# Not entirely Tivo forum question, sorry



## pj280167 (Dec 21, 2005)

I know this isn't entirely the correct forum in which to ask this question but can anyone offer any advice on a suitable replacement for my ageing 32" 100Hz Sony CRT television. I'd like to increase the screen size to a max of 40" but having read a few threads I'm a little concerned that a larger screen might show up my beloved Tivo's mpeg compression too much and, as I'm not planning to retire my Tivo for a few years yet, this worries me a little. I currently don't own a HD playback device but I quess at some point I'll have to join in so should I be looking for a 1080p model ? The TV will have an amount of "bay window glare" on it so does this preclude Plasmas, as I think I read there might be a problem ? Any helpful hints / links would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, pj


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

Size depends on taste and circumstance.

Definitely futureproof yourself by getting a 1080p set which can accept 24fps input and display it natively, with at least two HDMI sockets.

LCD/plasma is becoming a closer and closer call, especially with LED backlit LCDs which are getting close to plasma quality. But if you want 1080 at that screen size I think you're looking at LCD.

Ambient light glare will be a problem for any TV, but not particularly LCD over plasma.

TiVo's low resolution and compression artefacts will be more visible - you'll just have to live with that I'm afraid, althoug Mode 0 modifying your TiVo can help a bit.


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## pj280167 (Dec 21, 2005)

Thanks for your help TCM. So has anyone out there bought a 40" backlit LCD that they're really impressed / unimpressed with ?


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## Davyburns (Jan 7, 2004)

I have had a Pioneer 50" Plasma for three years now, and, although there is a slight quality difference between cable TV, and Tivo (at mode 0) its not that significant, in fact on some occasions I have had visitors comment on the good quality of the picture. but then, when I bought it I did a lot of research, and the Pioneer was the best on the market


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## CarlWalters (Oct 17, 2001)

pj280167 said:


> Thanks for your help TCM. So has anyone out there bought a 40" backlit LCD that they're really impressed / unimpressed with ?


Yes. I bought the KDL40D3500 a couple of months ago and have to say that I'm pretty impressed with it so far. It is 1080p compatible. I have recently installed Freesat and the BBCHD pictures look particularly good as does my PS3 using and HDMI cable.

I must state my bias in this in that I do work for Sony (broadcast R&D) and got a good price on it (£540) at the time


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## DeadKenny (Nov 9, 2002)

Never tried mode 0 (partly due to the difficulty of setting it up, and partly because of the reports of white flashes which would likely annoy me), but using 'best' option the picture quality on my 40" Samsung is noticeable poor compared to straight through AUX from Sky.

The most blindingly obvious is if you watch any of the news channels where there may be lots of captions, graphics, and cut out boxes with plain colours and straight edges. Red especially is bad (e.g. BBC News), lots of blocking, colour bleed over edges, white text on red is fuzzy edged. Switch to AUX and it's all clear, solid and sharp.

And I sit 10ft from the TV. It's bad enough for me to watch on AUX if it's live TV. I just put up with it with recordings, but the solution for me will likely be to get Sky HD when the £10/month is dropped or build a HTPC PVR with a DVB card that can pick up Freesat HD.

Unless TiVo would come back and launch a Freesat HD box. Hmm, yeah, pigs and flying spring to mind


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## iankb (Oct 9, 2000)

I find the 40" Series 6 Samsung to be excellent on FreeView upscaled to 1080p, whether live or via Vista MCE. Because the quality is so good, I find even a Mode 0 TiVo and Sky digibox to be significantly worse, and have had to remove it completely from my setup.

IMHO, I would consider an alternative to a Series 1 TiVo if you really want to feed a good LCD TV nowadays.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

iankb said:


> IMHO, I would consider an alternative to a Series 1 TiVo if you really want to feed a good LCD TV nowadays.


On the other hand if the OP simply hangs on to his CRT set for a few more years and doesn't replace it until the moment when Tivo actually does end their UK Tivo service he will save money in the interim and still have the satisfaction of being able to use his Tivo for as long as possible..............


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

And go several years with a considerably smaller screen when watching DVDs etc. Broadcast TV is not the only video source.


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## Pete77 (Aug 1, 2006)

TCM2007 said:


> Broadcast TV is not the only video source.


It is in this household. I never waste my money on buying or renting DVDs when there is so much broadcast choice available and recordable with Tivo.

The only exception is I fail to set up an SP on Tivo before a new series I want to watch starts and then only hear of it belatedly. In those rare Circumstances I pull down programs from the BBC IPlayer or 4OD and watch them on my computer as its far less hassle than hooking up my laptop PC to the tv.


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## pj280167 (Dec 21, 2005)

Sorry for not replying to all of your posts earlier but I've been engrossed in fitting a Velux window in my kitchen. It's been a steep learning curve but if anyone needs a few pointers the I'm a little wiser now..... Thanks for all your replies, IMHO there's too much choice in the world. I think I'm going to stick witht the CRT for a little while and see how the range of freesat TV's increases as I'm not willing to pay News International any money. I can't imagine a time without TiVo, maybe I'm in the dark ages but is Vista MCE as good a front end ? We don't watch many DVD's and as I said before I don't own a blu-ray player. It's a funny thing but I guess because I work with technology, I'm a Sound Engineer, I've always ended up surrounding myself in good quality equipment at home but as I get older, I'm now 41, I can't be bothered to learn another bit of kit, its idiosynchrosies and its remote's hieroglyphics unless really necessary, which is probably a bit of a worry for me Anyway keep any further toughts coming, after all knowledge is power


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

Pete77 said:


> It is in this household. I never waste my money on buying or renting DVDs when there is so much broadcast choice available and recordable with Tivo..


Fine but you are far from typical in that, as a glance at DVD sales statistics will reveal.

It's only a "waste" in your opinion. However clever TiVo's software is, it can't record a film before it is broadcast, nor even when it has been can it show it with the same picture quality or with digital surround sound, or the DVD extras, etc . For many people, they are prepared to pay money for these things.


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## DeadKenny (Nov 9, 2002)

A lot of what I watch on DVD is cut or edited in some way on TV, and broken up by adverts. I prefer to get the DVD.

Not to mention that TiVo picture quality on my 40" telly is not a patch on upscaled DVD! Though I have an HD DVD player and bucket loads of HD films now thanks to them "losing" the format war (i.e. fire sale of £5 and under HD films! ).

Another thing is for films, only a handful of what I'd watch is on TV. I'd have to wait a very long time for them to turn up on for free on TV in the first place, and they may not be repeated very often. Otherwise you have to pay a fortune for something like Sky Movies (which really is a waste as you'll likely watch 10% of the content), or a pay per view channel (which costs more per film than a DVD, especially when you look at DVDs in sales and offers).

Does depend on your habits though.


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