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Originally Posted by Sossity
with an eye on Sony LCDs.
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Good choice of brand -- Sony doesn't really make a bad HDTV. Other brands, however, do.
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They are sort from the analog era of the 1970's & 1980's, all my mom knows is tube TV with antenna with free over the air signals, & VCR. I am pretty much the same since I have not had anybody in my home to show me new tech. just giving anybody here this background info to know where we are coming from for explanations.
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Things haven't really changed. Televisions are bigger, flatter, with clearer images. Aside from that, not much is different.
There has been an evolution in connectivity:
- Well into the 1980s, everything was coaxial "RF" only. Your parents probably remember this.
- Then came composite. Then s-video. This was in the 80s/90s (mostly 90s).
- Then component was added. Around the same time came VGA and DVI connections. Most of that is from the early/mid 2000s.
- Right now, we're on HDMI, commonly found starting the late 2000s.
- In the future, who knows? I'm sure several competing connection types are in R&D.
Some televisions come with built-in features. That's not new, however. I remember Magnavox televisions from the 1970s that came with Pong integrated. There were was the TV + VCR, and later the TV + DVD player. These days, you'll get an HDTV + USB + online apps (Netflix, etc).
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My concern is how would it be connected to our PC.
it only has 1 VGA connection for a monitor, & an audio line out.
Nor does it have any wi-fi
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Connect with VGA and line-in stereo mini audio, if available on the new TV. If not available, you'll need a converter.
For example, this: HDMI to Composite /S-Video Converter 3RCA CRT TV CVBS
It's $50 from
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B0047PDBP0
That takes care of video, but leaves audio connections as a problem. You need a mini-to-RCA audio wire converter.
Get this for under $5:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B00004Z5CP
That takes care of that.
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How would we hook up or enable the HDTV in the living room to have access to the internet, mom & dad would like to be able to surf the internet on the big screen from their couches.
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The internet part? You need a wifi card in the computer, or you'll have to drop wires where needed. Otherwise you cannot connect it. There's just no way around that. The computer will have to be moved next to the TV in order to use it as an "HTPC" (home theatre PC). It can't stay in the kitchen and magically transmit audio/video/web to the HDTV in the living room. You'll also want a wireless mouse and keyboard, as well as some kind of padded lap table to use as a mousepad.
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I looked around on amazon & can only find 40 inch Sony LCD's.
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See my post here:
http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/home...html#post17465
There's an awesome deal on a 46" Sony LCD right now, only $728 + free shipping (+tax in certain states)
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we would also have a converter box, antenna,VCR & DVD player hooked up as well. another thing I have to consider is volume, parents are hard of hearing, the tube TV is often cranked up because they have a hard time hearing sounds.
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You can always add a set of cheap speakers. In fact, you can add speakers, and then wire them to be set closer to their chairs. Better yet, consider wireless speakers. They can put them right next to their eardrums!
These are cheap, at $85:
http://www.amazon.com/Audiovox-Acous...6926632&sr=1-8
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I read that standard def TV does not look good on the newer HDTV's, but we do not have cable or satellite with HD, we just have standard def, but we are faced with replacing out dying tube TV, so it seems everything has moved to flat widescreen TV's.
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Nope, not good at all. Old standard definition video was full of noise and errors which were hidden by the low resolution of the TV. The newer high-resolution screens show not just "more detail", but all of the noise in its full glory! The benefit of Sony HDTVs is that they come full of filters which greatly reduce noise on broadcast signals, DVDs and tapes. So that's not going to be a problem, if you're going Sony.
which online merchant would be best o get a TV from if we buy one online?
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I did read one bad review on amazon saying the Sony TV they bought, arrived in a dented box, & the screen did not work, since it was traveling on a truck that was going through Palm Springs CA, the TV got overheated in the delivery truck. I want to avoid something like this.
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It sounds to me like somebody was crying in a review. If the TV arrived broken, it's not like
Amazon.com pointed a figure and said "haha, sorry sucker!" Pretty much every reliable merchant selling televisions is going to guarantee it not arrived DOA (dead on arrival). And if it does, they replace it, at their cost. They pay to pick it up and send you a new one. It's honestly not an issue.
Good merchants include:
I would buy an HDTV from any of those stores without fear. (And I have, FYI. As have many others online.)
