Yes the email addy works.

I am currently in the middle of a service nightmare with a TV that cost over $1300 less than 2 years ago. The problem is evidently VERY common, the Y-sus board died. According to the service man and many google searches its pretty much a given, if you own a plasma there is a very high likelihood that this board will be what kills your Plasma screen in less than 3 years. My warranty was only 1 year.

I can accept getting only 3 years our to f a $27 no name special DVD player. When I pay over a thousand dollars for a Television I should be getting a quality product. Designing something that you know through the high heat generated as a constant through out its life, will likely fail in the first 1-5 years is INEXCUSABLE! My computer generates much heat but has and likely will continue to last longer than this. The television manufacturers should be held liable for this.

Yeah, you definitely want to warn people about buying 720p 40” tv’s, cause they’ll for sure be able to see it’s not 1080i coming in on the cable. 

Are you kidding me?  1080p 40” tv’s are a joke, and most people don’t sit close enough to tell the difference between 720p and 1080p even with a 50” tv.  This is all manufacturer marketing hogwash.  If I was on Digg, this would be buried.

I don’t disagree with the suggestion that we purchase a quality name brand product, but what we really need is to be able to get parts for these products.  Fortunately I purchased an Expert Protection service plan with my flat panel TV.  The servicer told me parts were no longer available on my 18 month old TV.  I checked my service plan and they provided me with a new TV.  Not all service plans are alike, so if you are going to make such a purchase read all of the fine print to be sure you get this coverage.  I’m glad I did.

720p is full HD, 1080i is full HD, both are broadcast standards.  1080p which you are referring to as true HD is a bunch of garbage.  It is only used by Blu ray. A 720p set is going to give you a wonderful picture.  I notice that the sets they recommend in the article are high end…. pompus article.

“720p is full HD, 1080i is full HD, both are broadcast standards.  1080p which you are referring to as true HD is a bunch of garbage.  It is only used by Blu ray. A 720p set is going to give you a wonderful picture.  I notice that the sets they recommend in the article are high end…. pompus article.”

You are flat-out wrong.  To see 1080i (most cable) in all its glory, you need a 1080p TV that properly de-interlaces 1080i video.  There is no such thing as a 1080i TV (except CRT, and a few oddball Hitachi plasmas).  What they call 1080i is in fact 768p.  Unless you are using 1080p24 (rare) they ia no difference, once de-interlaced, between 1080i video and 1080p video.  If you are seeing a difference, it’s because your TV fails at properply de-interlacing.  Few TVs fail at 30fps video content (again, most network TV is 30fps 1080p delivered as 60-filed 1080i).

http://www.robertruffo.com/HDTV.htm
Get informed!

@Robert Ruffo

I’d like to see you take the “pepsi” challenge with a few different sets in a room.  Bet you couldn’t tell which was which (HD content).  I read this website from time to time and I’m not impressed.  Very biased articles to inflate egos.

You can think whatever you want, but I just wanted to point out that I am just reporting on the HTSA’s report. I love cheap TVs!

Now you’re being silly.  Anyone with reasonably good eyesight can easily tell the difference.  I can even tell the difference between different upconversion chipsets (Genesis vs. Faroudja vs…)  Some geek friends have tested me on this, and I won a free round of drinks.

A TV last a long time.  Better to spend a little extra and see movies and TV the best way possible.

Than, RobRuffo, you are a rare breed. Most people aren’t even close enough to the screen to tell a difference between 720P or 1080i, let alone 1080P (and they don’t care about the diffence). I wouldn’t buy a no-name cheap tv because of the poor warranties and poor video processing of the chips inside, but to say that consumers of a 720P set are somehow missing out on much is subjective at most.  Resolution plays only one part in good HD picture quality and 720P is good HD. Unfortunately, the marketing departments of large corporations have gotten involved and repeatedly spread half-truths as truth.

The value of a 1080p display goes beyond screen size and how close you sit to the display. I often refer people to this article from Secrets:
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/features/technical-topics/high-definition-1080p-tv-why-you-should-be-concerned.html

Blu-ray is not the only 1080p source by the way, 1080p24 content can be enjoyed from a VUDU movie box as well as home theater PCs and Dish Networks new 1080p offerings.

I own a 1080i Pioneer Kuro and it looks way better than many of the 1080p sets my freinds have.  Way better. 

(Though I lie to them and say it’s 1080p since it accepts that signal anyway)

” own a 1080i Pioneer Kuro and it looks way better than many of the 1080p sets my freinds have.  Way better.

(Though I lie to them and say it’s 1080p since it accepts that signal anyway) “

There is no such thing as a 1080i plasma, except for a few oddball models from Hitachi.  Your Kuro is amazing, yes, but it’s a 768p set.  Resolution is less important than contrast, agreed, but to be technical, 1080i, properly de-interlaced, IS 1080p, so at a technical level, anyone with HD cable should get a 1080p TV with proper de-interlacing to see all the resolution of 1080i, and the only advantage of 1080p over 1080i is its ability to display true 24fps 1080p24 for movie content.

http://www.robertruffo.com/HDTV.htm

Most content is 1080p?  Not even CLOSE.  Most content is 480 or 720 (i.e. standard DVD’s by FAR currently outnumber Blue Ray).  Most HD signals (cable and satelitte) are BOTH less than 1080p.  Get your facts straight.