Looking at an LCD HDTV

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10065088&catid=23521&logon=&langid=EN
In addition to it being $500.00 off (remember this is canadian) they are also giving me a 20" for free(http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10062346&catid=23515&logon=&langid=EN). I'm told sharp is decent. My other option is an 1800.00 Prima Plasma that was about the same size. I'm told prima is sh*t. What do you guys think?

Looks pretty good. Just remember XGA 1366 x 768 RGB display is 720p native. It says it supports 1080i, but the resolution it has is not 1080i native. Also, I don't see any HDMI inputs, which provides HD video and audio over a single cable.

Edit - I found it on pricegrabber, and it says that particular model supports 480i, 480p and 720p. It does have HDMI according to the specs here

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_t...

One thing to consider, depending on what you plan to use the TV for, is whether or not it has a built-in tuner.

If you want the tuner, be prepared to spend a little more. If not, you can save some money and get an equivalent quality display.

I recently bought a 32" Samsung LCD HDTV and couldn't be any happier with it.

Definitely check out the AVSforums and see what they have to say. But don't be afraid of picking a TV they think of as mediocre. When I was doing my research on that site the things I payed attention to most were things like weird errors and funky things with interface or input choices. One thing to remember is that those boards are full of home theater snobs. Be prepared to shield yourself from lots of "Just spend the extra for the sony. It's better." because you'll see a lot of that.

I had to do a lot of reading to figure out which opinions I agreed with and which ones I didn't.

And dear god, shop around. Make a list of tv's you're interested in and then check them out in Best Buy, Circuit City, Costco.. wherever. Even if you want to buy online (it will likely save you money) I still think you should go look at them in person. Our stores around here have their HDTV's hooked up with component video and running HD feeds all the time now. Circuit City and Best Buy actually run the same HDTV loop so it's easy to compare from one store to another when certain stores only carry certain models.

I don't really need a tuner since the HDTV here is only supported with about 9 channels. I don't watch much tv anyhow. I'm mostly getting it for ps3/360 joy. It does have hdmi by the way.

Well I went and picked it up. Regular cable TV looks like sh*t now but games look schweet.

Desram wrote:

Well I went and picked it up. Regular cable TV looks like sh*t now but games look schweet.

This is exactly the reason I'm probably going for an EDTV. I'm still shopping around, but I don't have a AV receiver, don't care about HD, DVDs aren't in HD yet, and mostly we watch a little regular TV and play some Burnout3 or Katamari.

Desram wrote:

Well I went and picked it up. Regular cable TV looks like sh*t now but games look schweet.

Which TV did you end up buying?

I went with that sharp. I'm pretty happy with it. Getting that extra 20" was nice as well. Now I have a backup monitor/tv for when I move out.