I'm Getting a New TV

[RockRaines]

Heh, this is the same exact thing I did.

 

I have a 43" DLP (generation1) upstairs -- I bought this in like 2000.

 

I have a 32" LCD in the bedroom.

 

...and a 50" Plasma in the basement -- this is my movie watching/sports television. I was skeptical of Plasma because of all the myths you hear about burnin, and while that was once a concern, it's really a thing of the past. My Plasma have a few different things it does to make sure it doesn't happen like pixel shifting, etc.

HAHA. I sold my 2000 LCD projection after I bought my plasma, if I didnt live in a condo, I would have the same set up.

[Chisoxfn]

Heh, this is the same exact thing I did.

 

I have a 43" DLP (generation1) upstairs -- I bought this in like 2000.

 

I have a 32" LCD in the bedroom.

 

...and a 50" Plasma in the basement -- this is my movie watching/sports television. I was skeptical of Plasma because of all the myths you hear about burnin, and while that was once a concern, it's really a thing of the past. My Plasma have a few different things it does to make sure it doesn't happen like pixel shifting, etc.

Plasma Burn in happens during the first 50-100 hours, but they also have new programs on the plasma tv's to counter-act the burn in once it happens and after about a month or so its a thing of the past. The new plasmas are also much more energy efficient, albeit still not quite as good as the LCD's.

 

After doing the research, I ended up buying a 58Inch Samsung 1080P Plasma. I got it about 3 weeks ago for the place I'm moving too and will be mounting it up tomorrow. I can't comment on it yet, but based upon the reviews I saw online the big thing that did it for me with Plasma is that it is a better TV to watch sports in than an LCD and for movies it has darker blacks, which is nice, imo.

 

That said, get the specs you want and go with Samsung (Plasma, LCD, or LED)/Sony (LCD)/Panasonic (Plasma) if you can afford to spend a bit more and you won't go wrong. Vizio makes a damn fine TV as well, especially for the money, but I always think when push comes to shove you can find specials from the big-boys and there picture quality is just a bit better, albeit I highly doubt 99% of the people would notice it, so again, it rages the debate of whether it is worth it.

 

I also recommend buying online. Find a place with free shipping and no sales tax and it pays off big time. And if you are going to mount it, look online for the mounts, much cheaper than buying from Best Buys of the world.

[Chisoxfn]

HAHA. I sold my 2000 LCD projection after I bought my plasma, if I didnt live in a condo, I would have the same set up.

Those DLP's are damn nice TV's. I have a 50 inch which is now in the bedroom at my new place. Such a pleasure to move. I remember the days of the CRT's, just moving like a 32 inch TV could take 3 people depending on the size.

 

I got mine in 2001 or so, I know I'll need to replace the bulb sooner or later but the picture is f***ing phenomenal and for the bedroom sake I need a stand for the PS3, etc, so I don't care if it isn't mounted.

 

Hell, if they still made DLP's, I would have probably bought another, the picture is just awesome.

[iamshack]

After doing the research, I ended up buying a 58Inch Samsung 1080P Plasma. I got it about 3 weeks ago for the place I'm moving too and will be mounting it up tomorrow. I can't comment on it yet, but based upon the reviews I saw online the big thing that did it for me with Plasma is that it is a better TV to watch sports in than an LCD and for movies it has darker blacks, which is nice, imo.

 

I watched Star Trek on Blu Ray on my 50-inch Panasonic plasma last night and it was pretty incredible.

[RockRaines]

Plasma Burn in happens during the first 50-100 hours, but they also have new programs on the plasma tv's to counter-act the burn in once it happens and after about a month or so its a thing of the past. The new plasmas are also much more energy efficient, albeit still not quite as good as the LCD's.

 

After doing the research, I ended up buying a 58Inch Samsung 1080P Plasma. I got it about 3 weeks ago for the place I'm moving too and will be mounting it up tomorrow. I can't comment on it yet, but based upon the reviews I saw online the big thing that did it for me with Plasma is that it is a better TV to watch sports in than an LCD and for movies it has darker blacks, which is nice, imo.

 

That said, get the specs you want and go with Samsung (Plasma, LCD, or LED)/Sony (LCD)/Panasonic (Plasma) if you can afford to spend a bit more and you won't go wrong. Vizio makes a damn fine TV as well, especially for the money, but I always think when push comes to shove you can find specials from the big-boys and there picture quality is just a bit better, albeit I highly doubt 99% of the people would notice it, so again, it rages the debate of whether it is worth it.

 

I also recommend buying online. Find a place with free shipping and no sales tax and it pays off big time. And if you are going to mount it, look online for the mounts, much cheaper than buying from Best Buys of the world.

Good buy dude, that Plasma is going to kill it when you get it up and running on the wall. Dont forget to check the professional configs on the internet for them, its abit of tweaking, but it makes a difference.

[KipWellsFan]

Thanks for the tips guys.

 

Right now I'm looking at 46 inch LCD Sony Bravia KDL46S5100 1080p.

 

Do you really need 1080p for Blu Ray to work?

 

P.S. f u tex. lol

 

 

[RockRaines]

Thanks for the tips guys.

 

Right now I'm looking at 46 inch LCD Sony Bravia KDL46S5100 1080p.

 

Do you really need 1080p for Blu Ray to work?

 

P.S. f u tex. lol

Get 1080p regardless. Even an HD signal will be better. You dont want 720.

[Y2HH]

Get 1080p regardless. Even an HD signal will be better. You dont want 720.

 

What kind of tweaks did you do/where did you get them to match to your eyes?

[KipWellsFan]

Only thing I'm worried about with LCD is that I'm hearing the picture gets fugged if you watch on an angle. Does the angle have to be extreme? Who watches tv straight on anyway?

[iamshack]

Only thing I'm worried about with LCD is that I'm hearing the picture gets fugged if you watch on an angle. Does the angle have to be extreme? Who watches tv straight on anyway?

 

I think the angle would have to be pretty crazy extreme.

[bigruss]

Only thing I'm worried about with LCD is that I'm hearing the picture gets fugged if you watch on an angle. Does the angle have to be extreme? Who watches tv straight on anyway?

LCD angles tend to be pretty decent, the product info usually has the degrees listed on what the vertical and horizontal viewing angles are.

[Balta1701]

Get 1080p regardless. Even an HD signal will be better. You dont want 720.

720 is supposedly ok for anything that's about 42 inches and below; smaller than that and the difference in resolution doesn't matter. Above that, 1080 is supposed to be worth it.

[MEANS]

Yes, it *is* remotely true.

 

LEDs do NOT look better than my new Samsung Plasma -- at BEST, they could match current plasma or 120hzLCD in terms of visual quality, but at a premium of 1500$ and possibly in a smaller size. I know because I had one...and returned it for the Plasma I now own...which I will not be returning, because it's that much better, it's bigger, and it was way cheaper. I repeat, someday you will be right...but right now LED TV technology is in it's infancy, it has it's problems, and it's too expensive. Problems that have long been worked out of LCD 120hz, Plasma, and DLP televisions.

 

If I was to recommend anything to someone right now, either get a current generation Plasma or a current generation LCD @120hz.

 

And don't believe the screen burn hype when it comes to Plasmas...that's a thing of the past. They have many built in protections against this now.

 

This is the TV I currently own...it's a bit expensive for Plasma because it's current generation...but I couldn't pass up the fact that it's 1.2" thick.

 

http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/tv-vide...type=prd_detail

Ditto on that, I just got the same tv, i needed a good sized screen for a large bedroom with not much sunlight so that's why I went with a plasma, I got a sony blu-ray player and cannot believe how good the picture is. I went to a friends last night who has a 55" LED samsung and the picture was as good by the blacks were nowhere near as rich as on my plasma. Eventually I will probably pick up a LED for the family room to replace my Sharp 32" LCD, but not until they come down in price, btw I picked up the Samsung Plasma for about 1400.

[Chisoxfn]

Only thing I'm worried about with LCD is that I'm hearing the picture gets fugged if you watch on an angle. Does the angle have to be extreme? Who watches tv straight on anyway?

I know my Plasma works awesome on an angle. Got it up this weekend and the TV is f***ing beautiful.

[Chisoxfn]

Ditto on that, I just got the same tv, i needed a good sized screen for a large bedroom with not much sunlight so that's why I went with a plasma, I got a sony blu-ray player and cannot believe how good the picture is. I went to a friends last night who has a 55" LED samsung and the picture was as good by the blacks were nowhere near as rich as on my plasma. Eventually I will probably pick up a LED for the family room to replace my Sharp 32" LCD, but not until they come down in price, btw I picked up the Samsung Plasma for about 1400.

I got that TV, albeit a different size, and it is freaking beautiful. Mounted it on my wall and including the wall-mount it sticks out less than 6 inches. Its freaking awesome. I can also attest that the energy used on new plasmas is a lot less. Older generation plasmas used to get real hot but this new one doesn't run hot at all.

[JPN366]

Plasmas are sh**, avoid them like the plague. LCD, DLP or LED's are fine.

 

[RockRaines]

720 is supposedly ok for anything that's about 42 inches and below; smaller than that and the difference in resolution doesn't matter. Above that, 1080 is supposed to be worth it.

I notice it in as small as a 24 in TV. I wouldnt chance taking an older technology to save a hundred bucks.

[RockRaines]

Plasmas are sh**, avoid them like the plague. LCD, DLP or LED's are fine.

Avoid this advice like the plague. Just terrible.

[southsider2k5]

720 is supposedly ok for anything that's about 42 inches and below; smaller than that and the difference in resolution doesn't matter. Above that, 1080 is supposed to be worth it.

 

Even our sales person said anything 37 inches and below is negligible to the human eye.

[RockRaines]

What kind of tweaks did you do/where did you get them to match to your eyes?

I get my settings from the avnet forums for my model. I then tweak it a bit from there for my eyes (because im the only one that matters).

[RockRaines]

Even our sales person said anything 37 inches and below is negligible to the human eye.

I still notice it, but I have really clear vision.

[Big Hurtin]

Yeah, I was referring to 1080p models, and not the older models either. If you're going to buy a new tv, and as he said he is willing to spend a little extra cash to get something high quality, I would go with the Panasonic because of the black levels. Especially if you're considering getting into blu ray, I think it's best to get the 1080p.

 

Also, 120hz (LCD) is great with Blu Ray because you can watch it in 24 fps, which is what films are shot at.

[Real]

I have two generic 1080p LCD's and a Samsung PN50B650 1080p Plasma

 

The LCD's are 42", 46", and my Plasma is a 50"

 

Obviously the two generic LCD's aren't going to have an amazing image compared to something like a Sony Bravia or Samsung model, but they're pretty awesome for the price I paid for them

 

My 50" Plasma is awesome as well, I've only got about 120 hours on it so far, and I use it as a secondary monitor on my PC (DVI>HDMI), and I watch TV on it via my TV Tuner Card (ATSC & NTSC)

 

I still haven't quite gotten my settings perfected for the plasma but the out-of-the-box image quality is top notch, it's just annoying to see my 24" LCD (1920x1200) sitting next to it and thinking that the LCD is a better screen because it always looks a bit better than my plasma.

 

That's until I realize the dot pitch on the LCD is vastly superior to a 50" Plasma (24" 19x12 LCD has 2,304,000 pixels, 50" 19x10 Plasma has 2,073,600 larger pixels, which gives the impression that it's image quality is lower than the LCD)

 

Blacks are better on my plasma though, and ...........no motion blur! Playing games on the Plasma looks more realistic than on my LCD

[JPN366]

Avoid this advice like the plague. Just terrible.

 

I stared at two plasmas at work for years and they were horrible. They were replaced with Sharp Aquos TV's.

[Real]

I stared at two plasmas at work for years and they were horrible. They were replaced with Sharp Aquos TV's.

 

Odd, as Sharp Aquos are generally considered one of the more poor choices of LCDs on the market, considering it's an actual "Name brand"

 

Some people just find the overly bright and sharp image of LCD's as a better image than what plasma's offer, which are more vivid colors and deeper blacks

 

In fact, the most accurate color output and black depth to date, as per Consumer Electronics, is a Pioneer Kuro Elite Plasma

 

Despite being a fact that Plasmas offer better color reproduction, viewing angles, and deeper shades of black, some people still prefer the look of an LCD and there's really nothing wrong with it

 

Plasmas have their own downsides as well (image retention, possible burn-in if you're careless, phosphor lag, screen glare due to a glass screen)

Edited December 22, 2009 by Real