Is there a 'best' TV to view Dish Signals???

I am getting itchy to replace my TV (7 yr old JVC) with a 30" widescreen non-plasma HDTV-ready set. Is anybody using such a monitor or does anybody have any suggestions about what set works best with Dish signals??? I have a 721 and a little sony theater-in-a-box setup, now...

[Scott Greczkowski]

If you get a good TV I recomend getting your set ISF calibrated after you have owned it for a few months, then you will see a good picture.

I do recommend getting a Widescreen set over a standard square TV as when your watching a show in HD the people tend to be really tall and skinny.

[DarrellP]

The best set would be the new Philips 34" 16:9 set. The reviews on it said cable and satellite sources looked almost as good as HD on this set. I don't recall the model number but if I was to get a new set in that size range I would definitely consider the Philips.

thanks, guys..good info!

[Ransack]

I have had my Toshiba 57H82 for almost a year now. What exactly is involved in a calibration and about how much does it cost? Who would you call to get this done?

i have found my picture with Dish to be very good, but would always look for ways to improve it..

[Tampa8]

You will of course you will get a different answer by each person's experience. From my experience and going to various forums like this about home theaters (especially http://www.hometheaterspot.com ) a calibrated Mitsubishi is the best. I agree you should get a wide screen, even without the program being in HD, after awhile it looks more natural in 16:9 than 4:3. The Mits sets are very tweakable. To have a professional come out and do the job correctly costs quite alot - upwards of $300 or more. But the results are fantastic - really very noticable. They will get it in perfect focus, grey scale and color, set the correct brightness and contrast and set the contols to the center for these settings so you know where the correct setting is. They will also get the convergance as perfect as possible. If the set has a color bias (many have too much red noticable in faces) they will correct it and make everyone look natural.

Some of these things can be done by yourself if you visit some of the sites. They have step by step instructions for some of the calibrations. Also, there is a DVD called AVIA. It takes you through getting the color, contrast, sharpness, etc.. set correctly. This can be done nearly as well as having someone come out.

[DarrellP]

Go to
this

link and choose your state and you will get a list of ISF trained techs.

[Stargazer]

How often do they need to be recalibrated?

[Tampa8]

probably not again. If you move the TV alot or roughly move it it is possible the focus could need to readjusted, but other things should stay ok. If convergence drifts a little that should be easy to get back with a little patience.

While there are people who do this as the link above suggests, as always there are some that will do a better job than others. I used one from the Home Theater spot and he spent hours getting it perfect. The people there who do it are knwon to be among the best. To this day I am very glad I had it done. Scott made a very good point - wait at least six months or more before getting it calibrated as the set has to break in first.