sam9s Posted April 27, 2007 Posted April 27, 2007 I have taken my first step towards setting up a mini HT setup. I was on a hunt for one for the past month or so. I thought to share it with you all. The first step for me of course was to get the screen the TV as you may put it, and the first impression comes for an LCD. The min screen size I think for any small HT should be atleast 30â€. LCDs are way to expensive in this regard. Almost all 30†LCDs were 50K+. Then there was LCD projection TVs, I went for some demos and the results were really acceptable and price was decent as well. I was getting a Sony 42†Projection LCD for 50K. I was almost finalizing the deal when I stumbled upon this amazing philips 29" 29PT8836 HD ready CRT TV.. This TV changed my entire dimension to look at CRTs. I never in my dreams thought that CRT can give so brilliant picture quality. But as I researched more I came to know its this particular TV technology with HD support and pixel plus with 100hz refresh rate that makes this do damm clear. I tell you Sony Wega was nothing as compared to the picture quality this Philips offered. Sony was offering its 29†HDCRT KV-DZ29M80 but was way expensive 36000. You can get Philips 26†Widescreen LCD for 40K. Tata Sky was a visual treat.......looking splendidly amazing on this CRT. DVDs were a pleasure to watch nothing less than any 30†LCD can offer. However there were few things to ponder, officially the TV supports 1080p resolution but that technically is not possible on a 4:3 aspect ratio. I researched on this more and learnt that it is capable of downscaling HD input of 1080p at 720p or 1080i which anyhow is very good and absolutely acceptable. Another drawback (a big one I might say) is the lack of HDMI input. How are we supposed to play HD content without HDMI inputs? Well the ans is through component video. Though component video is no substitute for HDMI but still that is the only input provided by Philips to play HD content. Check out this article. http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=36644 So finally I went with the deal and got the Tata Sky as well to enjoy this beauty. I know I am gonna miss the widescreen aspect but I can live with that given the HD clarity and the price I got this one for……. just 22500/- INR. I will connect my computer with DVI 2 COMPONENT cable and would let you know the results on how FARCRY looks as compared to my Samsung 940BW. I already have moderately decent Philips DVD player DVP 5500 (Plays all Divx content and has inbuilt Dolby Digital and DTS decoder). My REVIEW can be read at mouthshut. Next I am planning to have the speaker setup in next couple of months. Would be more difficult to get a decision on this one but that’s what I enjoy most…….. tech hunts…. a pic…… http://i13.tinypic.com/2wqu055.jpg
JayMan2005 Posted May 1, 2007 Posted May 1, 2007 Sam9s, I have the same tv that you are referring to. The picture is quite awesome and makes Wega look like a poor cousin. I wonder if you have any idea about this: Can I use an upscaling DVD Player like the Philips DVP-5965 through component video? Will I be able to view my DVDs with higher scan lines? As you are aware this set does not have a HDMI input and the DVD Player provides with one. I did some research and I discovered that HDMI to Component Video conversion is illegal and hence there are no vendors providing such a solution. One little problem I have is that the volume is very low through TataSky. I dont have this problem with my other TV. I have to frequently ramp the volume to 50+ and if I turn the set off without reducing the volume, it brings the roof down when it defaults to terrestrial channels. Have you had the same experience? Can u pls. throw some light on the HD part? Cheers, Jay
JayMan2005 Posted May 1, 2007 Posted May 1, 2007 Sam9s, I have the same tv that you are referring to. The picture is quite awesome and makes Wega look like a poor cousin. I wonder if you have any idea about this: Can I use an upscaling DVD Player like the Philips DVP-5965 through component video? Will I be able to view my DVDs with higher scan lines? As you are aware this set does not have a HDMI input and the DVD Player provides with one. I did some research and I discovered that HDMI to Component Video conversion is illegal and hence there are no vendors providing such a solution. One little problem I have is that the volume is very low through TataSky. I dont have this problem with my other TV. I have to frequently ramp the volume to 50+ and if I turn the set off without reducing the volume, it brings the roof down when it defaults to terrestrial channels. Have you had the same experience? Can u pls. throw some light on the HD part? Cheers, Jay
sam9s Posted May 1, 2007 Author Posted May 1, 2007 Sam9s,I have the same tv that you are referring to. The picture is quite awesome and makes Wega look like a poor cousin. I wonder if you have any idea about this: Can I use an upscaling DVD Player like the Philips DVP-5965 through component video? Will I be able to view my DVDs with higher scan lines? As you are aware this set does not have a HDMI input and the DVD Player provides with one. I did some research and I discovered that HDMI to Component Video conversion is illegal and hence there are no vendors providing such a solution. One little problem I have is that the volume is very low through TataSky. I dont have this problem with my other TV. I have to frequently ramp the volume to 50+ and if I turn the set off without reducing the volume, it brings the roof down when it defaults to terrestrial channels. Have you had the same experience? Can u pls. throw some light on the HD part? Cheers, Jay Technically the TV supports upto 1080p but AFAIK that is not possible with 4:3 aspect ration, however 720p should play just fine, with a DVD player that can upscale to 720p, so I guess the answer is yes you can use an upscaling DVD Player like the Philips DVP-5965 through component video. As far as HDMI is concerned there are HDMI to component cable and connectors floating over the net but I don't know much about their workability (probably somebody from the fourm can through some light over this). HDMI is digital (with audio as well) and component is analog (with no audio) and so you need a proper convertor which can successfully convert from HDMI to Component without the signal loss. I guess the following hardware does something like this not sure though............ http://www.av-sales.co.uk/HDMI-VGA-CONVERTER-139-.htm http://www.nextag.com/Gefen-COMPONENT-VIDE...455/prices-html Some people have gone to the extend by doing HDMI to DVI an then DVI to component, peosonally I think with so much of conversion you would any how loose quality. For me component is as good as HDMI, though the argument continues, experts belive that component cable dispite of being analog is fully capable of transmitting quality HD video. I have not yet seen how HDMI looks but for now component looks awsomely clear even on 576p. About the volume thing the TV set has nothin much to offer in the audio quality department, I was not even much interested in how the audio sounds (It should be just decent) as I have a 5.1 setup........which also I am soon gonna upgrade. But the volume is not that much a problem for me. I usualy use the Tatasky remote for that. I keep the TV vol up to around 80-85 and TataSky vol is 3-5 notiches up and I get a respectable result............... Also is the AVL(Automatic volume control) in the TV active?, it usually normalizes the TV volume across all channels................ Hope I was of some help.......
JayMan2005 Posted May 2, 2007 Posted May 2, 2007 Hi Sam9, Thanks for the info and the links. I did some further research of the upscaling Philips 5965 DVD Player. Alas, it does the upscaling only through HDMI and NOT through component. So, I guess, this model is out for me. I might as well get a cheaper player and as you suggested use it through component. Oppo does it on component but it is not available in India. I was wondering which DVD player you were using? Does it do 576p? Most of the players I looked at do 525p - like the Samsung P475 Divx Player. But thankfully, most true HD players - BluRay included output 1080p through component. (I get your point about 1080p on 4:3.) So, I would not have to upgrade my TV any time soon. Also, the contrast on the Philips beats any LCD hands down. Thanks. Jay
sam9s Posted May 2, 2007 Author Posted May 2, 2007 Hi Sam9,Thanks for the info and the links. I did some further research of the upscaling Philips 5965 DVD Player. Alas, it does the upscaling only through HDMI and NOT through component. So, I guess, this model is out for me. I might as well get a cheaper player and as you suggested use it through component. Oppo does it on component but it is not available in India. I was wondering which DVD player you were using? Does it do 576p? Most of the players I looked at do 525p - like the Samsung P475 Divx Player. But thankfully, most true HD players - BluRay included output 1080p through component. (I get your point about 1080p on 4:3.) So, I would not have to upgrade my TV any time soon. Also, the contrast on the Philips beats any LCD hands down. Thanks. Jay I am useing Philips DVP5500, and it is playing my DVDs at 576p. HD players are not much prevalent yet. Just for your info xbox360 playes HD content through its included HDMI to Component cable
BribieG Posted May 28, 2007 Posted May 28, 2007 is it just my computer but what is ' 30†' ?? on my screen this looks like 30 followed by a lower case letter a with circumflex accent, followed by the 'euro' currency sign.
Shonky* Posted May 28, 2007 Posted May 28, 2007 is it just my computer but what is ' 30†' ?? on my screen this looks like 30 followed by a lower case letter a with circumflex accent, followed by the 'euro' currency sign. 30 inches Obviously sam9s is from India and uses a different keyboard layout. So what he/she is using for shorthand for inches (") isn't working with this board or is just plain different to what we use.
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