TV shopping... would my DV camcorder be a good comparative source?

[Mugi]

Hi,

I'm off tV shopping with a completely open mind - looking at anything from a 32" widescreen to 42" RPTV's.
As you know, chain stores have terribly set up systems - different feeds, grainy and noisy signals.

The best I've seen was Powerhouse in Barnsley - they had all four major brand 36" CRT's showing DVD's but sadly vastly different films:
Planet of the Apes, SWE1TPM, Final Fantasy and Pearl Harbour.... not really suitable for comparisons.

I have a digital camcorder with composite video output and wondered if this would make a good portable source to take with me into the stores (providing of course I declare it to the security first). Oh, I should say I'm only going to 'look' at the TV's in store but will probably use something like pricerunner to find the best deal.

I appreciate that composite is not the best AV method but even so, if I do use this as a source, can I perhaps ask for some tips on what to include on the tape I take with me?

I'm thinking:

Natural tones, skin, sky and foliage.
Perhaps some extreme tones such as very red objects etc.

What else might show up the inadequacies of the sets?

Would for example a line at almost horizontal show up any pixelation tendencies of a TV?

What implications does 100Hz have over a camcorder signal?

In general, my viewing is likely to be DVD from playstation2, digital satellite sports channels, news 24 and movies.

Many thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

[laurel]

Wot DV cam you got that don't have at least S-Video output?

[Mugi]

Doh, oh yeah, good point it does have Svideo output, but I just haven't got an SVHS lead :-(

It's a panasonic NDV 27 B

[laurel]

Your best bet would be to get a scart/svid combo lead. You'll probably be able to make use of it later, and svid will be a better bet for review.

With your viewing preferences, I would be tempted to stick a few favourite movie clips onto DV to take with you. This way you know what you are watching which will give you a better comparison.

If you can get something like a test card onto DV this would be good to test geometry. Otherwise, look for a suitable clip with lots of straight lines, maybe a tennis match for example?

Cheers

Laurel

PS. By the way - if the store is serious, they should be able to let you use a suitable svid lead for a few minutes. Most of them have leads flying around.

[Mugi]

Thanks for the input,

Sadly my DVcam is not DV-in enabled so I presume recording anything but thru-the-lens footage onto its tape is impossible?
(I'm something of a beginner)

I guess downloading off the net, printing out a test card then filming with a tripod would not give a fantastic result...

I think it might be OK using the composite or is this more prone to other influences and less representative of the true ability of a TV?