I don't think cable length has anything to do with it.

The way it was explained to me is that the receiver has to process the digital audio signal and your display has to process the video signal, and depending on the receiver/display this can be a slower process on one of the devices which causes the audio and video to get out of sync.

I used to have this problem relatively frequently with my Oppo and an HP DLP set. Pausing a DVD and restarting it would resolve it. I've since returned the HP (for other reasons), replaced it with a Samsung DLP and have applied 2 firmware updates to the Oppo and haven't had any issues since then.

No. The signals travel at the speed of light, so cable length is pretty much irrelevant.

The reason for lipsync issues is because the processing for audio signals is simpler than the processing for video signals. So it takes longer to process video signals. There are boxes out there that will delay the signals such that they are synced up. The boxes are adjustable also.

Here's a link to one: http://www.lipfix.com/lip_sync_error_.html

Moreover, some people don't even notice a difference.

Here's a quick overview. DVD signals are 480i. Your HDTV is either 720p or 1080p. In order to properly display a 480i signal, the signal has to be converted from 480i to 720p (or 1080p). Your TV will do that conversion automatically.

The reason one would get an upconverting DVD player is because some people assert that upconverting DVD players do a better job at doing the conversion than your TV does.

There is no comparison to Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, both of which store the movies in 1080p.

That said, the difference between HD-DVD and DVD is not as great as you would think. E.g., I have two movies in both DVD and HD-DVD. You can hardly tell the difference between regular DVD and HD-DVD in the movie Terminator 3. But you can easily tell the difference between the two when viewing King Kong (which is also reputed to have the best picture quality of any HD-DVD).

johnnycakes,
try flipping your upconversion output from 720p to 1080i or vice-versa. if it's currently 720p, your tv's built-in scaler is upconverting it to 1080p. if it's 1080i, your tv is deinterlacing it for progressive scan. one of those operations might be faster than the other, and picking the right one could solve the audio problem. if not, or if you don't like the resulting picture, play with the delay settings on the 971H's audio setup page. it can be adjusted in 10ms increments.

I have the 32" version of this, and it does have some issues (notably the audio is occasionally temporarily quieter coming back from commercials and there's a buzzing sound when the backlight is turned down). Neither of these are dealbreakers for me, though I'll probably exchange the set at Costco if Vizio fixes these problems in newer ones.

I'd recommend finding the thread for your TV on avsforum.com.

So...I'm severely torn right now:

Sony 60"

or....


Samsung 61"

thoughts please...

if i was choosing i would take the samsung there in a second.

Why?

thanks.

The Samsung is bigger and in my experience their products are better than Sony's and cheaper since when you buy a Sony you're really paying a surplus for the brand name.

I have a samsung LCD and it has some problems like turning off randomly and using with a computer that are somewhat annoying. YMMV of course, but based on that I would say Sony might be a better choice.

I agree that there's generally a Sony premium in the price, but from what I've seen, the LCoS (SXRD) technology is just plain better than DLP. It makes for better colors, no rainbows, and better blacks. If resolution was everything, I'd take the Samsung, but it's not. I think the Sony is the better set.

I bought my TV a few months ago and those were the 2 TV's that made my short list as well. I ended up going with the Samsung because the price difference was much larger at that time and I had previous experience with a DLP set and was happy with the technology.

I also got spooked after reading about "green blob" issues on Sony SXRD sets on AVS Forums. I'm still not sure how real of an issue it is with the technology, but I had just gone through 2 months without a TV in my living room while trying to resolve some problems with my previous set, and the idea of getting another problematic display got to me.

I've lived with it for a few months and I still love my Samsung and have no regrets about choosing it over the Sony. I have 3 friends who range from technophobe (doesn't even have an HD source fed to it) to technogeek (bought one for the living room to watch when he doesn't feel like going downstairs to the SXRD front-projector media room) and they all love their Sonys. And they haven't noticed any "green blob" issues with their TV's.

Both also get excellent reviews from people who seem to know a lot more about this stuff than I do. As long as you don't see rainbows on DLP displays I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

yeah, that's the kicker. I respect Astro's views on the Sony, to be sure, but at the same time, everyone is raving over the Samsung as well.

Obviously, the only thing to do is go see both of them at the same time and see which one I like, but it's frustrating. I posted here and within two posts get two opposing points of view.

[censored], used to be a tv was a tv.

Thanks for the comments folks.

I have that Sony (only the 50" though) and love it. From the reading I've done it is probably a slightly better TV. Unless you can see the DLP rainbows you will probably love either one... in fact you probably would anyway.

Sony KDFE42A10, 42" rear projection LCD

Sony NS-70 DVD Player

Onkyo 304s receiver -- in retrospect, probably should have purchased a higher model, but I jumped on this at $99

Pair of Athena B1.2 bookshelves

BIC H-100 sub

Don't really have the room for a full 5.1 right now, so I figured I'd build it up over time. Quite happy so far with the 2.1 setup.

Did you check out www.avsforum.com ? It's the most thorough discussion of electronics I've ever seen. Hope it helps.

Buk,

Yeah, I'm wandering around AVSForum. Gawd their layout is crap.

FWIW, I have the 60" Sony and its great. I compared the two side by side over Christmas (Circuit City had them set up that way - I know that CC's setup isnt perfect, but it gives a good comparison), and I liked the picture better on the Sony. I also did a fair amount of research at AVS, CNet and Home Theater Mag, which lead me to getting the Sony. I also was able to get it before Christmas from CC and get 2 years, no payments from Sony, which actually made it cost less than the Samsung.

FWIW, I just helped a friend setup the Samsung, and while it was nice too, I just like the menus and operation better of the Sony. The one nice thing about the Samsung's menu is when you make picture changes it splits the screen and shows a before and after picture, so you can really see what your changes do. That's about the only feature I wish the Sony had. Also I like the Samsung's shell (black) better than the Sony (silver), but it wasnt a deal breaker for me. One drawback to the Samsung that I noticed (and I could be mistaken because I didnt look super close) was that it didnt appear that the Samsung had front A/V inputs. My Sony has front component inputs which is nice for when I pull out the old PS2. It wont matter if you use HDMI to connect your game systems since both sets have the HDMI inputs in back, but having front access is nice.

The problem with AVSForum is that it is so busy, it makes OOT seem like Other Poker. Their Samsung DLP thread has something like 15,000 replies! And people get very defensive of whatever technology they choose. The DLP people hate the LCOS people. The Blu-Ray people and the HD-DVD people don't get along. It's really weird.

You can find good information there, but it takes diligent use of the search function.

BTW, I got the exact Samsung DLP that you chose. It gets rave reviews and you can't go wrong with it (unless you see rainbows, I don't).

The Sony is a good set also. You could just flip a coin. Or you could realize that the $200 difference can nearly buy a stand for the TV (which is necessary).

So I just hooked up my new Panasonic 42" and it looks amazing. Thanks to everyone who recommended it, since it seems to be all the rage on 2+2 and everywhere else. I looked at a ton of TVs and spent a couple weeks reading up, and although I considered astro's advice of saving up for a 50"+, I figured that I was too impatient to wait and too poor to splurge for something like that now.

The Vizio was just a bit more washed out and I didn't want to sacrifice quality to save a couple hundred bucks. The LG and Samsungs looked almost as good as the Panasonic, but I went with the consensus choice. Anyway, it looks incredible and will look even better once I get my HD satellite receiver to watch broadcast in hi def.

Ok I'm a bit of a noob here...but do you mean a modified Xbox, a modified xbox 360 or a standard xbox 360? I was under the impression that an xbox 360 only plays WMV-video, not the gazillion different formats you download through various means...

Edit: after googling a bit, it seems no one has figured out how to stream directly to an xbox 360 from a pc through a local network connection, like you currently can do with the old xbox...so no need to reply

after a week or so of research, reading avsforum and all the other 4.6 bajillion pages devoted to the 61" Samsung and the 60" Sony, I decided to go with:



Can't wait. Got one heck of a deal on it too, roughly $600 less than what CC and BB have offered.

Sweet!

Thanks to all youse guys who added input.

Hey guys... anyway care to tell me whats better?

Plasma or LCD?

It pretty much comes down to personal preference. LCDs have some nice advantages (like no burn-in) but also cost more. IMO plasmas look better in general. For the price you can't get better color in a TV then the 42" Panasonic Plasmas. That said, I JUST got a LCD projection (Sony SXRD, pictured a couple of posts up) and love it.

Weird I was just looking at this...
Panasonic - TH-42PX60U 42-inch Plasma HDTV