I did it! I blew the wad! I spent the bucks! I took my chances! And I did it all online!

I have now proven that for a measly $2500 (give or take a hundred) a little research and you too can own a little bit (well ok, a BIG FAT BIT) of cinematic slickness. As I am sure most Epinion fans are aware I am one lazy pig. I like conveniences, I like well-designed circuitry, I like clicking buttons, but I'm just a damn practical piggy and in no way want to pay top dollar to get it.

So this year I went looking for a bargain in TV's, (Hah! Like anything in the audio video market has been a bargain lately!) just to check if the price of HDTV and HTIB's and Progressive Scan DVD's and and and, well you know, all those buzz words filling the sales pitch for the gorgeous new big screens that we all drool over at the local Circuit City's and Best Buy's of the world, I being one for finding frustration and not just waiting for it to come to me had to see what could be had at a relatively cheap price range.

Well let me tell you, don't bother going anywhere locally at first the internet has made this whole mess of technical mumbo jumbo and research and pricing and comparing this to that feature SO MUCH EASIER. SO MUCH BETTER.

Thank you http://www.cnet.com, THANK YOU!

So I recently headed over to CNET to see what the geeks of techno savyness were up to these days and clicked over to the HDTV reviews. I know full well I cannot afford those thin beauties of flat panel goodness, the Plasma screens, the LCD wonders, those things you see gracing the walls in all those mansions or as MTV likes to call them "cribs" of the rich and famous.

Nope this pig aint got's no $10000.00 smackers to lay down at the local Audio Video den of iniquity. I would have to settle for the cheap $5.00 ho of video technology the lowly CRT.

Low and behold, before my very eyes did I spot my prey. The Sony KD-34XBR960, CNET's *Editors Choice* and proclaimed reference TV for all HDTV displays they review. What's this you say? A silly CRT is the reference for Plasma and LCD?! You betcha my fine digitally minded friend that is exactly what the experts of the big screens say. The blackest blacks, the most vivid colors, the gold plated circuitry to rule all that is televised is a 34 inch screened, 194 pound, 24 inch front to back, plastic coated, mammoth beast that literally flattens all those wanna be HDTV Plasma and LCD's of the world and breaks their sorry little flat panel hearts all for a measly $1755.00, no state tax, free shipping, thank you for shopping.

Take it from me my brothers and sisters, Technology can only do so much, so fast, and so flat, and unlike what they want you to believe if you aint got the clams to spend on those pricey ELITE flat panels at the high end of the Pioneer spectrum (hint hint) you are just not getting the dollar for dollar crystal clear, Regis and that bimbo what's her name, image you should be expecting for your hard earned bucks.


GET THE BEST PICTURE
Now about those strange numbers often heard when talking about the HDTV picture this Sony KD-34XBR960 can provide...

480i - This is what you are currently used to seeing in old DVD players and NTSC broadcasts. 480 interlaced lines of data. This is old school DVD/TV and the reason you need to upgrade to a Progressive Scan DVD player and a digital TV signal from a satellite or cable provider of your choice.

480p - This is the best you can hope for from the current DVD's being produced out there, honest, only 480 progressive scan lines. Got it? That is 480 lines of all video data available on that little silver disk period. Until High Definition DVD's are on the market this is the actual format and the highest quality picture source currently stashed on there, that's all she wrote, end of story.

1080i - Here is the first step up in HDTV broadcasts and the current state of the art so to speak. 1080 interlaced lines of video data. Allot of the HDTV broadcasters are using this.

OK, a quick note here... now some DVD players out there are saying they upscale the DVD data to this format 1080i and the next format 1080p. This is called over scanning or up scaling and is pretty much just a one-trick-pony feature because there really is no 1080 lines of data on the DVD's you and I are buying on Amazon.com. In other words this is just a fancy way of trying to get more out of the non-HDTV format. If there is a choice to make I would go for a perfectly good high quality 480p Progressive Scan DVD player currently available like the Pioneer DV-578A and leave these up scaling models on the shelf till we actually start seeing DVD's with 1080 lines of data that we can actually buy. Then we will know which of these DVD players does a good job playing High Definition DVD's. I myself take a conservative stance of wait and see on this feature.

1080p - Here is the current holy grail of HDTV broadcasting, the top of the heap and no the Sony KD-34XBR960 can't go this high but you are not gonna find anyone else showing anything worth watching up here in the cutting edge either. A few DVD players say they over scan up to this one but hell if I know they really do or not. The Sony KD-34XBR960 will not display the channel at this resolution without down conversion. Not that great a loss in my book yet. Oh the price of the cutting edge, so here today and old hat tomorrow.

For those of you not following the long explanations given above the Sony KD-34XBR960 has the ability to show 480i, 480p, 1080i video formats. The picture is crystal clear hands down, I am stunned.


TAKE A TEST DRIVE IN PERSON
Next thing you should do of course is prove all this techno weenie mumbo jumbo to yourself in real life, go look at the picture and do not just take my word for it, so wander on over to Circuit City (The only people who carry this particular Sony XBR model). Yep! You, my friend, do not want to simply order anything like a television online unless you see it in person. The Sony KD-34XBR960 is simply too big and too expensive, too much everything, in my book to take any chances. Now notice how they keep this baby away from the Plasma and LCD displays? No, I mean it, watch where the Circuit City point of sales people place these CRT's. They are nowhere near the $BIG MONEY$ flat panels. Hmmmm, I wonder why. Could it be the $5000.00 dollar price difference? Could it be manipulative marketing?

Take a look at the picture and force them to show you this model next to a Sony flat panel of your choice Plasma or LCD playing a DVD using Component Video you know the three RCA jack video plugs with red/green/blue. Force those floor boys to whisper sweet lovin in your ear, then walk out and do your shopping online like all us smart shoppin folks do-be-do-be-doo.


GET ALL THE CONNECTIONS
Oh I almost forgot, digital input/output (Those silly plugs) found on the Sony KD-34XBR960, well in a nutshell...

HDMI/DVI - The tip top digital video connection... I personally combine these two input/output plugs when talking about them and you have seen these before. These are basically the same connections as you would find on the back of your computer monitor. That should also give you a hint about where the world of audio/video is heading. Straight to your desktop computer I say.

Anyway, the Sony KD-34XBR960 has a single HDMI input which I would recommend leaving for your High Definition DVD player you will eventually be buying sometime next year for probably way too much money, oh well. High-end DVD players toting the latest wiz bang features have these HDMI/DVI connections so if you got one use it. Last but not least HDMI/DVI converter connector plugs are available which is also the reason I combine these two formats.

Component Video - The three red/green/blue RCA jacks. This is the current standard everybody should be using today. You should have this if you are even thinking of looking at buying this TV. The Sony KD-34XBR960 has two of these connections.

The formats I write about below are sub-standard digital video connections and should be replaced when possible.

S-Video - Yeah, that little black circle plug with the thin wires inside that bend and break off when you try to plug it in because you cannot find the way it is supposed to go in and you are about to lose it and bash something, That one! Good-bye you sucky useless thing! Good-bye and good riddance! Piece of junk! This is so old school and so finicky. Buy a better DVD player or whatever you have to and throw this in the trash. The Sony KD-34XBR960 has three of these if you must use them, 2 in the back and 1 in the front so you can plug in your video games.

Psssst...Kids, Walmart has Sony (Component Video) cables for the PS2 for $20.00. Uh huh, you can now dump this last stupid video connector and then hook a Fiber Optic Audio cable to the Surround Sound system (That square plug thingy.) and go styling with better definition and Surround Sound while you play Ratchet and Clank. Just don't let dad catch you playing in the back of the TV, you can thank me later.

Composite Video - That single yellow RCA plug. This was never a good idea to begin with; I mean, come on think about it. A complex analog signal going through what is basically a mono jack? Nah, it's trash. The Sony KD-34XBR960 has one of these for old Nintendo systems I guess.

RF - Your Cable connection. This is why I want a satellite TV receiver now! Comcast prices just went up and for what? Better technology like this? Better picture? Better customer service? Hell no! Stupid Clear Channel wannabe! The Sony KD-34XBR960 has one labeled Cable and one labeled VHF/UHF.

Quick note... Digital signals from local stations are free and are coming on-air all the time. Get yourself a $30.00 VHF/UHF antenna and check for them. Save yourself some cash if you can live without cable more power to you.

To use the Sony KD-34XBR960 with Comcast (DO NOT! I REPEAT! DO NOT buy that stupid HDTV tuner they insist you have to use.) Order the Digital package then after they install it take the box they give you and remove it from between your TV and the wall, now plug your Sony KD-34XBR960 directly into the cable. If you also get movie channels that need the box use a splitter on the wire coming from the wall. (Visit Radio Shack for this.) Connect one side directly to the RF connector labeled Cable on the TV and connect the other through the Comcast box and then to the RF Connection labeled VHF/UHF on the TV. Now you can watch everything from the cable and still have HDTV signals coming to your TV. That's right folks Comcast is deliberately stopping HDTV signals getting through their box. Repeat after me... "Death to Comcast! Die Die Die!"

For those of you not following the very long explanations given above the Sony KD-34XBR960 has a total of 7 video inputs and all the currently available connection types on the market. I hate Comcast.


CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW
The Sony KD-34XBR960 does come with it's version of Surround Sound system but even though it has a marvelous tone and quality speakers I myself was more interested in the Fiber Optic Audio Output plug that it has on the back. Let me tell you why. No TV speakers can compete with a HTIB (Home Theater In A Box)

Let me repeat myself...If you are buying a TV at close to $2000.00 I certainly hope you set aside some cash for some type of Surround Sound System. If you are cheap like I am you will look at the HTIB's for the best price. I myself after vigorous research purchased the best budget setup IMHO on the market...


Onkyo HT-S870

The FIRST CERTIFIED THX - Home Theater In A Box!
That's right for roughly $750.00 you can have a certified THX C-E-R-T-I-F-I-E-D home theater Surround Sound System. There are no other all-in-one systems in this THX game yet. None, nada, zilch, it's a first, it's the only one. No Bose, no Sony, no Polk, no Klipsch, no strange Japanese hybrid doohicky!

If the THX Certification does not thrill you (It does me but I'm a pig.) then I promise the sound on these baby's will. I would put my setup here up against any Sony, Bose and even Denon systems, which go for anywhere from 2 times to 10 times more money. I got an all-in-one package of a beautiful receiver, 6 surround sound speakers and a giant sub-woofer.

The speaker wires provided just plain suck so be sure to purchase some Monster Cable or some Radio Shack 16 gauge speaker wire. I can't say enough about this system it has hands down the most BOOM for the buck. Two cones on the sub-woofer alone. That's BOOM baby! 1000 watts of pure guts and for under $1000.00, come on! You know you need this.

Oh, and the receiver also has the ability of acting as a switch between two Component Video connections and your TV, something usually found on only the high end thousands-of-dollars systems, not to mention the 3 Fiber Optic Input connections on the back. Good job Onkyo! I say let the dweebs with too much money blow it on Polk and Kilpsch and other esoteric mish mash brand names and even if they beat me on some minor quality point or virtue I would still be pointing to my price tag and laughing at them. This is gonna be the HOT PRODUCT this year when word gets out.

For those of you not following the long explanations given above Merry Christmas everyone! I am off to wallow in Sound and Vision wonderland.


Quick Update
I just found out an interesting fact for those of you out there wanting to use that Fiber Optic Audio Output plug on this here Sony KD-34XBR960.

The tuner is selective about what it outputs on the Fiber Optic Audio Line. If you are watching an analog station you can only output the audio through the RCA Audio Outputs not through the Fiber Optic Audio Audio Output. In essence the station must be digital for this TV to output the Dolby Digital Audio through the Fiber Optic Audio line. Boy did I beat myself up trying to figure this one out today.

Quick Update: Part 2
Someone asked me in email what DVD players I would look at if I was buying one today. Well I just went and did and here's my very own piggy review...

AND The Winner Is: Oppo Digital - OPDV971H DVD Player

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 1755.00