Buying a 52" TV, what to look for?

[DarkStaR]

I usually buy expensive analog cables, and cheap digital cables.

For analog cables (dual sub-woofer cables with 15" velodynes on either end in my case), if I get cheap ones, I get all sorts of interference from near by power cables.

As said before, in most cases, a digital connection is going to work, or it's not.  It's just 1s and 0s.

However, the cheap cables are...well...cheap.  They will not hold up to too much abuse.  I consider them to be disposable if you may.

On the other hand, we've broke MANY mid to semi-high end cable at work.

At work, HDMI cables are notorious for breaking.  No other cable regularly breaks, except HDMI.

So, with that said, in the case of HDMI cables, they can ALL break. would you rather break a cheap cable, or an expensive one?

[NAKID]

I will only need three cables, HDMI from cable box (HD cable) to Onkyo receiver, HDMI from DVD player to receiver, HDMI from receiver to TV...

[Supero100]

What model onkyo?

I just got a SR806. It's already back at the shop. 

[NAKID]

HT-R557

[Supero100]

If no runs over 15', get a trifecta of 1.3 category 2 hdmi cables at bluejeanscable.com


In My Humble Opinion

[NAKID]

Nope, none should need to be longer than 6'...

[Supero100]

Nope, none should need to be longer than 6'...

BJC F2 for you!

[NAKID]

Wow, really decent prices and cheap shipping...

[NAKID]

OK, so if price really doesn't = quality for HDMI cables, why shouldn't I buy these?

http://www.amazon.com/HDMI-Feet-Super-Resolution-Cable/dp/B000N47CEA/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&m=A3VODXGBJ323R7&s=electronics&qid=1234814260&sr=1-32

[Supero100]

OK, so if price really doesn't = quality for HDMI cables, why shouldn't I buy these?

http://www.amazon.com/HDMI-Feet-Super-Resolution-Cable/dp/B000N47CEA/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&m=A3VODXGBJ323R7&s=electronics&qid=1234814260&sr=1-32

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink!



You have the final vote!

[COWBOY]

OK, so if price really doesn't = quality for HDMI cables, why shouldn't I buy these?

http://www.amazon.com/HDMI-Feet-Super-Resolution-Cable/dp/B000N47CEA/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&m=A3VODXGBJ323R7&s=electronics&qid=1234814260&sr=1-32

Bottom line they'll work fine.

If you're into all the engineering and the Great "science" or "mythology" (depending on your view) Debate of A/V cables then again I suggest heading over to
www.avsforum.com.  You'll find heated arguments on both sides by serious A/V nerds and engineers with all the white papers, graphs and algorithms you'd expect.

For what it's worth TV wise the sets that tend to get the best reviews year in and year out by category ...

LCD

1. Sharp Aquos
2. Samsung
3. Sony Bravia and XBR

Plasma

1. Pioneer (they'll be getting out of the TV business this year though)
2. Panasonic
3. Hitachi

Console

1.  Sony
2.  Hitachi
3.  Samsung
4.  Mitsubishi

Regardless of TV chosen the best cheap advice I can give anyone is to at minimum calibrate it using a DVD you have that uses THX (Star Wars, etc).   THX Discs come with a THX Optimizer in the options menu that will guide you through a simple calibration for sharpness, white and black levels, color, tint and audio.  The difference it makes picture wise is significant.  Is it as good as a pro calibration? no.  does it get you 80-90% there?  yes.  Is it more than 99% of the population will notice?  absolutely.

From a shopping experience - I bought my Pioneer 60" plasma from Amazon 2 years ago and saved huge.  I received it within 3 days in perfect condition.  They even called to make sure everything was OK a week later.

Other stores with great reps include www.onecall.com and http://www.visualapex.com.  I bought my first plasma from Onecall and had a great experience.  It's also worth popping into BB.   I was in mine this weekend and they had a highly rated Panasonic 42" plasma on sale for 799. 

<edit>  Onecall has some smokin prices on plasmas (50-60").  They have 2 different 1080p 58" plasmas for $2500 (Panasonic and Samsung) http://www.onecall.com/ProductSearch.aspx?N=230+1678.    In LCD TVs they have a number of 120hz 1080p 52" plasmas for 2400-2600.  http://www.onecall.com/ProductSearch.aspx?N=227+666
  <end edit>

[COWBOY]

For you movie guys looking for a new DVD player.  This is the best DVD Player resource around.  Worth noting is that the highest scoring players aren't always the most expensive.  Below the chart is a paragraph summary of each players score, strengths and weaknesses.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=all&type=DVD+Player&manufacturer=0&maxprice=0&deInt=0&mpeg=0

Cheers.

[il d00d]

I generally agree with your rule. I would refer you to gizmodo's hdmi test, bluejeans cable's whitepapers and informative FAQ, as well as (gasp) monster cable's whitepapers, which closely resemble the research of bluejeans cable (double gasp).

It boils down to transmission distance, bandwidth, and impedance on a cable conceived to implement HDCP, not to push 10+ Gb/s as will be required by new equipment with 120 hz refresh rates, so-called x.v. deep color, and 1080p+ resolutions.

I think we are saying the same thing.  Except the part about Rome.  And for the record, I would much rather talk about cabling in Rome. 
So at the risk of sounding like I am debating, I define a "broken" cable as one that does not meet the specs for the current standard of HD.  So if you are taking about the gizmodo tests that measure 120Hz 1080p, all I can say is that if a cable outperforms the current specs, that's great.  However, a cable that meets the specs -but does not exceed them- doesn't look any better or worse than a cable that exceeds them.  So, if a cable can transmit a 1080p 60hz signal without degradation, but not 1080p at 120hz, that is still a working cable in my book.   Also, a cable that can transmit 1080p @ 60hz AND 1080p holographic signals does not transmit 1080p any better than the cable that can.   Point:  belabored

By my reading, EIA specs are basically all about distance - that, and twists/distance, pinouts, etc.  Cat 3 over can probably transmit 10Gig - just not very far, or very reliably

[rgramjet]

Bottom line they'll work fine.

If you're into all the engineering and the Great "science" or "mythology" (depending on your view) Debate of A/V cables then again I suggest heading over to
www.avsforum.com.  You'll find heated arguments on both sides by serious A/V nerds and engineers with all the white papers, graphs and algorithms you'd expect.

For what it's worth TV wise the sets that tend to get the best reviews year in and year out by category ...

LCD

1. Sharp Aquos
2. Samsung
3. Sony Bravia and XBR

Plasma

1. Pioneer (they'll be getting out of the TV business this year though)
2. Panasonic
3. Hitachi

Console

1.  Sony
2.  Hitachi
3.  Samsung
4.  Mitsubishi

Regardless of TV chosen the best cheap advice I can give anyone is to at minimum calibrate it using a DVD you have that uses THX (Star Wars, etc).   THX Discs come with a THX Optimizer in the options menu that will guide you through a simple calibration for sharpness, white and black levels, color, tint and audio.  The difference it makes picture wise is significant.  Is it as good as a pro calibration? no.  does it get you 80-90% there?  yes.  Is it more than 99% of the population will notice?  absolutely.

From a shopping experience - I bought my Pioneer 60" plasma from Amazon 2 years ago and saved huge.  I received it within 3 days in perfect condition.  They even called to make sure everything was OK a week later.

Other stores with great reps include www.onecall.com and http://www.visualapex.com.  I bought my first plasma from Onecall and had a great experience.  It's also worth popping into BB.   I was in mine this weekend and they had a highly rated Panasonic 42" plasma on sale for 799. 

<edit>  Onecall has some smokin prices on plasmas (50-60").  They have 2 different 1080p 58" plasmas for $2500 (Panasonic and Samsung) http://www.onecall.com/ProductSearch.aspx?N=230+1678.    In LCD TVs they have a number of 120hz 1080p 52" plasmas for 2400-2600.  http://www.onecall.com/ProductSearch.aspx?N=227+666
  <end edit>

Thats funny, MY list put Samsung at the top for Plasmas....

[COWBOY]

lol.  not making a value judgment just reporting on what I found on that site and most rags over the past 5-8 years.  Black levels, contrast and color detail are what consistently separates the Panny and Pio over the past 4 years from the others.  Samsungs are very nice and at this point almost any plasma TV can produce an excellent picture.

Look here for info on your specific model and how to get the most out of it.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1011420