LED/LCD Flatscreen TV

[djrashonal]

So an LED or LCD/LED flatpanel with 1080p/240hz is what I want I should be looking for?

only if you can get a great deal on it. the 240hz is more for sports and fast action movies, but all it does is trick your eyes. Once you get to about 120hz, the human eye can't distinguish the differences in refresh rates. (120/240). the 120hz/1080p is gonna be the best bang for your buck and best picture your eye can handle......

[mstevens]

240hz is more for sports and fast action movies, but all it does is trick your eyes. Once you get to about 120hz, the human eye can't distinguish the differences in refresh rates.

Prices on units 240Hz refresh rates are already starting to drop since 3D displays need 240Hz refresh rates in order to provide 120Hz rates for each eye.

I just picked up a 55" 1080p LCD with locally-dimming LED backlighting, 240Hz refresh, WiFi, 5 HDMI and a range of other connections for under $1,500. I probably could have gotten a display of that size with perfectly decent specs (120Hz, 1080p, no WiFi) for nearly half that in a panel with non-LED lighting or plasma. For my room and my needs, I think this was the right unit at a price I was happy with.

[mookieo2]

From my direct experience with a plasma, if sunlight is hitting the screen, the only EM waves I see are the ones reflecting off the screen.

I wouldn't buy another plasma.  I think they are only still around because they are cheaper to make now, and people who don't know a lot, hear plasma and still think they are some uber-awesome, state-of-the-art TV that you can hang on the wall.

The newest argument is going to be about refresh rate, especially for sports viewing:  120 Hz (now common) versus 240 Hz.  Is it worth the extra money, probably not, but a year or so ago, 1080p wasn't worth the extra bucks either.

no offense Jobu but I think that is a totally ignorant statement. A Plasma is still faster than a 240 hz LCD. Like I keep saying as far as producing the most accurate picture most real A/V professionals will choose Plasma. Look at AVS forum and find out. People want the LED because it is super thin and " Uber Awesome"

[Veloce-Fino]

no offense Jobu but I think that is a totally ignorant statement. A Plasma is still faster than a 240 hz LCD. Like I keep saying as far as producing the most accurate picture most real A/V professionals will choose Plasma. Look at AVS forum and find out. People want the LED because it is super thin and " Uber Awesome"

Precisely.

My panasonic plasma is 800hz... lets see your LCD touch that!

[Jobu]

no offense Jobu but I think that is a totally ignorant statement. A Plasma is still faster than a 240 hz LCD. Like I keep saying as far as producing the most accurate picture most real A/V professionals will choose Plasma. Look at AVS forum and find out. People want the LED because it is super thin and " Uber Awesome"

I never said plasmas sucked.  And the technology has improved, but I just wouldn't buy another because I believe the LED (full LED backlight, not edge) is the best technology for home entertainment.  Less heat, less energy consumption, more durable, thinner, no glare, and just as good of a picture, especially at 42 inches.  Huge screens may still benefit from plasma technology, but I dislike the glossy screen.  It is true that individual plasma cells activate and change faster than LCD pixels, but the increased refresh rates of newer LCD screens (120 and 240 Hz) help this a lot. 

But I still believe people hear plasma and think of some magically substance (granted, I'm originally from redneckville, USA, where people don't know shit about shit), and I do not believe that's an ignorant statement.

Precisely.

My panasonic plasma is 800hz... lets see your LCD touch that!

Plasma cells activate and deactivate very quickly, reducing the need for a higher refresh rate.  It is a different technology though.  I'm not sure exactly how they work, but it involves refreshing sub-sections of the screen at the standard 60 hertz, which they combine to get a huge refresh rate.  This also helps with the lifespan of plasmas.  Plasmas don't need a fast refresh rate though because of the speed of the plasma cells.

[Monsterlover]

A couple thoughts on things I've read since page 2 where I last checked in with this thread. . .

No matter what kind of tv it is, plasma, lcd etc, you can't compare one to another in the store and decide one is better than another.

Period.

It's comparable to test riding a sweet D16rr or 1198s with the wrong ignition timing and fuel map and then saying "this is a crappy bike, who in their right mind would want this?"

TV's in the store have the color and brightness cranked to the max to make them more enticing.

The reason fish like shiny bait is because it works.

To do it right, any tv you buy should be calibrated.  There are a lot of adjustments and they all make a difference (some more than others though)

The best way to do this is forget about going to a big box store.  Find a local audio/video shop that has a good rep and go there to look at tv's.  No only are they specialized in these types of products, if you ever had trouble you can be sure the support will be a lot better with them.  Additionally, their price should be negotiable to an extent.  They want to make money, sure, but 15% of something is better than 20% of nothing.

Chances are also good their tv's will be calibrated correctly and they'll let you bring in your own media, that you're familiar with, to watch and compare one screen to another.

Window reflection and direct sun will show up on a plasma because of the glass.  Beyond that as a consideration, buy whatever is in your budget and looks good to you.  1080p with a 120 or better Hz refresh is all you'll need.

[mstevens]

A couple thoughts on things I've read since page 2 where I last checked in with this thread. . .

There can't be better guidance than this.

[cokey]

I was ordering a 40" led samsung from walmart n they dicked me.. after saying it was in stock, next day got an email saying my order was cancled due to supply..   so found an led backlit lcd vizio 42" for 200 cheaper on tigerdirect.com   one main reason I like vizio is the actual weight of the tv..  should be here within the week..  funny, being the cable guy I finally got an hdtv after all this time lol..

[CairnsDuc]

I used to sell TV's (nearly 9 or so years dealing with TV's and was pretty much right in the middle of the Flat Panel
takeover of the market, the last 2 or so years I was in the Industry I set up my showroom with the LCD TV's seperated
from the Plasma's, Mainly because the LCD's appeared brighter and with more colour, notice I didn't say better colours,
Mainly because the colours on an LCD were not better, they were just set much brighter from Factory, the manufacturers
did this to grab consumers attention, people assume brighter colours = better TV. I used to use a Calibrators demo disc
to show customers the reason why the brighter colours did not always mean better, it had quality HD footage from movies
on it, I used to say to people look at Skin tones, do they look natural and lifelike? the over coloured sets used to make
people look like they had high blood pressure or Sun burnt (Sony and Samsung being the worst offenders at the time)
So take in a DVD or Bluray you know and love and look at Skin tones and look for natural colours, don't be afraid to ask to
adjust the sets.

Shadow detail would also disappear, I had some HD footage that taken in a cave, on the good panels, you could see into
the Shadows, see detail of the rock walls, panels with there brightness set to high (or just low contrast ratio panels) you
just saw black and the detail was gone.  again, take in a movie with Dark scenes (The first AVP movie is a good test, lots of dark
scenes, lots of details in the dark shadows, very hard for a lot of TV's to make it out) Watch how the TV handles the dark scenes
do you see detail? or just a dark mess with some moving dark blobs, or worse, no detail at all!
This may be a hard test to check for in a retail environment, a lot of Retail areas are very brightly lit, a lot brighter than you
would ever have at home, so this is another thing to take into consideration when comparing sets.

Also put on some fast moving sport, check for motion blur when people are running or when the Camera pans across a field
for example, some TV's will pixelate and break up quite badly due to there processor not being able to keep up with the action
(LG used to be quite bad for this, although there new sets have been vastly improved in recent years)

I used to sell the different panels to different clients depending on what they needed.
I used to get asked which is best LCD or Plasma? and as I used to say to customers, there is no best, it comes down to
what your TV viewing area and habits are, that will dictate the "Best" option for you.

If a customer was putting there TV in a very bright room with lot's of windows and they watched a lot of TV during the day
LCD was the best option for them.
But, I had customers who owned a townhouse, lots of glass, massive french doors that opened out to the entertainment
area. We sold him a 50" Plasma, Why? because he never watched TV during the day and he wanted the best performance
for Movies and sport when he sat down to watch TV at night. 6 months after I sold him the TV he came in to the store, loved
the set (Panasonic) and was very happy with my convincing him to avoid an LCD (after everyone else told him LCD was his
best option)

So it comes down to what you need, not what every one else thinks you need. look at where and when you watch TV
look at the surroundings, look at the light of the room, look at what you watch. Then choose your TV from there.

Also another thing to consider, the majority of LCD TV's, regardless of Backlight design, now have shiny screens, so they will still
have reflections on them when watching them in a bright room, basically the same amount of reflections as the Plasmas.
so the reflections argument used against Plasma's is now almost a non issue. Also LCD is easier to damage, Plasma
has a glass front, handy with kids around, The plastic fronted LCD's are easier to damage with there plastic/perspex screens.
Don't get me wrong, Plasma is still easy to damage, just a little tougher with if some one bumps into the screen, or if the kids
bump something in to the screen.

Personally I prefer Plasma, but with LCD technology getting so close, the gap between the 2 different technologies has closed
dramatically, and now the LED TV's have closed the gap even more. if my TV blew up tomorrow (Sony 50" CRT Rear projection)
I would not buy another set quite yet, with my wife and only a few months away from buying a house, I would wait and look
at the setup at the new house before making the decision.

[rgramjet]

I used to sell TVs
Mainly because the colours on an LCD were not better, they were just set much brighter from Factory, the manufacturers
did this to grab consumers attention, people assume brighter colours = better TV. I used to use a Calibrators demo disc
to show customers the reason why the brighter colours did not always mean better, it had quality HD footage from movies
on it, I used to say to people look at Skin tones, do they look natural and lifelike? the over coloured sets used to make
people look like they had high blood pressure or Sun burnt (Sony and Samsung being the worst offenders at the time)
So take in a DVD or Bluray you know and love and look at Skin tones and look for natural colours, don't be afraid to ask to
adjust the sets.

Shadow detail would also disappear, I had some HD footage that taken in a cave, on the good panels, you could see into
the Shadows, see detail of the rock walls, panels with there brightness set to high (or just low contrast ratio panels) you
just saw black and the detail was gone.  again, take in a movie with Dark scenes (The first AVP movie is a good test, lots of dark
scenes, lots of details in the dark shadows, very hard for a lot of TV's to make it out) Watch how the TV handles the dark scenes
do you see detail? or just a dark mess with some moving dark blobs, or worse, no detail at all!
This may be a hard test to check for in a retail environment, a lot of Retail areas are very brightly lit, a lot brighter than you
would ever have at home, so this is another thing to take into consideration when comparing sets.

Also put on some fast moving sport, check for motion blur when people are running or when the Camera pans across a field
for example, some TV's will pixelate and break up quite badly due to there processor not being able to keep up with the action
(LG used to be quite bad for this, although there new sets have been vastly improved in recent years)

I used to sell the different panels to different clients depending on what they needed.
I used to get asked which is best LCD or Plasma? and as I used to say to customers, there is no best, it comes down to
what your TV viewing area and habits are, that will dictate the "Best" option for you.

If a customer was putting there TV in a very bright room with lot's of windows and they watched a lot of TV during the day
LCD was the best option for them.
But, I had customers who owned a townhouse, lots of glass, massive french doors that opened out to the entertainment
area. We sold him a 50" Plasma, Why? because he never watched TV during the day and he wanted the best performance
for Movies and sport when he sat down to watch TV at night. 6 months after I sold him the TV he came in to the store, loved
the set (Panasonic) and was very happy with my convincing him to avoid an LCD (after everyone else told him LCD was his
best option)

So it comes down to what you need, not what every one else thinks you need. look at where and when you watch TV
look at the surroundings, look at the light of the room, look at what you watch. Then choose your TV from there.

Fast moving, skin tones......sounds like porn would make a perfect test disc!

[Monsterlover]

Well, might as well stop this thread now

Its all been said

[IZ]

Yup! I guess it has been. Now that I also have TV in hand.Bought the original 46" LED/LCD since it went down an extra $100 since last weekend!  And because we had a friend to transport it!  Mount her tomorrow!  The TV I mean!  :p

[IZ]

why yes, yes it does! depending on the size of the tv you get....

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=108&cp_id=10828&cs_id=1082806&p_id=3725&seq=1&format=2

all under 60 bucks!

Just ordered.  It'll be here and installed just in time for Christmas!  

Again..thanks for all the help and info guys.   It's much appreciated!!

[IZ]

Received mount on Monday.  Very satisified with the shipping time.

Opened it just now and discovered gouges in the metal. 

Disappointed since I wanted to get the TV on the wall prior to Christmas. 

Emailing business now.  We'll see what they can do to get a new mount to me before the holiday.

[hbliam]

Received mount on Monday.  Very satisified with the shipping time.

Opened it just now and discovered gouges in the metal. 

Disappointed since I wanted to get the TV on the wall prior to Christmas. 

Emailing business now.  We'll see what they can do to get a new mount to me before the holiday.

Gouges in the bracket that will be covered by the TV being in front of it?