vbap Posted October 1, 2008 Posted October 1, 2008 Hi All, Planning first step into large screen LCD TV. Have been reading forums a lot over last few weeks. The family watches primarily FTA digital TV, plus the odd kids DVD. We watch the SD channels mainly because current display is only a 19" Dell LCD TV. We watch TV & DVDs solely through the HTPC - a custom built unit running Vista MC with 4 tuners. Just using the TV's speakers for now. Don't really want a 5.1 sound system, but probably end up going for a soundbar (eg yamaha YSP) if we want a bit more oomph. But I digress... After poring through the forums, and getting the missus to have a quick look at some models, I've come up with the following that suit the size and style we are after (we also saw the samsungs, panasonic, LG, but they were rules out based on physical appearance!).: Sharp Aquos LC42D83X Sony Bravia KDL40V4000 (my wife doesn't like the picture frame look of the X) Toshiba Regza 42XV500A I would like to connect via HDMI so that audio and video are transferred by single cable. When the sole signal to the TV is a HTPC, are the differences between the models pretty much neglible, and just comes down to personal preference? Or do some models have real technical advantages over others when using a HTPC? Thanks, vbap
Mr.Bitey Posted October 1, 2008 Posted October 1, 2008 Hi vbap, Theres always a difference between them :-) I'd go looking to see which ones can be 1:1 pixel mapped to your HTPC video card output, and make sure your HTPC CAN pass audio over its current HDMI output - the earlier ones couldnt. How close are you sitting? - given your currently using a 19", i'd assume reasonably close :-) What are your lighting conditions like? (direct sun, bright light room, a lot of daytime viewing etc) ? Cant help you out with the telle selection as im not familiar with the models - but im sure some others will be here shortly to help out Cheers, Bitey
vbap Posted October 1, 2008 Author Posted October 1, 2008 Thanks mr. bitey. I am using an AMD 690 based board, which should pass audio over HDMI, but I haven't tried it yet. Regardless, I'm happy to upgrade the motherboard if needed. Yes, I've read the distance thing, but this is a family room, not a dedicated home theatre. We sit all over the place, from 5 cm away (my 2 year old son when something interesting to him comes on) to 5m away (when the news is on during dinner). Normal viewing is between 1.5 to 2.5m away. The room gets a lot on natural light due to two large glazed pivot doors on the wall adjacent to the TV. We have no problems with brightness / contrast on the little Dell. I respect the theory on viweing distance vs size, but in the end the 46" and above just feel too big. And yes, maybe in a couple years time we will find 42 too small, but some of us can't be told, we need to experience Thanks again
chengsta Posted October 2, 2008 Posted October 2, 2008 Hi vbap I've looked at the Toshiba - my view is that if you are after an xv500 series to not get the 42" version as the panel specs are nothing special. Visually I didn't really like the picture at all (I've just bought the 46" which has a higher contrast ratio and response time - the 42" appears to be generation old).
gotkids Posted October 2, 2008 Posted October 2, 2008 Hi Vbap You'll find it will only pass 2 channel audio over HDMI. There is currently no htpc solution available to pass Dolby TrueHD etc over HDMI (I'm still waiting for it). I'm running a 780G on my HTPC, I pass Vid over HDMI and audio over toslink to AMP. I know some people have played around with passing the 7.1 channels in PCM to their amp but this requires analogue cables. There is the ASUS Xonar range of audio cards (just released) that were supposed to support Dolby TrueHD etc but they failed to get licensing. They are still hoping to include it as a firmware update. These cards support upto 5.1 over HDMI I believe.
vbap Posted October 2, 2008 Author Posted October 2, 2008 I've looked at the Toshiba - my view is that if you are after an xv500 series to not get the 42" version as the panel specs are nothing special. Visually I didn't really like the picture at all (I've just bought the 46" which has a higher contrast ratio and response time - the 42" appears to be generation old). You're right - I didn't pick that up. 46" is probably too big, but then a 40" X/XBR has the pretty much the same phys dimensions... I'll add it to the list - Thanks.
madjak Posted October 2, 2008 Posted October 2, 2008 There is currently no htpc solution available to pass Dolby TrueHD etc over HDMI (I'm still waiting for it). http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3420&p=2 These cards look great for HTPC... it can pass the audio via 8 Channel LPCM via HDMI. I'm looking at one for my HTPC.
vbap Posted October 2, 2008 Author Posted October 2, 2008 You'll find it will only pass 2 channel audio over HDMI. There is currently no htpc solution available to pass Dolby TrueHD etc over HDMI (I'm still waiting for it). Ah bugger. didn't do that part of my research! Eventually (or possibly at the same time) intend to introduce an amp into the mix - I'm looking at Soundbars like YSP-600 or YSP-3000. So I'll probably just do the same. Thanks for the headsup. BTW, what sort of display do you have?
vbap Posted October 2, 2008 Author Posted October 2, 2008 OK, I read another anandtech article (http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3411&p=3) To clarify, the 780G does appear to support 5.1 over HDMI (as does Intel G956 and nVidia 8200), but only intel & nVidia support 7.1 in IGP, AMD only supports it via discrete card. So it would only be an issue for me if I wanted to listen to 7.1 material ie blu-ray? Not a deal breaker for me in the short term. Anyway, i guess this is off-topic... Still trying to canvas opinions on the LCD sets. I see using Myer's current $10 off for every $75 + $250 rebate from Toshiba, puts the Toshiba Regza 46XV500A in quite a nice price zone...!
Recommended Posts