, 11:06 AM
    topspeed
    1080p monitors are already available from Mits (DLP), Samsung (DLP), Sony (SXRD/LCoS), and JVC (DILA/LCoS). Hitachi will be releasing their 1080p LCoS set any day now and I'm sure Toshiba and LG aren't far behind. All of these manufacturers have sets over 60" to meet your size needs and I believe all have hdmi connections as that is the recognized standard (can 1080p even be transmitted via component?).

    The hot brands for each technology are:
    DLP: Mits, LG & Samsung (questionable quality tho)
    LCD: Toshiba, Hitachi, Sony
    Plasma: Pioneer, Panasonic
    LCoS: JVC, Sony
    Do a quick search on this forum for the pros and cons of each technology. This will give you a basic idea of what might be best for your application. Naturally, spend some time auditioning each technology and pick whatever looks best to you.

    I'm not sure when the sat companies are going to release 1080p HD, but I've heard rumors of Spring '06. Of course, this really means the 4th quarter is more likely :rolleyes:. You'll be able to buy BluRay players as soon as Spring '06. Quality software is another thing entirely.

    Edyct is our local HD guru now, so you might PM him if he doesn't chime in on this thread.

    Hope this helps.
  • 11-30-2005, 01:34 PM
    edtyct
    Lew,

    TP gave you the basic lowdown on the available, or impending, sets. I can give you a litte more detailed information about the whys and wherefores concerning 1080p. Being by nature a lazy sod, I'm going to plagiarize a large part of a recent post of mine.

    1080p is cool, and it is inevitable. Nevertheless, it doesn't have absolute value. First, not many 1080p displays currently available or planned can actually accept 1080p through their video inputs. The fact that no 1080p source material exists yet doesn't mean that this is an idle point; a set that can scale to 1080p but not accept already scaled 1080p is missing out. Some of the better outboard processors--the DVDO iscan, for example--offer much better scaling/deinterlacing than a display itself can. Advanced 2:3 pulldown, edge filtering, and motion detection would be able to refine the displays that scale to 1080p, especially the larger screens, if these displays could accept their signals. Scaling and deinterlacing are extremely delicate, artful . . . and imperfect under the best conditons. It just isn't realistic to expect a 480i ugly duckling analog TV broadcast to transform easily into a 1080p swan, but the most expensive and elaborate processing can make a difference. As 1080p becomes more popular, and mainsteam sets gain access to it externally, ever-more sophisticated processing will trickle down to the 1080p sets. This is a new frontier. Sony's $10,000 SXRD front projector will input 1080p at 50/60 fps now. Others will follow suit. But for most people with typical bank accounts, viewing preferences, and living conditions, this might not be the best year to pursue 1080p, but it ain't my call.

    The second caveat about 1080p is that not every environment will benefit from it, even when all of the conditions of the last paragraph are met. In order to actually see a 1080p resolution on a 42" display, a viewer has to be about 5 ft. away; on a 52" display about 7 ft. away; and so forth. Moreover, from that vantage, low-resolution programming scaled to 1080p could look wretched. The point is that 1080p makes the most sense on a large screen showing mainly progressive ED and HD material at a comfortable viewing distance. If you can't manage the right screen size for your seating, you might be wasting money, unless bragging rights were important, or you were willing to scale down your home theater, which might at the very least wreak havoc with your audio.

    If you're in the market for a 1080p set that isn't limited to 1080i input, you might have to wait, at least for an adequate selection from which to choose. If, however, you need/want a new TV now, you might as well get a good one that scales to 1080p--assuming that your room and your budget can handle it; after all, none of the alternatives with native 720p can input 1080p either. But do consider first whether it makes sense in your case. If it does, and money is no object, the Sony SXRD (LCoS) 60" XBR1 may well be the one to get. JVC beat Sony to the punch in bringing LCoS to the market, but the newer JVCs, as good as they are, may be too bright for many environments, impairing their ability to produce a convincing black. They also appear to produce a softer look.

    This is a complicated issue, and a lot of factors come to bear on it. You'll have to a little homework about your environment and some soul searching about how much money your're willing to spend, as well as how long you're willing to stick with any purchase now that isn't everything that you'd hoped it would be.

    Ed
  • 11-30-2005, 04:02 PM
    lbrande
    Ed,
    Thanks for the response. My room is 27ft long, and 18 ft wide. The viewers are 18 feet from the screen (wife's choice). Most of my viewing is DVD, with some ESPN/Center Ice, very little standard broadcast.
    The first item for replacement is my main/center channel speakers, which are 28 years old (ESS AMT1B, and Monitor Audio Silver Center 5yrs). The pre/pro and amp are 4 yrs old, while the pre/pro was just upgraded.
    I can wait until the DVD-TV-and Satellite components agree on the standards.
    Lew
  • 11-30-2005, 05:35 PM
    edtyct
    They may never agree on standards, for all sorts of reasons. By any standard, however, your room screams for a large display--the obvious choice being front projection, though it's not for everyone. You'll have to make some decisons about what kind of HT you want.

    Ed
  • 12-06-2005, 10:44 PM
    westcott
    I agree with edtyct.

    You are really better off waiting for 1080p material to become available and this could be some time now. The initial release of the Playstation, HD DVD, BluRay, etc. will not support 1080p initially.

    It will take even longer for recording cameras and editing equipment to be manufactured to even produce 1080p material.

    You will defineately want HDMI over any other input for long term solutions. It is capable of carrying higher resolution signals and will probably become the standard due to copyright protection implementations by the hardware mfgs and film studios.

    I would suggest an inexpensive 1280 x 720 front projector to get you by for the next year or so and if you decide you want to upgrade when 1080p material actually becomes readily available over the air, via sat or cable, or from NetFlix, then you can sell your unit and place the proceeds toward a new 1080p unit that will actually accept a 1080p signal!!!

    By then, they may actually make a unit that does so.