I have my HD search narrowed down to these 2 TV's..........well and maybe a 720p samsung DLP, but they look kinda' bad to me. Anayways i found the 955 at decent price, and the 970's are readily available. I am looking for a good tv to play xbox 360 on, and to watch football and casual movies, shows yada yada yada. Xbox 360 is most important and football (NY GIANTS) is second. So, which any thoughts or experience as to which will suit me better. I have looked over both threads and feel that both seem to have many reliabiulity issues. Thanks!!

Chris

I would get the 955. The Super Fine Pitch is a significant step up., and the screen is only an inch smaller than the 970's.

Well, 2 strikes now. Both places showed that they had the 955, but when I called......no go! I feel a bit more comfortable buying the 970 just because it is somewhat current, and I would be getting it from Sony directly. (or circuit city, sears, or best buy). Anyway, The places that show that they have the 955 are small, private companies. I don't know if I can trust them. Does anyon here know where I could buy a new 955 or a 960? Thanks!

Chris

I don't know, but there are probably a few still out there. You can try calling all your local independent dealers. You can also check ebay as every once in a while a new one shows up, though that is less and less these days.

I would get the 970. It's newer, brighter, slightly better colors, and newer.

Better colors? Not to my eyes. I've never heard that before.

I've read some claims that Sony CRTs with the SFPT aren't as bright as the XBR970 but since I haven't seen them myself I don't know if that is true or not. I personally feel that the XBR970 could use a somewhat brighter picture and if SFPT sets are even darker that is at least one negative about them.

Google Sony 34xs955, 36xs955 or 34xbr960 and you shoud find a set on the net. Most are in the 1100-1200 dollar range. Go for those sets. You will not have remorse later.

The Super Fine Pitch sets are prone to defects including tube discoloration, power plug
problems, etc especially a used one. I would get a 970 because of it's newer tube and
the TV is not prone to defects except geometry, which is common in CRT sets. But if you
are really convince into the Super Fine Pitch resolution (1440 instead of 853) then go right
ahead and buy one. Sony didn't stop making them for a reason. Trust me when I say this,
970 looks the same as our SXRD 1080p TV with very little juddering on still text.

sfp isn't really noticeable to me at more than 4 feet away anyway.

Google Sony 34xs955, 36xs955 or 34xbr960 and you shoud find a set on the net. Most are in the 1100-1200 dollar range. Go for those sets. You will not have remorse later.

I bought a 36XS955, and I have extreme remorse.

TC, I'd think twice if you're going to be playing a lot of games on it. It hasn't been confirmed, but some evidence on this board points to all of the SFP tubes having streaks on the inside of the tube glass, made horribly visible when panning around in almost any game. It single-handedly makes several games unplayable, and a lot of anime unwatchable for me.

Do a search on "streaks" in this forum, and you'll find my original thread.

You must of got a lemon. No product is immune from an occasional lemon. So far I have owned three HDTV sets and all being CRTs. I owned a Toshiba 36hf73 and now own a Sony 36xs955 and a Panasonic CT-34wx54. No set was perfect. Each have strengths and weaknesses. As far as resolution, my Sony has the sharpest HD picture. My Panasonic has the most vibrant colors and the Toshiba was the most user friendly and had the best remote.
All are good sets. I am sorry you had trouble but the Sony SFP sets have a great track record with the majority of owner very happy with the sets.

Well, it's quite possible the majority of owners don't use the sets for videogames or anime, which is where the streaks are most visible.

It's possible I got a lemon, but unlikely, since I had the tube replaced, and the problem persists in the replacement tube. Another forum member attested he's had three SFP sets, and all three had this problem to varying degrees.

I'd take a chance on the 36XS955. There are 2 on ebay right now.

I have my HD search narrowed down to these 2 TV's..........well and maybe a 720p samsung DLP, but they look kinda' bad to me. Anayways i found the 955 at decent price, and the 970's are readily available. I am looking for a good tv to play xbox 360 on, and to watch football and casual movies, shows yada yada yada. Xbox 360 is most important and football (NY GIANTS) is second. So, which any thoughts or experience as to which will suit me better. I have looked over both threads and feel that both seem to have many reliabiulity issues. Thanks!!

Chris


NY GIANTS is second! How can you dis ma boys like that man? Das harsh! :( :mad:

Now I know nothing about SFPT shadow mask blah blah lip service lip service, but I do know this. I saw a 970 against the best of the best at BB and CC and I swear the picture was nothing short of WOW! I chose not to buy it though cause its 200lbs and I dont have a desk that may be able to handle that. Also the 970 wasnt suffering from any Geo issues from the DVD, blue ray and HD shows I watched on it. They allow you to play with them so do that. Find the 970 and try out local HD and regular SD and look for Geo issues there. The only thing i didnt try was the SD content. If yu plan on getting an hd dvd player or blue ray, then get the 970. Like I said before, the picture is superb.

Now imagine getting the 960? From what everyone says, its even better than the 970. Thats a scary notion right there!

Ok, ok........NY GIANTS are the top priority in reality, but when I want to escape reality..it's the xbox!! HA ha! I saw a 970 at Sears last night, and I loved it. I can see the horizontal lines up close, but at 4 ft......forget about it!!!!! I am gettin' it! I ordered the avia guide to home theater and am just waitin' for those taxes to come back!!!!!!! The 970 is so much superior to any of the huge expensive tv's. The only ones that impressed me slightly were the Samsung 1080p DLP'd, but they paled in comparison to the 970. Are people blind? Why are they buyin' expensive, smudgy, distorted, artificial looking tv's? I don't need an answer here, as I drive on the roadways everyday and know first hand how intelligent most people are............are not!

Well, it's quite possible the majority of owners don't use the sets for videogames or anime, which is where the streaks are most visible.

It's possible I got a lemon, but unlikely, since I had the tube replaced, and the problem persists in the replacement tube. Another forum member attested he's had three SFP sets, and all three had this problem to varying degrees.

I wouldn't know about how it looks with any videogames since I do not play them.
My 12 year old does and that is with my Panasonic CT-34wx54. Xbox360 games look great on that set. As far as DVD and HDTV viewing my Sony has been nothing less then stellar. No problems to note of.