Two specific KDFE50A12U questions - SD & PC...

Matt_C

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Still toying with the idea of getting one of these I must admit.... but the underlying thing is that I only watch stuff in SD! I only have Freeview (and no interest in going to Sky or Virgin for HD programmes, nor HD-DVD/Blu-Ray till it has all settled down etc....

So I basically have the following;

Freeview box (RGB Scart)
DVD player (component, also has HDMI out for upscaling)
HTCP - which has either S-vid (which I use with my CRT TV) or VGA

So how does this TV fare with SD TV and DVD's, and how does t fare with PC input through VGA (assuming it has VGA? TBH, not fully sure!!!!)

Thanking you please!!!!
 
Hi Matt,

Had one of these for more than 18 months, utterly brilliant is all I can say about this set.

On SD, obviously when you're dealing with a set with a resolution of 1280 X 720 (720p) you're going to see flaws in transmitted material, and you do see them, on some of the Freeview channels it can get pretty bad, but if you stick to the mainstream channels and have a good aerial, then you should be OK.

As for SD DVD, well you have several options here. You mention you have a HTPC. I use this exact combo, what I have is a Radeon 9550 graphics card with DVI output and use a DVI - HDMI cable. Then I set the HTPC to output 1280 X 720 and it scales any DVD I use. The picture in this mode is fantastic, but I really would use a DVI output on the HTPC to see things at their best on this set.

Just for the record, this set comes with a HDMI, VGA, S-Video, 2 X SCART and a component input off the top of my head, so you're well catered for as far as connectivity is concerned. If you can get one of these for sensible money, then I wouldn't hesitate.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Dave
 
THanks! My aerial is pretty good, and I don't generally get "bitty" breakups as such (the occasional freeze, but it doesn't block up that I can remember)

Only thing is I am used to watching Freeview on a 36" CRT TV, and I actually bought a CRT purely for the fact I only intended to watch SD content.... Of course, FV and DVD looks fantastic on my CRT, so I am worried that I'll get one of these and think my CRT looked better!

As far as the HTPC goes, it's not really an HTPC - it's a ghetto desktop PC with WMP and VLC installed, and it just connects to my NAS server and plays MP3's and movie files already saved on the NAS. I don't use it for playing DVD's (doesn't even have a DVD drive in it! Told you it was ghetto!!!!) and i only has VGA output (well, amd S-vid) so DVI is out the question....
 
Only thing is I am used to watching Freeview on a 36" CRT TV, and I actually bought a CRT purely for the fact I only intended to watch SD content.... Of course, FV and DVD looks fantastic on my CRT, so I am worried that I'll get one of these and think my CRT looked better!

Have you the opportunity to see one of these in the flesh prior to purchase with at least, say, an SD DVD running? Alternatively have you considered buying from a supplier with a good record for returning things under the distance selling regulations (e.g. Comet), so you can at least try one out at home? The reason I say this, and you'll of course have to use your own eyes to decide, is that I wouldn't touch one of these 3LCD sets with a barge pole for SD viewing, even at the current knock-down prices. I found the content from both the Freeview tuner, external Freeview PVR and DVD indistinct, the colours poor/washed out and the general picture unimpressive, and that's after quite a bit of fiddling and experimentation with the various settings posted here at the time. Just my view of course. The Sony SXRD LCoS sets are (were) a different kettle of fish, mind...
 
I woud say that DVD's look very good upscaled, but TV looks like a Jpeg image which has been compacted slightly... like this..
 

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