TV's. . . lcd, plasma?

[Monsterlover]

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. . .

[He Man]

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.

[derby]

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.

[NAKID]

I have a 52" Samsung A650 LCD and it's great for tv, dvd (blue-ray) and video games (Wii and PS3)...

[He Man]

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

[cyrus buelton]

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.

[derby]

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.

[cyrus buelton]

When did 1080 start being broadcast?

[Buckethead]

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.

[ab]

threadjack  -  red camera shoots at 2K , 3K and 5K.  Lot higher than 1080p.

[NAKID]

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...

[derby]

When did 1080 start being broadcast?

1080i has been broadcast since the beginning of ota HD.

[Ash]

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?

[derby]

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.

[NAKID]

So far, I haven't found a difference between the viewing angle of my older plasma vs my newer lcd...

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...