Going HD(TV)
The wife and I have lived, for the last ~2 years with a 19" fish-bowl CRT from Panasonic. It's been loyal (it's been hers since 1999) but it is no longer suitable.
We have been bitching about its small stature for a long while, but we have a friend on our floor who really put a dagger through the heart of our television by purchasing a gorgeous 50" plasma.
When I first walked into his apartment I was struck by (1) the size of the beast and (2) the vivid colors. Walking up to the TV I was shocked to see what looked like pixelation and some color blurring.
These are two things that don't really happen on the old 19" CRT, even though the colors are much more vivid and the size (of course) puts it to shame. But the price they paid (~$3600 after the 10% off coupon (Circuit City) we gave them) gave me chills and chest pains.
So we are almost set on our next TV purchase being HD, but I have many questions, so hopefully I can get some answers from you lot and demystify this.
(And yes, I know avsforum.com exists, but let's pretend it doesn't for now, ok?)
Issue #1:
4:3 vs. 16:9
- We do Netflix so we watch a lot of DVDs. The wife does TV shows (Six Feet Under at the moment) on disc and I get regular movies.
- I watch football like crazy during football season.
- We play video games (Gamecube now, Revolution when it comes out).
Obviously for the movies 16:9 is the thing, but for everything else 4:3 is it.
Is it stupid to worry about going 16:9 at this point? Is the sacrifice in total screen real estate worth it?
Is 16:9 programming going to come into fashion bigtime in the next 4-5 years (hopefully the minimum life span of a new TV)?
There is a lot I don't know about this particular issue.
Issue #2:
Lifespan.
Plasma, (RP)LCD, DLP & CRT.
The only questionable one in that list for my expected minimum lifespan of 4-5 years is DLP, but I may even be off-base about that. I'm not going to try and fool myself into believing that any of them will last two decades (
), but I'd like some general ideas and real-world experience with this matter if possible.
Issue #2:
Quality.
This is subjective, I know, but I mentioned the "pixelation" on the big sexy plasma, is this something I would encounter in other TV types ((RP)LCD, CRT, DLP)?
Are the black issues of LCDs overrated?
Again; technical knowledge and real-world experience are appreciated.
Well, that's a lot to chew on for now, more later perhaps.
We have been bitching about its small stature for a long while, but we have a friend on our floor who really put a dagger through the heart of our television by purchasing a gorgeous 50" plasma.
When I first walked into his apartment I was struck by (1) the size of the beast and (2) the vivid colors. Walking up to the TV I was shocked to see what looked like pixelation and some color blurring.
These are two things that don't really happen on the old 19" CRT, even though the colors are much more vivid and the size (of course) puts it to shame. But the price they paid (~$3600 after the 10% off coupon (Circuit City) we gave them) gave me chills and chest pains.
So we are almost set on our next TV purchase being HD, but I have many questions, so hopefully I can get some answers from you lot and demystify this.
(And yes, I know avsforum.com exists, but let's pretend it doesn't for now, ok?)
Issue #1:
4:3 vs. 16:9
- We do Netflix so we watch a lot of DVDs. The wife does TV shows (Six Feet Under at the moment) on disc and I get regular movies.
- I watch football like crazy during football season.
- We play video games (Gamecube now, Revolution when it comes out).
Obviously for the movies 16:9 is the thing, but for everything else 4:3 is it.
Is it stupid to worry about going 16:9 at this point? Is the sacrifice in total screen real estate worth it?
Is 16:9 programming going to come into fashion bigtime in the next 4-5 years (hopefully the minimum life span of a new TV)?
There is a lot I don't know about this particular issue.
Issue #2:
Lifespan.
Plasma, (RP)LCD, DLP & CRT.
The only questionable one in that list for my expected minimum lifespan of 4-5 years is DLP, but I may even be off-base about that. I'm not going to try and fool myself into believing that any of them will last two decades (
), but I'd like some general ideas and real-world experience with this matter if possible.Issue #2:
Quality.
This is subjective, I know, but I mentioned the "pixelation" on the big sexy plasma, is this something I would encounter in other TV types ((RP)LCD, CRT, DLP)?
Are the black issues of LCDs overrated?
Again; technical knowledge and real-world experience are appreciated.
Well, that's a lot to chew on for now, more later perhaps.
Comments
1. 16:9. Too many tvs are widescreen these days and I'd expect more and more content to head that way.
2. I can't really comment. Some brands of plasma are pretty good but some are still very prone to screen burn. You get what you pay for in plasmas really although one of the most expensive I've seen is also one of the worst considering, Pioneer.
3. LCDs still suffer some blur unless they are running HD. Their colours aren't anywhere near the clarity of plasmas from what I've seen either. Easiest way to tell for yourself is walk down to your local large retailer and look at their wall of screens and look at LCDs then plasmas.
Still yet to actually see a DLP so can't comment much on them.
1: no burn in
2: widescreen DLP RP HDTVs are about 1/3 of the price of plasma
3: In three years or so, when your buddies plasma and your DLP start looking like crap, he will need a new TV, you will need only a new bulb for ~$200-$400 and you will have a new TV
Problem might be Tv tuner.
Right now I'm looking at the 37" Sharp Aquos as well as the latest-generation 42" Samsung DLP.
This is all brain-numbing.
HDTV tuner:
I'm getting an HD-DVR with digital cable from Time Warner. Will I want a built-in HDTV tuner anyway? If so, why?
Originally posted by groverat
Thanks for all the input!
Right now I'm looking at the 37" Sharp Aquos as well as the latest-generation 42" Samsung DLP.
This is all brain-numbing.
I like the Panasonic TH-50PHD7UY 50" plasma - nice picture, does not reflect window light, long life, burn in protection, and cool replaceable input modules for different input types (DVI, etc).
After seeing 1080p, I'd wait a few months for the 1080p LCD's to come out.
A 37" 1080p Sharp should be just around the corner considering the existing models have been out for a bit. I mean- I don't think HD will go above 1080p for awhile- where at 720p is nice, but it's not the top. If you can hold out I would. 1080p is the future.
They had a 65" 1080p LCD at CEDIA this year, damn that's a nice TV (Expensive too).
Originally posted by groverat
Another question.
HDTV tuner:
I'm getting an HD-DVR with digital cable from Time Warner. Will I want a built-in HDTV tuner anyway? If so, why?
If you are a football fan, go DIrectv, get College gameday and Sunday Ticket HD...whatching any NFL matchup you want in HD will be amazing.
To your question:YES the built in tuner allows you to get the OTAs in HD with rabbit ears (or a tower, whatever it would take to get a good feed of the analog ones) so if the cable is out, you can still enjoy HD
A lot of catv companies compress HD, so OTA will likely be better than cable because you will get the uncompressed version.
For the tech, difficult to say, it's change all the time. Six months ago, I would go for Plasma. The main problem with LCD is light reflexion on the screen : this is really annoying.
The most expansive plasma screen are the HD ones.
I fear that concerning this TV, the better is also the most expansive ...
Good buy, and enjoy
regarding any TV, the NUMBER ONE thing NOT TO DO:
DO NOT, EVER, look at a screen less than 3 feet away. a) its useless b) you'll never buy a TV if you do
One thing people fail to mention: Look at the BLACK. Many LCDs etc dont have very good blackness. Many are a dark grey. The blacker the black, the better.
The best thing is if you can go to a large department store and see a wall of TFT/Plasmas all next to one another. You'll see the best ones right away
Another thing: Stay away from Philips. Simply, absolutely, crap. Nuff said.
16:9 important, yes
Lifespan? Boh.. I honestly don't know.
I'll want to see how reliable new burn-in protection technologies are before trusting plasma.
tacojohn:
I'm fine with 720p. Spending ~$2000 on an HDTV is hurting me as it is, the thought of spending ~$4000 makes me hurt. We really don't watch enough TV to justify it. We're having a hard time justifying spending $2-3000 as it is.
It's not really a money thing, it's a value thing. We can afford a very expensive TV, but if we buy the best of everything because we can we will very soon no longer be able to afford anything at all.
p-doc:
I don't think plasma is going to cut it. I'm going to be playing games and watching a lot of football, so there are going to be plenty of static elements. I'm not going to spend many thousands of dollars on a television only to be restricted because of burn-in.
Originally posted by groverat
e#s:
I'll want to see how reliable new burn-in protection technologies are before trusting plasma.
I don't think plasma is going to cut it. I'm going to be playing games and watching a lot of football, so there are going to be plenty of static elements. I'm not going to spend many thousands of dollars on a television only to be restricted because of burn-in.
Burn in affects CRTs as well - my CRT projector is extra sensitive to burn in, and I play PS2 games on it all the time with no problems.
The plasma picture looked head and shoulders above everything else to me, so that is what I am getting. LCDs are twice as expensive as plasmas (at the same size), so you could just throw away the first plasma and buy a second if you get burn in, and still spend the same ammount as you would with an LCD.
Plasmas are used all the time in static advertising displays in airports, so I trust the burn in protection.
If you can possibly afford a TV that supports 1080p, buy it. If you have to go down to 1080i, buy that. I'd really suggest that you try to stay with some sort of 1080 support, interlaced or progressive. Right now, I think buying a TV that only goes up to 720p would be like buying a single-layer DVD burner. The technology is still good, but gosh, you'll always miss out on that one step better.
Of your two models, I'd definitely go with the Samsung. I've heard a lot of good things about them lately.
Originally posted by e1618978
I like the Panasonic TH-50PHD7UY 50" plasma - nice picture, does not reflect window light, long life, burn in protection, and cool replaceable input modules for different input types (DVI, etc).
I'll second that. Their newest plamas are very nice indeed. Fujitsu also does very good plasmas. Frankly I've never understood the appeal of LCDs by comparison.
As far as plasma goes, unless someone can point me to a sub-40" plasma it's really pointless.
I liked that 42" projection, but it is not very realistic for my space.
I'm only sitting ~7" away from the TV.
Originally posted by groverat
1080i isn't necessarily better than 720p.
As far as plasma goes, unless someone can point me to a sub-40" plasma it's really pointless.
I liked that 42" projection, but it is not very realistic for my space.
I'm only sitting ~7" away from the TV.
Well I you are in a small room, the LCD TV is a choice. but remember that you must avoid light reflexion with this type of screen. This is the main cons of this screen.
BTW if you don't made a direct comparison with a plasma TV, it's very nice, and it has a silky smooth movie theather like rendering.
Originally posted by groverat
I'm only sitting ~7" away from the TV.
Don't watch porn. That could get awkward.