Monitor?

I'm still trying to figure out what monitor to get myself.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254026

Originally posted by Mysty I have a Samsung Syncmaster 226BW: 22"; I love it and if I had to do it over I would stick with the Samsung Syncmaster but go to a 24"; would actually love to get the 30".  But since im getting the Samsung Plasma 50" 5084 HDTV next month I guess Ill check that out with some gaming; just not sure how well gaming looks on those Large screen HDTV's.   But if you can afford to go a little bigger than the 22"; go for it; a 24" would be awesome.

Ah, you edited from the 5054 to the 5084.  I was going to say you're going to really like that Samsung Plasma.  I have the 5084 and it is a nice Plasma.  I don't play games on it though but Blu-Rays look yummy.

That war just ended this month and Blu-ray is the winner so it's safe to buy now =p

I too bought a new monitor to go with with my new high end DSO rig.  After taking the advice of many on here, I ended up with a Samsung SyncMaster 226BW.  I am very, very pleased with this and I can run all of my games at 1680 x 1050 and they look beautiful.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001096&Tpk=Samsung%2bSyncMaster%2b226BW

http://computers.pricegrabber.com/flat-panel-lcd-monitors/m/32830843/search=samsung+syncmaster/st=product/sv=title/  

Originally posted by Mysty Originally posted by EdH63 Originally posted by Mysty I have a Samsung Syncmaster 226BW: 22"; I love it and if I had to do it over I would stick with the Samsung Syncmaster but go to a 24"; would actually love to get the 30".  But since im getting the Samsung Plasma 50" 5084 HDTV next month I guess Ill check that out with some gaming; just not sure how well gaming looks on those Large screen HDTV's.   But if you can afford to go a little bigger than the 22"; go for it; a 24" would be awesome. Ah, you edited from the 5054 to the 5084.  I was going to say you're going to really like that Samsung Plasma.  I have the 5084 and it is a nice Plasma.  I don't play games on it though but Blu-Rays look yummy.   I was told not to buy a Blu-ray Player; because of that whole little war thing; kind of like when Beta-max came out; dont really remember it was a long time ago.  But supposedly I am told to wait on a player; I forget all the tehnical reasons why; refresh my memory if you dont mind.

Yes, Blu-Ray has won the format, so definitely do not go buy a  HD-DVD player.  You can get them for nothing now, because they're boat anchors, but you won't find much to play on them.  Just about every major movie company has jumped to the Blu-Ray format.

A far as players go, I have a Samsung BD-P1400.  All BDPs have to have firmware updates from time to time due to the ever changing disk formats that the production companies are creating.  There is a whole lot of new information embedded within the disks, mainly audio files, so to get the most out of the new disks, you'll need to have an AV receiver that can decode some of the information on them. 

There is a wealth of information out there on these audio formats http://forum.blu-ray.com/ and I would highly recommend reading up before spending your money on any player.  The PS3 seems to be the most sought after BDP right now due to its HDs, faster load times, and ease of use.  However, not everyone wants a gaming BDP.  Many people want stand alone players, so read and soak up like a sponge.

There are newer formats of BDPs coming out very soon from many of the manufacturers, so you may want to wait until the newer units hit the market.  They will be 2.0 versions and have more bells and whistles.

I've updated the FW in my BDP now three times.  Each update is more of a compatibility update for the disks being produced so the player can read them properly.  This is a natural process in this technology right now.  Most of the players have Ethernet connections so you can download direct to the player and update.  Blu-Ray is not quite a complete technology yet.  It's not, not quite complete because of the players so much, as it is the information being produced on the disks.  The info on the disks continues to evolve, and because of that, the player manufacturers continue to update the players, trying to stay in sync with the disks.

I am very pleased with my Samsung BD-P1400 and Blu-Ray is quite an amazing look.  I don't regret purchasing my player.  Remember, you do want a reciever that can decode all the codecs on the disk.  You'll want to have True Audio HD capability and 7.1 capacity.  The PQ is awesome, but you'll also notice the AQ difference from SD to HD.  It also will upconvert your SDs to a cleaner PQ.     

I have the New Samsung 2232bw 22" one of the best gaming monitors around IMO. Check the reviews and you will be impressed. Going with a larger monitor means you have to up the resolution and that puts a bigger strain on your video card.

Review links or where to buy?

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/reviews/index.cfm?reviewid=1372

Nevermind man, I found a few reviews on my own.

Thanks Ed;  Ill have to start reading on everything now; I printed up everything you said too so I have an idea of where to start and what I should get.  Im redoing some of the house come spring; so thats when im getting the Plasma TV and Player.  Im psyched I cant wait; I also wanted to make sure that the Plasma TV I get has a PC hookup; which the 5084 does have. 

Originally posted by Glenn-HI Your sales Woman was wrong. I live in Hawaii and my cable company is Time Warner they broadcast HD in 1080i format. Soon every HD channel will be in 1080p format. This format can down grade to 720p or 1080i.

Actually, the standard will be 1080i.  Yes, it will down convert to 720P.  The only thing you'll be able to watch for now as it relates to television broadcast will be 1080i, as that will eventually become the standard on HD and non-HD channels.  If you have a Blu-Ray player then you can up convert that to 1080P if your TV is a 1080P set.  If you don't have a 1080P set, you'll only see 1080i.  The differences you see between 1080i and 1080P is how close or how far you are sitting from the TV.  1080P really needs to be viewed from around 10 feet or more to notice the difference on a 42" screen or higher.

I use TW also. 

Most major networks such as NBC, Discovery, and TheCW broadcast in 1080i while some such as FOX, ESPN, and ABC broadcast 720p.

The current HD standard is 720p and 1080i. Still atleast another good 5 years before 1080p becomes the standard because network providers don't have that much bandwidth to waste. Basically until our stupid ISPs stop throttling our P2P downloads, we won't see 1080p broadcasts.

1080i produces the sharper still/frozen images.

720p produces the better image for fast moving objects. (better for action movies, sports, games)

1080p is both.

The smaller the TV, the closer you have to sit to notice the difference between 1080p and 720p. So if you aren't getting a 60"+, it doesn't matter if it's 720p or 1080p because the fact is that you probably won't sit close enough to notice the huge difference.

Edited by skyR - 09 Mar 2008 at 6:42pm

Originally posted by Glenn-HI I still think everything will become 1080p. The other big difference between 1080i and 1080p is when you are watching a fast moving picture i.e. sports. The 1080i format has trouble keeping up with the motion. Here is a website that talks about it.   http://ezinearticles.com/?720p-Vs-1080i-HDTV&id=91443

Another thing to keep in mind is to have your cabling HDMI.  HDMI is going to give you 100% digital transference without interference.  You cannot get bleed through on a HDMI signal from another source.  You either have Pure signal, or a bad cable with HDMI   And it's not necessary to go spend $120.00 on HDMI cables.  You don't even need to spend $40.00 on them.  HDMI is pure digital transfer regardless of how much you spend on them.  The fat price tags on HDMI cabling is purely marketing unless you're running a 20 foot cable and beyond.  Go to http://monoprice.com and purchase a 6 foot cable for 12 to $16.00 and you get the same transfer as a $100.00 Monster HDMI cable.