Sony HDTV thoughts

[Neutron]

Took my wife to Circuit City today. We were looking at Sony HDTVs, as yall may know I've been shopping for one lately. She really likes the 30" and 34" CRT widescreens. What do yall think of them? I would rather have a RPTV but may have to compromise with her on this. The 30" was $899 and 34" is $1249. I would much rather get the 46" RPTV version for $1299 if I'm going to be spending that much on a TV. She is leaning more towards the 30" though. It has the HDMI port (note, adapter for DVI required) and the 34" has a regular DVI-HDCP port. The 46" has the HDMI on it as well.

What do yall think of these TVs? PQ was nice on them but again this is a single signal pumped to every tv they have in their showroom.

 

[towelie]

I have the 32" version of the sony HDTV, and I love it. It is 4:3, but letterboxed it is the same size as the 30" for widescreen (HD) programming. And SD programming is 32" as opposed to 27" (unstreched on the 30"). So, unless you want to stretch your SD programming, I would suggest the 32" or 36" over the 30" or 34". They are the same price (32/30 and 36/34), the HD programming is the same size screen, and SD programming is much larger.

 

[DarrellP]

Go with the 34", anything else in a tube is too small. The 34" will give you the same picture height as a 27" 4:3 set. If you want the absolute best in PQ, bump up to the high end Sony 34", they are more like $1900 but nothing touches their PQ.

 

[Neutron]

Well, one thing I'm getting across to her is the 30" requires the HDMI-DVI $120 adapter cable and a stand to make it look right, that's $220.

The 46" open box that CC has is a RPTV and they have it for $1249 I think. No stand required and no adapter required.

 

[Walter L.]

Well, one thing I'm getting across to her is the 30" requires the HDMI-DVI $120 adapter cable

Try one of the RAM cables ($30-$40) instead of Monster ($120):
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/DVI-hdmi_cables.html

 

[Neutron]

Thank you!! I was hoping that Monster wasn't the only company that made this.

The only monster cable I have is speaker wire, because for 50 feet it was $29.

 

[mini1]

I have a Sony HD-CRT 34" XBR Widecreen. Best TV of all time. It has the best picture quality of almost all TV's on the market, has a DVI port-as I have no need for HDMI-which most people don't who have a home theater system. It will give you MUCH better PQ then any projection. Just about the only downside, it is big and heavy. If you have the space, go for it. Please make sure to get a WIDESCEEN, and jump up to the performance XBR line if you can afford it. The extra money is fully worth it for the XBR!

 

[korsjs]

Another thing you might want to consider is getting a part time job at best buy or circuit city. You could work one to two days a week buy your tv at 10 percent above cost (that was the last i heard employee discounts are) and turn in your two weeks notice.

That is what I plan on doing sometime next year. I am thinking plasma but will most likely wind up with dlp.

 

[Neutron]

They have (CC that is) a DLP for under $2000 now. It's a 42" I believe. It's an off brand name but it looked very nice.

 

[fkostyn]

Of all the RPTVs (I have a 55" mitsu) but I LOVE the samsung DLP's - but - just can't afford one (even with my *cough* discount)

I would HIGHLY recommend a widescreen TV whichever way you decide to go. Believe it or not - even with the 4x3 picture stretched - you do get used to it after a while and it doesn't look so bad.

 

[imstriker]

I have a Phillips 30". It was the perfect size for my room, and I am very happy with it. 34" might have been better, but not for my money. I can not speak to the Sony part, but I love my 30" widescreen in general. BTW, the new Samsung widescreens with built-in HD tuners seem to be hitting the street. They look like nice sets.

 

[slacker9876]

While I see this may be to large and/or pricey, this CRT RPTV is a STEAL at this price. I know of one person with an Elite and it produces the most accurate color I have ever seen.

As far as TV's I would say Sony is #2 behind the Elite series. Unless I decide to buy this Elite ... I'll end up with a 57" Sony. FWIW, it is just my opinion.

 

[DarrellP]

Neutron, keep in mind with an RPTV you have a very narrow window of viewing the optimal picture. They produce "hot spotting" as well. If you need to be off axis to the left or right very far, go with a tube.

 

[Neutron]

Well, just got back home from Circuit City. I got the 30" Sony Wega HDTV Widescreen. It does have the HDMI port so I will be getting an adapter for my HTL-HD. It looked tiny in the store but upon bringing it home it looks huge. Well, it's still in the box as I will have to wait until tomorrow to hook everything up. I have to go to work at 4pm tonight My normal shift anyway.

It was $899 and I got CC's 3 year warranty for $150.

It was a tough choice between that one and the open box 34" Sony they had for $1269, but my wife capped my spending limit to $1300 and with tax that would have put it over, plus I wouldnt have been able to get the warranty since it was $350 anyway. The labor warranty from Sony is only 3 months. That kinda scared me.

Thanks to all who gave me their opinions! Now to get used to not having a RPTV....

 

[dcbag]

Nearly all women will pick the smaller set. I know you all will not agree with me, but if my wife told me what to do, or what I could or could not do, I wouldn't tell anyone. But then I guess that because I'm a old guy. I don't tell her what to buy and she doesn't tell me. Looking at a 30" widescreen must be like looking at a 20" regular set. I guess you guys with these must set real close. Anyway don't mean any harm by my comments, enjoy what you got, before long you will be wishing you got a larger set.

 

[Neutron]

Well, I think of it this way. I can either deal with the smaller set, and get along with the wife, or get the larger set and deal with her griping. It's not that I don't have the b*lls to stand up to her, but compromising is a strong point in a marriage. She's been through my getting the home theatre stuff before. She compromised on her washer and dryer since we got screwed on our property taxes when we sold the house. I figured compromising wouldn't be so bad since she already did it.

Our living room is small, so the 30" shouldn't be so bad. I will actually compare it to a 32" standard TV as far as wide size.

 

[dcbag]

You're right, I understand. When I replaced my 46" regular set with a wide screen I had to go up to a 55" to keep the same height on the screen. Enjoy, & don't let an old guy like me bug you.