I don't watch any television (local or cable). All I watch are DVD's. MY DVD collection is NOT HD-DVD or BluRay. Just regular DVD's.
What is the best LCD TV for watching DVD's ONLY? (Left a message on the TV Board, too, but no answers yet.) What should I be looking for in a DVD player once I get my LCD TV? Should they be the same brand for compatibility?
Jack, Do you have an AV sound system or are the speakers in the TV?
Is the TV today an HDTV? If so does it have an HDMI port on the back?
You do not need to buy the same brand for compatibility and in fact there are virtually no issues with mixing and matching.
So, just to give you some input, IMHO you want a DVD player that can connect to both your current and future TV. So you need component video connections for today's TV and an HDMI video/audio connection for the future HDTV.
The brand I would look at is Oppo and specifically the Oppo DV-970HD or the Denon DVD-2390. As you can see, these are at the different ends of the price spectrum. However since this is you primary source of video then the Denon would get my knod if I were you.
Arty-G, Thanks for responding. Actually, I don't have the TV yet. I have a question in the LCD TV forum that I'm waiting to get help on first. I'm looking for the best LCD TV to buy for watching DVD's. That's all I watch are DVD's. No TV and no games. I just don't know what to look for in an LCD TV for the best value, widest viewing angles, best color and longevity.
I won't be buying the DVD Player until I get the TV. I'm sure it will be an HDTV ready since it enhances DVD's (so I understand). Not sure what an HDMI port is. Never heard of Oppo or Denon but I saved the information so I can check them out! Thanks again!
Hi Jack: How far away from the TV will you be sitting in a normal viewing position?
And again, do you plan on getting the sound out of the TV or via 2 or more speakers attached to either a stereo amp/receiver or more modern AV Receiver than can do Dolby / DTS?
Take a close look at the Samsung LN-S4095D. A very nice TV with good hidden speakers and some of the darkest blacks out there. It also looks wonderful from any angle of view. I got mine a few months ago when it just came out.
I sit about 8' away from this 40" HDTV and it looks perfect. Samsung makes a bigger and smaller one in this family as well.
HDMI is a new cable type that interconnects DVDs and Cable/SAT boxes to HDTVs and AV Receivers. It is a cable that carries both the HDTV video as well as the audio signals so it is very easy to hook up. With ease comes cost, these cables are not very inexpensive. Note that the Oppo DVD player comes with one of these cables.
If you read the DVD reviews, the two models (Denon and Oppo) are at or near the top of the heap in performance. However their prices are fairly wide apart.
My suggestion to you is to bring your favorite DVD to a store (I like local home theater shops or Magnolia Rooms in Best Buy) and see how your DVD looks on various HDTVs. Also if you are going to use the HDTV's speakers, pay attention to hearing how the onboard speakers of the HDTV sound.
David, what did Samsung ever do to you? have you made it your mission to take them down? I can usually find only positive things said about Samsung LCD TVs. I have owned my Samsung 23" LCD TV for a year and a half and I am extremely please with it. The picture is amazing and it functions perfectly. I can not give one complaint about it. I actually returned a Sharp Aquos in for my Samsung and the Samsung was better in almost every way.
David: I would have to agree with Tommy. The two Samsung products I have, work great and as expected. The company on my "bad" list based upon problems and failures, which is a 4 letter word beginning with S and ending in Y. I will not touch their stuff any more having been burned too many times recently. Yes, even including a battery pack in a DELL laptom that came from them. It never ends.
So I guess we all have a vendor axe to grind just that Samsung has been doing a vastly better job from what have seen.
I work on electronics and can tell you first hand they sell poorly designed electronics built with cheap components. Just because you bought one doesn't make it any good. 1 1/2 years on a TV isn't very old. I've got a Panasonic that's 13 years old and still works like day one. Like I said, look almost anywhere on the net, just type Samsung problems in any search box, you'll get replies aplenty.
You would probably get replies aplenty on most any manufacture. Have you actually worked on any Samsung LCD TVs that have "cheap components"? Even though Samsung may make some cheap crappy stuff I don't think you can make a blanket statement that all Samsungs products are poorly designed. I have a friend with a Samsung HD 30" widescreen CRT that is 6 years old and his set still looks awsome with no problems.
I dont know if you have any experience with Sanyo but they would deffinately be considered a cheap brand. I just sold my 36" CRT I had for 8 years and it looked as beautiful as the day I bought it. It had replaced one of my first sets wich was a JVC and that one slowly deteriorated after a couple years until it finally died. I would say the JVC was the worst out of all the larger TVs Ive owned.
Sanyo TVs used to have some of the lowest breakdowns of any TV made, cheap or not. Samsung is good at making things perform well for short periods of time, they just don't last. There's a reason Samsung equipment costs a lot less than other manufacterers in the same catagory, it's not because it's better built. If you want to think you are buying quality products when buying Samsung, that's up to you. The fact is it's just not true.