I'm thinking of getting an RCA from Sams Club that is a 27" HDTV tube set. It has a DVI input on the back. I think it's selling for $420. It is about the cheapest HDTV in this size range, except for an Avant that Best Buy has.
Anyhow, it doesn't appear to have a letterbox mode, which is enough to drive me crazy ! There is a comparable Sony set that does have this mode, but it's $720.
Is there anything one can do if your set doesn't have this mode ? Can I "letterbox" it somehow before it reaches the set ? Would this destroy the quality.
Can anyone recommend a 27" HDTV tube set ? I'm looking to spend around $400.
$400.00 is a tough price point to beat for a high definition set. DVDs that are formatted in letterbox should show letterbox in some form on your tv, even if it does not have a letterbox mode. However, you would get the horizontal black bands at the bottom and top of the screen. This would probably be true on any 4:3 set, HD or not, with or without a letterbox feature. A 16:9 set would frequently show full (or native) screen when displaying a letterboxed source. Don't know if this helps or not.
foobar
Unregistered guest
Posted on
Actually, I should clarify.
It does letterbox DVD's formatted in letterbox, it's just HD signals it does not letterbox.
Some 4:3 sets apparently have a mode that lets them letterbox 16:9 HD signals. There is a nice 32" Sony sitting right next to it in the store that is also 4:3, but it displays the same HD signal letterboxed. If you look close and pay attention, you can see the RCA is doing a chop/stretch routine on the HD signal.
I don't know. I would simply prefer it be letterboxed. I'm not a big fan of the chop/stretch effect.
The Sony is obviously a more sophisticated set. I think it let's you decide to chop/stretch or letterbox.
Of course the Sony is about $800 too. I was hoping there might be a 27" HD tube set that letterboxes HD signals as well as DVD's.
RCA makes some of the most problem prone sets on the market. Compare their picture quality and geometrics to others and they are both poor also. I just bought a Panasonic that does HD signals widescreen or fullscreen either one. It's $549 retail, you could probably get one cheaper on sale. I'm trying to sell mine for about $300, I don't guess that does you much good though.
foobar, I wouldnt recommend any <34" HDTV...especially if it's going to be in 4:3 format anyway. On TVs that small, HD doesnt make nearly the large difference in picture quality that you can easily see with the big TVs. If you're looking to buy a small sized 27", you might as well stay low-def.