Damn you, Sony!

Surely you jest! Do these Braviaheart TVs come in Edwardian Antique?

What really saddens me is that MI:3 is the movie that finally convinced you to get a Bravia w/a blue ray player. No matter how great the leap in color, clarity, sound, and etc. - in my mind, you purchase will always be tainted with the sticky film of scientology.

The only thing I would consider form Sony is their Sony Reader and even that after substantial discount.

In ways that Katie never was...

this fascination for modern trinkets never ceases to amaze me. !luc

It's the engine of capitalism.

Be interesting to see who will prevail in the new Beta vs VHS battle. Microsoft are behind the Toshiba format, I think.

Ewww... or, not as the case may be.

Jon.

I've got the last gen Sony Bravia LCD (only does 720p/1080i), and I think it's a fantastic TV. We did many side-by-side comparisons at different shops (real electronics stores where they staff know how to hook up a proper HD signal to their HD tv's), and the Sony was the truest at representing skin tones. Also, the SD was significantly better on the Sony than the competition, which is a pretty important feature.

It is all in the eye of the beholder.
I feel that 42" LCD screens are very poor in black level performance. They just make everything that colored black look like a black hole in your screen. No details no shadows, nothing.
Also, LCD has ,to my eye, unnaturally bright, overly saturated colors that make everything look like SGI or cartoon.
As far as resolution goes. I would consider buying 720p screen in 50" or larger format and 1080p screen in 60" or larger format.
If you have 42" screen then your eye will not see the difference in resolution when you sit 8-10 feet away form the screen. Your eye can only handle so much.

My advice would be to look at the new Sharp Aquos LCDs instead. You'll either save money, or for the same amount as the Sony, get a larger screen size. The contrast is also better on the Sharp, which uses newer/better panels. The one thing the Sony has going for it vs. the Sharp is a higher degree of tweakability, but most normal users will be plenty satisfied with an Aquos, which is widely regarded as one of the best LCDs you can buy for any money. Sony commands a hefty brand premium that isn't necessarily reflected in the quality of their products. Besides, they top-out at 42" right? Aquos you can get much bigger. You adjust to 42" very quickly. It's really not very big.

The other thing to keep in mind is that you can't compare LCDs in a store. It's unfortunate, but true. They are NEVER configured properly and are often fed shit signals, or they'll send a good signal to one tv and a less good signal to other TVs. There's no way of really knowing what you're looking at. And if profit margins are higher on one than the other, you can bet that there are incentives in place to push the more profitable set.

Oh and don't buy an Aquos are Costco, they use different panels from what i've read. And ya, HD is the shit :P

I'm either going to buy an Aquos or a projector. I only watch movies so i'm leaning towards the projector so I can have an 90" screen. ^_^

And dkzzz is 100% correct about the resolution issue. Below 50" and 8-10ft away, most eyes will not resolve the difference between a 1080p set and a 720p set. If they do, it will be incredibly minute, and quite likely placebo effect. From 50-60" you can tell the difference if you really look for it, but again, most people won't see much difference. It's really only at 60+ that you need the resolution of 1080p. Of course, if you watch your tv from 5" away you might need it as well...

I purchased the Sony XBR Bravia 46" 1080p at Thanksgiving. I got it at BestBuy for 3.6k and four years no interest (I love doing that, they hate me, never once have I let the contract expire and had to pay back interest). I was more interested in the Pioneer Elite for 10k but we decided to toss that extra 6k into our investment fund, probably a better idea.....

Anyways, I have yet to read a report that states this TV is not the best LCD going and second only to such things as the 10k Pioneer. I find the only critique to be some noise in densely black areas, most notable when viewing in the dark....which I do not often do, so not a big problem. It is only noticeable when you specifically look for it and this is confirmed in all the reports I have read before purchase. It also has 2 HDMI ports, create input programing, will not burn in or fade like plasma might, and let me tell you, playing WoW on it rocks.

However, it is just a TV, not my penis. Much as I am enjoying it I see no need to defend it over others and let's face it, viewing is subjective to a certain degree. The price was right, the interest free rocks, and 46" was a nice compromise between the 42 my wife wanted and the 50 I wanted. Also, I like the little glass frame, it is a nice bit of asethics which really is part of what these are all about as CRTs give better pictures!

Unfortunately getting a 46 inch 1080i/p widescreen CRT would be unfathomably expensive...

My e-penis is larger! Seriously though, 3.6k was a good deal, especially at 4 yrs no interest... I mean wtf!? For sure, the bravia is right up there at the top. My only argument is that the sharp aquos is just as good, and I'm quite certain that the new ones have better contrast and black levels than the bravia. Sharp has actually made a considerable leap in this area and are closing the gap with DLP.

Regardless, it's AC's decision. I'm guessing he's not a videophile, but if I'm wrong I'd recommend demoing both of them in his house, tweaking the settings, and doing a direct comparison while watching a reference quality dvd. Look at shadow detail, black crush, etc.

And don't bring-up WoW unless you want the thread to degenerate.