Questions about LCD TV's

[Wildflower Fever]

Hi all. My 4 year old flat screen HDTV (Samsung) just conveniently died the other night. I shuffled off to the local Best Buy, and oh my, it's almost nothing but plasma and LCD TV's now in that short span of time. I purchased a 37" Sharp Aquos LCD TV, and thus far have had mixed results. I love the slim cabinet (I'm using the stand, not the wall mount), the light weight, and so forth. However, I've got digital cable and have been considering switching to HD Cable at some point. I've noticed that DVD's look OK, but my TV image is worse than my old TV. Images often look distorted, or wavy, yet other things such as text and graphics look stunning. I was told by a tech at Best Buy that the set is mostly geared for HD/HDMI programming, so it will tend to make digital deficiencies look worse. I have a Samsung HDMI compatible DVD player, but at this point I'm just using the 3-plug component cable that was all the rage 2 years ago, and now already obsolete. My question is does anyone have a similar setup, and with HD cable and/or HDMI connection for their DVD player? I'm hoping to figure out if these fixes may enhance the viewing before I plunk down the extra cash, or if not I may want to return it before the return period is up, not knowing if it is simply defective. My eyes are also bothered by the intensity of the screen, and it appears that even when an image looks OK, when you stand close to the TV images are fuzzy, and even wavy. Sorry for the length, but any help from a fellow TV geek would be appreciated.
P.S., my PC monitor is a 17" LCD screen, and the picture on it (Dell) is superior to the TV, and I'm wondering if simply increasing the size of a LCD monitor makes it look more distorted.
Gracias...:confused:

[Wildflower Fever]

Anyone? Bueller, Bueller, anyone?:p

[RedjackRyan]

I have little expertise in the area, but here at two wiki entries that might help some.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LCD_TV

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hdtv

and a forum full of hdtv enthusiasts that might be worth checking into. http://forum.byopvr.com/dvr/index.php/board,16.0.html

[aabram]

I have no experience of them, but my mum-in-law has just bought one. I wish she could see these links. My son is thinking about it, and I have told him a categorical "no" ..... as if that will stop him :( . Maybe I should ask for the money I paid for the telly I bought him 4 years ago back if he goes ahead and then maybe he'll think twice about that. I must say they look good, but how long will they last????? :eek:

[Amy in Vermont]

I asked similar questions of our media services staff. Here's what I learned:

If you buy a HD capable TV with a 16:9 aspect ratio, regular TV programming is gonna look pretty lousy, as its a) not Hi def, and b) designed for 4:3 aspect ratio.

That being said, if you have HD programming available already, you should be OK. If you don't, you will put up with less than great imaging until the whole world goes HD.

I have yet to make the plunge. I bought a new regular flat screen CRT 18 months ago for far less than the cost of a comparable LCD. It does what I need.

When HD becomes the norm, prices will drop alot and I will make the move. I don't feel the need invest in high priced equipment that will be outdated by the time I really need it.

[Wildflower Fever]

Thanks for the input. Here's my synapsis: Overall, I think the picture quality (even without a current HD hookup) is superior enough to keep this set. Also, I love how compact it is. That said, I don't think everyone should rush out and buy one, I just did because my other set died on me. So far I've noticed that text and graphics are so vivid that they appear to be almost 3D. Some channel have degradated quality, but it also seems that at times cable signal strength may just be low, and other times are dynamic. DVD's are simply amazing, I can't imagine how much better it will be when I purchase a HDMI hookup for it, not to mention HD cable. All of my local network stations already broadcast in HD, so total influx can't be far off. I'm not a TV junkie, but love to watch sports, sunday night HBO, and music DVD's, so I would recomend these LCD monitors to anyone.:)