Members Anderton Posted August 2, 2005 Members Share Posted August 2, 2005 It's time to finally cave and get a big-screen TV. I'm pretty sure I don't want plasma, because it gets dim over time. LCD? Projection? Any particular brand that's better? Does it make sense to buy over the net, or are you best off buying locally? Help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GeorgeVW Posted August 2, 2005 Members Share Posted August 2, 2005 HD or not HD. The deadline for conversion of all over the air broadcasts to HD is now 2009, so you won't get the full payoff from the investment in an HD system for a few years yet. However, if you've got satellite or digital cable, HD can be pretty spectacular. Front projection: If you've got the room that can be darkened enough, a $1000 XGA projector that you can pick up at Fry's or any large computer retailer is a great deal, but they're not quite high enough resolution for true HD. Of course with front projection, bulbs are the consumables, and they can get a little pricey if you watch a lot of TV. The high end front projection systems that can do HD are still stupid expensive, though. Rear Projection: I like the LCD rear projection sets based on the TI DLP engine because of their better viewing angles and other improvements over previous RP sets, but they still have 'smear' artifacting on fast moving items. If you watch a lot of sports or action pictures, this can be quite noticeable. CRT: Big, heavy, but still the best image quality. Depending on what your definition of 'big screen' is (if you need over 40 inches, this is not the place to look), these can be good. Currently, we have a 36" Sony Wega that we're reasonably happy with, although I'm looking into HD sets of one sort or another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dave Bryce Posted August 2, 2005 Members Share Posted August 2, 2005 After going through the same thing, I settled on a DLP TV. They look unbelievable, have the best blacks, and don't cost anywhere near what some of the others cost. I git a 50" Samsung. The thing has a zillion inputs including a super-hi res DVI interface, to which I hooked up a Mac Mini w/Bluetooth and Airport. George, I don't find the smear thing to ba a problem on mine... dB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members valkyriesound Posted August 2, 2005 Members Share Posted August 2, 2005 I have a 30" Sony CRT HD. Cost me about $1000 a year ago. It works great... but it is big I also have a 30" Sharp Aquos LCD. Top of the line. I highly recommend the Sharp line of LCD TVs. They're considered the best by many. I love it and highly recommend it. Cost was about $3000 I'll sell ya my CRT HD if ya wanna come get it! Valky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gearmike Posted August 2, 2005 Members Share Posted August 2, 2005 Originally posted by GeorgeVW I like the LCD rear projection sets based on the TI DLP engine because These are two different technologies. LCD rear projection uses an LCD projector, and has the response issues. Images can be great, great color, decent contrast, ok blacks, but they are the slowest technology and I wouldn't recomend them for Sports viewing. DLP uses little tiny mirrors and has a much faster response time. Also has the best blacks, great contrast and great color. If you don't need a flat panel to mount on the wall (DLP's are usually 10 -14" deep) I would recomend a DLP. New generation DLP's are about to hit the market this fall that will be gorgeous. The deadline for conversion of all over the air broadcasts to HD is now 2009. Actually the conversion is to DIGITAL transmission, not neccessarily HD...most people confuse digital television with HD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Duck King Posted August 2, 2005 Members Share Posted August 2, 2005 All TVs get dim over time, and plasmas are no worse than any other TV. Plasma and DLP are far better technologies than LCD and if you are in the market for a rear projection set a Samsung DLP is a pretty good choice. It is always better to buy local if you can. No matter what get a HD capable display. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bbach Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 Originally posted by Duck King All TVs get dim over time, and plasmas are no worse than any other TV. Plasma and DLP are far better technologies than LCD and if you are in the market for a rear projection set a Samsung DLP is a pretty good choice. It is always better to buy local if you can. No matter what get a HD capable display. I beg to differ, with respect. Plasmas have already proven to have a much shorter life span than any technology out there. I don't believe it's going to survive. Sony has just dumped their plasma efforts altogether and others will follow unless they can solve the issues. LCD had a problem with size for a while but they are getting larger now and seem to be good. Rear projection with LCD is pretty good. Nothing beats a good old CRT like Sony Wega, except that mine does not support necessary resolution for HD. Damed if I'm forking out another 2-3 grand on a TV till this one goes to hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mike Martin Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 I just got this new 46" Samsung DLP HL-R4677W Its absolutely incredible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members steadyb Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 Originally posted by gearmike New generation DLP's are about to hit the market this fall that will be gorgeous. Which manufacturers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rog951 Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 I'd almost made up my mind to grab a 50"-60" DLP or LCD rear projection TV a year or so ago. I really wanted a front projection system but I didn't want to deal with the hassle of mounting the projector on the ceiling and all that crap. I was budgeting between $2K and $3K. Just in time, I happened across the Panasonic PT-AE700U projector. It has 2X zoom and horizontal/vertical lens shift, making it very flexible from an installation standpoint. I put mine on a high shelf againt the back wall of my theater room and project a 106" diag screen from ~20' across the room. No fuss, no muss. I paid ~$2K for the projector and another $500 or so for the screen so I ended up right in the middle of my budget range. This is an LCD projector and is probably a bit slower than some of the DLP projectors available, but it's truly amazing for the price. I've watched baseball and basketball in HD with minimal noticeable artifacts. The blacks are certainly less black than with a good CRT but it's perfectly acceptable to me. Granted, I'm no videophile, but the picture quality consitantly blows me away. All our friends and neighbors have had the same reaction: "WOW!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Duck King Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 Originally posted by bbach I beg to differ, with respect. Plasmas have already proven to have a much shorter life span than any technology out there. I don't believe it's going to survive. Sony has just dumped their plasma efforts altogether and others will follow unless they can solve the issues. LCD had a problem with size for a while but they are getting larger now and seem to be good. Rear projection with LCD is pretty good. Nothing beats a good old CRT like Sony Wega, except that mine does not support necessary resolution for HD. Damed if I'm forking out another 2-3 grand on a TV till this one goes to hell. You can differ all you want. When you've installed a couple of hundred plasmas and supported them, I'll listen to you. Displays are not about life span, they are about watching TV. Any plasma will last longer than you will care to look at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members halljams Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 I don't mean to state the obvious here but.... Oh forget it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spokenward Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 As you can see, people do seem to like their DLP's. The DLP technology is a processor set that mfrs buy from Texas Instruments . Samsung produces TV's that most people think are the reference implementation. Both the DLPs and LCDs are moving toward supporting resolutions better than 720 by the end of the year. http://www.avsforum.com/ is a good forum for product searches and user reports. I'm not a plasma fan, though they are great for public spaces and bank lobbies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Duck King Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 Originally posted by spokenward As you can see, people do seem to like their DLP's. The DLP technology is a processor set that mfrs buy from Texas Instruments . Samsung produces TV's that most people think are the reference implementation.Both the DLPs and LCDs are moving toward supporting resolutions better than 720 by the end of the year. http://www.avsforum.com/ is a good forum for product searches and user reports. I'm not a plasma fan, though they are great for public spaces and bank lobbies. There are plenty of 1080 LCDs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spokenward Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 There are plenty of 1080 LCDs. my what a helpful post. There are a {censored}load more lower resolution LCDs that are being aggressively marketed for price. The point is to look for the higher res displays that are coming to market at a better price. Here's an example:Costco link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PBBPaul Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 FWIW, we have a 65" DLP rear projection Toshiba that is outstanding. I don't know the model offhand but it's a couple years old anyway. I'd go out and check them all out side by side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jabney Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 hi Craig, "It's time to finally cave and get a big-screen TV" Why? What's worth watching besides, "The Daily Show?" "This Old House" hasn't featured Richard Tretheway (the plumber) in ages. The "Furniture Guys" are long gone. And if it's for the Missus, believe me, you don't want to see Lifetime a.k.a. Men-Are-Pigs TV. The movies you can rent or buy are over-blown and formulaic. I believe you said you've moved to New Mexico, so it's not like you're going to have to worry about missing the local team in the play-offs :-) At least with audio gear, you can play your own music. Heck, you've said good things about CreamWare, so buy some Celmo devices. Anything but TV. It's an addiction. And not a good one. best, John (edited for two typos) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 Originally posted by gearmike Actually the conversion is to DIGITAL transmission, not neccessarily HD...most people confuse digital television with HD. A recent study suggested that over 70% of people with HD TVs thought they were watching HD programming when they actually weren't. (I wish I had the source on that. It was a trade industry report. I heard about it on Harry Shearer's Le Show. Shearer is semi-obsessed with digital and HD TV and governmental aspects of the mandated switchover.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FrankieP Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 I spent almost a year trying to research what kind of "big screen TV" I would get for the family. At that time, I just wasn't too impressed with the Plasma thingy, being very expensive and rumors of burn in issues. LCD was just blooming so I felt it wasn't mature enough as a technology compared to rear projection. So it boiled down to rear projection DLP (Toshiba or Samsung) or D-ILA (RCA). I visited a couple of big local retail shops and demoed the three choices I have. I ended up wih a 52' Toshiba 52HMX94 DLP set. Out of the three, it has the best picture quality for standard definition TV and an excellent picture quality for Hi Definition. This was out the box PQ meaning factory default calibration. When calibrated correctly, the PQ was even better especially with DVD's. I can't stress enough the importance of calibration. Craig, the only way you can make a sound decision on what you want is to visit your local retail shops and demo it out. Bring two of your favorite DVD's for testing. Choose two that has great picture quality (Luc Besson's "The Fifth Element" for vibrant colors and LOTR Two Towers for best blacks) and ask the sales person to test it out for you. What I did was to ask the salesman to show me a Standard Definition broadcast first, a DVD movie second, and then a High Defintion broadcast the last. Ask them if the set has been calibrated or in factory default. I was lucky because they had the 2 sets (the Toshiba and a Samsung) professionally calibrated so I asked him to put it in default calibration first and then the professionally calibrated setting which was saved in preference. You wouldn't believe how the PQ change and differs. I'm very happy with my choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FrankieP Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 Originally posted by GeorgeVW 'smear' artifacting on fast moving items. I've seen this with the RCA D-ILA sets with "The Matrix Revolution" on. The scene where the Neo and Agent Smith duel it out in the end where there's a lot of movement, panning, and falling rain. It was pretty bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 I have the Sony GrandWega 50" LCD with built-in tuner. Works great for sports! Absolutely no issues whatsover, even with the movement of hockey pucks. The black levels are plenty good from a visual standpoint; guess if I wanted to impress others with my "awesome black level" statistics I could've chosen a different technology The viewing angles are also great. You can stand almost completely off to the side and still view a great picture. Originally posted by gearmike These are two different technologies. LCD rear projection uses an LCD projector, and has the response issues. Images can be great, great color, decent contrast, ok blacks, but they are the slowest technology and I wouldn't recomend them for Sports viewing. Basically, the DLP vs LCD choice comes down to visual artifacts. LCD will give a "screen door" effect on occasion, while DLP will give a "rainbow effect" under similar circumstances. Whichever effect annoys you less is your better option. And of course, true HD rather than ED is the thing to do, but then again all wide-format rear-projection big screens are HD nowadays. Besides that, consider getting built-in tuners rather than the so-called "HD Ready" sets which require an external tuner. Also look for XGA input that can display your PC properly; the age of true convergence is nigh! And buy from a local store if possible. Do your research; get your best possible deal including tax & delivery, and then go to your local guy and have him match or beat it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hanshananigan Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 Originally posted by spokenward Here's an example: Costco link What the heck is a Sceptre 37" 16:9 HDTV LCD Television Resolution: 1920 x 1080? I mean, I've seen some pretty sweet-looking units out there from brands I don't recognize. For example, in the lobby of a local Regal theatre, they have some amazing-looking plasma screens, maybe 37", but the brand I didn't recognize. What's the scoop on known vs. unknown brands for TVs? Is there a Beringher of boob tubes??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BEAD Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 I think you should break down and get a nice 5.1 surround system instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Duck King Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 Originally posted by coyote-1 I have the Sony GrandWega 50" LCD with built-in tuner. Works great for sports! Absolutely no issues whatsover, even with the movement of hockey pucks. The black levels are plenty good from a visual standpoint; guess if I wanted to impress others with my "awesome black level" statistics I could've chosen a different technology The viewing angles are also great. You can stand almost completely off to the side and still view a great picture. Basically, the DLP vs LCD choice comes down to visual artifacts. LCD will give a "screen door" effect on occasion, while DLP will give a "rainbow effect" under similar circumstances. Whichever effect annoys you less is your better option. And of course, true HD rather than ED is the thing to do, but then again all wide-format rear-projection big screens are HD nowadays. Besides that, consider getting built-in tuners rather than the so-called "HD Ready" sets which require an external tuner. Also look for XGA input that can display your PC properly; the age of true convergence is nigh! And buy from a local store if possible. Do your research; get your best possible deal including tax & delivery, and then go to your local guy and have him match or beat it. Everyone can see the "screendoor" with LCD, very few people can see RBE and even less are bothered by it. LCD is a crap video technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members coyote-1 Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 Aww c'mon man.... I have a degree of red-green colorblindness, and I can see RBE with no problem. Originally posted by Duck King Everyone can see the "screendoor" with LCD, very few people can see RBE and even less are bothered by it. LCD is a crap video technology. The difference between a rear-projector dimming over time and a plasma doing likewise is that a new $200 bulb makes the projector good as new, while the plasma requires replacing the entire unit. BTW, everyone who's ever looked at my RP-LCD Wega has commented on the amazing picture - even folks who have plasma. Why do I get the feeling you're an owner of a DLP set? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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