I have a Panasonic TX28PM1C which is fantastic, but I now need a larger set. Panasonic don't make a 36" version of this model so can anyone recommend a flatscreen 36" CRT TV that has these facilities please:-

* Minimal 100Hz processing artefacts - a 50Hz set would be fine. Or maybe the facility to turn off 100Hz or reduce any digital processing.

* Sharpness control still works when RGB is ON.

Thanks

buy a philips dont waste your money on a sony like i did

I bet you think RGB is blurry! Well, it ain't, you're just so used to having the sharpness turned up too much.

Can anyone confirm if this TV allows use of the sharpness control with RGB ON? I confess I like to have my picture nice and sharp at all times. Thank you.

as far as i've been told, 32" is supposed to be the theoretical limit for an image not to be digitally enhanced...if i remember correctly, all 36" CRT's have picture enhancement as a matter of course...with pixels approaching 1/2" its easy to see why that may be.

Ive got a 36 inch Panny the picture is brill on Dvd and Chanel 5 , some of the Sky Channels are crap because they broadcast with a low bitrate. If the Tv companies gave us a DVD rate of broadcast then id be happy.

How about hanging on for a HD LCD or Plasma without any 100Hz processing?

Every LCD or Plasma TV I've seen - even ones up to 5 Grand - are smeary and "digitized" compared to even the most basic of CRT TV's. For me, CRT will always be the only way to watch TV if you want to simply enjoy the programme and not constantly notice artifacts.

What about DLP?

I saw the Sagem in Comet once and was very impressed.

Sagem @ Comet

edit, my measurement should read 1/20"

LCD and plasma are bad enough to make 100Hz look good,but they should come into their own once high definition is here.All these infant technologies display lower quality inputs like digital tv in a pretty poor state.
Unless you can see 50Hz flicker on a demo set,you can forget 100Hz,but as the post above says,36" is about the limit for CRT and there may be none without 100Hz

its worth remembering though that current Plasmas and LCDs cant offer the same wide gamut of CRT.

the 100hz debate will continue, but progressive scan sources should allow people to see that 100hz to 50hz is just the same as going from 72hz to 120hz on a computer monitor, ie it doesnt damage the picture it just gets more stable...it should also demonstrate the flicker reduction, because flicker is noticable on computer screens down to even down to 14".

If it was as simple as just reducing flicker 100Hz WOULD look better.Unfortunately most 100Hz sets demonstrate motion blur,lack of detail etc.
This is picked up in most hardware mag reviews,and is also why many 100hz sets have many picture processing tricks to counteract the problems,and why some 100hz sets,incredibly allow you to revert to 50Hz.There's a good advert for 50Hz if ever I saw one

Can any owners of the Philips 36PW8719 confirm that this set allows you to disable the 100Hz processing? And does Sharpness still work with RGB active?

You can't.

Avoid 100Hz.

What about DLP?

I saw the Sagem in Comet once and was very impressed.

What about this one http://www.empiredirect.co.uk/content/products/list.asp

no your missing my point...100hz doesnt change the picture in anyway, but a lot of sets come bundled with processing tricks...its them that cause the motion blur, lack of detail...a lot of times these can be turned off but people dont. In fact on my set the 50 hz can only be seen with them on, and aside from that sharpness, noise reduction and automatic image contrast is additional and available in all modes. Noise reduction alone is a BIG culprit for bad image quality, people turn it on because their reception is below par...it can totally mush a picture, especially when combined with a sub par digital source like sky, which is compressed heavily already.

50hz isnt difficult to achieve seeing as its native, and its required for some equipment to work with TV's like some peripherals for games for example...theres no conspiracy behind its inclusion.

So if we jump up the hz are you saying NTSC pictures are 20% worse on an NTSC DVD because the screen has switched to 60hz...are your ntsc dvds all blurry?...does my computer look worse when viewed on screen at different hz...no...

Forget magazines, visit a store, ask them to view one of your favourite DVDs on the same player on a few machines, turn the sound down, fiddle with the controls and pick the one you like. Don't rely on magazines...there's plenty of reasons why they should not make the choice for you.

How can this be true? Surely it depends on how far you sit from the screen, a 36" from 30' will look much smaller than a 28" from 6'.

Presumably the reasons for bigger sets having digital enhancement are either people have to big a screen for their living room or that people spending lots of money demand "twizzles" (or companies think they do) rather than any theoretical limits.

thats true, but there is a point where the eye will notice a feature/artifact almost irrespective of living room viewing distances just because your seeing it bigger in the first place.

36" TV's get a real kick up the arse with HDTV, it removes a hell of a lot of problems of stretching a relatively low res TV frame across such a landscape.

I believe you will find that all the picture processing tricks are added to 100Hz sets,(and not a 50Hz set) purely to remove imperfections that 100Hz brings with it,like motion blur and lack of detail.
In any case,whatever we think causes the problems does not matter.If you are lucky enough to be able to arrange a demo of a 50Hz set with a 100Hz set side by side and from the same manuacturer you will see just how bad 100Hz is.Having said that,the odd picture chareteristics that 100hz sets offer seems to appeal to some.
Me,I've never noticed 50Hz flicker on any set so 100Hz is an irrelevance for me

Nope, my set has 100hz pure, 50hz enhanced, 100hz enhanced...thats it.

I can jump between 50 & 100 by simply pressing the remote. The flicker drop when jumping to 100hz is very noticable.

Perhaps its because I spend all day looking at monitors running at 120hz + that makes my eyes more sensitve to flicker...but just because you dont like it, dont have it or cant see it doesnt mean it doesnt exist.

What 100hz doesnt do is sympathise with bad sources...often removing flicker is like removing sound it allows image imperfections to show more readily...but then if your watching sky, freeview or through a £50 dvd player then the point of good image quality is lost somewhat to start with.