Why?

Blockbuster vs netflix? That's worthy of it's own thread.

And LCD's aren't generally recommended for movies or sports because they don't always have fast refresh rates. (i.e. "ghosting"). But I believe newer LCD offerings don't have this problem...

But my next purchase will probably be DLP or LCoS/SXRD because I want something affordable in the 60-70" range.

I haven't seen one that can handle the speed yet, but I haven't looked for a couple of months. The issue in terms of movies is lousy black performance.

My parents picked up a sharp aqueous (SP?) that has an 8ms refresh rate - finally ghosting is a thing of the past with LCD.

That's true of any technology other than CRT, but people are still buying flat screens by the drove's

This is an interesting compilation of the differences:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_high_definition_optical_disc_formats

I've been watching the CWS in HD on my new LG 42" LCD, and have to say I've been very impressed. It has a 5ms response time, and so far has been great for watching sports. Between baseball and some football I had in HD on my DVR, I am very impressed at the way sports look on the TV. I don't have a 1080p source yet, but 720p, 1080i and even 480p all look great on it. SDTV looks pretty nasty, but it does better than my 52" RPTV, probably mostly because of the smaller size.

In the past I've put down LCD's but they have come a very long way. I wanted a large screen in my living room, and because it has a lot of natural light, projection and plasma just won't work well. This screen is very bright, color is excellent and it has acceptable black levels.

If I was looking for more of a HT setup, I'd probably still go with LCoS/SXRD but Plasma has come a long way too, they're a valid option today if space is a big consideration.

It's definitely time to re-evaluate these flat panels. A couple years ago they just weren't anywhere near projection sets in terms of quality, but now they're right there, and the price has dropped so dramatically they've become a much better option than they used to be.

Does anyone with a 360 know if the HD movies on the marketplace are 1080p? I'm really hoping that VoD squashes both HD-DVD and BD. I don't have a huge collection of DVD's and those that I do have I don't really go back to all that often. If XBL is already doing 1080p, I'm going to get myself a 360 and be done with it.

Problem with the HD VOD I have watched is the compression (both audio and video)- something you don't have to worry about with HD-DVD or BR. I personally would rather spend the money and own a movie, than spend $ on a VOD service.

And I have LCD, Plasma and LCoS - and I have been very happy with the LCD, and would recommend it to others. In my experience, the quality of the TV is more important than the tech type.

A few are, now.

There's degrees, however. High end consumer RPTV's (most 1080p DLP/LCoS) have a 10,000:1 contrast ratio. I've got a Sony LCoS set and the blacks are very good, and the shadow detail is exceptional. A properly tuned CRT may slightly exceed it in the former and may come close in the latter, but not by much on either count. In other respects I've never seen a RPCRT TV come close in overall PQ, and I've not just seen the uncalibrated stuff in the stores (most of which looks like crap). Of course, the the CRT's cost half as much so there's a cost-benefit analysis everybody needs to undertake. I came to the conclusion that I'd rather spend a little extra and get what I think it the superior set (no color uniformity issues whatsoever on my set, btw).

Plasmas are also good in contrast ratio and black performance. As far as I'm aware, most LCD flat panels still fall into the 2,000:1 - 3,000:1 contrast ratio range, and I've personally never seen one that can make a black look any better than a dark grey.

My comment about response time could have been off base with today's TV's.

A properly calibrated CRT will blow away any other technology out there. A home tuned CRT (throw a DVD in and run through the calibration screens) will easily match any other technology out there.

Don\'t just take my word for it...

Stores love to fuck with the settings on sets, and they really like to make CRT RPTV's look like crap - the profit margin on them is much less. I spent five minutes tweaking the picture quality of the set I eventually bought and people walking by were amazed at the picture - someone intentionally screwed up the settings and hosed the convergence from inside the service menu - luckily I knew how to go in there and reset everything to factory defaults. That's why it's critical to get a set from a store with a liberal return policy, and if you don't like the way it looks in your house, take it back!

Well, it was four times more expensive to get an LCOS set the same size as my CRT (56"). I hope your color stays uniform - Sony has had a hell of a time with their light engines - I saw enough green blob reports that I decided it wasn't worth it, that I would just hang out for a couple more years with CRT and let the price of everything else come down some more.

I'm sure quite a bit of the fuss was the usual negativity amplification that happens on the Internet, but at $800 vs. over $3400, it was a super easy decision to make

Now that I have a series three Tivo, I'm really enjoying my set even more - I may never leave the house

I'm aware of the thread at AVS, but I've also seen calibrated CRT sets with my own eyes and overall they don't compare favorably to my SXRD set, imo. I understand that CRT's have superior black performance, but my SXRD is very close to as good in that regard and is superior in other ways (resolution, viewing angle, brightness, inputs, etc.) I expect my set will continue to perform well, though I'll report here if it doesn't. It has an early '07 build date, and those sets are widely reputed to be fine in terms of their color uniformity performance. I've done the acid tests on mine to see if the flaw exists and it doesn't (often it isn't very apparent with normal viewing).

Netflix, Best Buy feeling “Blu”
Posted: 04:23 PM ET

Call it the final battle in the so-called “format wars.”

Two major outlets for high-definition movies, Netflix and Best Buy have both announced they’re going the way of Sony’s Blu-Ray… leaving Toshiba’s rival HD-DVD format to go the way of the dinosaur.

Netflix, the online movie rental service, cited the overwhelming number of studios publishing films in the Blu-Ray format as the reason for abandoning their current approach of stocking both Blu-Ray and HD-DVD discs. The California based Netflix says it will continue to rent HD-DVD discs to customers using what stock it has on hand, but going forward will only purchase new discs in the BD format.

Blu-Ray also enjoyed a boost from retailer Best Buy who also announced they will be going Blu, showcasing both Blu-Ray hardware and software in their retail and online stores beginning in March. Like Netflix, Best Buy will continue to offer HD-DVD products to those customers who had chosen to go with that format.

The difference here is that the retail giant, the largest electronics dealer in the U.S., is actively recommending the Blu-Ray over HD-DVD to customers.

In a statement, Mike Vitelli, Best Buy’s senior vice president, said “We are excited about helping customers find the right mix of products and services to make the next generation of high definition entertainment technology come alive for them,” adding, “We believe that Blu-ray is the right solution for consumers.”

Need more proof that it’s all but over for HD-DVD? Check the prices on HD-DVD products.

Last week, Microsoft announced it was slashing the price on it’s HD-DVD player add-on for the Xbox 360 by $50 to $129.99. Visitors to Amazon.com today will find the price of HD-DVD’s cut by 50%.

With more studios announcing their support of Blu, it would appear that HD-DVD’s future is beginning to fade to black.

Read more: UPDATE: Netflix Joins Blu-ray Camp In High-def Format War

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSL1627196120080216 since this was the original topic.

The war is over.