Hello, everyone a few questions please.

[nbure]

Iam looking to get a sound system for my dvds and hi definiton tv im going to buy.I have been searching for review sites because a lot of times you buy one model at one price and they have another for a few dollars more with much better performance so i generally try to look at review sites but im having a hard time finding one with the info im looking formaking you guys could post a few links for me.other than that i have a couple of questions for you.I am looking to spend around 300-400 dollars on a system what is the top system for this pricerange or a little more i could possibly buy in pieces,I would also like to know whats the top system around 1000 dollards.Im not that picky but want the best sound i can get for what i can afford.my brother paid around 400 for his et up and i think its not bad i am hoping to
do a little better than his though.Im sorry for this post im sure this question has prolly been asked a thousand times.I did some looking but need some help from people on the inside. THANKYOU
p.s looking at these tvs KV-34HS420N , Sony FD Trinitron WEGA KV-30HS420

[Clive]

Hi Noel welcome to the guide.

1) Noel it is very difficult to answer this question (especially when there is a dollar amount attached), If we don't know what country you reside in. As you can imagine that the price ranges in different parts of the world changes dramatically.

2) When it comes to systems you'll have to decide whether or not you want to go separates (ie tuner & dvd player or pre-amp/multi amp & dvd player) OR you want to have Theater in a box. Only you can decide this part

3) We ask that you do a little more leg work and listen to various systems at you local BOX stores and HIGH-END stores.

4) Just one request...........we'd like it if you could just go back into your profile EDIT and apply your name as a signature so that we can address you by name :T

5) Do you know the names of the unit/s your brother has? Would help to know your reference point is.

[aud19]

First, welcome to HTG! :T

There are pretty nice 26", 30" and 34" 16:9 HD ready sets from Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic, Samsung etc anywhere from about $400-$1500.

I agree with Clive though, especially when it comes to the sound system, we need way more info on your budget, expectations etc.

[nbure]

Okay,heres some clarification

I would appreciate it if you guys could list a few of the top models for hdtv that are in each of these price ranges 1000,1500,1800.I am looking for widescreen,flatglass super fine pitch 720and 1080 if possible and a beautiful picture it can be a tube tv or flat i have been looking at these models KV-34HS420N , Sony FD Trinitron WEGA KV-30HS420 but they way a ton so i might go for an lcd.I would appreciate whatever info you can give.as far as the sound system goes I want a good sub i know they arent cheap i am only willing to spend 300 dollars on one and about 1000 dollars on everything.Im satisfied with the speakers my bro bought from circuit city so i must not be that picky ,prolly the reality is because i have to many bills to be spending thousands in home audio even though its been a dream for me to have a real home theatre. btw i forgot to change my name sorry.

[aud19]

Well the set I'd probably get is this 34" Toshiba CRT. MSRP of $1199.

http://www.tacp.toshiba.com/televisions/product.asp?model=34hf85

The Toshiba will give you "99%" of the picture quality of the Sony at about 60%-75% the price.

Otherwise Sony has 3 - 34" models to choose from.

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_BrowseCatalog-Start?CategoryName=tv_34%22to36%22TVs&Dept=tvvideo

The first two include ATSC tuners (for OTA HDTV). If that's not important or required then I say get the least expensive one

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=KV34HS420N&Dept=tvvideo&CategoryName=tv_34%22to36%22TVs

As for the sound system, a $1000 budget for a DVD player, receiver, 5 speakers and a sub is not going to get you anything but a, sorry to be blunt here but, piece of crap, tinny sounding, non-upgradeable HTIB.

What I'd recommend, if that is absolutely your budget right now, is to get an around $500 receiver from the likes of Marantz, Denon, Yamaha or Pioneer and a good pair of around ~$500 bookshelves. If you can find some speakers on clearance/sale you may even be able to pick up some good bookshelves and a centre speaker for around $600'ish. I'd recommend looking at brands like Athena, Energy, Paradigm, PSB etc. They all have fairly good quality budget-conscious speakers. This will give you a good base to build off in the future instead of having a crappy HTIB you'll just have to scrap when you decide to upgrade You could even move those bookshelves to the surrounds and upgrade to some nice tower mains later :T When you can afford the sub, I'd get one from SVS.

[nbure]

hdtv tube style vs lcd

Thx for the help i will follow your suggestions as far as the audio goes but i have another question as far as the tv goes.I am trying to do more research and i came across a post that said buying a crt hdtv was like going from an analog tv to a highly enhanced analog tv,the point being is its still an analog tv.also the crt isnt as good as an lcd because it doesnt have pixels.How close is the image from a hd tube style tv to an lcd?Its hard to tell what tv's are good in the stores with no hd content being shown.I guess im curious if its worth spending over a grand on a tube style hdtv?I also wanted to know what models are the top lcds for the 1000,1500,and 2000 pricerange.I also wanted to know of good links to hd info and what magazines are good?

[cinema bob]

all other things being equal at this time a CRT will give you the best picture. their are many benifits of other technology but better PQ is not one of them. mostly cost, size, weight, etc.

[aud19]

all other things being equal at this time a CRT will give you the best picture. their are many benifits of other technology but better PQ is not one of them. mostly cost, size, weight, etc.

Bob's right, whoever told you that, quite franky, doesn't know what they're talking about :lol:

CRT has better black level, better colour and generally better PQ for the least amount of money out there. The only thing LCD might have over CRT (PQ-wise) is the capacity for slightly more resolution and that's both negligibale and very model dependent. That and they take up less space in your room :roll: Otherwise they have poorer colour, WAY worse black levels and fast motion smear due to the pixels not refreshing fast enough to keep up with the action on the screen.

Oh and FYI, just because something is analog, doesn't mean it's bad

[nbure]

thank you a couple more questions please

If i got this right crts give the best picture and they are better for analog signal because they are analog tvs.ok i was looking at the sony 30 inch and 34 inch crt hdtv with the flat screens.do you think it would be worth it to buy the xbr model or is there not much difference?

[aud19]

It's your money, can you see a difference? That's all that matters

[nbure]

online or local?

It's your money, can you see a difference? That's all that matters

I understand its just that i saw a sony xbr at circuit city with the movie robots playing and it looked horrible i saw a non xbr at best buy and the image looked so so im pretty sure i wasnt seeing what the tvs had to offer thats why i asked.it is a bit hard to judge and since it is such a big investment for me ill prolly have that same tv for years judging from my previous history,im a hardworking poor bast@rd who can only get one nice thing a year from his income tax return.do you guys recomend buying from a local electronics store because of the weight and return convience or should i buy online?thank you guys for your patience

[aud19]

I generally prefer buying locally for numerous reasons. Support local economy, generally better quality customer service and certainly closer if you have any questions/concerns etc. I don't think I'd buy much in the way of major electronics online personally but there certainly are some reputable e-shops out there

As for the different Sony models, they all have very similar specs. Here's a nice link comparing the three:

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_Compare-Paging;sid=8URLfb6Bha9LRf0SxntBdvGMXkBTmX4XToU=

The 2 most expensive sets have added Cable Card slots and upgraded built in speakers :roll:

The top XBR adds to that Multi-Image Driver (MID™-XU)

Allows you to watch two programs side by side (Twin View�). You can watch pictures from two different sources (1080i, 720p, 480p and 480i) simultaneously. Only the left Twin View window can display 1080i, 720p and 480p sources.

and....

iLINK®

Provides a secure digital interface to other digital home entertainment devices. i.LINK connections allow for the secure transfer of copyright-protected high-definition content between these devices and your digital TV. The i.LINK® terminals on the TV are not intended for connection with personal computers.

and a longer warranty

Personally, I still say you save yourself around $500 and get the Toshiba