Hey guys, my 27" TV crapped out on me and I want to make the move to an HDTV. Why did I post this HERE? Because I'm guessing that if a lot of you drive 03/04 Cobras, you're more prone to be well-off (or less after your car payments--hahaha don't flame 
) and the probability of you owning an HDTV is higher. 
First off, I'd REALLY love to get a huge LCD HDTV but that's out because I can only afford a small one at this point. I'm a poor college student (disregard the AFR heads). Plasma displays are out of the picture not only due to their price, but also for being susceptible to burn-in. 
But OMG, the picture... I've also read extremely good things about DLP sets but those may be out of my league too...at least the larger models. 
So here's the thing. My car needs a clutch--I'm going to order a SPEC Stage 2 shortly and that'll take care of that, but it'll also drain me. I've got debt from a divorce to pay down so obviously I need to keep it reasonable. I'm mainly looking for a nice CRT-based set that's at around 27". Unfortunately, that is the biggest size my TV stand will hold, but I guess considering my budget that's OK. I will sacrifice size for quality of course (to a reasonable extent; I don't want a 13" LCD HDTV even though that's in my price range).
Flame away, but I've always had good luck with Sanyo TV's. I've had at least 4 in solid operation for years between my friends/family, and a TON when I worked at Wal-Mart (no comments plz, we have to start somewhere). Apex is another one I've seen with a high uptime (in my experience I might have seen 1-2 fail) but yes, I know some of their DVD players suck. Maybe it's hit or miss with Apex. Apex & Sanyo are fairly inexpensive--and I've seen at dozens in operation with a very low failure rate. I assume Panasonic is also good, but pricier. And of course Sony Vegas but I've heard mixed things about them (great picture, but pricey and some models not reliable).
Sorry for the long post but I don't want to rush into buying a crappy set that I'll regret owning. I will NOT buy one without seeing a demo model in person--although I know the lighting and configuration in stores is far from optimal--and I'll try to get it from a place with a decent return policy. It would be NICE to find a great set that was last year's model and on clearance...and save a bundle on an excellent set.
Also, the question at hand is this: if an HDTV supports 1080i, does it support the modes with less resolution as well? I think 480 and 720, is that right? And yes, I know you have to have a signal that supports those modes in order for the TV to display it. I thought it would be easier/quicker to ask the owners of these sets rather than make an extra trip to the store and ask an associate to crack the box open for the manual.
Thoughts? I appreciate any advice. Keep in mind my budget. I know I could save up for a better set but I'd like one very soon. A quality one reliable enough to get me out of college unless I get my debt paid off and stumble into some money before then. Dad says since I need a clutch I can charge a TV on his CC and make the payments. Mmmm...$7000 HDTV...no, I don't need any more debt. I realize how incredibly STUPID that would be.
Thanks to those of you who chose to suffer all the way thru my post.
) and the probability of you owning an HDTV is higher. First off, I'd REALLY love to get a huge LCD HDTV but that's out because I can only afford a small one at this point. I'm a poor college student (disregard the AFR heads
). Plasma displays are out of the picture not only due to their price, but also for being susceptible to burn-in. But OMG, the picture... I've also read extremely good things about DLP sets but those may be out of my league too...at least the larger models. So here's the thing. My car needs a clutch--I'm going to order a SPEC Stage 2 shortly and that'll take care of that, but it'll also drain me. I've got debt from a divorce to pay down so obviously I need to keep it reasonable. I'm mainly looking for a nice CRT-based set that's at around 27". Unfortunately, that is the biggest size my TV stand will hold, but I guess considering my budget that's OK. I will sacrifice size for quality of course (to a reasonable extent; I don't want a 13" LCD HDTV even though that's in my price range).
Flame away, but I've always had good luck with Sanyo TV's. I've had at least 4 in solid operation for years between my friends/family, and a TON when I worked at Wal-Mart (no comments plz, we have to start somewhere). Apex is another one I've seen with a high uptime (in my experience I might have seen 1-2 fail) but yes, I know some of their DVD players suck. Maybe it's hit or miss with Apex. Apex & Sanyo are fairly inexpensive--and I've seen at dozens in operation with a very low failure rate. I assume Panasonic is also good, but pricier. And of course Sony Vegas but I've heard mixed things about them (great picture, but pricey and some models not reliable).
Sorry for the long post but I don't want to rush into buying a crappy set that I'll regret owning. I will NOT buy one without seeing a demo model in person--although I know the lighting and configuration in stores is far from optimal--and I'll try to get it from a place with a decent return policy. It would be NICE to find a great set that was last year's model and on clearance...and save a bundle on an excellent set.
Also, the question at hand is this: if an HDTV supports 1080i, does it support the modes with less resolution as well? I think 480 and 720, is that right? And yes, I know you have to have a signal that supports those modes in order for the TV to display it.
I thought it would be easier/quicker to ask the owners of these sets rather than make an extra trip to the store and ask an associate to crack the box open for the manual.Thoughts? I appreciate any advice. Keep in mind my budget. I know I could save up for a better set but I'd like one very soon. A quality one reliable enough to get me out of college unless I get my debt paid off and stumble into some money before then. Dad says since I need a clutch I can charge a TV on his CC and make the payments. Mmmm...$7000 HDTV...no, I don't need any more debt. I realize how incredibly STUPID that would be.
Thanks to those of you who chose to suffer all the way thru my post.
