[Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Hey Robert, and no disrespect to any of the others who offered advice...
Seems that in order to make any further suggestions, we need to garner a little more information from you about the basics, kinda like car advice.
Questions for you Robert -
What do you watch? (i.e. sports, movies, just TV, play video games, etc.)
What will you hook-up to it? (cable box, sat, DVD, blu-ray, video game console, htpc, high-def, standard-def)
Describe the room – size/how big, lighting, etc.
Budget (~$1K, $2K, no object?!)
Do you care about aesthetics? What do you value more, picture quality, ease of use, how nice it looks?
(copied this from the bottom to the top, in case most don’t make it all the way down the page)
Finally, and most important, YOU have to decide. View the sets yourself in person. Also, and very, very important, search the internet and find preferred settings (avsforums.com) and use those to make your decision. The big box stores like to crank all the settings (brightness, contrast, etc.) up to high because consumers just walk by and go oooohh… pretty, bright picture. So it is hard to determine side by side when not set up properly. And don’t be afraid to bring your own source (favourite movie that you know how it should look). If they mind, then they don’t want, nor deserve your business.
My background/babble -
I am always the go-to guy for electronics/computer advice from family and friends. Oftentimes, the I want X is asked, but really need to define the use prior to making good recommendations, although, most of the advice here is fairly accurate (outside of the 1080P is broadcast for major networks*). My issue is I love researching things to death, and electronics/computers draws the most of my interest.
Three years ago, my TV (CRT) was on its way out. It would shut off randomly. At the time 1080P sets were not really available (some were, but also extremely pricey - $5K+). I was having the same debate. Ultimately, I went with a 42" Panasonic plasma TH-42PX60U (that is 720p - 1024 x 768). It's considered a high-def TV, but actually more like enhanced standard def, although technically it falls in the HD category.
As someone else mentioned, the 720 and 1080 are the horizontal line resolution. If it can do 720+ on the horizontal, it is high-def.
Prices have come down, and the technology has just gotten better. 1080P is important, but only to future-proof and because, generally (I saw that carefully), it will yield a better picture depending on the brand.
Anyways, I made my purchase, as the price was right, and the TV was the second highest rated plasma, next to the Pioneer, that was also an addition $1K. I have been extremely happy with it, as it displays my Mythbuntu driven HTPC (Home Theater PC.. think souped up DVR) beautifully, as well as my DVD changer, PS2, and HD cable box, all driven via my Onkyo receiver that feeds an upconverted signal via HDMI.
My Decision and Why -
I chose the Panny plasma over LCD because of price, picture, standard-def rendering, and high ratings. Plasma just gave deeper and darker blacks and no motion blur when watching hockey games and the like, than that of the comparable LCDs... at the time. In both cases, the "burn-in" associated with Plasmas, and the blur in LCDs have been greatly improved.
Burn-in hasn't been an issue with plasmas in 5 years, and even then, it could be attributed to an owner not recognizing that they shouldn't leave the same channel with the same logo in the same place on the set for days on end. However, if you are into preventative maintenance like me, a simple break-in period of around 50 hours can help to thwart any future concerns. If left on the menu screen too long, for example, there might be a small haze of that menu when it is finally changed, but it is not there for long (few seconds).
Motion blur is less of an issue now in LCDs, as refresh rates/panels has also been improved. Blacks are also a bit darker, but will always have a tough time getting true black, as the backlighting always needs to be on, thus never truly black – LED backlighting and OLED mentioned here will help.
The next issue/myth that will be mentioned is power consumption, and that plasma uses more power. And this is debatable, as plasma peaks higher, but isn’t always performing at the rated draw, based on what it is displaying, whereas a LCD’s backlight always needs to be on, so power draw, I guess, is more consistent.
As for weight, well, how often do you plan on moving the set around? I am able to carry my plasma up and down the stairs if necessary (was for a few months when I first got it), by myself. A LOT easier than my old CRT. If a LCD is lighter, great; mounting on the wall, maybe it is important. Either way, it is a lot better than my parent’s Sony Wega 36” that took my brother-in-law and I to carry. Basically, when we got done, we said we would never move it again!
Finally, and most important, YOU have to decide. View the sets yourself in person. Also, and very, very important, search the internet and find preferred settings (avsforums.com) and use those to make your decision. The big box stores like to crank all the settings (brightness, contrast, etc.) up to high because consumers just walk by and go oooohh… pretty picture. So it is hard to determine side by side not set properly. And don’t be afraid to bring your own source (favourite movie that you know how it should look). If they mind, then they don’t want your business.
And I could go on and on (as I already have). Hopefully some of this helps. Answer the questions above, and some more direct suggestions can be made. Good luck, try and enjoy the process, and remember YOU need to decide which one you like.
Sean
*1080P sources over the air are not there yet, as it requires too much bandwidth that the cable/satellite companies just can not handle yet, mainly because they would also need to simultaneously send the 720p/1080i signal for “older” sets, thus increasing the bandwidth requirement even more. Heck, our cable box still pixelates with basic (non-HD) stations, meaning that the box can not decode/process the signal fast enough. True 1080P so far is limited to bluray, hd-dvd (lost, but still out there), PS3, XBOX360, and some internet content (podcasts, some movie trailers, etc.)
, Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:08:52
, Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:55:23
, Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:51:37
No Site Registration is Required to Post - Site Membership is optional (Member Features List), but helps to keep the site online
for all Saabers. If the site helps you, please consider helping the site by becoming a member.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
