[Eric5676]

I'm looking at upgrading from a lowly 32 inch Zenith HD CRT tube, the c32v37.

My viewing distance is negotiable and flexible.

On one hand, I'm seriously considering the Sony KD-34XBR960, a reference widescreen HD Tube that would give me arguably one of the best PQ's on the market and give me 5-6 more inches on widescreen material.  (Especially if I  splurge for an ISF job.)

The other consideration is: DLP, LCD, and LCOS and the 1080p ready displays coming out in the Fall from several different companies.

I tend to play my hand fairly conservatively when it comes to electronics. I know each of the new techs has its ups and downs, and even the CRT tubes do, but I know I'm in "safe harbor" if I stick with tube and go with the XBR960. I'm spoiled by the PQ that a good-great CRT tube can give me and that's going to be my litmus test going out for anything else.

I feel fairly overwhelmed with the display market right now, in general. If you go to forums like AVS, you quickly become dismayed when you start reading bug threads about any number of the new techs. Rainbows, Screen door effect, audio-video lag, burn-in, lightbulbs, and so on.  

So...this is just kind of a wide open post and all thoughts, inputs, and opinions are greatly appreciated.

ALL options are on the table.

 

[Jon L]

If your current TV still works, I would wait another year or two.  We are at the crossroads into new displays that will do 1080p.  I would hate to spend $$ now on a 720p or 1080i TV just to find my set "obsolete" in a year by 1080p.  

Frankly, I have my doubts about whether 1080p will have any visible superiority over 1080i, especially since my 60" 1080i Sony RPLCD looks sooooo magical on HD material, but who knows..

Oh, as far as bulb issue with Sony, it's been fixed long ago with a different bulb manufacturer, and it was only a problem for GWIII sets built somewhere before March/April 2004...

[Eric5676]

If your current TV still works, I would wait another year or two.  We are at the crossroads into new displays that will do 1080p.  I would hate to spend $$ now on a 720p or 1080i TV just to find my set "obsolete" in a year by 1080p.  

Frankly, I have my doubts about whether 1080p will have any visible superiority over 1080i, especially since my 60" 1080i Sony RPLCD looks sooooo magical on HD material, but who knows..

I would suspect 1080i-1080p would be equal to a 480i to 480p jump.

[Carlman]

I don't know about all the p's and i's but I do know that you should be sure all the equipment you're attaching to it should match.  I have a 46" 'tabletop' Sony HD RPTV that's great.  I bought a new DVR but it doesn't have the same resolution.  I think I have 1080i and the DVR only does 480i or p.  So, nothing really 'fits' perfectly when watching the DVR.  Plus, I hate that damn DVR.  It's a Panasonic and it just sucks in every conceivable way.. I digress..

The Sony RPTV was a smart choice... It was about 1600 including stand, taxes, additional profit warranty, etc.  If my wife hadn't insisted on the widescreen, we could've gotten the 41" 4:3 for a little over a thousand.  Since 95%+ of all material on TV is 4:3 or non-HD, it made more sense to me.

Anyway, the HD Sony looks like a picture on my wall when viewing HD recorded material.  And, with a good DVD player, it looks really nice as well.  

I have my TV in a corner and there's nowhere to put a projector in my room.  

Good luck with whatever you choose.. but if it were me, I'd stick with what you have if there's no problem to resolve.

-C

[Eric5676]

I don't know about all the p's and i's but I do know that you should be sure all the equipment you're attaching to it should match.  I have a 46" 'tabletop' Sony HD RPTV that's great.  I bought a new DVR but it doesn't have the same resolution.  I think I have 1080i and the DVR only does 480i or p.  So, nothing really 'fits' perfectly when watching the DVR.  Plus, I hate that damn DVR.  It's a Panasonic and it just sucks in every conceivable way.. I digress..

The Sony RPTV was a smart choice... It was abut 1600 including stand, taxes, additional profit warranty, etc. If my wife hadn't insisted on the widescreen, we could've gotten the 41" 4:3 for a little over a thousand. Since 95%+ of all material on TV is 4:3 or non-HD, it made more sense to me.

Anyway, the HD Sony looks like a picture on my wall when viewing HD recorded material. And, with a good DVD player, it looks really nice as well.

I have my TV in a corner and there's nowhere to put a projector in my room.

Good luck with whatever you choose.. but if it were me, I'd stick with what you have if there's no problem to resolve.

The TV I have now is a Zenith c32v37 32 inch 4:3 set. It's ok for what it is, but I'd like to have a bigger and better widescreen picture.

If stay "conservative":  Even jumping to the Sony XBR960 would be 5-6 extra inches on 16:9 material, which would be huge since right now my 16:9 material is about the equivalent of a 28 inch WS,  and we're just talking about a big difference in overall quality all the way around.

The Zenith is B tier. It's as simple as that. The TV does have some annoying bugs and issues that I've tolerated and that I know I wouldn't see on something like the Sony XBR.

Hindsight being 20-20: I should have saved for a few months, even if it meant no TV at all, and bought the XBR960 a year ago.

The Zenith was an impulse buy over a year ago because I got bit by the HD bug and "had to have it now" after seeing the Super Bowl in HD at a friend's house. Funds were very limited.  

I know it won't take much for me to get an appreciable upgrade from the Zenith. I just want to do it right.  

[bubba966]

If PQ is tops on your list, the 960 is gonna be really hard to beat. I've only yet seen one set that did have a better picture, and that was a 30"  Loewe Articos. Unfortunately Loewe no longer has a US distributor. Finding one wouldn't be easy. And it was a good deal more expensive than the Sony is.

[fabaudio]

Q-BanditZ
 
 If Carlman has what I think it is it's the model I recommended yesterday to my daughter - SONY KP46WT520. For what it's worth keep in mind that I'm the kind of guy who won't buy chewing gum without doing extensive research
 BTW the AVS forum can only be taken in homeopathic doses or it will drive you insane.

[Eric5676]

Q-BanditZ
 
 If Carlman has what I think it is it's the model I recommended yesterday to my daughter - SONY KP46WT520. For what it's worth keep in mind that I'm the kind of guy who won't buy chewing gum without doing extensive research

Then you and I understand each other well.

 BTW the AVS forum can only be taken in homeopathic doses or it will drive you insane.

Yes, I'm learning that very quickly. Good place and some good people there, but you can just get downright swamped after a point.

[Carlman]

If Carlman has what I think it is it's the model I recommended yesterday to my daughter - SONY KP46WT520.

That's it... we bought it when it was a brand new model.  It's a great set, we've had it about a year I think.  No problems or complaints.  knock, knock...  

When I saw this particular Sony, the PQ was just better than everything else I could compare, even on non-HD.  I played with settings on all the other models I could at Best Buy and CC... and a local hifi chain... and I just kept coming back to this one.  It's also got a better remote than what I'm used to getting with Sony's.

[Eric5676]

If Carlman has what I think it is it's the model I recommended yesterday to my daughter - SONY KP46WT520.

That's it... we bought it when it was a brand new model.  It's a great set, we've had it about a year I think.  No problems or complaints.  knock, knock...  

When I saw this particular Sony, the PQ was just better than everything else I could compare, even on non-HD.  I played with settings on all the other models I could at Best Buy and CC... and a local hifi chain... a ...

I'll have to check it out.  

Edit: I ordered the Sony 34XBR960 from Crutchfield this morning. I'm excited! It's great to finally make a decision and get it done! Whew!