Purchasing a new tv, 46-50" need advice

[morpheus256]

So for the last few months i've been looking into buying a new tv. either futureshop or Bestbuy.
Initially i was looking into 50" PDP's in the 1000-1200$ price range, mainly because i was wanting 720p (i sit 15' back from the tv, and from the research ive done, for 1080 to make sense from that distance i'd need atleast a 70-78" display.

the problem ive found, is that almost all PDP's in that price range is the panels resolution, 1024x768, all these modern pdp's use rectangular pixels to make a 16:9 display, using a 4:3 aspect ratio. no interest in this what so ever, my main source will be the htpc over hdmi using media portal for tuners, xvid, divx, h264 etc.

so now i'm moving onto the lcd world, in the past i've all ways thought they looked like crap, and this is where i need input

have they improved that much from 5-6 years ago where tearing, pixalation, etc is it a thing of the past and do they visually look as nice as PDP's?

they're far more money, 50" in lcd world is out of the question, not interested in spending $2000 for it

does the Hz "really" matter, i understand the theory behind 120hz and the whole 3:2 issue with 60hz and film vs video. but, is it something i am going to notice if everything is played from the htpc (depends on whether my files are 24fps or 29.997 fps)

with everything i've outlined above, what would you recommend in the area between $1000, and lets say $1400.

[old&slow]

Sony SXRD rp tv would be perfect, if you can find one...After 3 yras I'm very happy with mine...google kds50A2000

[morpheus256]

I should have outlined a little bit, i have $400-500 in "either" futureshop or best buy gift cards (pcpoints at superstore)

So it has to be a new current model.


But yes, anything with XBR series would be awesome, if only it wasnt 4+ grand new :)

[morpheus256]

or,

If anyone works at futureshop/best buy could get me a deal on either the LG 50PS30 or the Samsung PN50B530 that would be awesome.

or suggest a 50" 1366x768 PDP that would be great too!

[Dumbass17]

samsung > LG

i will never ever buy an LG product

and i know, I'm not helpful

[krazykhoja]

I would suggest trying to buy from FutureShop (since they are on commission) they might be more willing to work with you on the price. I bought a 47" LCD tv there in January and was able to get an open box model (that had never actually been used) and a comprehensive 3 or 4 (don't remember now) warranty. The tv was initially $1000 + tax + warranty is what it should have cost...but I managed to get everything for around $1000 total. Hopefully you are able to get a bit of a deal on the tv (if you get the warranty they might be more willing to help as from what I have heard this is where they make most of their money).

FWIW I the tv I bought is Insignia brand, but I have had no complaints yet it works great.

[morpheus256]

Originally posted by Dumbass17
samsung > LG

i will never ever buy an LG product

and i know, I'm not helpful

Oh Believe me you are helpful, you just reinforced my opinion on LG, we've had countless LG monitors die, no dells thou :)


Originally posted by krazykhoja
I would suggest trying to buy from FutureShop (since they are on commission) they might be more willing to work with you on the price. I bought a 47" LCD tv there in January and was able to get an open box model (that had never actually been used) and a comprehensive 3 or 4 (don't remember now) warranty. The tv was initially $1000 + tax + warranty is what it should have cost...but I managed to get everything for around $1000 total. Hopefully you are able to get a bit of a deal on the tv (if you get the warranty they might be more willing to help as from what I have heard this is where they make most of their money). FWIW I the tv I bought is Insignia brand, but I have had no complaints yet it works great.

Good point on futureshop, the main reason i mentioned best buy is they can get me a better deal, so be it. but i'd prefer futureshop since the tv will be coming back with me to kelowna, and then the closest bestbuy will be vancouver, which will be a pain IF warranty is ever a problem.

I have to admit, i am partial to PDP, i love the colors, no ghosting, contrast ratio.

[old&slow]

Plasma is down in price as well....

[VaN_HaMMeRSTeiN]

Originally posted by old&slow
Plasma is down in price as well....
Plasma is down in price because they are down in sales because no one wants to buy the damn things.
Plasmas are a way of the past, and shortly wont exsist at all.

To bad you have those gift cards, I would say you should check out Costco and their website. They have a good warranty and good prices.

[UndrgroundRider]

Originally posted by morpheus256


I have to admit, i am partial to PDP, i love the colors, no ghosting, contrast ratio.

LCD technology has improved, but it's still nowhere even remotely close to Plasma.

Response time of a good plasma: 0.001MS.
Response time of a good LCD: 1ms.
Contrast ratio of a good LCD: 2,000:1.
Contrast ratio of a good Plasma: 1,000,000:1.

The HUGE downfall of Plasma TV's is the image burn-in problem and the cost.

The image burn-in issue makes them completely useless. For movie buffs, it's an issue because anything that's not 16:9 will have really really annoying grey bars. Console games are out of the question.

[sk65guy]

come into bestbuy in the next week i work there ill give you a deal, I used to work at futureshop like 4-5 months ago. also plasmas are ALOT better than LCD spec for spec and you get a way more natural picture with plasma LCD is just a bright picture.. Oh and pm me if you are looking to come in i just got a job somewhere else bestbuy was just a temp job for a month and ill be done in about 1 week so let me know.. :nut:

[tictactoe2004]

Here we go again.

I've been in the home theatre industry for 10+ years and the only technology im biased towards is the better one, what ever it may be at that given time.

Lots of mis-information in this thread.

If you are going to buy a Plasma tv you want to buy a Panasonic.

They are rated at over 2000 hours of a static image before permanent burn in happens. FYI you can burn in an LCD tv if you use it for static images for long enough as well.. although it is quite a bit more rare.

Console gaming is not only fine on Plasmas, it's far better than LCD's. Less motion blur and far superior contrast.

Plasma is not down in price because no one wants to buy them. When you get into 50+ inch sizes they cost far far less to manufacture.

The only thing you have to consider while buying a new TV today is if you want that has a better picture or one that weighs less.

Also consider moving resolution if you're going to use your TV for anything more than a large picture frame. Most cheaper LCD's will go from 1080 lines of resolution down to 500-700. Combine that with ghosting and tearing and you will have spent 1000 dollars on a TV that has a crap picture. Some of the new Panasonics can do full resolution (1080p) with motion.

To the OP:

If you have to stay with an LCD spend a little extra money and get into a Sony Z-series or a Samsung 650 series or higher.. anything less than that will have a horrible picture compared to even an entry level Panasonic plasma.

If you do end up going with a Plasma, i'd highly recommend sticking with Panasonic or maybe a Samsung if you have to. I wouldnt buy any other ones myself (except the Pioneer elites but thats so far out of this price range I won't mention it).

Here's my recommendations:

If you want to stay close to the 1k price range i'd look at the Panasonic TCP50X1 which can be found for under $1200.. i'd send the TV 1280x720, turn over scan off and let the scaler in the TV handle the resolution change. At the distance that you're at i'd be surprised if you could notice it, and it would be minor if you did. I sold one of my friends a TH50PX80 (last years model of that TV) and he sits ate roughly the same distance as you and he says it looks fantastic.

Next one i'd suggest would be the TCP50S1. It's 1920x1080 and you can turn the over scan off so it makes a fantastic HTPC monitor. It can be found for under 2k tax in.

There are a cheaper model of each (TCP50C1 and TCP50U1). They do not have nearly as good of an anti reflective coating and it makes a huge difference in the contrast of the picture when you're viewing them in ambient or direct light. It's really worth the extra few bux.

If you have a connection in the states there's also a deal on www.redflagdeals.com where i believe you can get the TCP50G10 for $1100USD delivered. That one is a higher end model than all the above. It's a fantastic TV.

After you buy the TV download an ISF calibration disc and calibrate it.

Hope that helps.

[morpheus256]

Underground, i agree, and you're just making me confirm in my mind that plasma is what i want hands down no questions asked now.

I went out and compaired the two side by side, and i could still see pixel lag/ghosting with LCD. plasma there was nothing like that. it was like a "good" CRT display (not your walmart brand crt) everything was how it should be.

looks like 1080 plasma has my name on it.

sk65, I'd love to come in this week, but i'm out in kelowna hahaha. I'm out there august 12th to 16th to help the fiancee move back to kelowna, and since i'll have a truck, i figured i'd bring back a toy at the same time (no not the fiancee ;))


I've basicly decided the Samsung PN50B530 or PN50B540 is exactly what i'm after. looked at the 530 at London Drugs, and i'd say it looked very impressive.
looked at the same set at futureshop and it wasnt as impressive, but who knows what the settingswere, there was no remote for me to tweak the settings with.

is the 540 some exclusive bestbuy model?

And if anyone else would be able to help me get a bit of a better deal, that would really be wicked :)

[morpheus256]

tictactoe2004,

You're my new hero with TV's

I *knew* there was a lot of miss-information in the thread, i chose to ignore a lot of it lol

Like i said, plasma is my first choice, lcd was always a distant 2nd lol.

my biggest issue with the 720p plasma's ive seen is they're all now 1024x768, I'm not interested in that, even if i cant see it, I'm a perfectionist, it'll eat at me endlessly :) i'll spend an extra 300$ to get 1080



What are your thoughts on those samsung models?

I love Panasonic, but the wife says NO lol, (she had a bag experience with one of their CRT tv's 15 years ago :p

[tictactoe2004]

Originally posted by morpheus256
tictactoe2004,

You're my new hero with TV's

I *knew* there was a lot of miss-information in the thread, i chose to ignore a lot of it lol

Like i said, plasma is my first choice, lcd was always a distant 2nd lol.

my biggest issue with the 720p plasma's ive seen is they're all now 1024x768, I'm not interested in that, even if i cant see it, I'm a perfectionist, it'll eat at me endlessly :) i'll spend an extra 300$ to get 1080



What are your thoughts on those samsung models?

I love Panasonic, but the wife says NO lol, (she had a bag experience with one of their CRT tv's 15 years ago :p

Samsung series 5 plasma's are inexpensive for a 50 inch 1080p TV. You can find them for under $1500 and they are able to recreate images that look much more natural than any LCD tv they make. One of the biggest problems with the set that TV is how reflective the screen is. It's bad.

I have seen every major brand of TV that you can currently buy fail. I understand that you had a bad experience with your old TV. You may very well have another bad experience with your next one, regardless of brand, hopefuly you don't. At the end of the day the I think you'll have the lowest chance of having a bad problem dealing with Panasonic. I think if you could actually see the failure rates on TV's that Sony would be the best for LCD and Panasonic would be the best for Plasma.

If you have a laptop that has HDMI output i'd take it into a store and plug it into a 720P panasonic and stand at the distance you'll be sitting at. It will look good.

Forget about any of the LCD vs Plasma and/or picture quality differences for a second.
Panasonic > Samsung for build quality on any TV either company make.

[morpheus256]

Well, its happened, I've purchased an TC-P50X1, not sure if im happy or not, its sitting in a box till i get back home.

got a decent deal as far as im concerned, 1600$ after tax, including tv, 4 year futureshop warranty, and a basic wall mount.

since i had 400$ in gift cards, plus i sold my old one for 300 i'm happy since i only paid out 900 out of my pocket.

Looking forward to getting it home and testing it out, plan on doing a bit breaking it before burning in :)

[jav_]

Originally posted by morpheus256
Well, its happened, I've purchased an TC-P50X1, not sure if im happy or not, its sitting in a box till i get back home.

got a decent deal as far as im concerned, 1600$ after tax, including tv, 4 year futureshop warranty, and a basic wall mount.

since i had 400$ in gift cards, plus i sold my old one for 300 i'm happy since i only paid out 900 out of my pocket.

Looking forward to getting it home and testing it out, plan on doing a bit breaking it before burning in :)

you made a smart choice in buying the x1 series, i have myself the 42 inch that i got for 1300 back when they first came out.

i cant believe theres still people here talking about burn-ins....i use my plasma 98% of the time strictly for gaming and have had NO ISSUES...those really are the thing of the past...

to the OP:
i followed this THREAD (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1128487) about "break-in" for the X1 plasmas when i first got it..he also has calibration settings that gives amazing results

[bwling]

I'm currently looking for a new TV as well.

I noticed that for Plasmas they differentiate between native and moving resolution, but they don't for LCDs. Does this mean that native resolution = moving resolution for LCDs?

[Kloubek]

One thing not mentioned here (for anyone who references this thread in the future) is that plasmas use up way more energy than an LCD of comparable size. Something to consider in this "green" world....

[Q-TIP]

Plasma televisions do burn in, but I highly doubt anyone will ever experience permanent burn in...ever...unless they die with a static image on screen and are not discovered for weeks. But at that point they probably won't care that much.

I have both an LCD and a Plasma now, and to be totally honest I can't tell the difference with a moving picture at all. My LCD isn't even one of the new fancy 240hz ones, just 120. Colour is a little less accurate than the Plasma, but it is a hell of a lot lighter and doesn't get near as warm. That being said in my darker basement TV room I am glad I have the plasma as my LCD would be a bit harsh down there. But to watch hockey I actually prefer the LCD, not entirely sure why. Maybe because the beer is closer to my upstairs TV.

[almerick]

I have a Panasonic plasma which sits in my basement so the lighting is acceptable, it has this function where the screen will be constantly moving (small increments without viewer noticing) to avoid burning.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Last time I was in there, Sounds of Music had some nice 65" 1080P Sharp LCD's they are blowing out for $1600 if anyone is interested. I didn't catch the model # but for a general use TV I doubt you will find better for $1600.

As for burn in, I would think this is an issue for less than 0.01% of home TV users.

One thing I don't think that was mentioned yet is that if you watch a lot of SDTV, it looks pretty bad on a LCD.

There are lots of people asking about TV's here...if anyone is considering a TV for a dedicated home theater, have a look at the latest crop of projectors as well, the prices have come down dramatically from only a few years ago....and you get to pick your screen size! I even went with a projector for my tiny (8' long) home theater room in my condo. :D

[Q-TIP]

SDTV looks great on my LCD so long as I tell the TV to stay in 4:3 aspect ratio with the two black bars on either side of the screen. I could care less if the image seems bigger because it is stretched. I would much rather have a clear, undistorted image than a streched image any day. But if you like all the people on TV to look fat then Plasma does a better job of stretching.

[luv2ride_bikes]

Search for Plasma vs LCD on this site Digital Home (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum)
They have a lot of good information comparing both types of TV's. Anyway, I would get a LED TV. They are a lot better than both LCD and Plasma, just a little pricey right now. Plasma is better at preventing burn in that they used to be, but you can still get it. If all you do is play games and pause the screen for hours at a time. You will eventually get burn in. It will probably take about 6 months of you doing this.

I personally prefer Plasma in my basement HT room and the LCD in my bright bonus room. Both TV's are great. But it also depends on if you calibrate the TV's correctly. The picture on both types of TV's are not that great if you don't calibrate them.

[r3ccOs]

I like realistic colors, picture, contrasts and movement

Nothing beats Plasma period

They've always had a minimum 480hz subfield motion and blazing fast responce times

I have a 42" Plasma that is 720P a few years old, and its still stunning with blue ray/hd dvd/360 etc..

LCD's w/o 120hz is too slow
w/ 120hz->240hz the movement is too artifical and artifacts way too much