Video display

[KennyG]

If you could have any type of video display, what would it be, Direct View (Max is 40"), RPTV, FPTV, Plasma.
I would assume your choice correspondes to what you feel produces the best picture...or are there other criteria?

[JonMarsh]

Depends on the locale.

Desktop, Samsung is introducing a 24" diagnoal 16X9 flat panel display; I'd ditch my NEC LCD1810 in a heartbeat for one of those.

In my bedroom I currently have an NEC XM29 Plus presentation monitor, which uses a Toshiba microfilter tube, a very nice large format design CRT, with a fine dot pitch for a large display tube. The Princeton HDTV monitor uses a 16X9 Toshiba Microfilter tube, 32" diagonal, and can do 1280X720P. I'd love to have one of them. The phosphor colors in the Microfilter tubes are individually filtered, and meet HDTV specs. With the individual filtering and contrast control, there's no need for a dark tint tube face, and light output is about 30-40% better than conventional tubes.

If the RCA 38310 could do 1280X720P, instead of being limited to 1080i, I'd want to jump on one of those, it's a very nice 38" display. Also has a farily fine dot pitch. Check it out at your local Best Buy, includes HDTV tuner, $2999.

In the living room, space permitting, a top of the line CRT (Sony G90, anyone? I don't think I could handle the noise and setup issues of a D-ILA.

Since we're out in fantasy land territory, why not a 1280X768 Sony flat panel plasma display for the kitchen, so you don't have to miss the game in HD while you're cooking?

And last, PC scaled video at 1280X1024, on Samsung D770's flat panel 17" displays, in every bathroom.

Regards,

Jon




Earth First!
_______________________________
We'll screw up the other planets later....

[Doug]

Jon, it's interesting you should say that. That's the exact setup I have on order, Yeah, all of it. (snicker) heh.

I could go the princeton thats for sure for the bedroom. But my 35" Mitsu console does well. Main theater gets well first a new room, and then a nice mid line projector... I am not greedy like Jon and the G90, lol.

Doug





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[KennyG]

I'd assume the reason you'd go with flat panel is because of space savings? Or has the picture quality improved enough to compete with other types of displays?

[Markj]

I am interested in FPTV DLP. I want to set it up then just use it. A RPTV is out because I do not have enough room for a big box. I and the only reason I don't have a FPTV is money or the lack of it.

[JonMarsh]

Hi Kenny,

A lot of flat panel displays flat out stink- take the one in my work IBM StinkPad notebook. Or the one in the previous Compaq laptop I had. Ugh!! VERY bad directionality, basically, none of the colors and contrast are right at *any* angle, and as you change angle horizontally or vertically, they get worse and weirder.

Now, the more recent generation of large flat panel displays have very good brightness and color uniformity on and off axis both horizontally and vertically. The first units I saw with this characteristics were NEC 20" displays that we leased for tradeshows two years ago. Hideously expensive, though! $3500 to $4000!

Now, NEC makes an 18" display (Multisync LCD1810) which has the same characteristic, is bright, has useful color preset calibrations, and is the same resolution, 1280X1024. Samsung has a 17" model with excellent color and a better scalling processor than the NEC, in the 170T and the 770TFT models, and the new 18" 800TFT. The chip the Samsung monitor use have a better scaling engine with good interpolation, compared with the NEC LCD displays. Also, it locks on at higher scan rates at full resolution; the NEC stumbles at anything above 60Hz. For standard computing, that's not a problem; for DVD, less than optimal. Build quality is excellent, also.

The acid test for the Samsung is that I setup an artist friend back East with a full custom PC, scanner, and the display calibrated to D6500, and now she is even using it for DVD playback, because, well, it obviously looks pretty cool compared to her Sony TV! She's been a fan of the concept of LCD displays; her last PC was a Sony laptop; she has a problem with the slight flicker of CRT setups, but the Sony laptop display didn't cut it either. Now she's in heaven. Her sisters were literally mind boggled the first time they saw DVD on her PC- they though she had HDTV, somehow, in the wilds of rural upstate New York!

Now you can get a 17" Samsung for about $1150 with careful shopping; considering how long displays last compared with the rest of the PC, it's my standard recommendation for PC's I build for other folks. Space saving is a plus; my NEC 1810 at home takes up a LOT less real estate than the Hitachi 19" monitor it repalced, and that was a "short tube" version. It all works on a roll around desk/cart that was designed as a laptop docking station desk.

Regards,

Jon




Earth First!
_______________________________
We'll screw up the other planets later....

[Wireless]

I would love to have a large screen, so probably a calibrated DILA with Greyhawk screen - 10' wide. While I am sure a G90 would give a better picture, screen size is probable best at no more than 96" and I think Joe Kane recommends no more than 80". Or maybe 3 chip DLP! Kenny, when can I have it delivered?




John
My HT Picts

[Robbie]

Right now I'd take anything over 25"...

Robbie

[KennyG]

Right now CRT FPTV is the way to go, many used units at very inexpensive prices. I have seen DLP, and it's just not really for prime time yet...but D-ILA is coming around, it won't be long before it can compete with CRT.
John, strangely enough a guy was selling a used 3 chip ampro DLP for just over 2 grand...it lasted about 2 hours and was gone!
Flat panel display is still to expensive for HT, even those 17 and 19" units that you speak of (Jon) are very expensive, but I do need to go have a look at one and see how good they are getting.