[Orange Man]

Hello

A friend of ours has offered to buy our excellent-in-shape Sony 36" XBR from 99' after his got zapped in a storm. I'm seriously thinking about it and just saw the offer on the Dish site with the Sharp Aquos set. I was wondering if anyone took them up on it, good or bad or what?

I'm limited to a 37" and while the Sharp Aquos line is still good there are a few other sets out there that are better. Just wondering how the whole package works? Thank you.


Kenny J
Nashville TN

 

[Bobby H]

The whole thing depends on what your friend wants out of a TV. If he just wants a low cost value on moving up to HD then it might be a decent deal.

However, if he wants a TV boasting a lot of the latest, greatest HDTV technologies then he might want to steer clear.

IMHO, the best LCD-TVs currently on the market today are Sony's XBR4/XBR5 HDTV sets and the newest Samsung Series 7 / 750 LCD-TVs. Panasonic has a good 1080p plasma set that lists for around $5000. The Pioneer 60" Grand Kuro plasma is one of the best TVs available.

I think the 120Hz refresh feature on certain new LCD-TVs is a must-have feature when shopping for a new HDTV. The fast refresh effectively combats ghosting and smearing issues common to less expensive LCD-TVs. The motion enhancement feature is great for things like HD sports broadcasts. In turning off the motion enhancement filter, a 120Hz TV will give a perfect 5:5 pull-down from 1080p/24 content on Blu-ray Disc. Newer, more expensive LCD-TVs have better color quality and deeper black levels.

I own a Sony KDL52XBR4 52" LCD-TV. It's really a great TV set. There's smaller, less expensive versions available, but I think 40" is as small as they come.

A friend of mine wanted a TV like mine. I paid $2999 for it in January (before Super Bowl weekend). The price shot up $1000 so he opted for the new Samsung LN-52A750 52" LCD-TV. It sports all the same features as the Sony XBR4, but has 4 HDMI ports instead of just 3 on the Sony. It also has a built in LAN connection. The Sony XBR4 has a jack on the back for attaching an optional Bravia Link device.

 

[Jim5506]

You can probably find the same Sharp Aquos for less money than Dish is asking. From what I've heard, the deal is not that great of a deal.

 

[Orange Man]

Well thanks for the insight and tips. I've been on a few HT boards reviewing the threads on several LCD models. Of course we're limited to the 37" since that's the max size for the cabinet.

I know the Aquos line made a mark when it came out but wasn't certain about now. We have a trusty Sony 36" XBR crt that we're selling to a friend whose set got zapped. So I've got to cram some LCD education in fast.

Yea I saw the new XBR6 Sony has and it's nice. I've been a fan of the XBR series since day one. I'm also checking out Samsung and Toshiba. We don't have Blu-Ray just the normal DVD and no gaming. This will be in the main room for casual viewing. The larger Mits RPTV in the rec room is for mainly DVD and gaming.


Kenny J