DjElucid

I need opinions, HDTV or ECU reflash?

FYI: I currently have a 32" Sony flat CRT TV. I don't watch a lot of TV but I do watch a lot of movies.

godfather2

HONDATA ... no question.

CGTSX07

what size HDTV? LCD, Plasma? Budget?

DjElucid

Looking at 42 or 37, plasma or LCD, $1000.

CGTSX07

Actually, unless you have a Bluray player or HD-DVD player, I would get the Hondata reflash. If you do have one of the above players, you will be making good use of your HDTV.

LAHORE1

HDTV

DjElucid

I'm guessing you have the reflash?

Anyone else with an opinion, can you state if you have the reflash or not? I've been wanting the reflash ever since it came out. Both items are a "not really needed, but nice to have thing" so I'm stuck.

thanks.

xjohnkdoex

iTrader: (2)

since i have a HDTV already, i'd vote reflash since i can't have one (none for 07+).

but even if i were in your shoes, i'd still get the reflash. it's cheaper than any HDTV you want. and TV is just TV. i think there'd be more satisfaction in getting the reflash.

Tsx536

It's depends on how much TV you watch. If you watch a lot of TV then I say get the HDTV.

How many hours a day are you in front of the TV vs. how many hours a day are you in the TSX?

For me, I probably spend more time in front of the TV than I do commuting nowadays. My commute is only 5 minutes now though
I have both a HDTV and a reflash. I don't think I could live without either one

GLowrdr

TV all the way. Not to diss on the cars...

I finally bought myself a 51" Ultravision 3 years ago, and if I would have known how much nicer a "nice" bigscreen is - I would have second guessed some of my other purchases.

Seriously though - If I would have known how cool the TV was going to be, I probably would have held off on buying a new bed (that was my new homeowner present to myself).

You will find you get spoiled though. I moved the 51" downstairs and I use it solely for playing 360. I bought a newer 55" LCD projection Ultravision for my upstairs theatre.

Still no flat panel, but once those drop a little more, it'll be time for a new TV in my room.

rex.

In 2006 I was contemplating Hondata or TV and I decided on a 32" Sony Bravia XBR2 with a PS3. Ask yourself what do you do more: Are you at home or constantly on the road? Hondata has nothing but positive feedback with no buyer's remorse. If you buy the HDTV will you regret not waiting 3 months because the price significantly dropped or a newer model was released? You'll spend less money at first getting Hondata compared to purchasing the TV, HDMI Cables, etc. Beware that you will most likely enjoy being in that newly lowered VTEC window all the time. So money spent on gas will also increase. I haven't gotten around to getting the reflash yet, but I do wish instead of buying all that stuff I went for supercharger instead..

P.S. I vote for Hondata

DjElucid

Now that football season is over, I don't really watch TV. Even during football season it was Sundays and Monday. The only show I really watch is Lost and now Heroes, when it finally comes back. I'm in front of the computer more. But I do like to watch movies on the weekend. argg....

Tsx536

Are you in an area where you can get HDTV over the air?
Lost in HD is awesome! Actually, anything in HD is pretty awesome...haha

Well here's the thing. The longer you wait to get a HDTV, the more the prices will drop. For Hondata, the price will never drop.

Even if you only watch movies, that's still quite a bit of time in front of the TV though. How much are you driving per day?

DjElucid

my commute to and from work is about 80 mins. I'm in Philly so we do have over the air HD. My brother in law has a LCD projection and it's amazing!

Tsx536

I think it's a tough call then. It really comes down to preference. CGTSX07 has a good point though. If you mostly watch DVDs, then you would need a blu ray or HD DVD player to take advantage of the higher resolution that your TV is capable of.

It's good if you have HDTV in your area, because you can get a lot of the prime time programming for free. If you rarely watch live TV, it doesn't do you much good though. If you have an xbox 360 or Ps3, then that's another good reason to get the TV.

Do you drive your TSX pretty hard? Rev over 5K frequently? The new Vtec point will be at 5K (or 4850 for a 06) so that's where you'll really notice it.

visuelz

I'd recommend going higher than 42. 1080p wouldn't look that great in 42, but will look awesome in 50 or in my case, 58. =]

nycxtsx05

lol baller i got a 42 in its used as hdtv / computer / ps3 and im pretty damn satisfied with that
but i drive alot too, unfortunately my 05 AT can not be reflashed
so that was an ez decision by me but honestly if i was able to id choose the reflash def

CarbonGray Earl

Hondata. TVs will always be around. A 32 in. Sony, even as a CRT is gonna be fine for movies. I had one for a while. LCDs and Plasmas at the price of a reflash aren't going to be much better than that Sony. They maybe better at resolution, but black levels, brightness, contrast, all still favor the CRT. It would be even better if you have a Sony in which you could compress the screen to 16:9 format (mine did). If you learn to mess with the picture settings, I bet that you would like it enough to hold you over. A nice home theater system would probably be a better, more long term investment towards your setup.

Get hondata, save up for a nice set at the start of football season. The TV you have right now is decent enough, TV's will always come down in price, and Hondata will always be the same price/same product.

Feelo777

Dude go for the HDTV...Samsung's DLP's are very good. You can get a nice sized one for your budget and the picture quality is great.

1Louder

HDTV. There are a lot of great 32" HDTVs for under 900 (I have a Samsung, and it's excellent). Pair it with a recorder (TiVo or something like it) and you can record your favorites in High-Def and watch at your leisure. Once you get used to high-def channels, you won't want to watch the others. BTW - football in HD is awesome! Games like Green Bay / Seattle with the snow falling - it's spectacular to watch (even if the game wasn't...).

xenonhid

Oh yeah, the snow kicked our butts more than Green Bay.


I would consider HDTV only if you have the proper hardware

-Bluray player i.e. PS3?
-Component Cables, etc
-and DirectTV HDTV service.


If you are just getting a plasma to watch basic cable (non HDTV) its not worth it.

mltk53

mann if youre gettin a 500dollar tv, go with the hondata

DjElucid

***UPDATE: I dropped my ECU off tonight, I should get it back Friday or Monday. I'll buy a new TV when I buy a new house!

PrecyseStylez

That was gay!..haha. I would've went with the TV.. i hope that reflash comes in high def!!

wackura

Honestly you get more happy fun out of an HDTV than a slightly faster car. It's no contest. I can't believe you put a performance part ahead of HDTV.

Even old DVDs look better on HD because a higher resolution image comes out of old DVDs than a standard TV can display. Those people that say you "need" bluray or HD-dvd are elitist. Bluray might go the way of beta for all we know, and good luck finding a movie you want in bluray. On the other hand you do want HD cable or satelite because network broadcast shows look awwwwwesome in HD.

DjElucid

My new house is coming next year, so it's not too far away.

DixonTSX

I'm pretty sure the format wars between Blu-Ray and HD-DVD are over. Blu-ray is the winner and Toshiba is pulling the plug on HD-DVD. Pretty much all the large entertainment companies and all the retailers are going with Blu-Ray.

So to all those people that bought HD-DVD players, tough luck!

But seriously, I'd rather get a TV too, spend more time in the house than in my car anyways haha

wackura

You make it sound like this was a non issue all along.

wackura

That's awesome, but leads us to another obstacle, the cost of a Bluray player is still five times more expensive than a regular DVD player and the cost of Bluray discs is outrageous, between $25 and $40 while a similar DVD costs $12. Most people can't play a Blur-ray disc on their computer and obviously you can't play them with portable DVD players. All that cost and inconvenience for a higher res image? Now way. All the while the economy is in recession and unnecessary items such as this are the hardest hit. I expect it to be another two to three years before the economics and marketing forces put bluray in the hands of ordinary people and are seen as more apealing than a cheaper DVD.

DLTSX6MT

Obviously, spend the money on what you think is a better value to yourself. I've been really itching for Hondata myself. But this HDTV vs Hondata dimemna gives it some whole new perspective. Consider what your money is going to. A TV with thousands of parts, manufactured and assembled by numerous factories, with lots of personnel and robots and assembly lines versus you having to devote your own time and labor to remove (and reinstall) your ECU and immobilizer, and having some dude at a workstation plug a wire into it and click a button to upload the new programming. Yes, you can say that the all the cost of Hondata was in the development, but that TV needed development (both product design and manufacturing) as well.

DjElucid

Not all along, but I was trying to decide which one to get first. So because I know I'm getting a TV sometime next year, I decided on the Hondata.

The comments about spending time watching TV more. I don't really watch TV much since football season is over, even then it was on day a week. Only shows I watch are Lost and Heroes.

Blu-ray vs HD-DVD. The war between the two formats may be over and the cost of Blu-ray will probably start to fall soon. Bringing blu-ray in might take half the time it took for the DVD to dominate the VCR. Blu-ray won't take over until 50% of households have 1080p TVs and players are $150.

wackura

Number of parts and the development hours that go into something doesn't matter one bit. All that matters is wether or not the product in the end is worth the asking price.

And it's nice to think about wether the company you're doing business with is eco friendly, treats it's employees well, has good business practices and what not.

wackura

Heroes looks particularily good in HD. You're going to let another season go buy, still watching it in tired old NTSC format. You made up your mind I guess.

DixonTSX

Get a PS3 lol! It's the cheapest Blu-Ray player money can buy, AND it plays games!

But yeah, I see what you mean, Blu-Ray is still an expensive medium right now, and it'll be a while before they get cheaper, but because now they are the main type of format for the whole industry, I think prices will fall sooner than later, and probably fall faster too.

EuRTSX

The only show I watch in HD is probably LOST (which I might add looks absolutely AMAZING)

But anyway, I don't really watch television that much anymore.

I'd get the ECU Reflash.

RENARELLO

Now that the rocket scientist have finished.......
U should have gotten the HD