Back in 1965 I bought my first color TV (21" round tube Zenith) for $400. I was making about $10k a year, and bread was somewhere around $.29 a loaf - hamburger $.39 a pound. In 1069 I bought a new Chevy for $4k. Makes $2500 for HDTV seem about right!

Not 1080i, I'm asking about 1080p. Of course every computer monitor is already that and beyond. And there is one rear projection TV on sale for 20,000 that's 1080p--the question is do you think it's going to come down significantly in the coming year.

^^^1080i already here. ^^^
<<<-- Originally posted by Betsy Moore : Do you think there will be a 1080p TV for under 20,000 dollars (the current going rate) by the end of next year? -->>>

geez, I feel like a baby compared to most of you guys, I can hardly remeber the 80's.

The price on 1080p displays will most certainly come down. HD-DVD or BluRay HD will help drive this and the demand for 1080p as well. It seems the DVD-Forum and all the major studios are in agreement on what to put on the discs, but we're headed for a battle over which type of disc to put it on (HD-DVD vs. BluRay).

Anyway, right now there are only a handful of 1080p HDTV sets out there and most are under $20,000. The 82" Mitsubishi LCOS set is 1920x1080p native and it is absolutely stunning. ...It can be purchased for about $14~$16K from most reasonable dealers although price is going up since these are fairly scarce and most people don't have the room for such a beast. I can't recall exact models off the top of my head right now, but I do know of at least 2 other LCOS 1080p sets on the market that are cheaper than the Mitsubishi 82".

Right now 1280x720p is the norm for DLP sets, but I think we will see a shift to 1080p with newer models in about 6 to 8 months. Same goes for DLP and LCD projectors - right now they're hanging out at 720/768 vertical res, but 1080 is just around the corner.

Anyway, I'm hoping that I'm right... I'll be in the market for a bigscreen HDTV of some type next fall so all these manufacturers better get their stuff together by then. I don't want to buy anything that doesn't do at least 1080p native resolution.

Toshiba vs Sony
 

Trying to decide between the Sony Wega 1080i CRT and the new Toshiba 1080i+ crt.

Sony's price has yet to catch up with the currnetly discounted Toshy, $5200 AUD for the Sony vs $3300 AUD for the Toshiba

Both 86cm screens.

What seems to be missing from the Toshy is a DVi input.

I still think that the Sony has the better picture though.

Tony

Re: Toshiba vs Sony
 

<<<-- What seems to be missing from the Toshy is a DVi input.

I still think that the Sony has the better picture though. -->>>


Those two statements should be all you need to go by. First of all, if the new set doesn't have DVI or HDMI (HDMI is DVI + digital audio in a single connection), then you don't want it. You will need DVI or HDMI connections on your HDTV set to view upcoming HD-DVD (or HD BluRay) movie releases due to the copy protection issues.

Beyond that, a better picture always costs more money...

Tony, I can't seem to find the sony youre talking about. Do you have a link from b&h or from sonystyle.com?? thanks

what about this 60" Grand Wega?

http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=KDF60XS955&Dept=tv&CategoryName=tv&INT=sstyle-tv-feat_01-KDF60XS955

My mistake
 

<<<-- Originally posted by Greg Harris : Tony, I can't seem to find the sony youre talking about. Do you have a link from b&h or from sonystyle.com?? thanks -->>>

I had thought they had DVI but no, my mistake.

Anyway I ended up buying a 76CM WIDESCREEN FD TRINITRON WEGA TV KVHR32M31

Picked it up for $2400 aud. No DVI but 1080i, more component inputs than I need, looks and works great. And not to be under valued, it fit into the existing entertainment cabinet in the lounge room.

I was going to select a STB that had DVI inputs but is was otherwise a heap of garbage.

Via the STB HD broadcast images are noticably better than any LCD or Plasma that I have seen.

High-Q DVDs look great.

Tony