After spending many hours reading through the different forums that discuss the various merits of flat screens I thought there might just be a chance that I could find one to actually want to take home.
So armed with the info I found, it was off to the local electronic shops such as Futureshop, Bestbuy, Sears, Costco, some small av specialized shops ..and even The Brick here in Canada.
The result after spending those many more hours comparing brands and models?..
Well, my conclusion is that no matter how primed this customer is for wanting that new flat panel tv hanging over his fireplace there just ain't anything on the market yet that is truly ready for prime time.
Many top line plasmas and lcd's come close. But the word "close" tends to mean relevant when talking the big bucks that the stores want these days. For the kinds of moolah the brands are asking, there's gotta be better than just "alright". For instance, Sony and Pioneer are said to be at the pinacle of their respective breeds but what I see are more of comprimise than anything. Not one of them performs to as advertised ..and especially with not so perfect media imput that most folks have at hand. For instance, stuff that's in SD format (even digital) is what is mostly still offered for tv entertainment, and that varies greatly in quality. Every one of those flat sets perform way below my old crt when it comes to SD. As for HD, well that opens up a peculiar Pandora's box of flaws. It seems no one set maker has a handle on all those niggly flaws that seem so apparent in all the big screens I've either seen or read about. What a shame.
On the upside, it can only serve to drive down the prices of the Sony's and Samsung's et al as folks start settling for the only option of mediocrity.
Like others I'll probably just keep monitoring the flat screen scene for now and look for that better value-for-money set that may come along. But I suspect it may be a year or two away.
End of Rant.
So armed with the info I found, it was off to the local electronic shops such as Futureshop, Bestbuy, Sears, Costco, some small av specialized shops ..and even The Brick here in Canada.
The result after spending those many more hours comparing brands and models?..
Well, my conclusion is that no matter how primed this customer is for wanting that new flat panel tv hanging over his fireplace there just ain't anything on the market yet that is truly ready for prime time.
Many top line plasmas and lcd's come close. But the word "close" tends to mean relevant when talking the big bucks that the stores want these days. For the kinds of moolah the brands are asking, there's gotta be better than just "alright". For instance, Sony and Pioneer are said to be at the pinacle of their respective breeds but what I see are more of comprimise than anything. Not one of them performs to as advertised ..and especially with not so perfect media imput that most folks have at hand. For instance, stuff that's in SD format (even digital) is what is mostly still offered for tv entertainment, and that varies greatly in quality. Every one of those flat sets perform way below my old crt when it comes to SD. As for HD, well that opens up a peculiar Pandora's box of flaws. It seems no one set maker has a handle on all those niggly flaws that seem so apparent in all the big screens I've either seen or read about. What a shame.
On the upside, it can only serve to drive down the prices of the Sony's and Samsung's et al as folks start settling for the only option of mediocrity.
Like others I'll probably just keep monitoring the flat screen scene for now and look for that better value-for-money set that may come along. But I suspect it may be a year or two away.
End of Rant.
