Many in the press have already "called it" for Blu-ray. Most presume that HDDVD will fade in to a PC thing, and Blu-Ray will be the standard format for Next-gen DVD. At least one HD-DVD player manufacturer just basically 1/2ed their player prices, but I (not an industry analyst, just a bystander anxiously wanting to buy a player already) can't honestly feel at this point that that's going to matter at all, when content is on one side and not the other.

Personally I'm leaning toward a PS3.

This isn't necessarily foolproof. I know with sound settings especially, it's really easy to feel like something is "off" about what I'm hearing when I listen to music (and I'm not even an audiophile or anything) but not really know what settings to tweak to get it sounding how I want. I've had this experience pretty much every time I build a new PC with a new sound card.

Anyway, stopping by this thread cause I just bought a Panasonic 58" 1080p plasma (the TH-58PZ750U) which will hopefully be delivered in the next week or so. I'll return with impressions when it arrives.

Most of the posters at the HD DVD portion of AVS forum think that HD DVD is living on borrowed time.

Although I am an HD DVD owner and will still probably get some more HD DVD movies, I would never recommend one buy an HD DVD player over a Blu Ray player now.

When I bought my Panasonic plasma, I got a deal and was essentially given a Blueray player. Only drawback is that, apparently, Blueray players do not record, or at least this particular one does not.

I actually don't see myself doing much recording, since my cable box works as a DVR. But on rare occasions, I may want to record something to a more permanent format that I can transport.

Do I have to hook up a VCR to accomplish this? Could I just hookup my computer to the TV and record onto a DVD that way instead? I'm looking for the simplest way of making a recording, with the fewest wires necessary.

Unfortunately, there's no "easy" way to transfer from a DVR to a computer. Older models have USB or Firewire ports that you can just copy the data over. But (AFAIK) newer DVRs have that disabled. So the only way to move from DVR to DVD is to watch the show in real time and have your standalone DVD recorder (or computer) hooked up to the DVR. And, of course, HD programs won't be recorded in HD.

often true, but it's quite easy with tivo.

hd dvd's 3x dvd and blu-ray's bd9 offer a way to put hd content on standard dvds, but a set-top or software high definition player is still required for playback. i don't know if any set-top recorders support either standard yet, but there is already a guide for creating 3x dvd on the pc. seems promising for cheap distribution, home authorship, etc.

A friend of mine took his new Acer PH730 dlp projector to my house this weekend.

I have an Acer PD112 myself (it's a couple years old already).

I was really blown away by the PH730. It was very quiet and the image was astonishing. Great colours, lifelike light and super-sharp. Compared to my own projector this one presents imagine that feel much more real (and I already liked my own projector very much).

It feels like going from a good CRT to a good TFT.

We tried many sources and it perfectly showed the flaws and limits of them (DVD vs 720p sources, etc).

What are the situations in which I wouldn't need a 1080P? To my knowledge, if the screen isn't that big, and I'm not using bluray/hd-dvd, and I'm sitting far enough away from the tv, is it pretty much pointless?

Astroglide has a link where it shows size of TV and viewing distance to determine the best resolution. Anything less than 55" and at least 10 ft away and 720p is fine. I just bought a 65" 1080p DLP TV for $1599 and the difference between 720p and 1080p is VERY noticeable. I A/B'd them w/ a blu-ray disc in my PS3 and told it on one try that 720p is the highest and the other 1080p. If you aren't using HD content though it doesn't matter what resolution you are getting as the highest you'll input is 420p via an upconverting DVD player.

ah alright, I'm looking at something in the 46-50" range for a large bedroom and I'll be like 10+ feet away so maybe save some dough and go 720... only downside is the resolution on the 1080 is great for hooking up the computer to the tv and that would be nice to multi-table on a big screen..

Does anyone have any experience with the Pioneer Elite Reciever? I currently have sweet **** all for a audio set up and am looking to start with a reciever plus a couple speakers/sub, and then add five more speakers over time. I'm looking at the elite because it has 4 HDMI inputs, which is crucial. I hate having to have a separate hub and flicking five different switches everytime I want to change what video game system I'm playing.

marc andressen pointed out recently that the hd-dvd and blu-ray wars are largely moot, physical media is becoming increasingly irrelevant.

btw, I ordered the logitech harmony remote thanks to this thread!

I bought a Panasonic Plasma several weeks ago, and recently have been experiencing what I believe is termed "pixilization." Best I can describe is that, occasionally, small parts of the screen seem momentarily frozen or boxy, and the sound also sounds like it is stuttering.

I called my cable company (Cablevision), because I saw on their website an indication that this could be caused by a poor signal. From the office, they thought the signal was fine, but they are sending someone out to my house in a few days to check.

Here's my question: Is this type of problem invariably caused by a poor signal, or might it mean that the tv itself is defective?

Wynton does the same problem occur when you are watching dvd's or playing games? If not then i'd guess it's the signal but I'm pretty tech. illiterate... I've looked at the panny plasmas online and they're always highly regarded so i'd say odds are it's the signal...

Marwan,

I just asked this question at the AVforum and was told it was very unlikely that it's the set, and almost certainly is the signal. Hope they're right.

Wynton,

I had this problem really bad with Comcast in Chicago, had them out to my house ~5x to get them to fix it, they never did, I finally cut ouf Comcast and switched to RCN.

I have occasional pixelation with RCN now, but very infrequently.

This is almost 100% a signal quality/strength issue. Unfortunately it can be that the wiring in your house is bad, and is the cause of the problem. Also unfortunately, the fix of choice of the cable company is usually to put a line amplifier in your house/apartment, which doesn't actually get at the root of the problem, though it might fix it.

I'm thinking of buying the Acer PH730 projector. It's a 720p DLP beamer.

Does anyone know other projectors I should consider?

Believe people really like the Sony "Pearl" (http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/09/13...cially-priced/) but obviously it's at a bit of a different price point.

This one seems right up your alley and that suggest a few extras.

I've been seeing some stuff lately about plasma TVs "buzzing". Gets louder the more white is on the screen. Some people hear it more than others depending on what they watch, ambient noise, and their listening position. Also there can apparently be manufacturing tolerances - or something - that allow for differences even in the same model TV. Anyone know anything about this? I'd hate to have this problem for a TV I just spent $2,000 for, and I'm sure I'd be more sensitive to it than most. (Note: I got the impression it might be more likely with a 1080p set than a 720 set simply because of the greater number of pixels.)

Cable company came today, after I made the appointment a week ago. In the interim, I noticed much less pixation occurring (just like when you feel better after getting to the doctor).

But the cable guy had a reasonable sounding explanation. He said my signal was fine, but the wire outside the house appeared old. Thus, when the wire got wet, it may have led to the problem. (And the past week things have been relatively dry.) So he changed the wiring outside the house.

We shall see what happens.

the logitech harmony remote is amazing, really awesome. I love how you can hit "listen to music" and it cuts the tv off, switches the tuner to cd and plays a cd. the only problem I've had is the "skip" buttons aren't working for the stereo, and I haven't yet figured out how to program them in manually.

Does this mean that even with an IR device, an RF signal will be received ok? Like, right now my DVR uses IR and it's a pain in the ass to aim my remote around my coffee table at the DVR. With the Harmony, will I not have to worry about this anymore, even though the DVR currently uses an IR remote?

There's a million Harmony remotes - Harmony One, 890, 880, 670, Xbox 360 version, 659, and 550. I mean, wtf? I have no idea which one suits my needs. Time to do research on Logitech's site I guess.

I just got a new TV (Panasonic 58" 1080p plasma) and my DVR remote really doesn't want to work with it, and I can't take using one remote to change channels and another to change TV volume.

Meh, ignore the RF question I guess since only the two most expensive remotes even use that and I don't want to pay $350 for this.

The 670/659/550 cost between $82 and $120 online...hard to tell wtf the difference is between any of them besides button layouts.

You can find a good amount of info on them over at the AVS forums or also remotecentral.com I think what you will find is that they pretty much all use the same programming, but have different shapes and button layouts, so that will be a determiner as to which you choose.