To wait or not to wait, that is the question.

Posted by David [IP: 207.235.31.233] on November 01, 1998 at 03:36:19:

In Reply to: To wait or not to wait, that is the question. posted by John Genovese on October 31, 1998 at 15:57:57:

: I'm looking at RPTVs, I like the Pioneer Elite Pro.
: However, I think the new HDTV are on the way, should I wait until the HDTV hit the market?
: What would YOU do?

Although Pioneer says 16:10.7 which sounds close to 16:9, it's actually quite different: 4:3 is 1.33:1, 16:10.7 is 1.5:1, and 16:9 is 1.78:1. Many DVDs come in 1.85:1, and a fair number in 2.35:1, meaning you'll be watching letterbox again even on your "wide" TV. I REALLY hate to waste screenspace with black stripes (plus it looks uncool), which is why 16:9 is the NARROWEST screen I'd recommend. I'd LIKE to have a 1.85:1 if I could, but I'm now leaning (heavily) toward the Toshiba TW65H80 rather than a FPTV. Compelling features: 16:9 widescreen (schwing), built-in GOOD line doubler (see Home Theater mag. review 1/98, link below), progressive-scan DVD input (can you say, $20,000 Faroudja LD200-quality video, boys and girls?), and HDTV compatibility (480p and 1080i native).

The 16:9 Toshiba TW65H80 as well as the 4:3 TP61H95 and TP71H95 support 480p and 1080i native DTV formats, so you see, you DON'T have to wait after all! Mitsubishi also offers RPTVs with "line quadruplers" (still-interlaced output) and HDTV compatibility, but no progressive-scan support (only thru conversion to 1080i which is NOT progressive).

David

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