HDTV suggestion?

[Spyder]

I am searching for the best high definition tv that I can get.

 

I have been researching the topic and cannot narrow it down as there are a variety of trade-offs. My search has at least narrowed it down to size. The existing space I have to deal with would accomodate a 40" set. Additionally, the set must be capable of processing digital as well as analog signals.

 

The questions I have are:

1. LCD or Plasma?

2. Is 120MHz refresh rate for LCD important?

3. Is 1080p all that important for a relatively small tv?

 

Does the collective wisdom here have any suggestions as to what brand/model I should be looking at?

 

Thanks folks!

[Damean]

40" Sony LCD. Damn near bulletproof, in my opinion.

 

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stor...552921665119631

[David]

1. Technically, plasma is probably better, but I can't stand the reflection from the shinier screen surface. So it's LCD for me. I really like the warmth.

[Huzband]

I've had a Zenith 42" LCD for about 2 1/2 yrs. Love it.

[BFish]

have a 56" toshiba dlp...awesome hidef

[Baba_ORiley]

The questions I have are:

1. LCD or Plasma?

2. Is 120MHz refresh rate for LCD important?

3. Is 1080p all that important for a relatively small tv?

 

1. I like LCD better than Plasma for use in a bright room. I don't have any issues with how black it is in dark scenes (some people do, I think it depends on the TV)

 

2. I'm happy with the 60mhz refresh rate.

 

3. Although nobody is currently broadcasting in 1080p, I believe that that will become the defacto standard in the future. Makes sense to buy up to the next resolution level while you can.

 

As for models, my advice is to check out the unbiased reviews at Cnet: http://reviews.cnet.com/televisions/?tag=glnav

 

 

.

[Skywagon]

Just went through a 6 month study period and ended up buying one for xmas. No expert, but here is the conclusions I came to and by reading enough material to get a masters.

 

1080i is a great picture, but not much broadcast in 1080i right now. When it is 1080i, it is spectacular. Plasma supposed to be brighter, better picture, but I found this to be old school. Proof....went to the stores, several of them, and looked for the best picture I could find. I'll tell you later. Plasma, does have limited life, probably 7-8 years, burns significantly more AC, and is much hotter. The picture is very good.

 

LCD..supposedly not bright, but long lasting. Big problem was supposedly very fast mostion can blur. The 120 is supposed to make it better.

 

Conclusion. I bought a 52 in Samsung LCD with 1080 i and 120. I am on Comcast Cable with High Def. The picture is incredible. I watch sports and things that were supposed to blur, they don't - at all. Old wifes tail with 120.

 

I bought LCD because from what I read ( to eaches own interpretation) somewhere after 3-5 years you will need to replace the Plasma projector bulb or get use to it dimming over time. The LCD is advertised to have significantly more life. Quite frankly I thought it had the best picture which was my ultimate decision. Many of the articles I read and several of the big name stores suggested Plasma is going away. Supposedly the mfg are cutting their production and focusing on LCD. All that could be BS to sell LCD, but who knows. Ifyou are comparing pictures, make sure the plasma and lcd are set as close to the same as possible. There are litterly dozens of settings.

 

Well that is my $.02 from a non-expert who did tons of research. Quite frankly there is enough literature on the internet to convince you on any given day to go either way. Just buy something you like. Either way you will be happy and someone will tell you, you should have bought the other technology..

 

Now want to talk Hi Def or BluRa

 

Good luck.

[taters]

42" panasonic plasma. if you live in an altitude above 5.000feet.. don't get plasma. also get 1080i and get what ever picture looks best to you. i had direct tv and they have lots of hd channels. but i moved and had to get cable. the hd is not as sharp. i don't know the reason for this. right now circuit city is offering 36 months interest free financing. and if you get a big enuff set they are throwing in a blue ray disk dvd can't beat that deal taters

[glockster]

Vizio

[Spyder]

Alot of great info! Thanks folks.

[velomoto]

Avoid Plasma if you've got kids who may hook up their game to the tv as this may cause burn-in if they leave the set on or if the game has a part of the image which remains constant during the course of the game.

 

As mentioned above, don't get plasma if living above 5,000' but I don't think this is possible in CT.

 

1080i is all you need for Dish/Direct and cable HD. 1080p costs MUCH more but the only 1080p material available for a looong time will be the HD or Blu-ray DVD. Watching 1080i material on a really expensive 1080p TV looks like ummmmm 1080i.

 

There are lots of trade offs between LCD and plasma (price, viewing angle, brightness, bad pixels versus burn in, fan noise). Some units have fans which are audible when the volume is low such as a quiet scene of a movie. Also consider which features you need (front or easily accessed aux inputs, speaker quality, many, many others).

[Twisties]

I don' think plasma is going away, in fact the most recent stuff I've read is that major money is going into plasma. I think in the early models there was concern over them lasting only a few years. Per consumer reports, they are now expected to last at least 20 years (a full normal TV lifetime). There is no lamp to be replaced. That is for rear projection. Consumer reports says that plasma and lcd are the two most reliable types and low maintenance types.

 

Plasma's can still suffer from burn in. We set ours to the lowest output setting, ("Cinema" in our Panasonic). This setting that matches the broadcast standards. We've had no problems. A friend plays video games and has his set bright (Panasonic "Vivid") and he did get burn in within a few weeks.

 

Plasma is best for dark viewing rooms with no direct light on the screen. LCD for brighter rooms.

 

Ours is 780p and I assure you that you will most pleased with that. 780p and 1080i are roughly equivalent. If I were buying now, I might consider getting a 1080p set for bluray. However, that said, as you ask, on a 40" set, I doubt you'd see the difference. Ours is 50", and it is hard to imagine it getting much better.

 

In plasma the high end Pioneers are the best (and pricey), Panasonic runs a close second. In stores watch the blacking (the detail in the shadows) to see if it makes a difference to you. I will say this, the Vizio's have noticeably poorer blacking, but I'm not sure that once you got it home that would matter.

 

Keep in mind that stores are abnormal viewing conditions and sets are delivered set to extremely high color saturation and bright output (Panasonic "Vivid") to try to look good in stores brightly fluorescent lit environments. I'd go more off consumer reports and a second + for cnet as well.

[Ken H.]

Avoid Plasma if you've got kids who may hook up their game to the tv as this may cause burn-in if they leave the set on or if the game has a part of the image which remains constant during the course of the game.

PLUS, if you watch a lot of 4:3 programs with black bars on the side, there is the possibility that the center will age different than the sides, then when you watch 16:9 there is a sudden visible color difference on each side.

 

That's what happened to our Philips 42" plasma. In the end Costco took it back. (This was before they changed their policy on electronics returns.) Traded it there for a 40" Panasonic LCD.

 

Here's this month’s Consumer Reports to picks in that size:

 

Plasma:

Panasonic TH-42PX77U (77 of 100 score)

Panasinic TH-43PZ700U (74)

Samsung HP-T4354 (74)

LG 42PC5D (72)

Samsung HP-T4264 (71)

 

LCD:

Samsung LN-T4053H (77)

Sony KDL-40V3000 (76)

Samsung (LN-T4061F (76)

Mitsubishi LT-40134 (76)

Sony (KDL-40S3000 (74)

 

Pick up a copy of the March issue that is just out. All kinds of info on choosing in it.

[Mike]

I don't have any experience with plasma, but I've always been concerned about burn-in and the possibility the screen going belly up and being irreparable. I've got a Samsung LCD (smallish, used in our kitchen) and a large (62") Toshiba DLP. The DLP's picture is superior--the picture seems more vibrant and three-dimensional and the color rendering is pretty accurate. That's not to say that the Samsung isn't good--it really is--but the Toshiba's better. The main disadvantage with DLP, however, is the depth of the monitor. The big Toshiba is probably about 16" deep, so there's no real possibility of a flush or wall mount.

[Pete Peterson]

Spyder,,,,

 

You are getting some good info here but I'm afraid some of it isn't accurate or is out dated... Plus there are spec's out on the new tv's that are really meaningless as to what you will see........

 

Just a few things to help set you straight...

 

Plasma:: best picture quality but,, they don't like bright rooms.. LCD will look very good in a bright room...

Plasma:: burns in static displays on your screen, but new technology cleans bun in off pretty good...LCD does not burn in....

720p 1080i 1080p...... The "i" standsfor interlace,, which means the screen refreshes every other line on the sreen then fills in the odd lines,,,,, The "p" stands for progresive scan which fills in every line each pass for a slightly better picture.....

 

Also,, 1080 is the native resolution for digital broadcasting.....BUT!!!! In the normal house you can not see the diference between 720 and 1080 unless you are closer than 2 feet from screen....

 

Now between 60hrz and 120hrz most experts agree that 60hrz looks better..Most all movies are filmed at 24fpm (frames per second)....

 

LCD's are coming down in price and are getting bigger in screen size... Both plasma and LCD are good for about 60 to 80 thousand hours of use.....

 

LCD's are really the future,, plasma is nice Lcd is just more versitile.....

 

Price wise,, all I can say is you WILL get what you pay for!!! Go to Circuit City and have them adjust 2 tv's you like to the same color settings... They sometimes detune the sets to push the slower moving sets........Pete

 

 

This info as with all internet info is worth what you paid for it

[Skywagon]

Hmmm seems like opinions vary as I said in my earlier note. The only one I think I would offer a difference of opinion....1080p vs 720 and 60 vs 120. I have one of each at 52 inches. The 1080p is much better anywhere in the room when you see a true 1080 broadcast, and 120 definitely takes a way the herky jerky of fast action. Go to the store, have them turn 120 of and on while watching a video. You with throw rocks at 60.

[Ken H.]

Another thought, keep in mind that how they are set up in a store is likely nothing like how they need to be set up and look like in your room. Stores use a "Brilliant" or similar setting to get a 'pop' on the picture which is not accurate but attracts attention.

 

Once you get a set, get a copy of the DVD, "Digital Video Essentials" and spend two hours working through all the calibrations. In the end it will be worth it.

[Charles Elms]

In reference to the 720p vs 1080i....At least in Baltimore the Fox station is broadcasting over the air in 720p. I have a 1080i HDTV monitor with an external over-the-air HD tuner that shows the format being broadcast. I can not tell the difference between on air broadcast of 720p vs 1080i. At this time, no one is broadcasting over the air at 1080p in this area.

[Timmer]

+1 for the Pioneer plasma. Initially, my wife wasn't sure she wanted a 50" plasma, but since then she has repeatedly commented how good our plasma display is compared to other HD screens she has seen.

 

Plasma is not for bright rooms with lots of reflected light, or for folks who like to play video games. It does NOT require projection bulbs like a DLP.

[Spyder]

Thanks again for great info!

After getting your input and doing the required internet research, we went to Circuit City and Tweeters to compare the available sets. We ended up with the Sony LCD Damean suggested, the KDL-40XBR.

 

It is awesome! Thanks again.

[David]

That's what I have in my office--I like it a bunch.

[hANNAbONE]

Avoid Plasma if you've got kids who may hook up their game to the tv as this may cause burn-in if they leave the set on or if the game has a part of the image which remains constant during the course of the game.

PLUS, if you watch a lot of 4:3 programs with black bars on the side, there is the possibility that the center will age different than the sides, then when you watch 16:9 there is a sudden visible color difference on each side.

 

That's what happened to our Philips 42" plasma. In the end Costco took it back. (This was before they changed their policy on electronics returns.) Traded it there for a 40" Panasonic LCD.

 

Here's this month’s Consumer Reports to picks in that size:

 

Plasma:

Panasonic TH-42PX77U (77 of 100 score)

Panasinic TH-43PZ700U (74)

Samsung HP-T4354 (74)

LG 42PC5D (72)

Samsung HP-T4264 (71)

 

LCD:

Samsung LN-T4053H (77)

Sony KDL-40V3000 (76)

Samsung (LN-T4061F (76)

Mitsubishi LT-40134 (76)

Sony (KDL-40S3000 (74)

 

Pick up a copy of the March issue that is just out. All kinds of info on choosing in it.

...dON'T fORGET about Olevia

 

 

www.Olevia.com

[BruceWA]

Lots of info posted here so I'll add my $.02. Like you I spent about 4 months researching the plasma vs. LCD, and frankly I changed my mind daily. Looking at them in a showroom really helped me, you can compare them directly. I had ruled out plasma due to the glare, and in the one showroom I felt it was a major issue. Wound up buying a plasma and the glare has proven to NOT be an issue in my home, and I thoguht it would be.

 

In short buy what YOU can afford and what YOU like!!

 

My purchase was a Samsung FTP 5884.

[Dick_at_Lake_Tahoe_NV]

One spec that has not been discussed is Contrast Ratio (CR)--Very important to having a good picture. Some Vizio sets have a low CR. This CR determines the amount of "Blackness" the TV is capable of. Some smaller LCD TVs will have a CR of only 700:1 and the picture looks "Washed Out" and doesn't have a "3-D" type appearance. Larger TVs typically have a CR of at least 1500:1 which is fine. With a lower CR it's like looking at a photograph that has been over-exposed and has no "depth".

[CH47AV8R]

The questions I have are:

1. LCD or Plasma? LCD - Sharp, They make their own glass which is so good it flys in the B-1 & F-15 (not just for video games in the living room!)

2. Is 120MHz refresh rate for LCD important? 120MHz is better than 60MHz, especially with highly dynamic video.

3. Is 1080p all that important for a relatively small tv? Go for the 1080p.

Other: Soon AMLCDs will have 'led' backlights which will make for much better TVs and color saturation. Much better than stick/tube fluorescent backlights. Aerospace AMLCD displays are using them now and newer projection TVs. In fact, if you don't have to hang it on a wall, a projection TV with LED backlights should be look at.

[Warren_H]

I've always been a Sony fan but bought two Vizio's 52" & 47" for the price of one Sony 52". I'm sure the Sony specs are better. I can't see where my friends Sony is better neither can he!