It's time for an upgrade.
Looking at large (50" +) screen tv's.
Needs include watching DVD's and video games.
I remember when plasma first came out, in addition to being really spendy, nobody was recommending them for use with video games (specifically ones with stationary images like HUD's) because of screen burn in.
Additionally, I have no idea what the difference is between 1080i, p or 780i, p, though I've been told 1080P is where it's at, but I don't know why this is.
I've seen tv's at walmart and best buy and just about any store that has a tv wall, but truthfully they all look about the same picture quality wise.
Because of the video game thing, should I look at plasmas or no? Are they as sensitive now as they were then?
In the past few years, I've seen some LCD tv's at friends house, and to be honest, none of them had a better picture than the sony wega 36" flat screen crt i have now.
Have they gotten better?
Where are the deals? I see Best Buy has some sales now and then (and I understand you can negotiate some with them) and there's a ton of stuff on ebay, not that I plan to buy there.
I'd love to hear the .02 of the DMF. . .
i got a few friends on plasmas playing games like GTA, yea the burn in is still there, but it goes away. My friend has played GTA for ~5 hours straight and the burn in stood there for about an hour before it went away. If you were to go from that to fox football, i can see how annoying it would be to see a HUD on your scoreboard.
Other then that, i love plasma, looks hella sharp. and yea 1080P is where its at, theres a huge difference between I and P. Without getting into useless details. 1080P has more lines showing at any given time, where 1080i just flashes quickly so it looks like it has as many lines as 1080P cause your eye cant see the lag time. (progressive vs interlaced).
Samsung is where its at.
Quote from: He Man on July 01, 2009, 09:45:38 AM
Without getting into useless details. 1080P has more lines showing at any given time, where 1080i just flashes quickly so it looks like it has as many lines as 1080P cause your eye cant see the lag time. (progressive vs interlaced).
fixed-pixel displays, like lcd or plasma, don't interlace and always display progressive frames.
there may be, however, artifacts introduced by the video processor when converting an interlaced signal to progressive.
I have a 52" Samsung A650 LCD and it's great for tv, dvd (blue-ray) and video games (Wii and PS3)...
Quote from: derby on July 01, 2009, 09:49:15 AM
fixed-pixel displays, like lcd or plasma, don't interlace and always display progressive frames.
there may be, however, artifacts introduced by the video processor when converting an interlaced signal to progressive.
you lost me there.
I just repeated what the all the sale guys tell me. But i guess they dont know jack shit either.
heres somethign i found on hte internet.
http://www.videotapestock.com/hd10vs10whdi.html (http://www.videotapestock.com/hd10vs10whdi.html)
Quote from: Monsterlover on July 01, 2009, 09:33:47 AM
Additionally, I have no idea what the difference is between 1080i, p or 780i, p, though I've been told 1080P is where it's at, but I don't know why this is.
the difference between "p" and "i" are easy to explain.
First of all, 720 and 1080 refer to the horizontal lines across the TV screen.
"p" designates progressive scan, meaning the line is displayed for a VERY short time.
"i" designates interlaced meaning lines are visible every other line, or something to that effect, so they alternate between two sets.
I would think if you are gaming and watch sports.........I'd go with a "p" as it tends to react much better to quick moving images due to the way it works.
If you are watching blueray, you probably want a 1080, as it is better native resolution than a 720.
However, all digital/HD signals are sent in 720 format, so if you have a 1080, the processor "steps up" the image to a 1080, but honestly..........you can't make the beast with two backsing tell.
We bought a 720p as we don't have a blueray and I never anticipate buying one, so a 1080 is worthless to me.
Quote from: cyrus buelton on July 01, 2009, 10:16:09 AM
If you are watching blueray, you probably want a 1080, as it is better native resolution than a 720.
However, all digital/HD signals are sent in 720 format, so if you have a 1080, the processor "steps up" the image to a 1080, but honestly..........you can't make the beast with two backsing tell.
fox is the only major (non-cable) network that broadcasts in 720p. abc/cbs/nbc, etc all broadcast 1080i.
like i said before, if you're watching a flat-panel display, a progressive signal hits the screen. the difference is in how the underlying electronics handle a non-progressive signal.
When did 1080 start being broadcast?
You should look for:
LCD; Plasma has burn-in issues, is really sensitive when being moved, and puts off a shit-ton of heat.
1080p; It's the best normally-available resolution, and everyone has them. No reason not to.
120 hz refresh rate; Faster refresh = smoother image. Usually.
Connections; This is huge. Make sure everything you're gonna use with the TV can connect directly to it, unless you've got a separate receiver that can handle them all. Don't get caught up worrying about HDMI. Its the same resolution as Component video. The only thing it supports that Component doesn't is 7.1 channel surround sound. Unless, of course, you've got a 7.1 setup, then worry about it.
If you're shopping in-store, don't hesitate to make them hook stuff up with a certain connection type. You're gonna drop coin, you wanna know what you're getting.
threadjack - red camera shoots at 2K , 3K and 5K. Lot higher than 1080p.
Here's the thing. Shop in store, but buy online. I got my tv for easily 400 less than any other store from Amazon. Shipping was free and I had it in less than 5 days...
Quote from: cyrus buelton on July 01, 2009, 10:30:32 AM
When did 1080 start being broadcast?
1080i has been broadcast since the beginning of ota HD.
what's your budget, and will you be watching in a darkened room or a bright room most of the time?
off or on axis viewing?
movies/games/tv?
and finally, budget?
Quote from: Obsessed? on July 01, 2009, 10:31:43 AM
Connections; This is huge. Make sure everything you're gonna use with the TV can connect directly to it, unless you've got a separate receiver that can handle them all. Don't get caught up worrying about HDMI. Its the same resolution as Component video. The only thing it supports that Component doesn't is 7.1 channel surround sound. Unless, of course, you've got a 7.1 setup, then worry about it.
if you want your tv to be relatively future-proof, worry very much about HDMI. when the "analog hole" gets plugged by content providers/hardware manufacturers (read: they disallow full resolution content to be displayed over analog connections), you'll be very happy to have HDMI capability on your display.
So far, I haven't found a difference between the viewing angle of my older plasma vs my newer lcd...
Quote from: derby on July 01, 2009, 10:54:39 AM
if you want your tv to be relatively future-proof, worry very much about HDMI. when the "analog hole" gets plugged by content providers/hardware manufacturers (read: they disallow full resolution content to be displayed over analog connections), you'll be very happy to have HDMI capability on your display.
Agreed, my cable box has an HDMI out and will not send an HD signal if the cable is not attached, regardless of the capability of the TV...
Very informative info everyone, thanks [thumbsup]
One thing I have to ask about. . .he man says screen burn in on plasma goes away. . .
These things are self healing? Is there a point at which they won't recover from burn in?
LCD's in the lead.
Quote from: Ash on July 01, 2009, 10:52:48 AM
what's your budget, and will you be watching in a darkened room or a bright room most of the time?
Mix of the two
off or on axis viewing?
Meaning do i sit in front of it or off to the side? In front, of course.
movies/games/tv?
all of the above
and finally, budget?
Id say less than $3000. Ideally, id say $1000 to $2000, which seems to cover most nice TV's
Quote from: Monsterlover on July 01, 2009, 10:56:31 AM
One thing I have to ask about. . .he man says screen burn in on plasma goes away. . .
These things are self healing? Is there a point at which they won't recover from burn in?
They are built by skynet.
Well, in that case [thumbsup]
but only if the warranty covers damage by the resistance
Ability to do 1080 = good (especially if it does a good job upconverting a lower-definition signal like SD or 720 to 1080p)
120 hz = good, smoother panning - less blur when the image moves left to right.
no (or few) worries about screen life = good - I like plasmas, but looking at them in the store, there was very little difference between LCD and Plasma in image quality. For that almost imperceptible difference, you have to worry about screen burn. I haven't compared a good 120hz LCD screen with plasma, but I think that has leveled the field.
I don't think you could go wrong with a 1080p 120hz LCD - just go to Best Buy and find one that looks good to you. I made sure mine looked good with different types of signals (component, HDMI) and different definitions (SD, 720, etc). Even though two screens with similar specs should look about the same, how they handle some of the more subtle aspects (60-120 hz, and upconverting) of creating a moving picture will differ. As for brands, I like Sony and Sharp, but you will pay a little extra for those - Vizio is a good screen, dunno what they have to offer in a 50+.
i found that a lot of plasma displays have a glossy face and can cause glare.
i read that the Panasonic Viera is the shiznit.
i have a sharp aquos i have been happy with...
Quote from: Monsterlover on July 01, 2009, 10:59:41 AM
i like the cost/performance ratio of the current crop of samsung lcds for what you need. the new panasonics look promising although their real strength is in their plasma displays.
i agree with derby on hdmi, that is a must.
sonys are great too but their high end stuff is where the performance really is. if you want really good dark room viewing on an LCD look for something that has "variable backlighting" or something to that effect. but you'll be hard pressed to find that feature at your price range. what it will do is get black levels closer to the plasma performance level which may or may not be important to you. it is very important to me.
My Samsung LCD works just fine in dark rooms...
it depends on how sensitive you are to the effect and what material you are viewing. less obvious on brigher material.
have you ever watched a space opera on a pioneer kuro? mmmmm...
Decide in the store, but buy online.
Two places to check are Tiger Direct and Fotoconnection.
Fotoconnection saved me about $800 on my last Sony.
I have a 46 inch aquos LCD
I have had it for several years now and I am very happy with it.
No burn in to speak of. The xbox looks great on it and every once in a while I hook my pc up to it and play games on it as well [thumbsup]
Quote from: Monsterlover on July 01, 2009, 10:56:31 AM
Very informative info everyone, thanks [thumbsup]
One thing I have to ask about. . .he man says screen burn in on plasma goes away. . .
These things are self healing? Is there a point at which they won't recover from burn in?
LCD's in the lead.
Not sure about the answer to your question but if you're observant, you will be able to catch most burn in before it becomes permanent nowadays. I recently moved home and the TV was my only form of speakers hooked up to my computer for a while so I was leaving the TV on to get sound. It's a Samsung PNA550. It puts out a shitload of heat and I could start to notice the outline of the girl on my background when I was watching videos or playing games. I turned on my built in anti burn in features and the outline went away.
Now, the anti-burn in features have their own annoyances too. The one I leave on shifts the picture 4 pixels every minute or two. The problem is, where there's no picture there's a gray bar at the edge. It's not big but if the whole screen is black or dark it's very obvious.
I'd say that the newer 120Hz LCDs are better nowadays but I still like Plasma.
Plasmas aren't quite as bright as LCDs, so if it's in a room with a lot of windows, I've heard plasmas can wash a little. That being said, I've had no problem watching my tv in the middle of the day, in a room with lots of windows.
I have a Panasonic Viera 42" plasma and I LOVE IT (costco). I just have a standard dvd connected to it, but it looks phenomenal and has great off-axis viewing. Price was great.
I love that the surround to TV is flat black instead of gloss. Keeps down on finger prints and glare.
Check out --->http://www.fotoconnection.com/p99600-samsung-un-55b7000-55-1080p-120hz-led-hdtv.html (http://www.fotoconnection.com/p99600-samsung-un-55b7000-55-1080p-120hz-led-hdtv.html)
This one is and LED. . .
didn't know they had those. . .
pros/cons of the LED setup?
LED backlights... less power consumption, thinner, longer life, etc...
I love it when this type of topic comes up, some of the Myths tend to resurface.
From a previous topic when the Screen burn was brought up:
QuoteJust make sure you are not mistaking Image retention with Screen burn, Screen burn on a Plasma now is very very difficult to achieve, The new generation of Plasma are almost as good as LCD for handling still/fixed Images, you would have to leave a high contrast image on a Plasma for days now before screen burn becomes a problem.
I have a 3 CRT gun Rear Projection 51" Sony TV, the CRT Rear Projection tv's are well known to be the easiest TV's to get screen burn on, I use it with my PS3 and play games like Warhawk and GT5 prolouge and so far have not had a mark on the screen. And I am very picky about my picture quality.
Image retention is just a case of a non moving Image leaves an excess charge in the Plasma pixels (And yes, you get this on LCD as well) and it leaves a shadow behind on the screen, use the TV as normal for a while or switch it off and the Image while disappear, this is normal on just about every TV design (excluding DLP)
You might be interested to know, I have started to see more and more Image retention appearing in LCD's now, so it's not just Plasma that have Image retention issues.
From another thread asking about televisions.
Quote
* Burn in.
On new Generation panels now is very difficult to do (read: almost impossible for the average home user) to burn in a panel you would have to leave a static high, contrast image on a new generation panel for days before hurting them.
Older generation panels it was very easy because of the higher voltages, different gas and phosphor mix, and the panels higher operating Temps. Most people see burn in on old panels in displays, TV stations that have done tens of thousands of hours of work and are old generation panels and assume they are all like that.
I use a playstation 3 for Movies/games and Cable TV on my older plasma (2 Generation old Panasonic), never seen a mark, I've dozed off for hours and left a still image on the screen for hours at a time, still no problems.
So what this means that for the home user, Burn in is really not worth worrying about, it is a non issue.
*Longevity
Plasma's for the last 4 to 5 years are rated for 60000 hours plus of life, The new Panasonics are rated for a staggering 100000 hours of life!!, the average LCD back light is rated for 60000 hours, A tube TV is rated for 30000 hours and a CRT rear Projection TV is rated for 15000 hours, but lets put that into perspective..
Use your TV for 8 hours a day every day of the TV's life
15000 hours = 5 years
30000 hours = 10 years
60000 hours = 20 years
100000 hours = 34 years
So what does this mean for the home user, Well, your TV might have to be buried with you when you check out!
I have panels I placed in a local hotel's Reception area 3 years ago, they run 24 hours a day (That means over 26000 hours non stop!!) and they still look very good, no burn in, and a nice clean bright picture.
*Contrast Ratio
It is a useless ratio, companies use different ways to measure it, and quite a few fudge the figures to get the figures they want, I advise customers to ignore it. Panasonic admitted this year they marked there new plasma's with the Million to one ratio just to piss off the Koreans (LG/Samsung) who always claim stupid ratio's on very average panels.
*Response time
Another useless figure, companies use all sorts of tricks to claim some amazing speed, if you avoid the no name brands they now are all pretty good.
Point of Interest, Plasma is much faster than the fastest LCD, so if you love your sport, you will get less motion blur on a Plasma.
LCD is measured in Milliseconds response time, Plasma is Tenths of a millisecond.
There is a lot of Misinformation on Plasma's and most of it comes from the early lives of plasma's, and yes I love plasma's but I do own a couple of LCD's, but for the main room, it's plasma all the way. LCD has it's place, but for Sport Movies and watching TV, Plasma is still the superior picture.
Also, the power consumption issue and heat keeps coming up, after about 7 years in the TV industry, LCD and Plasma are almost lineball on this, Plasma has been coming down every year, the average Panasonic plasma is drawing approx 300 to 400 watts (08 Models) The average LCD is around that sort of consumption also, but there are some exceptions to the Rule, LG's LCD's were shockers for massive power consumption, the last time I dealt with them they were on average rated for 1100 to 1500 watts of power draw :o and they would run super hot, I could stand at 90 degrees to the TV and look at the heat haze above there rear cooling vents, Sony were also another bad one for Power consumption.
Not trying to be a Smartass, It's just up until a few months ago I had been selling and dealing with TV's for nearly 7 years, and unfortunately there is a lot of misinformation out there, and a lot of badly informed sales people, Poor or no training means a lot sales people make stuff up to cover for there lack of knowledge, I used to repair this sort of equipment, so I used to try and pass on this knowledge to my customers to let them make an informed decision.
But the best advice I would say to customers is let's look at normal TV (turn off the demo movies which always make a TV look good)
* look at some sport you love watching, look for blurring or halo effects around anything moving.
* get the remote and play around with the set, tell the Sales guy to piss off and leave you alone for 20 mins or so.
* look at skin tones, do they look natural? if not, how hard is it to adjust the set to make the colour and brightness look more realistic.
* How hard is it to tune in or set up?
* Does it have enough connections for all of your current equipment, and for anything else in the near future (A Games machine or new Cable box for example)
* Warranty and Spares backup, a number of companies have long warranties, but what is the point if you have to wait 3 months for parts, try to find the local service/repair agent and talk to them.
Most are more than happy to offer suggestions about brands and models, have a look around when you go in, most service agents keep the repaired out the front waiting for pickup, does any one brand seem to be more represented than the others?
I always remind people, you'll be living with this set for many years, and spending many hours watching it, make sure you are 100% happy and confident before leaving the store or placing your order.
I hope this Helps [thumbsup]
On the LED sets, just note that the LEDs are just replacing the Fluro back lights, they are still a LCD panel out the front, but the signs so far are very promising, as noted by Derby, they are thinner, lighter and have less power consumption.
For me, Plasma is still King. Just....
But with the LCD market moving so fast and other technologies moving even faster (Oled for example) I think the end for Plasma is drawing closer.
Well put!
I dig my Samsung 58" Plasma. If my room was any brighter, it would have been a bad choice due to the reflectivity of the screen.
Quote from: CairnsDuc on July 02, 2009, 04:26:12 PM
<mega snip>
I hope this Helps [thumbsup]
It does, thanks!!
Aside from Cairns advice I would also suggest going to www.avsforum.com (//http://) (//http://). Go down to the LCD or Plasma Forums and do a search for the models you're interested in. Most models will have an owners forum where they'll discuss settings, issues, etc.
If you decided to buy online the best AV place I've used is www.onecall.com (//http://) (great prices and excellent service). Don't forget to check Amazon though sometimes they'll clear out inventory and the savings can be large (I saved over 1500 on my 60" Pio Plasma in 2006).
I used Nextag.com and ended up buying my Samsung from cameraaddict.com. Great price, free shipping, no tax and good customer service.
Damn. I never considered there were forums for tv owners.
This does not surprise me ;D
+1 on costco. We don't have a costco near here, so I went to a Sam's Club and looked at their tvs. I got a 42" Philips (1080p) for $400 less than it was at Best Buy (and $100 less than I could find anywhere online).
Warehouse clubs can be great for electronics, provided they have the model you want. Costco is a great company with an excellent return policy. I wish there was one in my neck of the woods.
costco also warranties any electornics they sell with an additional 1 year, making it a 2 year warranty. So any issues that might be warranty related,you can just bring it to costco to have it swapped.
Quote from: CairnsDuc on July 02, 2009, 04:33:58 PM
On the LED sets, just note that the LEDs are just replacing the Fluro back lights, they are still a LCD panel out the front, but the signs so far are very promising, as noted by Derby, they are thinner, lighter and have less power consumption.
For me, Plasma is still King. Just....
But with the LCD market moving so fast and other technologies moving even faster (Oled for example) I think the end for Plasma is drawing closer.
+1
I own an AV company and I still recommend Plasma. The new Panasonic's are nice. The Pioneers were better. Th Vidikron/ Runco 720p Plasmas where the best I have ever sold. I have a 720p Pioneer and I still love it. The video processing is pretty good. That`s why I hate Samsung. They have the worst video processing IMO. The new stuff isn`t that bad but they should spend more money on video processing than marketing. Everyone wants a Samsung LCD for some reason. With a still or slow moving image they are really nice- put on a football or basketball game and the whole thing is a blur. The older Sammy plasmas if you look at a black image on the screen you would see sparkles in it.
I would still take a 720p TV for regular TV viewing. I watch mostly cable so a 1080p display is a wastes a lot of processing power upconverting to 1080p. Blue Ray still looks really good on a 720p display. A lot better than standard DVD.
I saw an LG LED backlight LCD at Cedia this year and it blew me away. I don`t think that they are selling it yet as they cut back on production.
I would go with the Panasonic 800U THX if you can find it or a Pioneer Elite Plasma( it can still be found).
As far as calibration is concerned. I`m an ISF certified video calibrator and the Panasonic's calibrate really well. The Sony XBR`s calibrated really well too for LCD`s but I haven`t gotten my hands on a new one yet.
Just a brief my $.002
Quote from: mookieo2 on July 06, 2009, 06:26:53 AM
+1
I own an AV company and I still recommend Plasma. The new Panasonic's are nice. The Pioneers were better.
The Pioneers are a superb Plasma, I just started working for a place that sells Pioneers plasma panels, since Pioneer announced that they are dropping from the Plasma market, there prices have gone up, along with the sales, anyone who sells them in the city I live in is making a small fortune from them! no one is discounting and the demand is sky rocketing!
How do you all feel about today's woot?
http://www.woot.com/Default.aspx?WootSaleId=9437&ref=wootalyzer.com (http://www.woot.com/Default.aspx?WootSaleId=9437&ref=wootalyzer.com)
Refurbished 52" Phillips LCD
1080P
$1,199.99 + $5 shipping
only a 90 day warranty though.
Thoughts?
<edit> Nevermind, further research shows its not that great of a deal
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=Philips+52PFL7403D\F7&oe=utf-8&hl=en&cid=5872209163121974510&sa=title#p (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=Philips+52PFL7403D%5CF7&oe=utf-8&hl=en&cid=5872209163121974510&sa=title#p)
as you were
;D
</edit>
Should I jump on it?
IMO, that's not a great price. Not that it's bad to buy a refurb, but it's more than I paid for my Samsung 52 LCD and the Phillips only has a 90 day warranty...
I don't mean to throw in another option, but have you considered LED?
To be honest I don't know enough about this to consider LED and really understand what Im looking at.
The cost is higher, but the picture quality is amazing and much better than LCD/Plasma.
LED is just the backlight, not the "imaging" component.
^
That's what I thought. . .
Forget the dang $1,000+ tv and put the money into the truck you're looking to buy :P
uh can a Wii controller cracked LCD TV be fixed?
Quote from: NAKID on July 01, 2009, 10:41:17 AM
Here's the thing. Shop in store, but buy online. I got my tv for easily 400 less than any other store from Amazon. Shipping was free and I had it in less than 5 days...
+1
Quote from: MrIncredible on July 27, 2009, 11:22:44 AM
Forget the dang $1,000+ tv and put the money into the truck you're looking to buy :P
It's a wedding present from her folks. . .
Good deal?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889102184&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL080609&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL080609-_-Plasma-_-LE3D-_-89102184 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889102184&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL080609&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL080609-_-Plasma-_-LE3D-_-89102184)
is there a best buy near you? If so see it first hand for almost the same price.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8793898&st=PN58A650&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1205537515326 (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8793898&st=PN58A650&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1205537515326)
There is but they don't carry that exact size tv. I'm going up to check them out now [thumbsup]
online buy saves me 6% state tax btw.
Quote from: Monsterlover on August 06, 2009, 10:47:06 AM
Good deal?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889102184&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL080609&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL080609-_-Plasma-_-LE3D-_-89102184 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16889102184&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL080609&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL080609-_-Plasma-_-LE3D-_-89102184)
Depends on if you want plasma over LCD. I spent 100 more than that for my 52" LCD 6 months ago.
Here's the latest front runner. . .
Link (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4549988&CatId=3654)
We went to a local TV/appliance shop and looked at LCD, LED and Plasma side by side.
The LED and LCD tv's seemed too color intense. The plasma seemed a little hazed or dark.
We left that area and went an looked at the LG they had on the wall and it seemed perfect from a color/picture standpoint.
For me, half of it was the picture quality and color, the other half was the sheer size of the image. 60" is rockin.
I've found deals online as low as $2100ish with a 5year warranty and no shipping.
I intend to buy local and use pricing we found online as leverage.
Thoughts?
Just remember, when looking at TV's in the Store's the various manufacturers will pump up the brightness, colour and contrast, to grab your attention and make you think there's is the best. Also the area that most places have there TV's are to bright, a lot brighter than where you would run them at home.
A lot of people go into Shops and purchase the brightest most colourfull TV on display thinking that is the best.
I always say to people, the hardest things for most TV's to get right is Skin tones, look at skin tones, if the skin colouring and shading is good, than your more than halfway there.
Look into the shadows on the TV's, see which handles the Dark areas better, I used to show people on a demo disc I have, it is a tour of a Cave shot in high Def, there a bright zones and other areas that are almost pitch black, on the poor TV's the dark areas were black, on the better TV's you could make out some detail, on the high end TV's you could see the patterns on the cave wall.
personally I am not a big fan of LG, try to see the TV running something high speed, like MotoGP or Nascar, something with fast Panning shots and/or fast action/motion, I used to find the Deinterlacer on the LG's used to put a lot of noise and blocking into the picture when the Deinterlacing system had to work hard. slow gradual HD pictures were fine, but work em hard, and most of the LG's lost the plot.
Quote from: CairnsDuc on August 09, 2009, 02:38:52 PM
Just remember, when looking at TV's in the Store's the various manufacturers will pump up the brightness, colour and contrast, to grab your attention and make you think there's is the best. Also the area that most places have there TV's are to bright, a lot brighter than where you would run them at home.
A lot of people go into Shops and purchase the brightest most colourfull TV on display thinking that is the best.
I always say to people, the hardest things for most TV's to get right is Skin tones, look at skin tones, if the skin colouring and shading is good, than your more than halfway there.
Look into the shadows on the TV's, see which handles the Dark areas better, I used to show people on a demo disc I have, it is a tour of a Cave shot in high Def, there a bright zones and other areas that are almost pitch black, on the poor TV's the dark areas were black, on the better TV's you could make out some detail, on the high end TV's you could see the patterns on the cave wall.
personally I am not a big fan of LG, try to see the TV running something high speed, like MotoGP or Nascar, something with fast Panning shots and/or fast action/motion, I used to find the Deinterlacer on the LG's used to put a lot of noise and blocking into the picture when the Deinterlacing system had to work hard. slow gradual HD pictures were fine, but work em hard, and most of the LG's lost the plot.
Same thing with the Samsungs. I find they`re video processing to be very poor. the new LED ones are better and look beautiful on still/slow moving images. Put on a football game and really check out the blur. I`m really picky and am not happy with most TV`s theses days for regular cable viewing. That upconversion from the cable box to the 1080p TV that
everyone must have is a killer.
As a certified video calibrator, The TOC thing is BS. All it does is attract your eye to it in the store. If it is red it`ll make the picture seem redish. As far as factory setting Carins Duc is 100% spot on. The Sony`s for example set all their TV`s to VIVId mode. This mode is horrible when you bring it home. There is sooo much added artifacts to the picture it is unbelievable. If you look at say the white lines on the football field with a players foot on it there is a huge ring of white outlining it from the contrast maxed out. The worst part is I go into people`s houses and they are happy with it. Then I calibrate it to proper specs and they can`t believe how real it actually looks.
If LG every puts out their LED backlight TV that they displayed last year it is beautiful.
My parents bought a TV back in 1982 for about 200 bucks
it works just fine and when you watch race cars and football
no IZ_ or blocky issues at all
:-\
Quote from: CairnsDuc on August 09, 2009, 02:38:52 PM
Just remember, when looking at TV's in the Store's the various manufacturers will pump up the brightness, colour and contrast, to grab your attention and make you think there's is the best. Also the area that most places have there TV's are to bright, a lot brighter than where you would run them at home.
For the record, we played with the various "modes" and contrast. The LCD and LED tv's were bright. I suspect in a dark room they'd be painful to look at.
The plasma, as I mentioned was darker, and (I thought) had more accurate portrayal of skin tones. The same picture on the LCD/LED reminded me of what I'd see if I were actually on the sound stage (we watched a cooking show) and looking at people under bright lights.
The LG plasma seemed to be a good compromise between lack of dark/hazyness that the other plasma had, and it also had good bright color that didn't seem like it would burn out our retinas.
Would I be right in thinking I should take a couple DVD's out and watch the same thing on these 4 sets under differing lighting conditions?
I don't care about sports (save for Moto stuff ;) ) but I have a copy of Faster I could throw in and check out some of the action to compare.
Well, we got it.
http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/tv-video/televisions/plasma-tv/PN58B550T2FXZA/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail (http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/tv-video/televisions/plasma-tv/PN58B550T2FXZA/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail)
It's cool ;D
Thanks to all for helping educate me during the buying process.
I spent my money locally, and still got a decent deal. The customer service was beyond top notch.
http://customaudio.net/ (http://customaudio.net/) in case anyone cares.
It's a small business that's been here since I can remember. The guy I worked with was awesome and so is the owner. I spent time in person with both of them, as well as time on the phone and they kick ass.