Need help selecting an HDTV.

[PawnTakesKing]

Here's a run-down of my situation: My current TV is 11 years old, and it's beginning to crap out. Since I'm getting married in April, I want to get a TV that my fiance' and I can use in the living room of our apartment. We plan on putting it in an armoire, and it will not hold anything larger than a 36-inch 4:3 set (I'm not sure what size 16:9 set it will hold). I am not buying unless it is HD. Unfortunately, I am on a budget and cannot afford to spend much.

Currently, this set is on clearance at my local Wal-Mart for $549: http://www.sanyo.com/entertainment/televisions/digital/index.cfm?productID=905

This next set is also on clearance, but for $50 more: http://www.sanyo.com/entertainment/televisions/digital/index.cfm?productID=904

And finally, we will be purchasing this home theater system to use with our new TV: http://www.sanyo.com/entertainment/dvd/index.cfm?productID=1148

I'm not familiar with HD, so I do have a few questions.

1) Do I really need a widescreen television? I'd like to have one, but I'm afraid that watching regular cable in a 4:3 picture will make the image that much smaller (i.e. A 4:3 cable broadcast on a 30-inch widescreen television will actually come up around 24 inches). If this is the case, I'd rather get the 32 inch set and have a bigger picture.

2) What is HDMI? Both of these Sanyo sets come with it, and I heard it's some kind of copy protection thing. Is it going to be a pain for viewing certain programs?

3) Will I have to have digital cable to take advantage of the set's capabilities?

And finally, does anyone know of any better deals for a CRT HDTV? I saw that 30-inch Phillips for $350 in another thread, but as I said before, I'm kind of concerned about the picture size.

If you read this far, thanks. I would really appreciate any help or useful comments you guys could send my way.

 

[gaggil]

Widescreen is the way to go. High def programs are broadcast in widescreen and most Xbox and PS2 games have widescreen modes as well. If you plan to buy the new consoles all the games will take advantage of widescreen as well. DVDs also look much better on a widescreen television.

Most new televisions have a variety of screen size modes that allow you to watch standard shows on a widescreen with very little screen wasted with black bars.

Digital cable is not high def and you will need to request a high def package to receive high def channels. Most companies have a dozen or so high def channels available.

HDMI is a new input on high def televisions that puts your video signals and audio signals in one small cable. This eliminates the mess of cords required with component cables.

I just bought a widescreen high def tv a month ago and am happy I went with the widescreen.

 

[gsr]

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