[lukewarmplay]

Dumpy, if you have kids, and they're going to be hanging out close in front of the screen, you should really get an LCD or plasma (and IMO, LCD's are better). Cathode ray tubes shoot out weak x-rays, as we learned in physics class, which is why they tell you to watch from at least a meter away, and rear projection TV's use multiple tubes. There is no such risk from flat-screens.

[unstop]

Originally Posted by Dumpy

is it necessary? Is there a clear difference from using a normal DVD player?

Yeah, there is a difference, but it's definitely not necessary. You can still watch DVD's just fine on the standard DVD player and then just hold out for a blue-ray/HD dvd player when one format wins.

[Ruff Draft]

I would only purchase a upscaling DVD player if you need another DVD player.

[Dumpy]

Originally Posted by lukewarmplay

Dumpy, if you have kids, and they're going to be hanging out close in front of the screen, you should really get an LCD or plasma (and IMO, LCD's are better). Cathode ray tubes shoot out weak x-rays, as we learned in physics class, which is why they tell you to watch from at least a meter away, and rear projection TV's use multiple tubes. There is no such risk from flat-screens.

interesting thought, but it probably doesn't matter in our case. my four-year-old watches about two hours of TV a week, from a distance of 13 feet. The LCDs just don't come big enough, and the plasmas are SO much more expensive in that size class. Our couch is 13 feet away from the TV--we measured--and a smaller TV just won't do it at that distance.

So, is physics one of the eight degrees you've started? ;-)

[Dumpy]

Originally Posted by unstop

Yeah, there is a difference, but it's definitely not necessary. You can still watch DVD's just fine on the standard DVD player and then just hold out for a blue-ray/HD dvd player when one format wins.

Originally Posted by XMatthewX

I would only purchase a upscaling DVD player if you need another DVD player.

Thanks guys--much obliged.

[lukewarmplay]

Originally Posted by Dumpy

interesting thought, but it probably doesn't matter in our case. my four-year-old watches about two hours of TV a week, from a distance of 13 feet. The LCDs just don't come big enough, and the plasmas are SO much more expensive in that size class. Our couch is 13 feet away from the TV--we measured--and a smaller TV just won't do it at that distance.

So, is physics one of the eight degrees you've started? ;-)

Yeh, I've always been into it superficially, so why not?

btw, I didn't mean flat-screens, I meant flat-panel or whatever they're called. I used to watch from right up in front, too, which may explain some things.

[Dumpy]

i did too when I was a kid. I think that part of it was that there were no remotes back then and I wanted to be able to change channels every five seconds.