LCD, PLASMA, or DLP/LCD PROJECTION?

[FAPTurbo]

Well, reg, Sony and Samsung signed a 50-50 joint venture on LCD's not too long ago. Sony found itself losing market share to them so they thought "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em"

So really, LCD's made by Samsung are the best in the business, and you can't go wrong.

[regfootball]

samsung's plasma, CRT's and DLP's are all top notch also.

[NOS2006]

My TV was made in about 1984 and was free.

So far, I have yet to ever purchase a TV and never have owned a VCR. No DVD,no cable,no satellite, no nuthin.

194452[/snapback]

It's about time for Xzibit to pimp your family room..

[Camino LS6]

It's about time for Xzibit to pimp your family room..

195034[/snapback]

Not worth it. This house is too small for any serious equiptment.

[regfootball]

looking again today over lunch. man those big flat tv's make me squeal.

Today the HP 37" LCD looked awesome. The Phillips 37" LCD looked really good for an LCD. It wasn't as garish as most of the LCD's with the color. The tone of the color seemed very normal. I love the ambilight features.

Ambilight

Plasma still rules.

The Hitachi 55" plasma is UNFRICKINBELIEVABLE. Pioneer hands down has the best plasmas. I would have one of those if space and $$$$$ weren't an issue.

Edited September 20, 2006 by regfootball

[Black and Blue Landscaper]

hey reg i recently started a job installing home theater systems

our best tvs in my opinion and customers are the sonys and hitachi

and i stand very corrected as far as blue ray technology, it is amazing you need to experience on a 1080p with an HDMI connection and uncompressed audio. believe me they are amazing and compared to the HD-DVD players as far as startup time.

Blueray: 7s

HD-DVD:130s

[regfootball]

B/BLS, you have any opinion on the LCD vs. PLASMA dilemma?

they had a display at circuit city that compared 2 identical dvd's/players/tv's...the only difference was one used component vid cable and the other used HDMI. The HDMI was VASTLY superior in picture sharpness and color precision.

So I am sold on HDMI. Last night online I was looking at the Samsung 1080 upconvert DVD player.

Who knows who will win the HD DVD vs. BluRay war. I know apple computers will get Blu Ray eventually so for format convergence I might lean to that, but the Blu Ray movie I saw looked bad. Ultimately I think players will need to play both and even then the format may never be widespread.

I have a Pioneer DVD player that i bought in January that I never use (its in my basement) but it can play both DVD-A and SACD. Both formats are on life support. Speculation is that BluRay and HD-DVD will spend so much time fighting each other that neither will flourish. I've read some people say that by the time that forwat war is decided and accepted, that streaming on demand services may become reality which will eliminate the need for discs.

That's why I am hesitant to buy a TV just yet....without 1080p. At least real 1080p like the Westinghouse will play just about any format you can throw at it.

Edited September 20, 2006 by regfootball

[regfootball]

another question. I was going to set my flat tv on top my fireplace surround, which has a horizontal surface about 48 inches above the floor and is about 10 inches deep. Do I need a wall mount? I was going to just stand it up on the horizontal surface and mount a safety cable from the back of the tv to the wall. Do you think that is too high to mount it without tilting it?

[Robert Hall]

Back when I did my research last winter, I compared the specs, read a lot on line, talked to alot of audio/video phile buddies, and went with a Toshiba 62-inch 1080p DLP rear projection. I've been very happy with it...looked closely at plasma, but everything I've read and heard indicate they have a short life span (5-7 years) at this elevation (over a mile). My previous TV was a 36 inch Sony Wega flat screen CRT that still looks good (7 years old).

I don't know yet what I'm going to do about the DVD player, though (HD vs. Blu-Ray?) I'm still using my 7-yr old Sony 5-disc player (still works fine). I have a first-gen TiVo, but I want to upgrade to something that records in HD.

[regfootball]

i hate the way they always come out with new technology and what you bought two years ago is toast.

[91z4me]

another question.  I was going to set my flat tv on top my fireplace surround, which has a horizontal surface about 48 inches above the floor and is about 10 inches deep.  Do I need a wall mount?  I was going to just stand it up on the horizontal surface and mount a safety cable from the back of the tv to the wall.  Do you think that is too high to mount it without tilting it?

195963[/snapback]

If I remember right most plasma or LCD stands, for 37-42 models, are about 8-9 inches deep. So you should be fine. But find a way to secure it to the wall just to be sure. I would hate to have my new TV fall off the mantle because of some stupid reason.

[Black and Blue Landscaper]

LCD

If you can get a HDMI DVD player i would say go with that.

I personally think above most fireplaces are too high, however it can be done. I would suggest getting a wall mount that you may angle. The security with a mount is much better than setting on top of something.

[RichW5]

another question. I was going to set my flat tv on top my fireplace surround, which has a horizontal surface about 48 inches above the floor and is about 10 inches deep. Do I need a wall mount? I was going to just stand it up on the horizontal surface and mount a safety cable from the back of the tv to the wall. Do you think that is too high to mount it without tilting it?

195963[/snapback]

[/quote

Reg -

My first concern with mounting a TV above the fireplace is heat. Plasma runs a lot hotter than LCD, so I'd check to see if the heat coming from the fireplace would affect the TV.

Second, how high is your fireplace mantle? If I put our plasma above the fireplace, we would have to look up at the TV, not straight across. My brother-in-law has his Plasma mounted on the living room wall and it's uncomfortable to watch (hurts your neck after a while).

I've read that the Plasma TV's have a "half life" of 60K hours. It's the time it takes for a plasma screen to loose half it's brightness. So depending how much TV you watch, it could be 12 to 28 years.

I bought the plasma, knowing it wouldn't last as long as my old Mitsubishi, but what the heck ..... it's worth it just to see the Bear games every Sunday for 16 weeks (or more).

[regfootball]

we don't really ever use our gas fp, in fact, if someone offered to take it out of our living room and get rid of the fireplace walls, in exchange for the fireplace, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

Our 'mantel' (drywall, no finished mantel) is about 48" above finished floor although I need to measure that to verify.

Watching from our couch, yes you would have to look 'up' however it would be perfect for more remote viewing from the dining table or kitchen.

I could alternatively set the tv in front of my windows and get it lower but tv's in front of windows is a major source of eyestrain. the room was never intended for a big tv. We were supposed to have the home theater in the basement done by now. A really big plasma in my basement would be more perfect than just about anything. $$$ aren't there for that right now and the architect on the house did a horsesht job of laying out the living room, so a tv naturally does not work in the space, with furniture.

I could do a wall mount above the fireplace and hang the tv out in front of the fireplace box, maybe?

LCD's are so grainy looking. I would prefer plasma, but the LCD's are lighter and more computer friendly.

Edited September 21, 2006 by regfootball

[Black and Blue Landscaper]

well lcds are good for light filled rooms, plasma is better for a darker room

the good ones dont have much a difference in picture.

if you are mounting a tv you want to mount it at the very highest 36" to the bottom. if you are going to mount it there anyway i would suggest getting an angle mount that you may adjust. they are not that expensive and not difficult to install at all

[regfootball]

thx.....for all the good advice. i kind of came to the realization that if i get one, i have to do it right, there's too much $$$ at stake.

[regfootball]

well, couldn't resist any longer.....took the plunge,although it won't get delivered for nearly a week and a half! won't get it before the Super Bowl...GRRRRRRRRRRR

Edited January 28, 2007 by regfootball

[bobo]

Congrats on the new pending TV. Consider an extended warranty if you haven't gotten one already. I have had co-workers with problems with their Phillips plasma TV's.

[regfootball]

thanks.....oh, forgot to mention, this is LCD. good advice tho, i have heard the same things.

Edited January 28, 2007 by regfootball

[regfootball]

sure thing!

Edited January 28, 2007 by regfootball

[ocnblu]

I have some "art films" around here somewhere on DVD, I'd really like to watch them on a huge TV. Can I come over too? I'll bring a sixpack. Edited January 28, 2007 by ocnblu

[AM6_Cutlass]

Don't buy the Plasma TV. I have a co-worker that used to work at the Sony plant that makes them. He says they don't last very long, and half the ones that come off the line go directly into the trash... which is why they are so expensive. Also, beware you will probably need a special rider on your homeowners insurance if you buy a tv costing over $1000. The people across the street from my parents had a $2500 tv that wasn't covered when a power surge blew it out (along with EVERYTHING electric in thier house). Of course, I am pretty low tech when it comes to electronics. I have one 19" tv... circa 1990 not stereo.

[AM6_Cutlass]

Oops... missed that you already bought one. Looks like a nice one.

[Black and Blue Landscaper]

are you installing it yourself or is someone doing it for you??? i have been in the installation buisness for almost a half a year now and could probably give you some tips if you need. also i would invest in a clean power surge protector. monster cable make a really nice one for a decent price. it is called the av 850. for an lcd i hope you went with a 1080p they have by far the best picture. reg definetly contact me if you have any questions i would be more than glad to help out.

AM6 cutlass...sony no longer makes plasmas and they are not as bad ass everyone thinks. plasma is a technology that most people are uneducated about since lcd has become a staple in our society. plasmas have a much longer life span than lcds, and in most cases have a sharper picture, which is why they have waited until now to come out with a 1080p model. there are advantages and disadvantages to both and if anyone wants to know about them please feel free to ask.

[frogger]

Is that a plasma or LCD?

From what I've heard the rule of thumb is <42" LCD, 42"+ Plasma. Though I would stick with Panasonic or Pioneer if I went plasma and wanted something I would be happy with for 5+ years.

[regfootball]

I have some "art films" around here somewhere on DVD, I'd really like to watch them on a huge TV. Can I come over too? I'll bring a sixpack.

sure, nothing like porn and ambilight. I'll call my bevy of gay friends to COME over and you can make a party of it. Just bring me Rosie O donnell and some hard liquor and some restraint devices then I can have some fun too.

[regfootball]

are you installing it yourself or is someone doing it for you??? i have been in the installation buisness for almost a half a year now and could probably give you some tips if you need. also i would invest in a clean power surge protector. monster cable make a really nice one for a decent price. it is called the av 850. for an lcd i hope you went with a 1080p they have by far the best picture. reg definetly contact me if you have any questions i would be more than glad to help out.

AM6 cutlass...sony no longer makes plasmas and they are not as bad ass everyone thinks. plasma is a technology that most people are uneducated about since lcd has become a staple in our society. plasmas have a much longer life span than lcds, and in most cases have a sharper picture, which is why they have waited until now to come out with a 1080p model. there are advantages and disadvantages to both and if anyone wants to know about them please feel free to ask.

truth be told I think the plasma picture is better for movies and sports. A relative is in business for himself as a home and light commerical technology contractor and could have got me a Pioneer Pro 42" plasma for like 1000 bucks, but it was a monitor only, and only had a DVI or PC iinput. My LCD has all sorts of tuners and inputs and outputs and USB and media card slots. CC had the Hitachi plasma on sale for 1300 last week but I did not like the cabinet. The philips and samsung were the only other plasmas I looked at.

I admit many things have been done to lessen burn in issues on plasmas but I admit that I really didn't want to chance it, considering i was going to hook up a computer. And I think LCD is crisper with a computer. If I had been using this in a room without 200 sq ft of SW corner windows and without a computer then i most certainly would have gone plasma. I would not be concerned about the life of a plasma.

Once I determined I was best off with LCD then I fixated on whether the ambilight feature was important to me. I determined that 1080p was not important to me at this time, because my viewing distance is quite far, and my wife said I can buy another tv in the future if we need one (and it always depends on your money situation, it just happens to be tax refund time). The Philips had some of the least motion blur of all the LCD's and some the best black and contrast levels. The ambilight sealed the deal, as i feel it really expands and frames your view of the screen.

So if i get a new LR tv in a year or whatever, then this ones goes to the bedroom. ambilight porn in the bedroom! betteryet, i will hook up the camcorder to the tv as a live cam and we can make some 'live home movies' in ambilight! SA-WEET!

as an aside, i figured i finally needed cable or satellite. Now you know why i spend so much time on the net. NO TV! anyways, i went satellite and not sure if i will regret it. we had time warner cable but comcast took over and now is jacking prices up. at least if i am getting bent over for tv i want to be able to maybe get NFL sunday ticket next fall.

I wonder how C/G looks on a 42" ambilight LCD.

Edited January 28, 2007 by regfootball

[Croc]

I've heard that about the Sony plasmas...which is why Sony doesn't make plasmas anymore. The best in the business seem to be Panasonic, and they undeniably have the best black display of the plasmas.

[regfootball]

long story short, bought a 42" LCD a few weeks ago, and just today...got it exchanged for a 50" plasma. The plasma has a much more realistic picture with deep blacks and great contrast. i can't crank up the color and contrast on it yet for awile because its a plasma and I need to break it in, but its a real pleasing picture so far.

The LCD is naturally odd because of its flourescent backlighting. But some LCD's like sony and samsung can be dialed in for a nice pciture with reasonable colors and just enough black and contrast to not look horrible. The LCD will be a bit crisper and depending on how high it's cranked up, will have good brightness.

I just couldn't get rid of the unrealistic colors on my LCD and I couldn't get a bright picture until I had all my settings up near 100%, which I don't think is a good thing to have to do that.

I think LCD's over 32" will continue to improve greatly in the next couple years, then maybe I will get another one. I could see getting one at a decent price that will have a great picture, then. For now, I got a great plasma and a good deal. The price dropped 800 bucks in the last couple weeks and its similar model dropped over a thousand bucks as well. So now is the time if you want a plasma, they are getting cheap. I couldn't afford the 52" samsung or sony LCD. It would have been 1-2 thousand more.

Edited February 25, 2007 by regfootball

[balthazar]

In reference to the past thread where testimonials of modern TVs lasting much longer than older sets; my '04 RCA 36" CRT is now picture-dead - I've had to put my '92 Zenith 27" CRT back in service; tho the bright colors still bleed to one side at times- at least the picture isn't vertically compressed to half-screen and the image heavily distorted right thru the middle. ANyone who wants the 36" to fiddle with: come and get it.

Going to pick up a free 36" Sony Trinitron CRT this week from a friend who upgraded to a 60" Sony. The longer I can put off paying $1800 for an idiot box, the better.

[regfootball]

you make a great point. these tv's cost an arm and a leg and there's no guarantee the thing will last long.

actually, another point well taken...many folks moving up to HDTV's will be looking to unload high quality CRT's to anyone who will take them or pay money for them. In the process, one can obtain a very nice CRT for reasonable dough.

for me, the last time I spent good money on an expensive TV was like 1991. I hope it lasts although technology changes so much now, in 3 years i may want to unload this thing anyways.

Edited February 25, 2007 by regfootball

[CARBIZ]

Yeah, I find it interesting that car manufacturers have gone to 4 and 5 years warranties, but the electronics industry is stuck at 1 year. I bought a 42" Hitachi plasma back in October before we moved. I sold my 12 year old Hitachi 48" rear projection TV that had never, ever been repaired, other than a few cleanings of the lenses when it was newer. The rear projection cabinet was huge and the picture was fading, but a co-worker bought it for their rec room.

I am not concerned about the newest generation plasmas. One problem with earlier models was their "refresh" rate - don't forget you are basically buying a graphics computer! They claim a 50,000 hour lamp life, but after spending a small fortune it is a risk because if part of the screen dies in two or three years there is nothing you can do.

[regfootball]

that hitachi 42" plasma is a nice unit. very compact. however, the one they sell here is in a silver cabinet, and i wanted black.

[regfootball]

after a few weeks and months of watching tv on the new set I must say that I am very happy with my philips plasma. Completely satsified so far, and no problems of any kind. I am blown away at the picture quality of the plasma and philips product.

I was just reading a tv review for a new Samsung LCD that is apprently the best LCD on the market and is a near match in PQ for plasmas, so it seems the gap is closing and that soon LCD's will be watchable for movies and sports, too.

there is nothing like high def.

to top it off, my brother in law just got ISF trained to do video calibration and maybe I can sweet talk him into trying it on my TV.

Soon I hope to get that Apple TV and say goodbye to DVD's (well not all of them).

Edited May 13, 2007 by regfootball

[CARBIZ]

Luv my 42" Hitachi plasma that we bought in October. No problems. (Touch wood.) Color is amazing. Friends are blown away with how vibrant the picture is. Some shows (like Vegas) are absolutely spectacular in HD. The only downside is my cable bill, that is now well over $100 a month, including the personal recorder (which is also way-cool), HD and full digital.

A little peeved that the TV is now $400 less than I paid for it, but that is to be expected. We looked and waited for about a year.

And, yes, it is Japanese, but try finding something electronic that isn't these days.

[regfootball]

philips has some all new 42" LCD's out now that promise to be excellent, with the ambilight and all.

[Satty]

How does Sororisluts XVII look on the new tv? I bet that is one hell of a money shot.

[regfootball]

has been no porn on the big screen

a-kid gets first dibs on what's on tv so i rarely get to watch anything on the big screen

b-there's just something wrong about it presented in that large of size. it's like 'why didn't they have 50" HDTV when I was 16?

c-the neighbors can generally see what you are watching so you try to not to broadcast that stuff all around

[CARBIZ]

Porn is just scary on a 42" plasma................so I've been told.

[frogger]

Today I took delivery of a 46" Sharp Aquos LCD 1080p flat panel. Cost me almost half of my tax return and its great! Hooked up to a 8300hd PVR and watching HDNet tonight.

Edited May 16, 2007 by frogger

[regfootball]

sweet.

i recently got an Apple TV. ROCKS! Video quality is not full HD yet, but what it really is is an Ipod for your TV and a way to play the video content of your iTunes on a big TV. At this time, the convenience outweighs quality issues for me.

I had gotten a 40gb model and when I saw they came out with a 160gb model last week I took my first one back and ordered the new one. Took about 5-10 minutes to get the new one connected and then I synced it up and got all my iTunes on there.

Thing is great. The kid is watching Wonder Pets right now. I didn't have to fumble through 10 dvd's. Just a few clickys on a whim and BAM it's on screen! Gonna order some SpongeBob tonight.

The access to my music collection is unprecedented. I can find any album in a few clicks and have it up and playing on a whim. The album art looks WAY cool on the big TV.

Edited June 8, 2007 by regfootball

[scharmer05]

I've been thinking of getting an AppleTV but I have a few more things I would like to drop some cash on first.

Funny you brought this thread up though since I just purchased a new TV myself Memorial Day weekend. A 61" Samsung DLP 1080p. I LOVE the thing. My dad has a 52" LG 720p and this Samsung is lightyears ahead of his. Especially when it comes to blacks (where the earlier DLPs lack the most) Also, the levels of green are much more under control on the 1080 DLP chip. I really thought heavily about picking up an LCD panel, but you just get a bigger TV for the money by going DLP, plus I already had a an entertainment center set up to fit this monster. If I ever do get a LCD someday, it is going on the wall. The greatest thing about the TV though is that it has a PC input. So hopefully sometime this summer I'm going to get a new computer that I can run through the TV. Set it up with a wireless keyboard and mouse and with cable so that I can record all my favorite shows. What the heck would Cheers and Gears look like on a 61" screen?.....damn.

[frogger]

Sounds good, one of the new LED DLP's?

I just finished building a HTPC, has an HDMI output. I've downloaded a few 1080p movies off newsgroups. It works very well, pretty happy with it and it cost about $500 to build.

[regfootball]

there is some brief image retention on the plasma from the displayed text of the apple tv, but the screen saver wipes it away after a couple minutes. this is the only instances I have had retained images on my plasma ever. If the text was not brite white I think i would not have the retained images. The apple tv screen saver kicks in after a couple minutes. I wish I could get that down less.

[Robert Hall]

I've been thinking of getting an AppleTV but I have a few more things I would like to drop some cash on first.

Funny you brought this thread up though since I just purchased a new TV myself Memorial Day weekend. A 61" Samsung DLP 1080p. I LOVE the thing. My dad has a 52" LG 720p and this Samsung is lightyears ahead of his. Especially when it comes to blacks (where the earlier DLPs lack the most) Also, the levels of green are much more under control on the 1080 DLP chip. I really thought heavily about picking up an LCD panel, but you just get a bigger TV for the money by going DLP, plus I already had a an entertainment center set up to fit this monster. If I ever do get a LCD someday, it is going on the wall. The greatest thing about the TV though is that it has a PC input. So hopefully sometime this summer I'm going to get a new computer that I can run through the TV. Set it up with a wireless keyboard and mouse and with cable so that I can record all my favorite shows. What the heck would Cheers and Gears look like on a 61" screen?.....damn.

Yes, those rear projection DLP TVs offer a lot of bang for the buck compared to LCD and plasma...I bought my Toshiba 62 inch DLP 1080p about 19 months ago...the price has come way down since then...still love it, though...

[Nick]

We picked up a 46" Sony Bravia XBR3 a couple months ago. Very nice TV (looks really good in terms of picture and design as well). A bit pricey, but we got a decent deal on it as my buddy worked for Best Buy at the time. I love watching our FiOS HD on it...Time to get an HD DVD or BluRay player though.

[daves87rs]

Hmmm...

Does anyone know a good but cheap 26-32 LCD Tv?

I want to upgrade from our current TV, but I don't want to put a bunch of money out..at least for a while.