No -ler. test with XBOX with component cables. It's the only way to test HDTV now and push the LCD to the Max!

btw, just bought a new ASTRO decoder since my old one kaput already. Now using S-VIDEO instead of composite to my SONY HDTV (my old decoder S-VIDEO also not working). There is quite significant improvement in the quality.

Dun waste your money. Upscaling doesn't provide much improvement, if any at all. XBOX XBMC already upscale to 1080i/720p.

Just save your money for a BlueRay player or PS3.

Like everyone else here...DON'T BUY. Projection TV and gaming is a NO-NO. Furthermore, for 4K. you might as well get a LCD. You might have a smaller screen, but you get a proper 16:9 display and frankly, i never like projection TV...i think the image quality is not even as good as CRT.

For price/performance i think this model is unbeatable. Anothere good CRT option is the Philips 34" Pixel Plus 2 model which has the best image quality, however, this model doesn't support 720p and upscale to 1080i, and i think that come close to 4K. Still, u should check it out before u make any purchase.

Happy hunting!!

You still can get from one gameshop in One Utama, LG(i think)...near Bee's Bakery. But i dunno really original or not. Go try ur luck there. And yes, ori MS pack have no ghosting. It' seems like all the crummy 3rd party HDAV Pack has this problem...i guess it pays to buy original in this case.

Sure Boh? I thought i saw this model at Best Denki and Jaya Jusco. Just one fella telling u this problem or all of them telling the same story??

If anyone trying to sell you Panasonic CRT and says it's better than SONY, you can guarantee 100% they're out to con your money.
DON'T EVER BUY PANASONIC CRT. THE END!!!!

Tube problem?? I think there's so many DB/DA 29 model owners here and nobody complain of anything. Surroung sound?? Those shitty built in speaker of the TV lau-yah one...furtheremore, both model also got this virtual surround thingy. I use HT5.1, so dun bother with it.

Obviously another con job attempt trying to sell you a model which gives them higher comission...

Btw, you can actually go to any eletronic shops in PJ SS2...they don't have the model, but can order one immediately from distributor as long as you tell them which model you want.

Congratulations! btw, i bought my component cables for around RM60(MaxCable) at CarreFour i think. I've done some survey and it's around that price, maybe cheaper at electronic shops.

You can find it at Best Denki, CarreFour etc. Seriously, no need to go for the most expensive ones. There isn't going to be any difference unless you're laying the cables for a few kms. I would have bought cheaper ones if i can find it!

What flicker? never seen a flicker since using the DB-29....even makes my Gameboy Advance game looks so good running on XBOX emulator (support 480i/480p/720p/1080i !!!). It's either they purposely mess up the setting or there's a faulty unit on display there. As mentioned, if it's normal composite-in, picture quality will suffers a lot, especially those crap TV or astro signals.

As for the 800 series, i dun think those qualify as HDTV...what the hell is 833i?? Where got hw/software support for this mode?? It's useless. And since the HDTV mode spec of the new Panasonic isn't printed clearly, better check out what mode it support before making a purchase.

This post has been edited by Matrix: Apr 26 2006, 10:32 AM

Yup. XBoy Visual Advance (or something like that) support all modes...480i/480p/720p/1080i. However, i only play in 480p since the 4:3 is better instead of stretched 16:9. You can resize the screen to fit the resolution. It looks very good in all the modes especially with anti-aliasing on.

I started to play Golden Sun on Xbox, but later transfered the savegame to PC(and play using Visual Boy Advance..which i believe is the original version of the emu ported to the XBOX)...coz can open walkthrough FAQ in PC while playing the game!!!

The wonders of emulators!

In fact, i think it looks as good as PSX games(if not better) in 2D with the AA on!! Not much pixelly graphics can be seen!


This post has been edited by Matrix: Apr 27 2006, 08:52 AM

No need ler bro. You can get those 3 to 1 component input selector. I ordered one online from Play-asia. Quite cheap. RM80 i think. Works great. Can get locally also from game shop, but maybe slightly more expensive, if you don't want the hassle of ordering online.

I dunno. I think NOT having HDMI is GOOD. HDMI is another way for big organisation to screw us consumer by imposing on all kind of restrictions and DRM crap. Basically, HDMI is DVI+Sound combined in a single connector so that there is a centralised point for them to take control of what you're allowed to watch and what you don't. I don't think DVI is such a big step foward from Component input. And most of us are happy enough with optical output to get DD5.1 and DTS anyway, so there's no need to combine the sound+video in single cable.

I say the longer HDMI isn't mass market, the better it is.

Pls get that right, This isn't a SONY's exclusive idea. It is the ENTIRE industry. MS is a big advocator of DRM. Basically, they're just finding new ways to limits our rights and make their pockets bigger.

Screw em all.

15 years is a bloody long time already. Any TV that last 10 years is good enuff already...heck, you'll want to change to bigger better tv 10 years down the road anyway. by that time, who knows, HDTV could mean 16,000 x 9,000 pixels!!!! (and cost RM 2K hopefully). And maybe OLED would have replace LCD/Plasma as mainstream by then... who knows!

Not quite sure. But there is definitely VERY significant improvement when watching in 720p and 1080i.

Ex: When i set XBMC in 720p, due to progressive nature, the image is rock stable like a monitor. When i set to 1080i, i noticed there is a slight horizontal wavering of a fine thin line in one of the menu screen, but it's no big deal. Overall, both modes are pretty damn sharp.

The BIGGEST improvement is seen when you watch you collection of hi-res photos took at 3M and above. When you compare this in normal 480i or even 480p, you get so much more details, almost like a PC monitor!!!

I'm not sure you really get the actual 1080i or 720p resolution, but it sure is good enuff for a small 29" TV.

16:9 for gaming and DVD man...you still can view 4:3 in 16:9 as long as you don't mind the black borders.

if i got budget I'll definitely go for 16:9.

It's the future!!!

Here's an excellent read about HDTV from IGN.

http://gear.ign.com/articles/712/712352p1.html

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June 12, 2006 - Over the course of the months that our HDTV Q&A series has been running we've been deluged with comments regarding HDTV-gaming-lag. From questions as to which models are most susceptible to sad stories of new purchases leading to great disappointment, we know it's a serious issue for gamers planning to make the jump to HDTV, or those who got stuck with an HDTV that is making games unplayable. In this feature we aim to identify and explain what HDTV-gaming-lag is, what causes it, and various ways to overcome the problem.



The Problem
If you're new to the issue, we should start by explaining what HDTV-gaming-lag is all about. Not all HDTVs suffer from a noticeable amount of lag, and not all for the same reasons, which makes the whole issue a little difficult to nail down. However, the simplest explanation of the phenomena would be that some HDTVs generate lag (sometimes as much as half-a-second) while processing incoming signals and getting the image on the screen. The effect isn't terribly noticeable in most applications, however, videogamers quickly realize that there is a problem when they execute commands and only get an on-screen reaction noticeably later. Lag of a half-second, or even much less, can make music, rhythm, sports, fighting, FPS, or just about any other genre of game essentially unplayable, and is thus a serious problem.

Why does the lag occur? There are two related answers to this question. The first is the issue of native resolutions. Every TV, be it High-Def or Standard-Def, has a native resolution--a fixed display quality. Old-school CRTs are 480i, while more modern EDTVs and HDTVs run the gamut from 480p to variations of 720p (1024x768 [lower res than true 720p], 1280x720 [real 720p], and 1366x768) to 1080i and 1080p (1920x1080), as well as some odd resolutions in between.

Just as every TV has a native resolution, just about every source has a particular resolution as well. Every console that came before the PS2 produced a 480i signal. The PS2 was primarily a 480i system with a few 480p games, while the GameCube and Xbox were both primarily 480p, with a few 480i games and, in the case of the Xbox, a couple of 720p games. The Xbox 360 is able to output 480p, 720p, and 1080i, though the majority of the games are designed with 720p in mind. The Nintendo Wii will be a constant 480p. The first generation of HD-DVD players output 1080i as their native resolution, while the first generation of Blu-ray players will output native 1080p.

Here's the meat of the native resolution issue: While just about any HDTV can accept any other signal, like a 1366x768 native resolution HD-LCD accepting a 1080i signal from an HD-DVD player, the incoming signal must be scaled to match the native resolution of the TV, in this case down from 1920x1080 to 1366x768. This sort of processing takes real work to accomplish, which is handled by the internal scaling circuitry of the HDTV. The heaviest load usually occurs when an HDTV must up-scale a 480i signal to native resolution, which requires both enlarging the image and converting the signal from interlaced (the 'i' in 480i) to progressive-scan (the 'p' in 480p, 720p etc.).

Some HDTVs handle this task better than others; however, almost all models will develop at least a little lag in the time it takes them to up-scale an old-school 480i signal. This becomes a problem for retro-gaming fans who aim to play their 16-bit consoles on their expensive new HDTVs. Some HDTVs even produce a game-killing degree of lag when working with 480p or any signal that does not exactly match the native resolution of the TV itself.

The second cause for HDTV-gaming-lag is some HDTVs' image-enhancement processing, a related issue of image-scaling. Most common in older HDTVs that aimed to make DVDs and other Standard-Definition content look good compared to competing models, internal image enhancement spends time refining incoming signals before putting them on-screen. Samsung's DNIe technology is a well known variant of this technology. While image-enhancement can certainly help make HDTVs look better, most manufactures did not worry about introducing a degree of lag as a result, as the only application on their minds was DVD and TV signals, cases in which a half-second delay would hardly matter. For gamers, however, heavy image-enhancement can seriously add to the time it takes for commands executed in-game to make their way onto the screen.

As we mentioned earlier, some HDTVs are better at scaling and generating lag-free videogaming than others. While there can't be any hard and fast rules, HD-CRTs are generally credited with producing the least amount of lag, while DLP-based HDTVs (Samsungs in particular thanks to DNIe image enhancement) are often considered the worst. Of course, we've read a number of reports of laggy LCDs and plasma displays as well, which means that no HDTV technology is truly safe.

The Solutions
The best solution to HDTV-gaming-lag is to avoid it all together. If at all possible, if you're in the market for a new HDTV, go to a retail store with your game consoles in hand and ask to plug them to the models you're considering purchasing. Bring the consoles that are important to you, and keep in mind that you'll want to check performance with 480i signals (retrogaming), 480p (Wii, PS2), and 720p / 1080i (Xbox 360). Bring games that require accurate timing that you are familiar with, as you may discover a .2 second delay that isn't visually visible but can still ruin your 30 hit combo in Marvel vs. Capcom 2. The salespeople should be accommodating, though it's likely you'll find yourself having to explain the lag issue if they aren't serious gamers.

If you've already got your hands on an HDTV that is producing gaming lag, all is not lost. The first step is to consider potential work-arounds that don't require new hardware. A key first step is attempting to match the incoming signal to the HDTV's native resolution. For example, if you have a 1280x720 native resolution LCD, make sure you set your Xbox 360 to 720p output. If you have a 1080i native-res HD-CRT, set your 360 to 1080i output.

Some HDTVs on the market today have special 'Game Modes' that disable image-enhancement modes to product less lag. Paging through your manual or a good Google search is your best bet for discovering if your HDTV has an option of this sort.

If your HDTV doesn't have a Game Mode, the next best bet is the VGA input option. Many HDTVs have a VGA input so as to function easily as computer monitors. Because PCs usually output non-native resolutions, many HDTV manufactures do not apply image enhancement to signals coming in through the VGA input, which can be a boon to gamers. Specifically for Xbox 360 gamers with a lag issue, a fix can be as simple as picking up the VGA wires for the 360 (readily available from 3rd party manufactures like MadCatz, Pelican, and JoyTech). The 360's VGA wires expand the Xbox 360's output options from 480p, 720p, and 1080i to a much broader range that includes:



640x480
848x480
1024x768
1280x720
1280x768
1280x1024
1360x768

Match the Xbox 360's output to your HDTV's native resolution and you might have the problem solved.




Finally, a hardware solution has been pioneered by intrepid and committed gamers on the internet that specifically targets the lag produced in up-converting 480i signals. The solution is based upon external VGA adapters like the discontinued Micomsoft XRGB-2+ and forthcoming Micomsoft XRGB-3. Both devices are Japanese VGA-conversion boxes that accept analog inputs of various sorts and output a signal through VGA. The side effect of the conversion to VGA is the fact that the work of alerting the 480i signal is handed very quickly and accurately by a device made with videogames in mind, rather than a HDTVs internal image processing chips that were made to make DVDs look good. The Micomsoft products must be imported from Japan. The no-longer-in-production XRGB-2+ was previously available at around $170-$200 with good internet searching. The new model (XRGB-3) has not yet been released. While it will support a variety of exciting new features when it becomes available, it will also likely carry a higher price. Nevertheless, undesirable as spending hundred of dollars for imported VGA boxes may sound, it's not half as bad as giving up your favorite games because your HDTV makes them unplayable.

Conclusion
HDTV-gaming-lag is an unfortunate consequence of the fact that we are still in the early years of HDTV, especially in terms of videogaming. Some brand-new HDTV models produce a great deal of lag, while other old models are lag-free. Aside from taking your consoles with you to the store, of searching for definitive first-hand reports on the internet, making sure your HDTV of choice is not prone to gaming lag can be a difficult task.

The situation is improving little by little, however. Only a few months ago at CES in January, most representatives from HDTV manufactures had no idea what we were talking about when we tried to grill them on the gaming-lag issue, whereas today most companies have publicly acknowledged the issue and have stated plans to add Game Modes or faster scaling technology to their TVs. We're certainly hoping further progress will come quickly, as the future of videogaming will be divided across the entire resolution spectrum, from the Wii's 480p, to the 360's 720p, to the PS3's 1080p. Coupled with the most serious problem, retrogaming with 480i systems, a future of laggy HDTV could be a serious problem for hardcore gamers. We'll be monitoring this issue closely as time goes by, so stay tuned as things develop.
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Now, i know what the heck the "Game Mode" thing is in my SONY TV. LOL.
but so far, i didn't see any lag on mine, maybe becoz it's CRT as stated which produce almost no lag.

CRT is still the king!!!!

Not HDTV trial ler. DIGITAL TV trial.

Like ASTRO also digital mah.

Your eyes need upgrade. Not ur TV. J/K.



Anyway, if the screen not big enough, it's qutie hard to tell the difference. But usually the interlaced scanline is quite noticeable if u look at text.