MUScoop
MUScoop => The Superbar => Topic started by: StillAWarrior on December 12, 2008, 08:32:01 AM
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As someone coming very late in the game to the flat panel market, I'd appreciate thoughts and opinions. If it matters, I'm only looking for 40-some inches tops -- not a mega-TV.
Thanks.
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I'm buying my first flat screen next week, so I've been doing research over the past few months. Everything I've found seems to point to LCD's being superior. While plasmas seem to give a slightly better picture, the quality difference is virtyally unnoticable. Additionally, the burn-in issue is flat out not a problem, and LCD's today are available in full HD 1080p. And with the prices, it's not hard to find a bargain on a quality TV. I'm picking up a Vizio 42" LCD that's 1080p for $800.
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I just went through this process a couple weeks ago. I went with an LCD for a couple reasons. Better for video games, PC hookup and lifespan.
What are your uses for it?
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"so I've been doing research over the past few months. Everything I've found seems to point to LCD's being superior"
I read pretty much the same stuff in consumer reports.
I got a 42" LG LCD last year, and have 0 complaints.
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What are your uses for it?
It's going to be the main family tv. So pretty much watching tv and playing wii with the kids. Since the wii is a pretty low quality graphics system anyway, I don't think that it will have a big influence on the decision. I'm planning to get HD once we get the new tv, too. The lighting level in the room is fairly low, so that isn't a concern. Most of what I'd read was leading me to LCD, but I wasn't sure. I guess in the smaller sizes like I'm looking for, LCD is much more common.
Thanks for the input.
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LCD would definitely be the better option. You probably wouldn't need to go to 1080 unless you really wanted to. A 720 should be plenty for your uses unless you plan on jumping into the BluRay market.
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LCD would definitely be the better option. You probably wouldn't need to go to 1080 unless you really wanted to. A 720 should be plenty for your uses unless you plan on jumping into the BluRay market.
I'll have to consider the price difference. We don't buy tv's very often (the last one was probably 12-15 years ago), so I might want to get a bit higher resolution to serve us better for a longer period of time. Our seating is probably 8-10 away from the tv, and some is off to the side a little bit. Does the resolution matter for these issues?
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I'll have to consider the price difference. We don't buy tv's very often (the last one was probably 12-15 years ago), so I might want to get a bit higher resolution to serve us better for a longer period of time. Our seating is probably 8-10 away from the tv, and some is off to the side a little bit. Does the resolution matter for these issues?
If you're sticking to 40 inches tops, 720 will be more than fine. The difference at that size is very minimal.
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I bought an LCD about 6 months ago at BestBuy .. their displays had many LCDs next to Plasmas of the same size/brand .. Honestly, I found that the LCDs' picture quality was better than plasma.
One thing that gave me pause was .. the plasmas have a thin glass-like shield over the screen, while the LCDs have that semi-soft feel to them. -- I was (am) worried my two toddlers will swing something at the screen some day. Plasma screens seemed to be a bit tougher, able to take a little more punishment. Regardless .. I went with the LCD. So far, so good.
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If you're sticking to 40 inches tops, 720 will be more than fine. The difference at that size is very minimal.
I've got about the same seating distance, and 40" won't at all be too big. I'm getting a 42.
As for resolution, I'd be fine with 720 as well, but seeing as the prices have dropped so much, I'm going with 1080p.
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As someone coming very late in the game to the flat panel market, I'd appreciate thoughts and opinions. If it matters, I'm only looking for 40-some inches tops -- not a mega-TV.
Thanks.
LCD. We have a 37" and a 46". Our lobby at work has about 20 of them, all LCD's. They run cooler, something else to consider if you have kids.
And yes, get 1080p with as fast a refresh rate as you can find. And I'd recommend NOT getting your HDMI cable from the store as they'll charge you a ridiculous amount. But do make sure you get a HDMI cable that has the proper bandwidth.
I'd recommend Monoprice.com, that's where I get all of my cables. Make sure it is 1.3a rated.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240
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I've got about the same seating distance, and 40" won't at all be too big. I'm getting a 42.
As for resolution, I'd be fine with 720 as well, but seeing as the prices have dropped so much, I'm going with 1080p.
I've limited on size by the furniture we've got. We have a entertainment center that we like very much and want a tv that will fit into it. I think we should be able to fit a 42", but definitely not anything bigger. I'll definitely have to take a tape measure to the store.
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I have a 42" Panasonic plasma and will be getting another plasma within the next year. I am either going to be getting the 50" Panasonic or making the jump to Elite as I have two friends that have them and they are SWEET!
I have found that plasma's have a better picture once you get settings correct. It mainly has to do with the shadowing you get with high action / fast motion programs. The 120 MHz still has not corrected this. Also, plasmas have a much wider range of colors and offer deeper and richer color than LCD's. The whole "life span" of plasma's is kind of bs. I mean you get at minimum 10,000 viewing hours on it. And in that time you are probably getting a new TV(s) already.
One thing that must be pointedThe people at Best Buy normally moron's and they rarely have picture settings correct.
Not that plasma's are the best at everything - a few drawbacks.
1) They run hot and use a lot of energy.
2) They need to remain upright (15 degrees of vertical) at all times.
3) There can be glare issues if there is direct sunlight on the TV.
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I'd recommend Monoprice.com, that's where I get all of my cables. Make sure it is 1.3a rated.
http://www.monoprice.com/products/subdepartment.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10240
I will second, third and fourth monoprice. I have purchased all of cables their as well including a 12' HDMI for I think around $30.
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Just recently bought a Sharp 46" 1080p LCD and could not be happier with it. Picture quality is outstanding, with very little motion blur. Got it on black friday for $899.
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Just recently bought a Sharp 46" 1080p LCD and could not be happier with it. Picture quality is outstanding, with very little motion blur. Got it on black friday for $899.
I went over to casa de MUfan12 to check out his new one, and that's what pushed me over the edge to wanting a 42" as opposed to a 32" or 37". You really see everything!
Wal-Mart has several 42" 1080p's at the $800 price point right now, and I think there are comparable plasmas for the same price.
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While plasmas seem to give a slightly better picture, the quality difference is virtyally unnoticable. Additionally, the burn-in issue is flat out not a problem, and LCD's today are available in full HD 1080p.
Newer Plasmas virtually have no burn in problem...that was an issue in the early days of plasma. The picture is about the same but as the screens get larger LCD tends to have a much more difficult time keeping up with fast moving pictures. (pixelating) However, the refresh rates for the larger LCD's is getting better. (120 hertz)
The main downfall for Plasma is that it doesn't do a very good job of displaying black/grey/dark colors and people say that they are more difficult to view in bright rooms.
FWIW, I bought a Plasma recently and absolutely love it...no complaints, except if I'm watching Dayton vs MU.
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Newer Plasmas virtually have no burn in problem...that was an issue in the early days of plasma. The picture is about the same but as the screens get larger LCD tends to have a much more difficult time keeping up with fast moving pictures. (pixelating) However, the refresh rates for the larger LCD's is getting better. (120 hertz)
The main downfall for Plasma is that it doesn't do a very good job of displaying black/grey/dark colors and people say that they are more difficult to view in bright rooms.
FWIW, I bought a Plasma recently and absolutely love it...no complaints, except if I'm watching Dayton vs MU.
Actually, plasmas do a better jobs with darker colors than LCD's and have a wider range of colors. That is one of the reasons I prefer plasmas.
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I have two plasmas (I've had one of them for 2 years and the other for about 4 months). The older one is a 52" screen. Both are Samsung. And I love em.
I originally went to the stores thinking DLP since I wanted a bigger screen but didn't want to pay through the nose. I got turned off of the rear DLPs REALLY quick because of viewing angle issues (not sure if they've resolved that recently). I've heard the DLP projectors require (expensive) bulb replacements every few years too (but didn't even consider them since I have ceiling fans in the rooms I want the TVs). My next option was LCDs but at that time they were way too expensive for the size I wanted and not many models were available in that range to boot. So I was pretty much left with plasma and wanted nothing to do with them from the get go. So I went home, did some research, and found out that all my concerns were pretty much resolved by then: burn-out fixed by pixel refresh functionality; lifespan fixed to match most tv use lifespans; and (call me weird on this) but they didn't emit an odd static smell like they did originally. I decided I could deal with the heat (which really isn't that much) and would put it on a switchable power strip to control the power usage when I'm not using it.
As for choosing Samsung, I really just looked at various TVs side by side from about the distance I will normally be watching and selected based on picture quality (after tweaking the controls on each). One major thing I noticed was that some TVs (including a lower priced Samsung model of the same size) couldn't "keep up" when a significant portion of the video was changing (e.g. watch a nascar race while the camera is panning over the crowd). I ended up taking the models I have because it could keep up and had a very crisp, clear, and vivid picture. I should also say that me selecting a second Samsung had very little to do with the first one I got as I went through the same independent comparisons both times.
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Don't forget to look online for actually purchasing your tv too.
I purchased my 40" Samsung LCD off of Amazon.com - often times you can get a better deal online due to the cost of an item sitting in a big box store compared to a warehouse. I'd check the tv out at the big box so you can physically see it, but I was able to get free white glove shipping from Amazon and a price $200 less than retail stores (not always the case). Plus 6 months later I called Amazon and they refunded me more money due to a price drop.
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LCD's are infinitely better in virtually every single category...there is one reason their is a plasma market period...they are cheaper.
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LCD's are infinitely better in virtually every single category...there is one reason their is a plasma market period...they are cheaper.
Wow this is a completely wrong statement. Plasma's have a wider range of colors and are much smoother in picture motion.
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Wow this is a completely wrong statement. Plasma's have a wider range of colors and are much smoother in picture motion.
It's kind of like the PC wars. People have their own personal tastes. My LCD's don't have the motion blur, at least not with my eyes. I run BluRay off one of them.
I have a Samsung LCD and a Sharp. If I were to get a Plasm, it would be a Panasonic without even thinking twice. They have terrific plasmas.
I'll say this, the lobby of DIRECTV is open to the world and we display our product as if it were Mission Control. So when people are coming in to meet with us from the outside they can be Ooohed and Ahhhed by all of the HD offerings.
Of the 20 or so televisions we have, they're all Samsung LCD's. We're putting our reputation of our picture quality on an LCD. For whatever that's worth to folks, that's what we're doing. Doesn't mean we couldn't have done that with Plasmas, in fact we probably didn't because the heat generated in the lobby would be insane. I guess the better way of putting is that we are more than comfortable (in fact thrilled) with the LCD screens and how they show off our sports, movies, etc in HD.
Still Warrior.....you have an email that might help you as well...take a look.
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I bought a 50" Panasonic plasma a little over two years ago and have had absolutely no complaints.
However, these days I don't think you can really go wrong either way.
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As with lobby's a LCD will be better because of the high amounts of light that are in the room.
For the home theater I just like plasmas. I have a Panasonic plasma right now and am looking at getting another Panasonic of moving up to the Elite line by Pioneer which IMO are the best TV's one can buy.
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As with lobby's a LCD will be better because of the high amounts of light that are in the room.
For the home theater I just like plasmas. I have a Panasonic plasma right now and am looking at getting another Panasonic of moving up to the Elite line by Pioneer which IMO are the best TV's one can buy.
We have a 52" Sharp Aquos LCD at home and I bought a 32" Dynex LCD (the 2007 Black Friday doorbuster at Best Buy) for the dorm. Love 'em both. I agree with those that say the plasma gives a marginally more deep picture, but honestly if you're upgrading from standard def you'll be wowed either way.
As Chili alluded to, I'd say make a main deciding factor where you plan on putting the TV. If it's in a living room with windows in any capacity behind where you sit, get the LCD. Despite plasma's slightly better picture (in my opinion), it's a glass screen and not a liquid crystal display, so glare can be awful. It's why we went LCD over plasma. Either way, pick something out and get ready to be wowed. Good luck!
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Either will be awesome from what you have...I have a Panasonic plasma...my one reco is to splurge and get a Bose sound system to complete the experience.
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Either will be awesome from what you have...I have a Panasonic plasma...my one reco is to splurge and get a Bose sound system to complete the experience.
Bose - yuck. Average sound with great marketing. You can get much better systems. If you already have the TV don't skimp on the stereo.
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I bought a Samsung 40" LCD, 1080p, 120Hz last March. The picture is bright as hell - even brighter than my old (1997) 35" CRT. Now, when I watch movies at night, I'll even turn the power saving feature on to medium so that its not so bright. Hah. However, the room has tons of windows, so the brightness is appreciated during the day.
Needless to say, I'd give it two thumbs up. As chicos said, I've never noticed any motion blur. Not sure if its the 120Hz, or my eyes, but it's not a problem for me.
As for the Wii, make sure you go out and get the component cable so that you at least get 480p with it. The extra little details are worth it: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1125427
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I bought a Samsung 40" LCD, 1080p, 120Hz last March. The picture is bright as hell - even brighter than my old (1997) 35" CRT. Now, when I watch movies at night, I'll even turn the power saving feature on to medium so that its not so bright. Hah. However, the room has tons of windows, so the brightness is appreciated during the day.
Needless to say, I'd give it two thumbs up. As chicos said, I've never noticed any motion blur. Not sure if its the 120Hz, or my eyes, but it's not a problem for me.
As for the Wii, make sure you go out and get the component cable so that you at least get 480p with it. The extra little details are worth it: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1125427
Putting a Wii on a 1080p should be grounds for arrest!!! ;)
We run the PS3 on ours as many of the games are 720p or 1080p resolution. I think watching Wii game on a 1080 p would make me want to cry
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Whatever you do, don't buy a Vizio, Olevia, or some other brand of TV that is not well known. Spend the money and get a nice 1080 LCD from one of the big boys, Samsung, Sony, Hitatchi, Toshiba, etc. Price TV's everywhere. Many people might find this surprising, but we just found the Sony LCD we wanted at Sears of all places. They had a great deal for us.
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Vizio makes great LCD's. Sony doesn't even make their own tv's. I believe the panels are actually made by LG. I also believe Samsung puts a glass shield over their LCD's which can add to glare.
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Ok, let's assume price is not an option. Can you honestly recommend a Vizio over a Samsung, Sony, LG, Sharp, etc? I like Vizio for an entry level TV under 40" and even for a bedroom TV 20 - 30", but for 40" and up, I don't think they are anywhere near the quality of other brands.
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I also personally think Sony is the most overrated product. You pay way to much for a name. But I also am not a big fan of LCD's and prefer plasmas for the reasons I have stated earlier in this thread. I pretty much would only consider Panasonic and Pioneer Elite plasmas at that to.
But to discount Vizio is a mistake. They are not like a Westinghouse, Soyo, Poloriod, ect.
Also, before Olevia went bankrupt their TV's regularly had better scores when they were reviewed.
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LCD is better if you watch in a room that has natural light in it. Plasma's have a better picture but only if you are watching in the dark, so if you have a movie room in your basement then it might be a better choice.
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Putting a Wii on a 1080p should be grounds for arrest!!! ;)
Perhaps, and I think the xbox and ps3 are both great game consoles. However, my point was....if you HAVE to do it (and I did), make sure to get the 480p resolution - which is surprisingly better than 480i.
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Perhaps, and I think the xbox and ps3 are both great game consoles. However, my point was....if you HAVE to do it (and I did), make sure to get the 480p resolution - which is surprisingly better than 480i.
I know, I was just yanking your chain.
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Finally got my new TV last night. I ended up getting a Toshiba 40" 1080p LCD at Sears over at Brookfield Square for $799, and I'm already blown away. I didn't really look at Toshibas at first, but I have to say, it's a great quality panel, and I have absolutely no complaints so far. Got TW cable and an upconverting DVD player through HDMI, and regular XBox through component, and they all look phenomenal. Even the oldie XBox pulls its weight on this thing.
Sears has a lot of great prices, and is definitely worth checking out.
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Finally got my new TV last night.
Congrats....now you can really enjoy the game tonight (hopefully....)
So...StillAWarrior...get yours yet?
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Congrats....now you can really enjoy the game tonight (hopefully....)
So...StillAWarrior...get yours yet?
Yep, having a innaugural viewing party tonight! Hopefully it's an HD win!
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So...StillAWarrior...get yours yet?
Not yet, but hopefully soon. I had planned to go out over the weekend and look, but had surprise visitors (my family flew in from out west to celebrate my 40th) and never had time. At best, it'll be next weekend.
I'm a little nervous reading about all these extra cables, "through component", etc. I assume that the person at the store will know what I need to make the thing actually run with ATT U-verse once I get it home. This is not my strong suit.
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Well, cables are pretty easy - BUT be careful about asking at the store about cables. They tell you a million times that you need an HDMI cable, and then they try to sell you one for $50 or more.
Now, the truth is once you get your HD, the connection to the U-Verse box will be HDMI, so the sales person is correct.
Also, once you get a blue-ray DVD player, you'll need another HDMI cable. For now though, your standard def DVD (or DVR) will just hook up the same as it did to your old TV**.
But, here's a great deal on two 6ft HDMI cables - and then you'll never need to buy one again. $8.99 - version 1.3b certified.
http://www.meritline.com/193-283-002.html
For the Wii, you'll need*** one of these
http://www.meritline.com/6-feet-480p-hd-component-cable-for-nintendo-wii.html
** - Unless you've got a progressive scan DVD, in which case you probably have component outputs on that sucker as well.
http://www.meritline.com/6-feet-component-cable.html
*** - The truth is you don't NEED new cables for the Wii, or a DVD player - they can hook up just like they are now. However, you'll get better quality with the cables you "need".
Confusing enough? Hopefully I didn't make it worse, but the stores will rip you off on cables.
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Another question: I've seen several sources that have suggested 37" for viewing distances under 10 feet. Does anyone have any thoughts on that? I've been looking at 40-42", but might want to put the extra money into speed/resolution instead of size if it actually would be better to have a smaller screen given our viewing distance.
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Another question: I've seen several sources that have suggested 37" for viewing distances under 10 feet. Does anyone have any thoughts on that? I've been looking at 40-42", but might want to put the extra money into speed/resolution instead of size if it actually would be better to have a smaller screen given our viewing distance.
In my search, I learned that the best thing to do is to just try and visualize it. I'm at roughly 8 feet, and the 40" I bought is about perfect. 37 or 42 probably would have been fine as well. Thankfully, my old 27" SDTV tube set had big speakers on the side, making it almost as wide as my new panel. So I basically took the tape measure out and measured that TV, left to right (the whole thing, not just the screen), then wrote down the dimensions of the TVs I was looking at, and compared.
The bottom line, though, is that there's not a huge difference between 37" and 40".
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Picking up my 52" LCD Samsung 1080p TV on Friday... very excite.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8794049&type=product&id=1205537712281
that one, but not that price... $1600 ;)
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Just a heads up, since it seems lots of people are looking for LCDs this year...great deal on a 40" Samsung 1080p LCD (LN40A550) - $899 with free white glove (delivery and setup) shipping at Amazon. (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN40A550-40-Inch-1080p-HDTV/dp/B001418W2C/ref=br_lf_m_548166_1_2_ttl?tag=slickdeals&ie=UTF8&s=electronics&pf_rd_p=466211951&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=548166&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0BK8TYCXHR3Z5R49AMB5)
It'd get to you after x-mas, but it's ok to give yourself a present a little late :)
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Just a heads up, since it seems lots of people are looking for LCDs this year...great deal on a 40" Samsung 1080p LCD (LN40A550) - $899 with free white glove (delivery and setup) shipping at Amazon. (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN40A550-40-Inch-1080p-HDTV/dp/B001418W2C/ref=br_lf_m_548166_1_2_ttl?tag=slickdeals&ie=UTF8&s=electronics&pf_rd_p=466211951&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=548166&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0BK8TYCXHR3Z5R49AMB5)
It'd get to you after x-mas, but it's ok to give yourself a present a little late :)
Thanks for the link. That TV has gone down $100 in two days. On the same day the Sony Bravia 42" was only $899 (regularly $1499), but I see that it is now $1044.97 (plus shipping). I didn't realize how volatile the prices were on these tvs. I think I might jump on that Samsung today.
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As rocky_warrior alluded to, for all of you looking at or purchasing new TVs, don't let them sell you on the HDMI. You'll pay $40+ for them at any electronics store when a simple search, even on amazon, will give you results for $7 or $8. I'm no expert or anything, but I would imagine all brands of HDMI cable are pretty much identical and should give the same quality connection with the same longevity. I bought one for $5 to hook up my Ps3 and after more than a year the cable shows no signs of wear.
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I have used monoprice.com for all of my cable needs. 12' hdmi for $17.
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Just a heads up, since it seems lots of people are looking for LCDs this year...great deal on a 40" Samsung 1080p LCD (LN40A550) - $899 with free white glove (delivery and setup) shipping at Amazon. (http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LN40A550-40-Inch-1080p-HDTV/dp/B001418W2C/ref=br_lf_m_548166_1_2_ttl?tag=slickdeals&ie=UTF8&s=electronics&pf_rd_p=466211951&pf_rd_s=center-5&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=548166&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0BK8TYCXHR3Z5R49AMB5)
It'd get to you after x-mas, but it's ok to give yourself a present a little late :)
Done. Now it's all over but the waiting.