The definitive HDTV buyer's guide? (1 Viewer)

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So it appears that my technophobe mom is shopping for a new tee vee. She called me for advice on LCD vs. plasma and all that stuff, but when I got mine a couple of years ago, I decided right from the start that I didn't want to spend that kind of money. I got a Sony HD rear projection and I'm very happy with it, but I never really investigated the flat ones because of the price tag. Apparently though, she's going whole hog with it. I don't want her to be at the mercy of salespeople, but I don't really have the time to dig into AVS Forums and go panning for facts.

I know there were threads about this on the old EE, but I'm having trouble accessing the archives. Anybody care to take a few minutes to share their knowledge again? Or for that matter, even if you just have a link handy to a really detailed, objective buyer's guide whose conclusions you agree with, that would be great. It doesn't have to be non-technical, in fact I'd prefer that it have as many technical details as possible, so I'll be convinced. I can laymanize the info for her from there.

Thanks.
 
The old threads are what you need. I haven't kept up with research since I bought my Sony last year. I REALLY wanted the flat screen LCD's but my budget would not allow for the size I needed. I ended up with a 42" Grand Wega (KDF-42WE655) LCD projection but have been really happy with it. IF budget wasn't a consideration the flatscreen LCD would have been my choice. I also took full advantage of the 30 day return policy and brought home first a CRT (great picture, too heavy though), followed by the 27" LCD flatpanel (best picture to me but too small) and finally the 42" Sony. I think it is very much a personal decision based on what looks good to her. Others on the forum like rear projection, plasma, etc.

I also considered features such as memory stick that allow Sony to Sony interfacing from cameras and such.

Good luck and in the end tell her to buy what looks good to her eye, make the salesperson take the time with the sale and get the extended warranty.

Oh and the 1080P thing will come into play by those chasing the latest technology...it never ends really.
 
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Can a mod please move this to the Tech Board?

Geezus.











:ezbill:
 
Can a mod please move this to the College Board?
 
I have an LCD rear projection (62" Mitsubishi). It has a fantastic picture.
 
I have both the Vizio 50" plasma and 32" LCD..

The main thing that bugs me about my plasma is the image retention issue.. If you leave something on the screen for too long, such as a paused DVD, the screen will retain that image until you've watch enough other content to wipe the image away.. And eventually the pixels in the screen will wear out and the picture will become dull.. LCDs don't have this issue..

Also, I personally think plasmas look worse on standard definition channels than LCDs do..

LCDs tend to be a little more pricey than plasmas as you go up in size..

The best thing to do is to have her look at the picture of each type of TV and see which one she likes the most.. And she needs to know that what they're showing in the store is more than likely HD content, so it's going to look great (or at least much better than what she's used to at home)..
 
here's a good site: http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/
here's another (the best one for ALL tech reviews, in my opinion): http://www.cnet.com

I have the Panasonic TH-42PX60U Plasma and I couldn't recommend it enough. Setup is a cinch, HD picture is absolutely gorgeous (deep blacks, bright colors... just phenomenal), connectivity is great (2 HDMI ports), and it's so light and thin.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Panasonic_TH_42PX60U/4505-6482_7-31788615.html

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/panasonic-th42px60u-review.html


as for the image retention issue - i don't have any problems with it on this model at all.
 
ive got two samsung TVs. one is a 46 inch DLP in my living room and the other is a 32 inch LCD in my bedroom. the LCD doubles as a computer monitor very nicely.

i like the brightness and contrast of the LCD over the DLP, and the DLP does make a whirring noise that normally isnt noticed when watching because the volume covers it up. i prefer playing my xbox360 on the LCD, but its impressive on either screen. the DLP has TV Guide on it, the LCD does not.

when i bought the LCD, i compared it to all the other brands while watching a basketball game. it was the only one that did not get choppy when the ball was passed quickly or during fast breaks. all the others did have some visible choppiness.

i did notice, however, that the DLP runs smoother imaging of games with a ton of AI like Samurai Warriors 2 and Ninety Nine Nights. for some reason, in the highest resolution, my LCD screen looked like things in the distance were blurry, but it never does that on the DLP. maybe i just had a setting changed.
 
The main thing that bugs me about my plasma is the image retention issue.. If you leave something on the screen for too long, such as a paused DVD, the screen will retain that image until you've watch enough other content to wipe the image away.. And eventually the pixels in the screen will wear out and the picture will become dull.. LCDs don't have this issue..

I have a 42 inch Samsung plasma and it has a feature that lets you clear out the pixels or "clean the screen" to counter any kind of burn in. There are two seperate versions of this on my tv, one that goes all white and washes it out...and one that does a black screen and a white line pans from right to left cleaning the pixels. I'm not really sure if other products offer such a thing or not.
 
TURN DOWN YOUR CONTRAST!!!
for the first 300 hours of your plasma, you should watch is VERY DARK!!!
this will avoid that retention. also, use whatever your TV has built in to avoid the burn in effect. some TV pictures actually shake (not noticable to the naked eye), and will help avoid burn in. also find a channel with white noise and let it play for 20 minutes or so...

i pooped my clothes when my brand new 50 in plasma had burn in, but after some research, i did these and it went away, and with the contrast turned down, did not return...

after the first 300 hours, you can set it to normal settings and avoid burn in or residue unless you leave a still image on for about 6-10 hrs.

I have both the Vizio 50" plasma and 32" LCD..

The main thing that bugs me about my plasma is the image retention issue.. If you leave something on the screen for too long, such as a paused DVD, the screen will retain that image until you've watch enough other content to wipe the image away.. And eventually the pixels in the screen will wear out and the picture will become dull.. LCDs don't have this issue..

Also, I personally think plasmas look worse on standard definition channels than LCDs do..

LCDs tend to be a little more pricey than plasmas as you go up in size..

The best thing to do is to have her look at the picture of each type of TV and see which one she likes the most.. And she needs to know that what they're showing in the store is more than likely HD content, so it's going to look great (or at least much better than what she's used to at home)..
 
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i have a plasma and an LCD. the first thing your mom needs to figure out is what size she wants, and how much she is willing to spend.
the aquos LCD is quite simply, the best TV you can buy. I have one in my bedroom and it is amazing. if you are looking plasma, the panasonic plasmas are the best on the market and reasonably priced for what you get...

both can operate as a computer monitor with the proper jacks (most LCDs this is a given, but I could only find 2 plasmas that double as monitors).
It is very important to pay attention to resolution. the higher the resolution, the better.

I suggest reading up...
http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/plasmatvreviews/plasma-vs-lcd.html
this link will answer your questions about LCD vs Plasma.

http://www.plasmatvbuyingguide.com/
http://www.lcdtvbuyingguide.com/

my suggestions
46 inch aquos LC-46D62U. you will pay about 3500 for this TV (internet), but it is the absolute best TV on the market.

50 inch Panasonic TH-50PX600U you should expect to pay around 2500 (internet) for this TV.

check out www.bizrate.com and save yourself some cash. I bought my plasma for 700 dollars cheaper than any brick in mortar in the city and my LCD for about 400 cheaper...
 
TURN DOWN YOUR CONTRAST!!!
for the first 300 hours of your plasma, you should watch is VERY DARK!!!
this will avoid that retention. also, use whatever your TV has built in to avoid the burn in effect. some TV pictures actually shake (not noticable to the naked eye), and will help avoid burn in. also find a channel with white noise and let it play for 20 minutes or so...

i pooped my clothes when my brand new 50 in plasma had burn in, but after some research, i did these and it went away, and with the contrast turned down, did not return...

after the first 300 hours, you can set it to normal settings and avoid burn in or residue unless you leave a still image on for about 6-10 hrs.

I did turn down the brightness on it when I first got it.. I mainly use it for watching football and playing video games.. Video games are the worst as far as image retention mainly b/c of the HUD and things that are stationary on the screen.. I'll have to check my settings and see what they're at..

I have a 42 inch Samsung plasma and it has a feature that lets you clear out the pixels or "clean the screen" to counter any kind of burn in. There are two seperate versions of this on my tv, one that goes all white and washes it out...and one that does a black screen and a white line pans from right to left cleaning the pixels. I'm not really sure if other products offer such a thing or not.

Yeah, my Vizio has the screen washer feature as well.. I just keep forgetting about it.. Heh..
 
If she's going for a thin monitor, the technology really comes down to size and preference. LCD seems to be a better deal under 42"... anything over that - plasma is a better value. I don't know if I've seen consumer LCD's above 50"... they get way to expensive to produce at that size.

Then it's just a matter of looking at different displays and seeing what you enjoy. I think black levels are not quite as good on plasmas as they are on LCD's, but honestly, I can't really tell the difference.
 

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