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sagamore
03-19-2007, 05:41 PM
My mom has an S2 DT (analog cable; no set-top box) and she will NOT move to an S3. She now has a 20-inch CRT and wants to move to a 32- or 37-inch LCD. She'll use it mainly for Tivo but also perhaps for some DVDs or Amazon/Unbox downloads.

I've heard that LCDs handle HD content well, but some (maybe all?) do not do a good job of presenting SD content. All the retail stores display HD content, so I haven't been able to see SD on these screens.

Are there any LCD screens (under $1200) that would be good for this setup? (I've been reading about Toshiba, Philips, and Olevia but don't know about their presentation of SD.) How bad (or good) will analog cable SD content look on them? (Better or worse than her current 20-inch Panasonic? Her Panasonic TV has only RF input, so I guess at least moving to a TV with composite video connections will help.) My mom's not a video picture-quality connoisseur -- she just wants a big picture, as clear as possible without changing the S2 DT or her cable service. Is an LCD the way to go, or a big mistake?

Thanks.
JimSpence
03-19-2007, 06:47 PM
Moving from 20" to 32" will make anything look a bit worse. With proper adjustments the LCD should do quite well. You didn't say if the LCD was going to be a 16:9 or 4:3? If 16:9, your Mom may not like the side bars or the stretched picture of SD on a widescreen set.
bmgoodman
03-19-2007, 06:56 PM
Consumer Reports has named Olevia 537H a "Best Buy" among 37" LCDs, with a half-red circle (very good) for SD. They also name Olevia 532H a "Best Buy" among 32" LCDs, with a half-red circle. I have no first-hand experience with them, but they seem to have great prices also. YMMV.
CraigHB
03-19-2007, 09:28 PM
SD looks pretty good on my Toshiba LCD (37"). Even when I zoom letterboxed shows on the SD digital cable channels, it still looks good. The analog channels don't look as good, but they don't look worse than the tube TV.
smithken31100
03-20-2007, 05:12 PM
My parents have a Sony 32" LCD hi-def television and, to me anyway, the SD stuff looks good even when it's stretched out to fill the 16x9 aspect ratio.