Author Topic: So, I am buying a new TV.... (Read 4801 times)

Marcial · « **on:** March 27, 2006, 12:06:14 am »

I have been thinking about it for a while & have finally decided that I need a new tv. I\'m trying to decide between an LCD and a plasma... from what I have read & sales people have told me, it really just comes down to personal preference as far as which is better.

I have tentatively decided on the Panasonic model at the link below. Does anyone have any other suggestions? I\'ve read all the specs, but honestly, I may as well be reading Chinese, because I have no idea what any of it means. I also like the Pioneer models, but they are considerably more expensive.

With all the techies around here, I hope someone can offer me a little advice...

http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Panasonic-42-Plasma-HDTV-TH-42PX60U-/sem/rpsm/oid/146417/catOid/-12869/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

antbach · « **Reply #1 on:** March 27, 2006, 10:26:09 am »

I do not know much about this department, but an LCD TV if anything like an LCD monitor is probably a bad idea. Assuming that an LCD would only be viewable from certain angles. I could be completely wrong though. A friend of mine has a 42" Plasma from Dell that\'s about the same price as that Pioneer, and its pretty friggin sweet.

kindm's · « **Reply #2 on:** March 27, 2006, 03:35:21 pm »

OK I have been doing a lot of looking in to these things and a few things to keep in mind.

LCD TV will look great with High Definition. Depending on the make / model some are going to look a lot better than others with standard TV / cable feeds.

The viewing angles for most decent LCD TVs isnt going to be an issue really. Some will have larger viewing areas than other but it all depends on how far away you sit from the set vs. size of screen

Benefits of LCD TV. NO BURN IN. LCD TVs do not suffer from image burn in. This is an issue if you intend to game on the the TV. ie. playstation, xbox , pc etc

Thats really one of the big issues

Plasma. Usually less expensive for the sizes involved. Have brighter screens deeper blacks. Supposedly better color but that isn\'t as big a difference from LCD now as it was when they both came out.

Plasme suffers from image burn in. Like the CNN logo or comedy central logo etc in the bottom of your screens. gaming etc. These usually are not rec for those purposes.

becasue the image burn in issues I would say go with LCD TV but Plasma might look a lot better with standard cable and direct tv etc

If it was me and I may be buying 1 very soon I would go LCD TV. I plan to use it for my PC Gaming, TV watching, DVDs etc. I know that standard cable isn\'t gonna look that great so I would get 1 with the idea of getting a HD-tuner.

http://www.tigerdirect.com has some pretty good prices for all of the above. I hope this was a little helpful

davepeck · « **Reply #3 on:** March 27, 2006, 04:04:31 pm »

just a couple things to add to what mike said -

tigerdirect is a horrible retailer. just an fyi. they have a rating of 6/10 on http://www.resellerratings.com, and i\'ve had a bad experience with them myself with never getting a rebate i was due.. YMMV, but i\'d steer clear.

before you buy anything, anywhere, go to http://www.pricegrabber.com. i went there to check out the TV you\'re looking at, marcial, and surprisingly, circuit city\'s price is pretty competitive. you should, however, factor in tax vs. shipping, and figure out what your best deal is. you may be better off buying out of state. i can tell you that pricegrabber saved me ~$450 off of circuit city\'s price on my 20" LCD, and ~$2000 off of tweeter\'s price on my 60" LCDRPTV.

lastly, check out discussions about various displays at http://www.avsforum.com. VERY resourceful.

kindm's · « **Reply #4 on:** March 27, 2006, 04:13:14 pm »

Thanks for the heads up Dave on tigerdirect.

I have never used them before and I probably won\'t now from your review.

1 thing I forgot to mention.

response times. With LCD tv and not sure about plasma.

if your gaming response time is a big deal

the faster the reponse time the better for gaming and fast squences in movies etc.

From what I have read 16ms or faster is where you want to be if your going to be gaming on them etc

FrankZappa · « **Reply #5 on:** March 27, 2006, 04:35:22 pm »

price and size is most peoples biggest concerns, but as Mike said, beware of Plasma as they cause burn in images. Personally, I would never buy a plasma, ever. They look great when they are new, but that\'s it. We have some at work (couple hundred)

and even the brand new ones were getting burned in images within weeks of being turned on. Given, we run them 24/7, so yours would probably last a few months before you see it, but that\'s still pathetic for the price your paying. Go with LCD unless you plan on tossing or putting up with this within the next few years.

Also with price, never be afraid to threaten a sales rep with a sale price from another store. Most of the time, whatever the price is elsewhere, it is still well above cost. Also, since most salesmen work on commision, you can usually get them to give it to you at that price from another store. This is especially true the more something costs. We had a super bla-bla-bla sale on big screen tv\'s at work through circut city last year. One of the guys who worked with me also worked at sears and said he would beat any of those prices by at least $200 if you bought it through him, as it was still such a good commision for him. And this was a sears department store! Remeber, the worst they can say is "no, I can\'t do that price".

Marcial · « **Reply #6 on:** March 27, 2006, 11:38:48 pm »

Thanks for the info, guys. I ended up paying a bit extra and getting a 40\'\' LCD. Seeing them side by side, the plasma did have slightly better color, but the LCD seemed crisper and brighter.... and you don\'t have to worry about burn-in.

HDTV service gets turned on tomorrow!

davepeck · « **Reply #7 on:** March 28, 2006, 04:32:00 am »

Quote from: Marcial

HDTV service gets turned on tomorrow!

prepare for a level of TV-snobishness that you never expected. don\'t expect to ever be the same, cause you won\'t be! enjoy it!

FrankZappa · « **Reply #8 on:** March 28, 2006, 06:22:45 am »

Quote from: davepeck

Quote from: Marcial
HDTV service gets turned on tomorrow!

prepare for a level of TV-snobishness that you never expected. don\'t expect to ever be the same, cause you won\'t be! enjoy it!

Maybe it\'s just me, but I\'m surrounded by hdtv all day at work, and still watch a crappy 10 year old standard def tv at home. The remote doesn\'t even work on it, but I\'m fine with it. I really don\'t care either way. As long as I have my simpsons dvds, history channel and TCM I\'m content. :shrug:

davepeck · « **Reply #9 on:** March 28, 2006, 06:55:06 am »

Quote from: FrankZappa

Quote from: davepeck
Quote from: Marcial
HDTV service gets turned on tomorrow!

prepare for a level of TV-snobishness that you never expected. don\'t expect to ever be the same, cause you won\'t be! enjoy it!

Maybe it\'s just me, but I\'m surrounded by hdtv all day at work, and still watch a crappy 10 year old standard def tv at home. The remote doesn\'t even work on it, but I\'m fine with it. I really don\'t care either way. As long as I have my simpsons dvds, history channel and TCM I\'m content. :shrug:

but you don\'t have hi-def at home, that\'s the difference. once you go HD, it\'s painful to watch something in SD. i have all the HD channels programmed as my \'favorites\', and just use the FAV button on my remote. very rarely do i stray from those HD channels now..

Marcial · « **Reply #10 on:** March 28, 2006, 09:22:54 am »

Dave, do you run from your HD box to the TV with an HDMI cable or a 5 wire component cable kit? Does this effect the picture at all? For some reason, my HD service box doesn\'t have an HDMI jack...

davepeck · « **Reply #11 on:** March 28, 2006, 09:42:26 am »

Quote from: Marcial

Dave, do you run from your HD box to the TV with an HDMI cable or a 5 wire component cable kit? Does this effect the picture at all? For some reason, my HD service box doesn\'t have an HDMI jack...

component = 3 wires (RGB).

i use DVI, which is esentially the same as HDMI, just sort of the \'older version\' of it. does your cable box or tv have DVI?

as for the picture - it depends. DVI/HDMI is digital. component is analog, so with HD signals and digital SD signals, the D>A conversion is done in the cable box. with DVI/HDMI, the D>A conversion is done by the tv. whichever one has a better D>A converter, has better video processing circuitry, etc, will give you a better picture. here is a good article on the subject.

which one is better? not sure. you can try posting the specs of your TV and your cable box on avsforum and see what they suggest..

finally (and i can\'t possibly stress this enough), pick up a copy of Digital Video Essentials, and spend a few hours calibrating your new TV. it really makes a world of difference versus watching your TV right out of the box.

Marcial · « **Reply #12 on:** March 28, 2006, 03:53:21 pm »

I read the reviews on that DVD, and it sounds like you have to be an electronics professional to figure it out... was it a pain in the ass?

And thanks for the link regarding the DVI / HDMI / Component... it took me about an hour to get through it, but I have a good handle on it all now... sounds like the best one depends on your specific system. Of course, since my DVR box only has component, it is my only option. Nice to read that you can still get an equally nice picture out of the component hook-up.

Marcial · « **Reply #13 on:** March 28, 2006, 11:35:51 pm »

now that I have mine set-up, another question... is it possible for you to eliminate the black bars on all of your HD channels? for some reason, there are a few channels that always have the bars regardless of which aspect ratio I select on the tv.

davepeck · « **Reply #14 on:** March 29, 2006, 08:44:26 am »

as for the dvd - complicated? a little... rocket science? definitely not..

black bars - are you talking about on the top and bottom or on the sides?

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Author Topic: So, I am buying a new TV.... (Read 4801 times)