TOSHIBA JUST DROPPED HD DVD!

[STORY_TELLER]

Do you guys have anything better to argue about, like politics or religion?

This is safer. Haven't heard of bombs being dropped over television technology (yet), have you?

[STORY_TELLER]

Here's one for you..read it hard.. Burn in not a problem anymore..! http://reviews.cnet.com/4351-12658_7-6583301.html

Oh my fucking GOD... LMAO!!! CNET!!?! THAT'S YOUR SOURCE OF PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION??? Dude, please, seriously. Time to give it up.

I'm off this thing for now. Work to do. I'll check in later.

[Journey69]

Do you guys have anything better to argue about, like politics or religion?

You mean like Perry and who is as good? lol Hey,where did you get that emote..you sob..I want that.!!

[Journey69]

Asshat..Laser isn't out yet.. Lets wait til it is.. Why don't you post a few links for me now,backing up your bullshit statements..I don't care if your brother works for sony..They are going to be biased..My friend demo's all sorts of projectors..I've seen a lot.. Plasma's even with a 4:3 image isn't going to burn in anymore,ala screen saver..Also,no games play in 4:3 anymore unless you have an atari 2600! All games are at least 720p,no one is playing nintendo 64 anymore guy. All games are in 16:9 format.. For the love of god,how old are you? 16? Seriously? I remember when pong was the 1st video game,I will bet anything you were just a thought still..

[conversationpc]

Do you guys have anything better to argue about, like politics or religion?

You mean like Perry and who is as good? lol Hey,where did you get that emote..you sob..I want that.!!

You're welcome to borrow it, if you want. I don't have a copyright on it or anything like that.

[Enigma869]

My brother in law consults for Sony so I get information from the technology division's mouth and they know what goes on in the industry at large (before AVS). I've taken tours of the VIP showroom and have seen all the prototype technology that's around the corner first hand.

I wouldn't take everything Sony says as gospel. They're one company, and while they have some good products, they have some very shitty products, as well!

Plasma's are not re-surging. They're being discontinued across the board because except for a few aficionados here and there, sales are down.

Again, you're relying upon Sony WAY too much to gauge an entire industry. Sony stopped making plasmas two years ago, but they never built a plasma worth owning, anyway! Any information Sony offers about plasma technology is beyond biased, because they don't have a plasma set to sell you! They simply couldn't compete with Pioneer or Pansonic, in terms of quality, so it didn't make sense for them to stay in the game!

As for your comment about "sales are down"...That doesn't really mean much. LCD's are a lot more affordable to the masses and come in MUCH smaller screen sizes. The smallest plasma screen ever made was a 37 inch by Panasonic. That doesn't make LCD superior technology. It simply means that the more affordable something is, the more you're going to sell of it! Not to mention, there aren't a whole lot of people putting 42 inch plasma displays in their kitchens and bedrooms! Plasma TV's may be replaced by something else in the future, but it doesn't mean that it's crap technology, as you suggest! ALL electronics are eventually replaced by something better! It's simply the way of the world. As I said before, I have more LCD's in my home than I have plasmas, and plasmas over a FAR superior picture. It's simply not close between the two. To suggest that one technology completely sucks, and that the other is brilliant is really missing the point, and not being honest. As I said before, they both have their place. It really comes down to the environment you're watching your set in. If you're watching TV in a room that has your TV facing windows or in a room that has a lot of ambient light, that can't be controlled, LCD wins, in a landslide! If you're watching your tv in a room that you have control over the lighting, plasma wins in a landslide! In either case, a high end plasma is going to give you a better picture than the best LCD I've seen on the market, currently!


John from Boston

[Eric]

If SONY would have just jumped into the HD-DVD player market 4 years ago and tried to beat Toshiba with their own technology we'd have already all switched to High Def DVD's and BOTH companies would have spent WAY less money. Instead, Sony had to have their own overpriced technology...Blu-Ray....

Fuck me if the world wouldn't be better off without Sony in it!

[Enigma869]

If SONY would have just jumped into the HD-DVD player market 4 years ago and tried to beat Toshiba with their own technology we'd have already all switched to High Def DVD's and BOTH companies would have spent WAY less money. Instead, Sony had to have their own overpriced technology...Blu-Ray....

Fuck me if the world wouldn't be better off without Sony in it!

Sony is the last company who I would ever stick up for, because their reputation doesn't match the quality of many products that they put out. That said, it's tough to criticize them for Blu-Ray, when it looks like they've won this battle! The only thing I would criticize them for, as it relates to Blu-Ray, is the fact that every Playstation 3 had a Blu-Ray DVD player. It never made any sense to me to include something that most people had zero interest in, that did nothing but jack the price up! Why should people have to pay inflated prices for a piece of technology that they're simply not interested in? That's to say nothing of the fact that most people who adopt this kind of technology aren't EVER going to be watching movies on a video game system!


John from Boston

[Eric]

If SONY would have just jumped into the HD-DVD player market 4 years ago and tried to beat Toshiba with their own technology we'd have already all switched to High Def DVD's and BOTH companies would have spent WAY less money. Instead, Sony had to have their own overpriced technology...Blu-Ray....

Fuck me if the world wouldn't be better off without Sony in it!

Sony is the last company who I would ever stick up for, because their reputation doesn't match the quality of many products that they put out. That said, it's tough to criticize them for Blu-Ray, when it looks like they've won this battle! The only thing I would criticize them for, as it relates to Blu-Ray, is the fact that every Playstation 3 had a Blu-Ray DVD player. It never made any sense to me to include something that most people had zero interest in, that did nothing but jack the price up! Why should people have to pay inflated prices for a piece of technology that they're simply not interested in? That's to say nothing of the fact that most people who adopt this kind of technology aren't EVER going to be watching movies on a video game system!

They did win...so...I guess I'm wrong. But it still pisses me off. Its 2008 and hardly anyone even is aware there are DVD's in high Def...and I blame this format war.

[Behshad]

If SONY would have just jumped into the HD-DVD player market 4 years ago and tried to beat Toshiba with their own technology we'd have already all switched to High Def DVD's and BOTH companies would have spent WAY less money. Instead, Sony had to have their own overpriced technology...Blu-Ray....

Fuck me if the world wouldn't be better off without Sony in it!

Well then Fuck You

Sony is a great company, with great quality.
Why would they go with the crappy HD DVD technology, they went with their own (and better) techology, hence the fact that blu ray is surving HD DVD.
How do you figure their techonolgy behing overpriced, when at the time Toshiba was selling HD DVD players for $1000, you could purchase a Playstation 3 for $500, WITH the blu ray built in ?

I have always invested in Sony, cause to me Sony equals QUALITY. Ive never had ANY problem with any of their products. People who whine about Sony being overpriced, are the one's buing a freakin crappy Vizio and settle for crappy overall quality and possible repais bills down the road.


Now regarding the price of the Laser TV, Journey 69 , I will take you up on a personal bet,,,, if you win, I will send you $100,,,, if you lose, you will put this in your signatue " Im always Wrong, Behshad is always right" for ONE month.
The main "dealbreaker" for Laser TV is the PRICE. The quality is going to be equal or slightly better than LCD/Plasma, so if they would come out with a Laser TV in a year at $4000, what moron would buy one, knowing that they can get an LCD for less than half the price.
I bet you the initial price for a 42" is going to be UNDER $2000.

[Eric]

Sony is a great company, with great quality.
Why would they go with the crappy HD DVD technology, they went with their own (and better) techology, hence the fact that blu ray is surving HD DVD.
How do you figure their techonolgy behing overpriced, when at the time Toshiba was selling HD DVD players for $1000, you could purchase a Playstation 3 for $500, WITH the blu ray built in ?

I have always invested in Sony, cause to me Sony equals QUALITY. Ive never had ANY problem with any of their products. People who whine about Sony being overpriced, are the one's buing a freakin crappy Vizio and settle for crappy overall quality and possible repais bills down the road.

Stand-alone HD-DVD players have always been cheaper than Blu-ray...and I'd take the pepsi challenge that nobody could tell the difference between either of the 1080p players.

Sony is better than Vizio, but it is middle of the road overall. Its high quality in the consumer report commercial brands I guess...but not if you factor in all brands that exist. And when it comes to audio receivers...well...they suck ass.

[Enigma869]

And when it comes to audio receivers...well...they suck ass.

Sony makes TERRIBLE home audio receivers! A low end Onkyo is far better than an ES Sony! Also, they don't make ANY car audio worth owning! I'm not sure if they even still manufacture car audio, but when they did, it was TERRIBLE!


John from Boston

[RPM]

I will tale my PIONEER plasma over any Sony TV, and my YAMAHA reciever over sonys crap.
I will pony up to buying a HD-DVD player, but I honestly feel only one format left is good thing for everyone.
we got 10 free total movies when I bought it, and the up- converting it does on reg dvd makes them look awesome
so when the blue - ray goes down in price ill get one, but it wont be a sony ....


Ray

[Enigma869]

I will tale my PIONEER plasma over any Sony TV, and my YAMAHA reciever over sonys crap.
I will pony up to buying a HD-DVD player, but I honestly feel only one format left is good thing for everyone.
we got 10 free total movies when I bought it, and the up- converting it does on reg dvd makes them look awesome
so when the blue - ray goes down in price ill get one, but it wont be a sony ....


Ray

I definitely agree with your assessment on Pioneer plasma. I've seen them all, and the only thing that comes even remotely close is Fujitsu, and Fujitsu charges a king's ransom for any of their displays. Sony doesn't make ANY TV that completes with any Pioneer plasma I've seen! Now, to be fair to Sony, I actually do think they make pretty solid DVD players. I can't comment on Blu-Ray, because I don't own one. I do own a Sony 9000ES DVD player that I bought several years back, and the picture is OUTSTANDING! The thing also weighs in at about 35lbs, making it the heaviest DVD player I've ever seen in my life! I will probably purchase a Blu-Ray DVD player, when the mood strikes me, but I'm not in much of a rush.


John from Boston

[Don]

I can tell you for a fact that HD TV's have absolutely NOT been around for more than 10 years in this country! In fact, it's been exactly 10 years. The first HD TV went on sale in the United States, to the public in 1998. Early analog HD TV's were available in Japan around 1992, so perhaps that's where you heard about the Aerosmith concert.

John from Boston

I think there is a big difference between what was considered HD in the 80's and what we know as HD by today's standards. The first commercialization of HD sets didn't happen until the late 90's even though Japan had built the first HDTV in the late 60's AND started producing HD programming in 1982. Again, the definition of HD in the 80's as compared to today's standards is/was probably different. As far as the Aerosmith concert in HD in the late 80's, I have no idea about this. It's possible.

I used to watch the English NHK news broadcast in Japan in 1985. The always touted it as being in High Def even putting the HD symbol on the screen. I watched it on a 25 inch tube tv from Pioneer. here is a wiki link eplaining the early history of HD

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-definition_television

[yulog]

I bought a Vizio 42 inch lcd 1080p today for $950 ,its the cheapest i have seen for a 1080p set i'm sure its a middle of the road set but its going to be an upgrade from my 32 inch sharp(old school set) i would have gone bigger but one of the key selling points was the weight , this set is 50lbs, my 32 inch is 105 lbs. i liked the plasma sets but they use a lot more energy and they are almost double the weight, and i want something that i can move myself if need be(you know how people scatter when you tell them your moving).

[Journey69]

I bought a Vizio 42 inch lcd 1080p today for $950 ,its the cheapest i have seen for a 1080p set i'm sure its a middle of the road set but its going to be an upgrade from my 32 inch sharp(old school set) i would have gone bigger but one of the key selling points was the weight , this set is 50lbs, my 32 inch is 105 lbs. i liked the plasma sets but they use a lot more energy and they are almost double the weight, and i want something that i can move myself if need be(you know how people scatter when you tell them your moving).

That's great..Let us know how you like it.. Reguarding everyone else.. You can't tell between HD DVD and BluRay.. I hate Sony also..They are a bunch of pompous assholes! They make great tv's and that's about it.. They don't make plasma's cause they just wanted everyone to know,that we don't need them lcd is the way..That's Sony pushing their shit on us again..I did however,against my better judgement,buy a ps3..I bought it for blue ray..I actually really liked it..I sold it to a buddy,and got a Panasonic BD30K blu player..I wanted the high def audio codecs passed to my Onkyo 805.. OMG,you should hear the DDtruehd and the DTS master audio..WOW..! Also Behshad..Are you out of your f'n mind? How much was Plasma,LCD,DLP when they 1st came out..How much was the 1st LED DLP tv last year..They all started around $4000 or more! Yes,if Vizio comes out with laser it might be around $2000,for a 37".. Mitsubishi pioneered the laser tv not Sony! Pioneer laser will be around $8000,Panasonic $4500,Sony $4500-$5000 Mistsu $4000-$4500..I'm telling you ,I watch this stuff like a hawk..I know how these guys price their shit.. Hell a 46" Sharp LCD last year was $4500.. And you think new tech like laser is going to be $2000? Pass the gonja! I'll take that bet!! I haven't eaten crow in a while,can't remember if I liked it or not..HA! Also,I'll take a plasma over an LCD.. Samsung plasma's even looks awesome now!

[RPM]

I went thru plasma verses lcd deal as well. there are a couple drawbacks to plasma .
GLARE...the damn thing is a mirror during the day, however i work all day 6 days a week
so its a non issue for me, power consumption. even when off its like having a 25 watt
bulb on all the time. so i have mine plugged into a switched wall outlet, the upside
TO ME is its the best picture ive ever seen on a tv (pioneer pdp 50 ) there is no motion
blur that ive ever seen , and at any angle it looks great, i think the lcd are getting better
however and the advantage will soon be for lcd.

Ray

[STORY_TELLER]

Oy.... You know what? I wasn't going to respond to this stuff anymore, simply because I don't have time to answer each assumption spoken here. I have a lot of work to do and my deadlines are tight, but I didn't want to just disappear from the thread leaving a false sense of victory on the part of some "fans" of technology who think they know what they speak of because they read it on CNET. My overall concern is someone who doesn't know any better might read your posts, take them as gospel and make an ill informed purchase, so I'm going to hit a few comments off the top of my head and then retire from this thread.

Firstly, I'm 40 years old. I'm an industry professional and I work in various sectors of the entertainment field. The people I speak with at Sony are not salesmen, they're tech people who happen to work at Sony now, but many have worked at Toshiba, Pioneer, etc. I can't post links to what I know because I'm getting what I know from conversations with other industry professionals who work with the technology.

Laser is not out yet, but I've seen it in person so I know what I speak of. Plasmas will not continue, they're being dropped across the board from all companies. LCD's are outselling them and they're cheaper to make. Salespeople are pushing LCD's not Plasma's. This isn't about "oooh, I think this is better quality so it's going to be around and make a resurgence" bullshit. This is about economics. Plasma's have a bad rep, the damage is done, and NO, SORRY, SCREEN SAVER TECH DOESN'T FIX A 4:3 LETTERBOX WHEN WATCHING STANDARD TV SHOWS MORON. As I said before, which you conveniently ignored, most broadcasts are televised 4:3 in standard def fanboy. If you have a 16:9 television, you will have letterbox bars on the right and left of most of your television viewing and eventually, it will burn into your plasma unless your new screen saver tech is running while watching TV.

Go ahead and post your silly retort, but remember this debate when what I've said comes to pass. 12-18 months tops. If you can afford to wait, it's worth it. Laser is the next evolution.

[Journey69]

Oy.... You know what? I wasn't going to respond to this stuff anymore, simply because I don't have time to answer each assumption spoken here. I have a lot of work to do and my deadlines are tight, but I didn't want to just disappear from the thread leaving a false sense of victory on the part of some "fans" of technology who think they know what they speak of because they read it on CNET. My overall concern is someone who doesn't know any better might read your posts, take them as gospel and make an ill informed purchase, so I'm going to hit a few comments off the top of my head and then retire from this thread.

Firstly, I'm 40 years old. I'm an industry professional and I work in various sectors of the entertainment field. The people I speak with at Sony are not salesmen, they're tech people who happen to work at Sony now, but many have worked at Toshiba, Pioneer, etc. I can't post links to what I know because I'm getting what I know from conversations with other industry professionals who work with the technology.

Laser is not out yet, but I've seen it in person so I know what I speak of. Plasmas will not continue, they're being dropped across the board from all companies. LCD's are outselling them and they're cheaper to make. Salespeople are pushing LCD's not Plasma's. This isn't about "oooh, I think this is better quality so it's going to be around and make a resurgence" bullshit. This is about economics. Plasma's have a bad rep, the damage is done, and NO, SORRY, SCREEN SAVER TECH DOESN'T FIX A 4:3 LETTERBOX WHEN WATCHING STANDARD TV SHOWS MORON. As I said before, which you conveniently ignored, most broadcasts are televised 4:3 in standard def fanboy. If you have a 16:9 television, you will have letterbox bars on the right and left of most of your television viewing and eventually, it will burn into your plasma unless your new screen saver tech is running while watching TV.

Go ahead and post your silly retort, but remember this debate when what I've said comes to pass. 12-18 months tops. If you can afford to wait, it's worth it. Laser is the next evolution.

Asshat.. I'm 39..I don't care if you know people in Sony or not.. There are a few companies that are still making Plasma's and not phasing them out.. See Panasonic,Pioneer and Samsung.. I do not read cnet..that site is garbage.. Dickweed..I don't care if someone is watching standard def,the only way its going to ghost is if its on for a really long period of time..They have new tech to reset it..For fucks sake's your so into laser you know nothing else..I don't care if you've seen laser..It's not going to be 2 grand when it comes out unless its a 37" or something small.. Also,who's talking about winning..You freaking tard! We are discussing it.. You may be right,or I may be right.. Did you read the link I put up outlining the differences between Plasma and LCD? Also..DO you have satelite? You do know that millions of people have it right..You do know that even sd is in 16:9 didn't you.. ? Cable doesn't do it.. I'm sure most people that buy a plasma know the pro's and con's..Not all ,but most.. Most will take the risk.. Seriously,most people that buy a plasma are probably into high def.. Also,you can go into widescreen mode to make the screen fit..I know it looks a little stretched but that's another way you can keep it from ghosting.. Seriously,most people research shit,believe it or not..

[Liquid_Drummer]

BTW folks unless you hd is larger than 50' I wouldnt worry about 1080p. The difference does not justify the cost. I have a 720p dlp set and have watched plenty of hd material on it and its freaking amazing. I have seen the 1080p sets in the stores with blueray running and the difference is tiny. Thing is, until you get up around 60' the benefit of the extra pixels just isnt that obvious.

[Enigma869]

BTW folks unless you hd is larger than 50' I wouldnt worry about 1080p. The difference does not justify the cost. I have a 720p dlp set and have watched plenty of hd material on it and its freaking amazing. I have seen the 1080p sets in the stores with blueray running and the difference is tiny. Thing is, until you get up around 60' the benefit of the extra pixels just isnt that obvious.

The larger issue is if you don't have or don't plan on purchasing a Blu-Ray DVD player, there is ZERO 1080p content available, ANYWHERE. I suspect that everything will eventually move in that direction, but who knows how long that will take.


John from Boston

[Journey69]

You guys are both right.. My tv is 56" and 1080p.. I don't really watch anything that isn't HD.. But..all new tv's are 1080p..or most are.. Most people are going to hear the 1080p hype and want to future proof.. If you had your tv(720p) next to mine,both on blu ray..I bet you would see a difference..But you won't be watching them side by side in real life so it doesn't really matter..Just like the guy who bought the Vizio,as long as he's not watchng it next to a pioneer elite,it will look wonderful to him..

[Behshad]

Asshat.. I'm 39....

did you say 39 ,,,, or 9 !???? Guess there's always a chance that maybe the next 40 years you will learn more than you did the 1st 40

[Journey69]

Asshat.. I'm 39....

did you say 39 ,,,, or 9 !???? Guess there's always a chance that maybe the next 40 years you will learn more than you did the 1st 40

That's pretty funny.. Go to some forums and read stuff monkey boy! Most those people do tons of research..You might learn something....I don't give a crap your 40..Your just a Sony fanboy.. That must really suck getting beat on a topic about TV's by a 9 year old!

[Behshad]

Asshat.. I'm 39....

did you say 39 ,,,, or 9 !???? Guess there's always a chance that maybe the next 40 years you will learn more than you did the 1st 40

That's pretty funny.. Go to some forums and read stuff monkey boy! Most those people do tons of research..You might learn something....I don't give a crap your 40..Your just a Sony fanboy.. That must really suck getting beat on a topic about TV's by a 9 year old!

How did I get beat on a topic by a 39 year old acting like 9 , Suze?

I am a PROUD Sony fanMAN
Sony won the battle,,,, Anything they put their hands on, they succed in.
back in 94 when they entered the videogame market, people didnt belive they would not only wipe out the leader at the time (Sega) of the market, but also take the lead with their Playstation,,,, followed by Playstation 2, PSP and now Playstation 3.
Now wait and see the increase in sales of PS3/BluRay players , now that people know which way to go !

[Journey69]

Asshat.. I'm 39....

did you say 39 ,,,, or 9 !???? Guess there's always a chance that maybe the next 40 years you will learn more than you did the 1st 40

That's pretty funny.. Go to some forums and read stuff monkey boy! Most those people do tons of research..You might learn something....I don't give a crap your 40..Your just a Sony fanboy.. That must really suck getting beat on a topic about TV's by a 9 year old!

How did I get beat on a topic by a 39 year old acting like 9 , Suze?

I am a PROUD Sony fanMAN
Sony won the battle,,,, Anything they put their hands on, they succed in.
back in 94 when they entered the videogame market, people didnt belive they would not only wipe out the leader at the time (Sega) of the market, but also take the lead with their Playstation,,,, followed by Playstation 2, PSP and now Playstation 3.
Now wait and see the increase in sales of PS3/BluRay players , now that people know which way to go !

And I believe its Susie.. Ok..that was a good one! Dude..you know they lost the beta max war and the PS3 was getting spanked,right..? Their receivers suck,they don't know how to make plasma's and they make tv that have freaking silver around them..Hell,when I was looking at tv's,there was a Sony rep there and I was talking to him..I told him I liked the Samsung sitting next to the Sony and that the I couldn't stand the silver on the Sony. He said,if he didn't work for Sony,he would buy the Samsung also..He made no case for the Sony,cause you could see how much better the Samsung look,cabinet and picture! Their LCD's are nice and that's about it..Hey try this website.. http://www.believingisseeing.tv/?gclid= ... Iwodf2h40A

[Monker]

Interesting.

First of all, I think it's foolish to buy the latest tech and pay inflated prices. Wait a year and things drop, sometimes dramatically. Like someone said, blu-ray started at around $1000. Those waited paid less then half of that.

HD has been around alot longer then 10yrs. The first I heard of it was when Aerosmith broadcast an HD concert - in Japan - in the late 80's.

As for Tv's...if you really want BIG, then you are foolish to not have a projector. For what you pay for a 50 inch lcd/plasma, I have a 100 inch screen and projector. I'll never be without one for movies and games.

As for 'laser TV'...I just bought a 46 inch Samsung lcd...a friend just buoght a 42 inch plasma.us We were comparing notes and I joked that in 10yrs we'll be buying TV wallpaper...just glue it to the wall and have everything sent to it wirelessly. There is always something better to wait for.

VIZIO - I look at them as a sorta generic brand. I believe they do not manufacture their own components as the major brands do. So, you end up with cheaper components inside. A lot of people are happy with Visio, but I have more confidence in Sony, Samsung, Sharp, etc.

You are out of your gord! My friend has a theater company..I go over to his house and watch movies..He has a theater in his basement,122" screen,7.1 surround sound..I told him his big screen did not look as good as my 56" Samsung,and he got mad at me..I said whatever,come over and watch a blu ray movie at my house.He came over and crapped himself..

Not my point. How much does the average 56" LCD cost? $4000? What a waste of money - when you could buy a good projector for half that. It's foolish.

I told him..when you have a screen that big,you need about twice the pixels to fill it.

Quite honestly 120" is probably too big, even for a projector.

If you really get down to it, most people can't notice a difference in 1080p and 720p in screen smaller then 50".

Also,games look like shit on a screen that big.

LOL...they look just fine on my PS2 and Wii! Split the screen 4 ways, for multi-player game, and you have a normal size screen!

And, I would never set up a gaming system on my LCD anyway....just cuz I don't wanna.

Bigger is not always better..

Spending twice as much for a 56" screen is foolish, and I would never do it.

Go to a movie theater and then watch that same movie on blu ray on a smaller screen..Its not even close.The smaller screen looks 10x better..!

Depends on how they are showing the movie. Most theaters no longer use film - but if they do - even HD does not equal that resolution.

[Monker]

Drawing a comparison between LCD's and Plasmas to Laser TV's is like drawing a comparison between black and white TV's and color. It's nearly that drastic a contrast.

So what. Most people purchase for what satisfies their current desires. If people are satisfied with 20,000:1 contrast, they won't wait for 'laser TV"....especially if it costs two or three times as much.

Also, I'm scratching my head at the Aerosmith HD concert in the 80's thing. You're saying they broadcast it in HD back then? Who could watch it? To my knowledge, there weren't any HD capable televisions on the market let alone in homes back then, even in Japan. Unless we're talking about HD projectors in select locations?

I don't remember all the details. I remember Aerosmith making one of the first ever broadcasts of HD content...and they did it in Japan cuz the US did not have the technology. We played catch-up to Japan.

[Monker]

I can tell you for a fact that HD TV's have absolutely NOT been around for more than 10 years in this country! In fact, it's been exactly 10 years. The first HD TV went on sale in the United States, to the public in 1998. Early analog HD TV's were available in Japan around 1992, so perhaps that's where you heard about the Aerosmith concert.

I did not say 'in the US'. In fact, I specifically said Japan. HD talk was around a lot longer then 10yrs. Maybe it was '92, whatever - it was longer then 10yrs, which was my point.

As for Tv's...if you really want BIG, then you are foolish to not have a projector. For what you pay for a 50 inch lcd/plasma, I have a 100 inch screen and projector.

There are definitely those who SWEAR by projectors and think the biggest screen you can buy is the best. I've never subscribed to that theory.

That is not what I am saying!

I'm saying the fools who want a 'big' 56 inch LCD/plasma could have spent the money on a good project and had a 100 inch screen - for the same price. I think it's a wast of money to buy a TV bigger then 50" - especially nowadays.

I use a 60 inch Pioneer plasma in my home theater and it's PLENTY big for any movie watching we do. As for the pricing difference...the reality is that there are MANY higher end projectors that are well over $10,000. I realize you can also purchase projectors for under $1,000.00, but those cheaper projectors are NEVER going to compete with the picture quality on a high end display, no matter how big the screen is!

How much is a 60inch PLASMA? For THAT price I am sure you CAN get the higher end projectors you talk about above.

Again, it depends on what satisfies you. I am perfectly happy with a $2000 projector...and I think it's a complete waste of money to buy a 60" plasma!

I agree 100%, which is why I NEVER wait for the next greatest technology. As I said before, you'll be waiting forever, if you're always waiting for the next best thing.

Well, you could always wait for the next greatest thing....that way the current greatest thing goes on sale so you don't have to spend as much