HDTV Almanac - Rather Switch than Pay?

[GiovannaVisconti]

Thanks for your opinion.

I have a lot of fairly high-end A/V equipment. While high-end audio has never really been a hobby I could afford, I've always wanted the highest quality I COULD afford.

If I can't afford to own, say, a pair of Martin Logan CLX's or even Spires, I still like reading about them and measuring whatever I CAN afford against that type of product.

Just the way I am.

As an audiophile, I've ALWAYS cared more about what I "heard" than what the spec sheets said. But that doesn't invalidate specs.

However, in audio one CAN A/B components--even bring one's own program content to the store. Can't really do that with TVs. Most of the time you can't get a big box store to show you live programming (say, ESPN live and at-the-moment or a local station live and at-the-moment). They won't turn off whatever DVD they're showing on all the sets. The sets aren't calibrated properly. Ever. However, this last you can correct at home with benchmark DVDs.

Been living with a 720p TV for a couple of years, but the rest of my components are of far better quality than it is. I've a lot of DVDs, etc., and am not a casual viewer.

If I can get everything else I want/need--very importantly connectivity, and backlighting, etc.--then "motion flow" (Sony's name) or "ClearScan" (Tosh's name) would be middlin' on my list. You can always turn that off anyway if it introduces noticeable artifacts, particularly in 1080p/24 material.

Everyone has different criteria. As a non-casual viewer, backlighting is an important consideration for me. 'S why I was asking Alfred his opinion on the Sharp four-color innovation, which he saw at CES, and why his points about white LEDs vs. RGB (or 4-color) were so interesting to me.

However, there's no question that LED backlighting is a "real" advance for LCDs, and local dimming DOES make a very real difference. It's not a "maybe" or simply a cosmetic possibility like "motion flow" might be.

I SAW that difference. At Sony's flagship store here in the city. The XBR8 was startlingly better than everything else there--obviously all Sonys! All the sets were better calibrated than at a PC Richard or a Best Buy. The XBR8 was also a small fortune.

So, 2010 lineups will be interesting. Or, failing that (which I doubt) I may even seek out an XBR8. Maybe I can find one at a reasonable price.

[akirby]

Wow - an audiophile AND a videophile? And female to boot? Somebody call National Geographic - I think we've discovered an endangered species!

I'm very demanding up to a point, but that point is a lot lower. I'm just fine with $1200 LCDs, mid-line Denon receivers and mid-line PSB speakers.

I have an audiophile friend who came over to see my home theater. He said it would sound a lot better if I got rid of that stupid TV and middle channel speaker - it was ruining the stereo sound field. Then again he spends more on speaker wire than I spent for my Sony Bravia TV.

[GiovannaVisconti]

Wow - an audiophile AND a videophile? And female to boot? Somebody call National Geographic - I think we've discovered an endangered species!

<LOL> I've heard that a lot! Especially back in the '70s and '80s. When in a high-end store (we hardly have any more of those in the city), I could NOT be relied upon to measure the "WAF" of various components! (WAF="wife acceptance factor"). I have been a record collector all my life too, which is obviously why I "got into" audio. LPs and CDs have practically moved me out of this small apartment, I've so many.

However, I wouldn't say I'm a videophile on the same level. Video's more complicated in several ways than audio. Or maybe I'm just old and can't learn as quickly as I used to! That's likely.

Your friend sounds like a lot of the audiophiles (guys) I'd encounter back in the day. They'd talk ONLY about specs and the audio equivalent of the...what did he call it?...video "sound field?" That's all interesting to me, could even wind up being important, BUT...I'd always finally have to ask those guys: Do you actually listen to MUSIC? Or only to equipment?...

A very good friend of mine who was an equipment rep--and before that the best salesman I've ever seen in action--always would FIRST ask a customer: a) What do you want to spend, and b) What are your listening preferences? IOW, he'd find out what his customer wanted (or thought he wanted) and go from there. He would NOT tell a customer looking at, say, $600 or $700/pair speakers that he needs to buy the Martin Logans I mentioned ($21,000 to $25,000/pair) and throw out his Denon amp because it's not good enough and probably couldn't drive them anyway!

I admit I do have Cardas cables pretty much everywhere...speaker wire and interconnects, but entry-level. I have to implement them one by one because even his entry-level line is actually more than I can really afford.

Originally (this was years ago), I didn't believe the hype about cables. It was the first and only time that friend I mentioned and I nearly came to blows! But after living with my Cardas speaker cables for a week or so, I really did hear a difference, particularly after a/b-ing them with the Monster cable I had.

BUUUT!!!...What's important is THE END-USER. There are many factors that go into a purchase. And today one of the BIGGEST issues is: C-O-S-T, and cost measured against the end-user's preferences.

[rml]

Be thankful that at $0.08/kwh you can be indifferent to relative power consumption inefficiencies as a consideration in your choices. Many of us are paying more than twice that with no end in sight.

[GiovannaVisconti]

It's all relative to one's income. Paying an amount in the hundreds of dollars every month is a hardship in my case.