HD looks good, but what shows SD OK too??

[TivoUK]

Folks, am wanting to buy a HD capable screen, between 32" and 42"'ish is my guide, got 3000 to play with but would like to spend a lot less.

I have access to HD .ts files and know they look stunning (I borrowed a 37" LG LCD screen for a week and had the PC hooked up) but have yet to see current standard def (SD) look OK. Try as I might with the LG, I could not get it to look OK on Sky TV. Wimbledon was on and the courts looked like carpets, not grass, horrible to watch.

Yes, Sky has all sorts of compression problems itself, I see them on my trusty old 32" Toshiba CRT, but the LG made them look at lot worse, no matter how I fiddled I could not get past it.

Is there a LCD or plasma, in the size range about, that people have good to look no worse than a CRT when viewing Sky / Freeview? Or is it just that the new sets make the compression problems worse on SD, a payoff for HD if you will.

This week I am planning a trip to a very good local retailer, who will, if I call and arrange before hand, setup 3 or so plasma, 3 or so LCD for me to view and connect them to the same sources so I can compare like to like. Want to see off Sky / Freeview, and upscaling DVD player.

The 32" and the 40" Samsung LCD sets are inital favs - but viewing them in Currys etc was not a good experience as they had not been setup properly.

So, which HD capable sets should I be asking to see to show me SD stuff OK, or is my wish to view SD at th same quality as my CRT just a pipe dream?

Thoughts people!!

 

[neilmcl]

The new Sharp P series LCDs make a good show at displaying SD material as they're optimised for standard definition PAL broadcasts. However, whilst they are capable of displaying HD, they do have all the right connections, they only have a vertical resolution of 540. It is argued by Sharp that as this is exactly 1/2 that of 1080 and 2/3 of 720 then it should also look pretty good with HD as there isn't any complicated scaling going on, thats the theory anyway... we shall see. I've got the 37" version myself and the picture is comparable with my old Hitachi 28" CRT.

As I don't see HD becoming totally mainstream for a number of years yet, after all BBC won't be doing it until after digital switchover, then I think this is a good stopgap.

 

[Bluestraw]

Try the new Philips 9830. Well within your budget, and by the sounds of things it's pretty good at handling whatever you throw at it!

 

[freekb]

Try the new Philips 9830. Well within your budget, and by the sounds of things it's pretty good at handling whatever you throw at it!

Well, except PC sources it seems.