- RMagnus
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- Exalted Legendary Member
WHOA, WHOA, WHOA! I recently bought an HDTV after doing a mind-boggling amount of research--even taking my Xbox and Halo up to the store to test the different technologies out side-by-side--and the results were unbelievable. I wound up going with SONYs 40" XBR (traditional, direct-view "tube") because the picture quality just blew all the other technologies away. TO BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR, TUBES STILL OFFER THE BEST PICTURE QUALITY--EVEN MORE SO FOR GAMES THAN FOR MOVIES. The tubes blew away Samsung's DLP, Sony and Hitachi LCD rear-projection, and we even hooked it up to a $20,000 Mitsubishi 81" LCoS TV. I am telling you, I'm so glad I didn't get the DLP, which everyone raves about, because the picture quality on Halo couldn't hold a candle to the tubes. Look, ALL of these other technologies absolutely CAN'T display true blacks and, therefore, very dark colors in the game aren't rendered at all, but are merely displayed in a monochrome grey (that is, with no detail on the dark object/area). On the other hand, the tube TV always shows all of the detail on the Chief's gloves, for example (which should be a slightly shiny but very dark navy, by the way). And you can't turn up the brightness as high as on the tubes or all of the other colors will "wash out" and lose their 'true-to-life' appearance; the net result is that your Halo picture doesn't render dark areas AND the overall picture isn't as bright as on the tubes. I really feel sorry for those who have bought a plasma, DLP, LCD, or any such inferior technology, because you spent alot a cash and your TV is underperforming when it comes to games--you're missing out on alot of detail. I know it sucks to say it, but take your Xbox to an electronics store and see for yourself (be sure to take a Component-quality hookup cable and have 480P enabled in the dashboard). Sony also makes a 36" HDTV tube which is also excellent, and a friend of mine bought a Toshiba 36" which (after my Halo calibration) displayed a picture that, while a tad short of the Sony (just in the color-depth department), far outperformed all of the other TVs I have described. I feel I simply MUST say this because I have not seen anyone else in the gaming community state these evident facts (again, go see for yourself) about the tube vs. other technologies (videophiles/movie nuts already know what I'm talking about). And remember, I too, was almost hoodwinked into what would have proved a very, very disappointing purchase (and by the way, I bought this TV explicity in anticipation of Halo 2).