LCD or Plasma?
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From: Southern Part of Heaven
Originally Posted by Clayman,Feb 7 2006, 02:42 AM
Yes, that's the Samsung I'd advise buying. Another to examine is the wildly popular Sony KDLV40-XBR1. It's their answer to Samsung, and in nearly every respect it kills it! Sony simply have not been able to keep these in stock. It was responsible for raising the bar on LCD TV's, IMO. You can't go wrong with either one, but the Sony does cost a little more. You might be able to find it for a good deal somewhere.
Speaking of where you buy it, for the love of GOD, don't get it from some fly-by-night dealer. I fully recommend purchasing it from a specialty A/V store (NOT Best Buy or Circuit City or Sears or whatever) where the people are fully trained to handle these kinds of TV's. That way, when you need help, you can just call them and ask. Also, make sure wherever you purchase the TV is an authorized dealer. Don't simply ask someone who works there, they'll just lie to you to get the business. Go to the manufacturer's website and make SURE. If you do not purchase it from someone authorized, the warranty will be null and void! I don't even want to get into repair costs...just trust me on this one!
There's a reason some of the places on your linked list can sell for so cheap...they suck. There's always a restocking fee, never a guarantee if your TV shows up destroyed (have seen it happen), no tech support, could be B stock merchandise, or any one of a load of other bad, nasty things. Just make sure you're totally confident with the business when you buy.
Speaking of where you buy it, for the love of GOD, don't get it from some fly-by-night dealer. I fully recommend purchasing it from a specialty A/V store (NOT Best Buy or Circuit City or Sears or whatever) where the people are fully trained to handle these kinds of TV's. That way, when you need help, you can just call them and ask. Also, make sure wherever you purchase the TV is an authorized dealer. Don't simply ask someone who works there, they'll just lie to you to get the business. Go to the manufacturer's website and make SURE. If you do not purchase it from someone authorized, the warranty will be null and void! I don't even want to get into repair costs...just trust me on this one!
There's a reason some of the places on your linked list can sell for so cheap...they suck. There's always a restocking fee, never a guarantee if your TV shows up destroyed (have seen it happen), no tech support, could be B stock merchandise, or any one of a load of other bad, nasty things. Just make sure you're totally confident with the business when you buy.Another question: what do I need from the cable co.? I have an HD box now. Can I just use that for the new tube? I read a review on that Sony Bravia, and the guy mentioned something about the cable co. installing a cable card. What's that? Do I need it? Thanks again.
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From: San Diego
Go to a shop, you will notice Sony TVs cut the image, only by a little, but it is noticable. Not sure why more people don't talk about it, maybe they just don't realize. My very picky brother sold me his Vega at a big discount because of this reason.
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From: Oh kwa tan zen wan
Sharp Aquous for LCDs, they are among the best. If you're going to go for Plasma, you can't go wrong with a Panasonic (commercial model best).
Note: Plasma WILL suffer burn in if you don't take care to stretch 4:3 content and avoid static images. Plus however is much better PQ.
LCD, you'll worry about stuck/dead pixels (manf allow for a certainnumber of these before they will accept warranty/replacement). No burn in issues at all. PQ is not as good due to ghosting/smear and poor black reproduction.
In the pipeline in 2-3 yrs: OLEDs, SEDs these promise the best of both worlds. May cost $$$ initially though.
Note: Plasma WILL suffer burn in if you don't take care to stretch 4:3 content and avoid static images. Plus however is much better PQ.
LCD, you'll worry about stuck/dead pixels (manf allow for a certainnumber of these before they will accept warranty/replacement). No burn in issues at all. PQ is not as good due to ghosting/smear and poor black reproduction.
In the pipeline in 2-3 yrs: OLEDs, SEDs these promise the best of both worlds. May cost $$$ initially though.
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From: Southern Part of Heaven
Originally Posted by kadeshpa,Feb 7 2006, 04:14 AM
Sharp Aquous for LCDs, they are among the best.
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The Sharps look like a good buy. I like their 45" vs. the others' 40". The 45" will fill my space a little better. And, they appear to have the best resolution. But, Sharp doesn't make it easy for the dumb consumer (me) with 4 models that all look about the same. Are these really better than the Samsung/Sony? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
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From: i <3 ny
Where would you guys recommend purchasing a unit from? I've read that many recommend Costco, due to the fact that if you have a problem with it during the warranty period, all you'll need to do is bring it back. What are your thoughts on this?
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From: MAHT-O-MEDI
I have a 42 inch plasma and a 20 inch lcd. Both are decent sets and good for different things. I prefer the quality of plasma picture much better as it is generally sharper and brighter. However they generally do not make Plasma for smaller sizes so if you want a set under 37 inches plasma is a much tougher choice to find.
The problem with some lcd's is viewing angle. Not sure that this is a problem wirth all sets but look at the LCD set you want to purchase from above, below and the sides. The color and picture might do funny things as you move and possibly become impossible to watch from extreme angles. This is true of my lcd but not plasma. The lcd screen must constinatly be moved depending on where I want to sit in the room, the plasma does not. This may not be an issue depending on lcd model and size of room. LCD's will not have burn in, I have been told that some are not great for video games though because of a slow "refresh rate" though I have never witnessed this myself.
From what I understand of plasma burn in, it is most likely to happen in the first 100 hours of use and little chance of it thereafter, especially with newer sets. My plasma has had static images on it on a few occassions. During the superbowl my HD reciever locked up while I was out of the room and displayed the same picture and, clock and score for over 20 minutes. When I shut down the reciever, the pixels that were displaying bright images like the score, artificial borders and game clock remained because the pixels were hot, but over the next three minutes of watching tv they disappear and no damage was done. I don't think most new video games would be a problem.
Best advice is take a look and decide which has the best picture and features in your price range.
The problem with some lcd's is viewing angle. Not sure that this is a problem wirth all sets but look at the LCD set you want to purchase from above, below and the sides. The color and picture might do funny things as you move and possibly become impossible to watch from extreme angles. This is true of my lcd but not plasma. The lcd screen must constinatly be moved depending on where I want to sit in the room, the plasma does not. This may not be an issue depending on lcd model and size of room. LCD's will not have burn in, I have been told that some are not great for video games though because of a slow "refresh rate" though I have never witnessed this myself.
From what I understand of plasma burn in, it is most likely to happen in the first 100 hours of use and little chance of it thereafter, especially with newer sets. My plasma has had static images on it on a few occassions. During the superbowl my HD reciever locked up while I was out of the room and displayed the same picture and, clock and score for over 20 minutes. When I shut down the reciever, the pixels that were displaying bright images like the score, artificial borders and game clock remained because the pixels were hot, but over the next three minutes of watching tv they disappear and no damage was done. I don't think most new video games would be a problem.
Best advice is take a look and decide which has the best picture and features in your price range.
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From: MAHT-O-MEDI
Sorry one more thing...........
If you like sprorts and want to keep the TV for a while make sure it is HD and not ED. While 480p is a picture upgrade for most people, you may feel jipped if you buy an expensive tv that is 480p and see the difference from sports broadcast in 1080i or 720p. Its not even close. Some sets even display 1080p now.
If you like sprorts and want to keep the TV for a while make sure it is HD and not ED. While 480p is a picture upgrade for most people, you may feel jipped if you buy an expensive tv that is 480p and see the difference from sports broadcast in 1080i or 720p. Its not even close. Some sets even display 1080p now.