In market for widescreen CRT tv.

[Rod Speed]

Steve Batt <s_j_batt@bigpond.net.au> wrote in message
news:GAfic.6776$qq6.1068@news-server.bigpond.net.au...

Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote
Matt McLeod <matt@boggle.org> wrote
Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote

Hard to justify spending 2-3 times as much for say 100MHz
and DRC tho, particularly as none of them have proper
digital tuners, even if you're happy to spend $5K class money.

The Samsung WS32A10 isn't bad. ~$2k for a 76cm widescreen
with 100MHz and progressive scan, couple of component inputs
which double-up as composite, reasonable enough picture,
includes the stand as part of price.

I hope the Samsung and LG models have improved since i bought my 76cm,
Both were next to the Pana in the showroom, I was permitted to play with all
3 remotes by the staff, so comparisons were in my control ........

Bought the Panasonic TX-76PW50A.

So in what respects was it better ? Presumably just image quality ?

And that brings up another problem, what they
have done about the feed they are using etc.

Lot to be said for buying all 3 from one of the operations
that have an iron clad 7 day free return system, take them
all home and give them a good thrashing on the feed that you
plan to use them on, and return the ones that arent as good.

Might have to get someone else to buy two of the 3 to
do that tho and that would get a bit tricky warranty wise.

It'd be interesting to see what would happen if you
bought all 3 at once and even more interesting to
see their reaction when you returned two of them |-)

old model now but hope this helps.

What about that other question, automatically handling
16:9 format material broadcast in 4:3 on FTA TV ?

I hear there's a nice Panasonic model out now for not a lot
more money, but I've been fairly happy with the Samsung so far.

The digital tuner isn't a big deal -- the external set-top boxes
are getting pretty cheap. Add on $200-$300 for an SD box.

Sure, the price isnt the problem, its just rather crude.

More of cosmetic problem than anything too massive tho.

Particularly as I watch almost nothing live except the ABC
TV News, watch the rest off VCRs currently, later moving to
proper digital format from hard drive or DVDs recorded off air.

That may not be as irrelevant for others tho.

 

[Sam Richards]

On Sat, 24 Apr 2004 08:17:18 +1000, "Rod Speed" <rod_speed@yahoo.com>
wrote:

Lot to be said for buying all 3 from one of the operations
that have an iron clad 7 day free return system, take them
all home and give them a good thrashing on the feed that you
plan to use them on, and return the ones that arent as good.

Which places do that ?



Sam

 

[Rod Speed]

Sam Richards <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
news:c6d6ug$am8ve$2@ID-197514.news.uni-berlin.de...

Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote

Lot to be said for buying all 3 from one of the operations
that have an iron clad 7 day free return system, take them
all home and give them a good thrashing on the feed that you
plan to use them on, and return the ones that arent as good.

Which places do that ?

Quite a few. BigW, Dick Smith, Clint's certainly do.
Kmart from memory.

You'd likely find with the other operations that if you said that
you'd get one from Woolys because of that, that they'd agree
to the same conditions too. But that wouldnt work with buying 3.

 

[Sam Richards]

On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 06:37:28 +1000, "Rod Speed" <rod_speed@yahoo.com>
wrote:

Lot to be said for buying all 3 from one of the operations
that have an iron clad 7 day free return system, take them
all home and give them a good thrashing on the feed that you
plan to use them on, and return the ones that arent as good.

Which places do that ?

Quite a few. BigW, Dick Smith, Clint's certainly do.
Kmart from memory.

You'd likely find with the other operations that if you said that
you'd get one from Woolys because of that, that they'd agree
to the same conditions too. But that wouldnt work with buying 3.

OK I knew about those

I was thinking of higher end places, you know if I buy a $5000 TV and
it sucks I can return it.

Sam

 

[Rod Speed]

"Sam Richards" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message news:c6ffeo$bh22r$1@ID-197514.news.uni-berlin.de...

On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 06:37:28 +1000, "Rod Speed" <rod_speed@yahoo.com
wrote:

Lot to be said for buying all 3 from one of the operations
that have an iron clad 7 day free return system, take them
all home and give them a good thrashing on the feed that you
plan to use them on, and return the ones that arent as good.

Which places do that ?

Quite a few. BigW, Dick Smith, Clint's certainly do.
Kmart from memory.

You'd likely find with the other operations that if you said that
you'd get one from Woolys because of that, that they'd agree
to the same conditions too. But that wouldnt work with buying 3.

OK I knew about those

I was thinking of higher end places, you know
if I buy a $5000 TV and it sucks I can return it.

I expect some would allow that if you asked for it.

I dont buy that sort of stuff enough to have
bothered to check what their upfront policys are.

 

[Matt McLeod]

In article <c6bq41$aa1nu$1@ID-69072.news.uni-berlin.de>,
Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote:

Matt McLeod <matt@boggle.org> wrote in message
news:4088eac0$1@duster.adelaide.on.net...
Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote

I meant does it automatically notice when what is broadcast
is in 4:3 format with black bars at the top and botttom due
to the original being in 16:9 and automatically resize the
display so you dont see the black bars.

Do any models?

No idea, thats essentially what I was asking.

Cant see any technical difficulty with doing it.

I suspect that the market for it is too small -- that is, it won't
be an issue for long enough to give sufficient return -- for anyone
to take the trouble to do it.

Main problem is that the cheapest ones dont even have 100Hz etc.

Yeah, the bottom of the pile is pretty limited. Once you get
to around the $2k mark you start getting a reasonable feature set.

but I've not been too impressed with the results.

In what way ?

I've only tried it briefly and just didn't like it much. Don't
recall the specifics any more. I've been spoiled by digital.

I was a bit surprised at how good that monkey doco
looked, given that it was recorded LP on a VCR.

I've recorded some stuff from digital on my old VCR, and it
played back OK on the widescreen. Not quite as spiffy-looking
as the broadcast, but still pretty good.

I've had all this put in context for me this weekend: my sister
is using a twenty-year-old set our parents gave her, with the DVD
player hooked up to the VCR, and the VCR feeding signal through
over RF. Something in the setup is dodgy, so she's got a really
snowy picture even from DVD.

So I reckon I can be a little less fussy.

I like to have a lot of stuff recorded so I can just look
thru the database for something to watch and completely
detach myself from the broadcasting schedules.

Likewise. I built a system using a DVB-T card in a PC running
Linux. Displays to the TV using a Matrox G400, sits in another
room so I don't have to hear its fans and disks whirring away,
has long cables for AV and the IR receiver. Picks up schedules
from the net and has a web interface to set up recordings.

Works pretty nicely, or at least it did until my neighbour
installed something that's interfering with reception.

Matt

 

[Matt McLeod]

In article <c6bql1$a5mf8$1@ID-69072.news.uni-berlin.de>,
Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote:

Michael <quadhammerNOHAM@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:c6atm0$a3j49$1@ID-169511.news.uni-berlin.de...

Everything is broadcast in 16:9 on digital, as Matt said.
So, yes, those black bars on the top and bottom of your
analogue signal will disappear if the image's ratio is 16:9.

OK, digital has shown up locally with the FTAs so one
approach would be to feed the output of the digital STB
into the VCR so I'd get the result I want when played
back from the VCR to the 16:9 format TV.

Is that gunna work ? Doesnt sound right.

Yes, that works. It's not *quite* as spiffy-as-could-be, but
it's still pretty decent. The main drawback is that the VCR
(probably) can't communicate with the STB to get it to change
cnannels, so you'd have to remember to change that yourself.

It would be nice to be able to use the captions into
a voice synthesiser so I could hear the subtitles
instead of having to read them off the screen.

Well, digital does carry the closed caption stuff, so
you could possibly rig something up to read that out.
Don't know of any pre-built kit that'll do it, though.

Subs on digital TV are, I'm pretty sure, still in-picture
the way they are on analog.

Matt

 

[Rod Speed]

Matt McLeod <matt@boggle.org> wrote in message
news:408c90e2$1@duster.adelaide.on.net...

Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote
Michael <quadhammerNOHAM@hotmail.com> wrote

Everything is broadcast in 16:9 on digital, as Matt said.
So, yes, those black bars on the top and bottom of your
analogue signal will disappear if the image's ratio is 16:9.

OK, digital has shown up locally with the FTAs so one
approach would be to feed the output of the digital STB
into the VCR so I'd get the result I want when played
back from the VCR to the 16:9 format TV.

Is that gunna work ? Doesnt sound right.

Yes, that works. It's not *quite* as spiffy-as-could-be, but
it's still pretty decent. The main drawback is that the VCR
(probably) can't communicate with the STB to get it to change
cnannels, so you'd have to remember to change that yourself.

Yeah, do that now with the satellite STB.

Must get around to automating that anyway. Pretty easy to
do since I have a device which makes the PC act like an IR
remote and it can do that otherwise manual channel change.

It would be nice to be able to use the captions into
a voice synthesiser so I could hear the subtitles
instead of having to read them off the screen.

Well, digital does carry the closed caption stuff, so
you could possibly rig something up to read that out.

Yeah, that's what I was hoping.

Don't know of any pre-built kit that'll do it, though.

Dont need one since it would be fed into the PC and
saved on the hard drive etc and the closed caption to
voice synthesising would be done in the PC on playback.

Subs on digital TV are, I'm pretty sure,
still in-picture the way they are on analog.

Dunno, looks like they may be additional to that.
Certainly most of the subtitled stuff on say SBS
is listed as closed caption and presumably they
wouldnt just have the english in the closed captions
and the wog languages on the onscreen captions.

 

[Rod Speed]

Matt McLeod <matt@boggle.org> wrote in message
news:408c8ed7$1@duster.adelaide.on.net...

Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote
Matt McLeod <matt@boggle.org> wrote
Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote

I meant does it automatically notice when what is broadcast
is in 4:3 format with black bars at the top and botttom due
to the original being in 16:9 and automatically resize the
display so you dont see the black bars.

Do any models?

No idea, thats essentially what I was asking.

Cant see any technical difficulty with doing it.

I suspect that the market for it is too small

Dunno, I would have thought it wouldnt be that small.

-- that is, it won't be an issue for long enough to give
sufficient return -- for anyone to take the trouble to do it.

Main problem is that the cheapest ones dont even have 100Hz etc.

Yeah, the bottom of the pile is pretty limited. Once you get to
around the $2k mark you start getting a reasonable feature set.

Yeah, tho there are some Grundigs on ebay in the <$1K category that
do have it, most ex demos and refurbs with 6 month Grundig warrantys.
I do have a Grundig authorised service center locally which is an
important consideration given the cost of shipping those big TVs.

but I've not been too impressed with the results.

In what way ?

I've only tried it briefly and just didn't like it much. Don't
recall the specifics any more. I've been spoiled by digital.

Yeah, likely the horiz lines become too obvious or something.

I was a bit surprised at how good that monkey doco
looked, given that it was recorded LP on a VCR.

I've recorded some stuff from digital on my old VCR,
and it played back OK on the widescreen. Not quite
as spiffy-looking as the broadcast, but still pretty good.

Yeah, I always record in LP because the quality
is fine, even tho not quite as good as in SP.

I've had all this put in context for me this weekend: my sister
is using a twenty-year-old set our parents gave her, with the DVD
player hooked up to the VCR, and the VCR feeding signal through
over RF. Something in the setup is dodgy, so she's got a really
snowy picture even from DVD.

So I reckon I can be a little less fussy.

True.

I like to have a lot of stuff recorded so I can just look
thru the database for something to watch and completely
detach myself from the broadcasting schedules.

Likewise. I built a system using a DVB-T card in a PC
running Linux. Displays to the TV using a Matrox G400,

Use one of those too.

sits in another room so I don't have to
hear its fans and disks whirring away,

The main system is now so quiet that I have to check carefully if
its powered off due to a mains failure, and thats with the case which
never has its covers on, right next to the armchair I compute from.

has long cables for AV and the IR receiver. Picks up schedules
from the net and has a web interface to set up recordings.

Works pretty nicely, or at least it did until my neighbour
installed something that's interfering with reception.

Time for a molotov |-)

 

[flyinyereye]

"Rod Speed" <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c6i4i2$bstd1$1@ID-69072.news.uni-berlin.de...

Yeah, tho there are some Grundigs on ebay in the <$1K category that
do have it, most ex demos and refurbs with 6 month Grundig warrantys.
I do have a Grundig authorised service center locally which is an
important consideration given the cost of shipping those big TVs.

Grundig offers on-site warranty service for TVs above 63cm, which is just as
well as the big sets are not only huge but they weigh a ton. I can't even
pick mine up.

"2. Free in home service is available only on Televisions sets with a screen
size 63cm or larger and within the normal service area of Grundig Australia
Pty Ltd or the applicable service centre. Video and Audio products do not
apply." http://www.grundig-australia.com/support/faq.html

 

[Matt McLeod]

In article <408c9876$0$8806$5a62ac22@freenews.iinet.net.au>,
flyinyereye <spam@spam.com> wrote:

"Rod Speed" <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c6i4i2$bstd1$1@ID-69072.news.uni-berlin.de...

Yeah, tho there are some Grundigs on ebay in the <$1K category that
do have it, most ex demos and refurbs with 6 month Grundig warrantys.
I do have a Grundig authorised service center locally which is an
important consideration given the cost of shipping those big TVs.

Grundig offers on-site warranty service for TVs above 63cm, which is just as
well as the big sets are not only huge but they weigh a ton. I can't even
pick mine up.

Samsung have something similar. Not sure on the specifics, but
if you have a problem you're supposed to call your nearest authorised
repair place and they'll come to you and do the work at Samsung's
expense.

Very handy given the size of these things.

Matt

 

[Gadgets]

Grundig TVs are no longer manufactured... so I wonder how long they will
keep support up for it?

Cheers, Jason (remove shop to reply)
Macrovision Disablers: http://gadgetaus.com
DVD Rentals online: http://webflicks.com.au/?u=47905

 

[flyinyereye]

"Gadgets" <info@shop.gadgetaus.com> wrote in message
news:c6iic5$h8e$1@perki.connect.com.au...

Grundig TVs are no longer manufactured

I wonder if you can back up that statement with any proof.

 

[Rod Speed]

flyinyereye <spam@spam.com> wrote in message
news:408c9876$0$8806$5a62ac22@freenews.iinet.net.au...

Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote

Yeah, tho there are some Grundigs on ebay in the <$1K category that
do have it, most ex demos and refurbs with 6 month Grundig warrantys.
I do have a Grundig authorised service center locally which is an
important consideration given the cost of shipping those big TVs.

Grundig offers on-site warranty service for TVs above
63cm, which is just as well as the big sets are not only
huge but they weigh a ton. I can't even pick mine up.

"2. Free in home service is available only on Televisions sets with a screen
size 63cm or larger and within the normal service area of Grundig Australia
Pty Ltd or the applicable service centre. Video and Audio products do not
apply." http://www.grundig-australia.com/support/faq.html

Interesting, didnt notice that. Thanks for that.

 

[Rod Speed]

Gadgets <info@shop.gadgetaus.com> wrote in
message news:c6iic5$h8e$1@perki.connect.com.au...

Grundig TVs are no longer manufactured...

Where did you get that from ?

so I wonder how long they will keep support up for it?

Legally they get no choice on that.

 

[Rod Speed]

Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c6iobr$cfejh$1@ID-69072.news.uni-berlin.de...

Gadgets <info@shop.gadgetaus.com> wrote

Grundig TVs are no longer manufactured...

Where did you get that from ?

Looks like he might be right
http://www.grundig.com/presse.grundig/unternehmensmeldungen/Beko_Alba_uebernimmt_Grundig/index.html

so I wonder how long they will keep support up for it?

Legally they get no choice on that.

 

[Rod Speed]

Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c6jrr9$d3cjb$1@ID-69072.news.uni-berlin.de...

Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote
Gadgets <info@shop.gadgetaus.com> wrote
Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote

Yeah, tho there are some Grundigs on ebay in the <$1K category that
do have it, most ex demos and refurbs with 6 month Grundig warrantys.
I do have a Grundig authorised service center locally which is an
important consideration given the cost of shipping those big TVs.

Grundig TVs are no longer manufactured...

Where did you get that from ?

Looks like he might be right
http://www.grundig.com/presse.grundig/unternehmensmeldungen/Beko_Alba_uebernimmt_Grundig/index.html

But Grundig Aust says that while that flogging off of that
part of the operation is correct, the new owners are currently
deciding where they will continue with the manufacture of TVs.

I guess that is possible they may decide not to bother
with TVs but that seems a tad unlikely given that they
did choose to buy that part of the Grundig operation.

Might well be a way to get a decent 100Hz widescreen
TV for a similar price to one of the crap end same sized
TVs that dont have the 100Hz etc.

Might be better to go for a Samsung etc tho.

 

[Rod Speed]

flyinyereye <spam@spam.com> wrote in message
news:408cd255$0$8810$5a62ac22@freenews.iinet.net.au...

Gadgets <info@shop.gadgetaus.com> wrote

Grundig TVs are no longer manufactured

I wonder if you can back up that statement with any proof.

Ring Grundig on 1800 812 965

 

[flyinyereye]

"Rod Speed" <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c6jrr9$d3cjb$1@ID-69072.news.uni-berlin.de...

Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c6iobr$cfejh$1@ID-69072.news.uni-berlin.de...
Gadgets <info@shop.gadgetaus.com> wrote

Grundig TVs are no longer manufactured...

Where did you get that from ?

Looks like he might be right

http://www.grundig.com/presse.grundig/unternehmensmeldungen/Beko_Alba_uebern

immt_Grundig/index.html

Even if they have stopped making them, it doesn't make any difference if you
buy one now... the Australian company will likely still be here to cover the
two year warranty, and after that you're on your own, just like any
purchase. Funnily enough, I just checked the receipt for my set, and my
warranty ran out last week.

 

[Matt McLeod]

In article <c6i4i2$bstd1$1@ID-69072.news.uni-berlin.de>,
Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote:

Matt McLeod <matt@boggle.org> wrote in message
news:408c8ed7$1@duster.adelaide.on.net...
Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote
I meant does it automatically notice when what is broadcast
is in 4:3 format with black bars at the top and botttom due
to the original being in 16:9 and automatically resize the
display so you dont see the black bars.

I suspect that the market for it is too small

Dunno, I would have thought it wouldnt be that small.

I'm thinking time rather than units -- with the gradual move to
widescreen for production, it shouldn't be too long before most
newer programmes will be widescreen.

Still, it'd be interesting to see if someone can come up with
something. I find that crop detection can get a bit tricky
sometimes, specifically when it's a dark picture. You can
end up losing a lot of the image if you're not careful, and
I've yet to see an automatic system that doesn't need at least
a little human intervention to check that it really did get
it right.

But it might be OK if you had some way to force it to re-evaluate
the cropping. If the picture looks too weird, hit the appropriate
button and see if it comes good. If it worked nine times out of
ten it'd probably be good enough, so long as you could turn it off.

Works pretty nicely, or at least it did until my neighbour
installed something that's interfering with reception.

Time for a molotov |-)

Heh. I'm opting for "move somewhere else" instead, as I was
going to do that anyway.

Matt