New TV...questions for the tech dudes
 

Ok, I'm so fucking out of the loop, haven't bought a tv since like 1992. Doing alot of research, lemme see if I got this right:

1080p is overkill right now because nobody broadcasts at that resolution yet (bandwidth concerns)?

I know that blueray/hd dvd are 1080p but I don't own a player or plan on getting one.

All the tvs in my price range seem to be 720p, or smaller screen 1080p. Is there a major, noticable difference between the 2 resolutions?

I dig those phillips tv's with the rounded edges, do they make decent stuff?

I have a 1080p Plama. I'm no expert but this is what I know:

My HD box from my cable company broadcasts 1080i and sometimes smaller. The i is interlaced.

You will want a blue ray one day, just get the 1080p. :)

Hi Jollyperv,

Do this:

Buy a TV with 1080p support. Even though there's not much software for it yet, its coming. The price difference between 1080p and 1080i is minor at this point, and there is a BIG difference between them.

There is almost no difference now between Plasma and LCD, but Plasma still offers better color and better "black" levels (the color black is actually blacker than an LCD screen which can appear grey, on cheaper sets anyway).

Buy the biggest TV you can afford or that will fit into your living room. You won't regret it. I have a 52" Plasma (Panasonic) at home that I've had for years now and I still love it.

All TV's have at least 1 HDMI interface. You WANT this. When you buy your Blueray DVD player or HD Satelite system, connect it to the HDMI interface. Don't waste your time using anything else.

Finally, last bit of advice. Treat yourself to an XBOX 360 with the HD option pack, and buy the games Halo 3 and GTA 4. You will NEVER leave your couch again. Of course your girlfriend will dump you but you know what? you won't care. You'll be in TV / Video game heaven.

Enjoy!

Yes, except HD is dead. So buy a PS3 with Metal Gear Solid 4, and use it as your blueray player and also to stream media from your computers. :)

By "HD option pack" I think he means the particular model that has the HDMI output. Not all of them do.

An who cares if HDDVD is dead. You can pick up the players for under $50 and I've been buying the movies for under $10 each. There are almost 400 HDDVD titles. I think I just broke the 100 mark. Even bought two more of the HDDVD players and put them in the attic.

Spend the cash on lots of poo instead... I would

Can't he make his own at no extra cost?

I don't mean the HD version of the CD player on the XBOX 360, I mean the HD option that includes the HDMI cable and connector so you can play XBox360 games in HD.

HD DVD is dead of course. Go blueray. But don't buy the PS3 just because it has a blueray player. I've tried both game consoles and prefer the XBOX360.