Question about HDTV

[J. J. Jameson]

I'm a total n00b at HD and I'm looking to buy a small set for my bedroom, just to watch some DVDs and OTA programming. I'm on a really limited budget here, and I had a good set picked out...19" and everything, then they raised the price on the day I went to buy it

Anyway, I'd be suited (I guess) with a smaller set. My main choice is here:

http://circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=175557

So, experienced HDTV owners...yay or nay? Will it work for what I want it for? The main thing that has me a tad worried is the 400:1 contrast ratio. But is a smaller contrast ratio okay for a smaller set?

Help please

 

[KALEL114]

Well you get what you pay for. If you check the reviews on the site you linked, it seems like a good match for your needs. 400:1 is not that great, but for casual viewing and it having a small screen, it shouldn't matter. For about $80.00 more you can get a bigger screen and double the contrast here.

http://circuitcity.com/ssm/Polaroid...80272/catOid/-12869/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

The reviews are equal to one you were looking at. Before buying from any retailer, check online stores first. You will most likely get more for your money.
Hope this helps.

 

[J. J. Jameson]

Well, taking KALEL's advice, I'm going for a better set. I got some more money, so I can go bigger and better. I have it narrowed down between these two TV's.

SAMSUNG 19" LCD HDTV
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Spec...7/rpem/ccd/productDetailSpecification.do#tabs

MAGNAVOX 19" LCD HDTV
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8209422&type=product&id=1165610938710&ref=06&loc=01

Both have the same features, essentially. So which would any of you recommend?

 

[KALEL114]

Samsung is the way to go. They seem to be doing everything right when it comes to TV's lately. Which ever one you get, let me know how it goes.

 

[J. J. Jameson]

Samsung is the way to go. They seem to be doing everything right when it comes to TV's lately. Which ever one you get, let me know how it goes.

Well, last night I order the Samsung from Amazon.com and got free two day shipping because of a free Amazon Prime membership trial that I've been saving. So it should be here on Friday at the latest. I agree, I was leaning towards the Samsung both because it looks great and because it's a good, trusted, well-known brand.

Along with the TV, I ordered an HDMI cable to make sure I can take full advantage of the HD capabilities.

I also am picking up an upconvert DVD player from Wal-Mart very soon...possibly Friday or Monday. ANYTHING is better than the $25 dollar thing that I have now . I'm very excited to watch my favorite movies in HD! (Spider-Man 2.1 anyone?)

Thanks for all your help and I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[jaguarr]

Samsung makes great televisions, so I'm sure you'll be happy with your purchase.

jag

 

[KALEL114]

Well, last night I order the Samsung from Amazon.com and got free two day shipping because of a free Amazon Prime membership trial that I've been saving. So it should be here on Friday at the latest. I agree, I was leaning towards the Samsung both because it looks great and because it's a good, trusted, well-known brand.

Along with the TV, I ordered an HDMI cable to make sure I can take full advantage of the HD capabilities.

I also am picking up an upconvert DVD player from Wal-Mart very soon...possibly Friday or Monday. ANYTHING is better than the $25 dollar thing that I have now . I'm very excited to watch my favorite movies in HD! (Spider-Man 2.1 anyone?)

Thanks for all your help and I'll let you know how it goes!

No prob. Congrats on the purchases. Yeah, let me know how it all looks.

 

[J. J. Jameson]

Okay, got my TV today. And a Philips upconvert DVD player and a HDMI cable. So hooked everything up, popped in S-M2 into the DVD player. The pictures good, but I notice it seems...grainy. Like, in dark areas, it looks kind of snowy. I messed with the settings and it got better, but it's still there. I'm using that HDMI cable, but the DVD player manual says I need to use component cables to use the progressive scan feature of my DVD player. So I'm wondering, will Component cables take care of that grainy issue, or should I just continue to work with the settings?

EDIT: Seems to be better. I messed with the settings and finally struck gold. So that's resolved. Only other thing that is noteworthy is a tad bit of back light bleeding. Very minor, and it doesn't really bug me. However, I am new to this, so is there any danger of the bleed getting worse and/or destroying my tv set?

 

[KALEL114]

Backlight bleedthrough is a design issue for certain models of LCD panels. Not really anything you can do to get rid of it. It can get worse. What kind of warranty do you have? If an extended one, maybe wait and see if it gets worse. If not you can always call and have another one sent. But, if it does not bother you to bad, just wait and see.

 

[J. J. Jameson]

Backlight bleedthrough is a design issue for certain models of LCD panels. Not really anything you can do to get rid of it. It can get worse. What kind of warranty do you have? If an extended one, maybe wait and see if it gets worse. If not you can always call and have another one sent. But, if it does not bother you to bad, just wait and see.

It's just the standard 1 year Parts/Labor warranty that came with the TV. The bleeding issue isn't really not that bad. I hardly noticed it this morning. So what would you suggest? If it is going to get worse, any idea of how long before I'd start to see a definite increase in it?

EDIT: Did more research...seems backlight bleeding is quite common among LCD TVs/Monitors. I also read that you'd be hard pressed to find an LCD that doesn't have some sort of bleeding. So apparently, this isn't rare. I think I'll be fine with it, seeing as I already don't notice it.

I was watching the Incredibles on it last night and it looks AMAZING. The detail is astounding and it shocks me to see how much detail you're missing on a standard TV. With HD, it's like the person is standing right there in the room with you! I'm very happy with my purchase...I think. The backlight bleeding is tempting me to try out the Magnavox...

 

[J. J. Jameson]

Well, I've decided to return the TV, mainly because of backlight bleeding. And also because I felt it wasn't worth the money. So I'm back with my tiny little 13" Magnavox CRT. *Shrugs* It'll work for my bedroom. On the positive side, now I've got all that extra cash to spend...hehe.

 

[KALEL114]

Well, I've decided to return the TV, mainly because of backlight bleeding. And also because I felt it wasn't worth the money. So I'm back with my tiny little 13" Magnavox CRT. *Shrugs* It'll work for my bedroom. On the positive side, now I've got all that extra cash to spend...hehe.

Well if your ever in the market again and have a question, just PM me. Good luck.