I think you're confused here. 1080i is a must? 1080p is a requirement of many buyers, but a 1080p HDTV is probably of your price range. Most HDTVs today display 720p native (or something close to it like 1366x768) or 1080p native.

A 720p native DLP will probably look better than a 1080i "native" CRT TV. They call it 1080i native because its interlaced and it resolves something close to 1080i. Its harder to describe CRTs in terms of native resolution because they're analog, they don't have pixels, they have scanlines. The Samsung 720p DLP would still be able to display 1080i, but it would most likely de-interlace and down-res the picture to 1280x720p.

Just want to make sure you're not confused about the 1080i being a must.

This article might help you out:
http://hdtv.webbuyersguide.com/buyingadvic...yingadvice.html

Just remmeber since the CRT is an analog device you generally have more problems with convergence (R/G/B not being even), geometry (picture isn't perfectly 16:9 or is off center), etc ...

If you're sold on the TV, go for it, its up to you to decide what will make you happy. I just want to make sure you aren't going 100% off reviews from Circuit City customers and know the good and the bad

 

Here's another good suggestions:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id...06&type=product - The Westinghouse 37" LCD, 1080p native, full 1080p input support from HDMI, DVI, component, and VGA ports !!! -- 2 component inputs, 1 hdmi, 2 DVI-HDCP. If its the same as the 42" it should have use a Faroudja chip for de-interlacing and upscaling video (good thing). Its strictly an HDTV monitor, no tuner included. IIRC it also uses LED backlighting which is a positive too.

You can read a thread about this TV here: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=531808

 

I've heard good things recently about the Westinghouse LCD HDTV's. As far as the low-priced LCD's go, they blow Sceptre and Vizio out of the water.

- Jeremy (jnn4v)

 

I hadn't even heard of 1080p. If I wasn't confused before, I'm worse off now. Thanks for the heads up, but I think I am just going to stick with this Hitachi - unless the price jumps up before I buy it.

 

If you're sold on the Hitachi, go for it!

Just as an FYI, there are 2 main HDTV resolutions for ATSC (the over the air broadcast standard for HDTV) 720p and 1080i. They both require roughly the same bandwidth (~14Mbits/s). 720p = 1280x720 Non-interlaced running at 60 frames per second. 1080i = 1920x1080 Interlaced, meaning only 1920x540 is sent every frame running at 60 frames per second.

The new resolution to the block is 1080p (1920x1080 Non-interlaced). While you probably won't see TV stations broadcasting in 1080p anytime soon, both HDDVD and BluRay supports 1080p, and Xbox 360 (coming soon) / Playstation 3 will support 1080p output for games as well.

The big deal for 1080p TVs is three-fold. First, all digital TVs are non-interlaced, so finally there are digital TVs that can fully resolve 1080i broadcasts. Second 1080i content will look better because it can be de-interlaced and displayed at 1080p. Third is that new content from BluRay and HDDVD will do 1080p native.

For the videophile in us, this is a big deal. Interlacing causes a number of problems with video, especially on fast moving objects like in sports. Here's some details on problems introduced by interlacing video: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlace#Pro..._by_interlacing

In the end though, you probably won't be able to tell a huge difference

Hope this makes sense.

 

Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks

The problem with technology is that no matter when you buy something, there is always something better just around the corner. I really appreciate your help, but I think I am going to stick with that Hitachi.

The more I think about it, the more it makes sense:

In some ways I guess I'm quite fortunate to be able to appreciate somebody else's videophiled setup, but not desire to take mine to that level. Don't get me wrong - I would love to go all out on a home theatre system, but it isn't a "pocket-change priority" for me......not like getting coilovers and adjustable sway bars on the Porsche

 

If only I were that lucky! My wallet is regretting it everyday haha...

 

i think picture quality in RPTV sux.
i own 50" panasonic industrial plasma, 45" Sharp Aquos LCD (1080P) , and samsung 32" LCD.

i must say that Sharp Aquos was the biggest waste of money. i usually do extensive research on my components but i had purchased it when it was brand new on the market and i went with previous sharp aquos lcd tv reviews...which had much better picture quality than this 45" blurry crap. color is aweful when xbox 360 is hooked up...so i had to remove it and connect to the plasma.

as far as 1080P is concerned, i have not been able to resolve at full resolution due to lack of high definition media. maybe one of these days...

my panasonic plasma is the jewel of my living room. best color decoding, great contrast, and picture quality to keep me in awe each time i turn on the tv. all the sources are fed thru Denon AVR-3805 switched via component cables.

and samsung is....samsung i guess.

my next investment will be a front projector.

 

That brings up a totally different avenue - how are those projectors? I never paid them any attention, but those seem like an awesome way to save some room.

 

Most of my bad SD issues were resolved with proper cabling and proper video calibration. I already had a good HD source and signal. Make sure you test all different cable connections, each HD cable box is different and some connections just look better than the other.
Another key thing to remember is that when you're sitting close to the tv (I tend to do this when I game), you're going to notice blockiness or blurriness or pixellation in SD programming. Make sure you use the rule of thumb at least sitting as far as ~2.5x TV width. Many people buy a TV that's way too big for the room that they're in.