36" 4:3 or 34" 16:9 Direct View TV?

[Unregistered]

Im thinking about purchasing a new TV for the family room to replace a 12 year old 27” Pro Scan and trying to figure out if I want a 36” set or a 34” widescreen set. As this is for the family room, most of the viewing will be TV programming, but will also include movies and DVD’s. At some point in the not too distant future, I plan on installing a projector with a drop down screen for movies, so for now, I’m mostly interested in taking advantage of HDTV, as well as watching DVD’s on a bigger screen than our current 27”er.

It seems that 4:3 pictures will be bigger on the 36” set and 16:9 pictures will be roughly the same between the two sets. Is this correct, or will the 16:9 picture on the 4:3 screen be much smaller?

If my math is correct, the actual screen size of a 36” set is 21.6x28.8 versus 16.67x29.63 for the 34”…

Any recommendations on brands and/or specific models would be great.
Thanks!

 

[Unregistered]

Here's a site that allows you to compare 4:3 to 16:9 screen sizes: http://www.cavecreations.com/tv2.cgi

 

[BMXTRIX]

You really are asking a question that you already know the answer to...

It's a good question, but you see your issue - do you want more size and will you be watching more stuff in 4x3 or 16x9. Do you want your new TV to be compatible when it is twelve years old like your current TV? Do you want to be able to enjoy HD programming in it's native 16x9 aspect?

I run both a plasma, for daily watching, and a front projector, for night time movies and HD broadcasts and I like that I can simply split the video out of my receiver into the two locations and have them be identical. That's a real plus for me.

Now, is that right for you? Well, armed with the questions above - then the answer is up to you to decide.

On a side note... Why not a rear screen TV? They aren't terribly expenisve and you can get a 45" wide screen for about as much as any direct view HD 16x9 television I believe. Okay, I haven't priced them out, but 16x9 HD rear projection CRT televisions are in the sub $1,200.00 range for a few and are 40-52 inches. That's a pretty nice bang for the buck for your daily viewer.

 

[djoxygen]

BMX is pretty dead on for this question. Unless you need to have 26 kids watching Barney at a birthday party, RP should definitely be on your short list. Esp if you're even considering 16:9. Unless your viewing ratio is something like 90% 4:3 broadcast and 10% anamorphic DVD/HD, you should really lean toward the widescreen. With the rate that primetime network is switching over to widescreen programming, you'll be wishing you'd made the switch sooner than later.

 

[Leprkon]

16:9

judging by the model you are replacing, which is 12 years old, you seem to hang on to things for a while. This tells me that you want to buy a 16:9 TV now, since it will be the standard in 2006. Even if you do get a projector, you can move the 16:9 into a bedroom or den and use it for another 10 years. if you do get HD-capable, you would never be using the 4:3 anyway.. unless you;re still using a VCR.

If you get the 4:3 now, you'll be wasting alot of picture between 2006 and 2016

 

[Duffinator]

Go Widescreen

There is plenty of widescreen content on OTA HDTV in prime time now to support buying a widescreen. Not to mention whats available from the various cable companies. If you buy a widescreen today, in two years you won't complain about having done so but if you buy the 4:3 you will be wishing you had bought the widescreen.