Boy are TVs ever hard to choose nowadays - so much crap

[r3ccOs]

I was set on buying a new 42' and there are tons of options from tons of stores...

I mean everyone seems to carry Panasonic/Samsung/LG plasmas, some only carry a few Pioneers

Most carry LCDs from Samsung, Sony, LG, Toshiba, etc...

Most new TV's are 1080P and if LCD are all about the 120/240hz

Now with Plasma's its also about 1080P and its ridiculious "dynamic" contrast ratio + some 600hz subfield motion

& we're not even talking about LEDs yet

Anyways, to make a long story short... I bought me an LG 120hz panel and was all excited...

look an LCD w/ a 100:000:1 dynamic ratio!

I bring it home, hook up the blue ray... go though a calibration DVD and, well was unimipressed
really unimpressed

120hz artificially smoothes the picture and just seems to cause excess noise and artifacting that was hard to adjust with the sharpness.

My neighbor, who happened to be all like "I have an old 42" plasma for sale, brought over his panel for a 1 on 1 comparison

Its an older 720P Panasonic PX80 series TV with a claimed native contrast of only 15:000:1

We again went though the calibration and did some A/B switch tests with movies and games...

His old panel just blew mine away. Even with the added resolution, and the 120hz, this panel just can't match its vibrancy, contrast and colors.
Well... I would think the 120hz would have also had a legs up... Noop
No way
What made my movies feel like a handicam, looked way more natural on a plasma.

Did some research, and Plasma panels are only now "advertising" their subfield motion... which at least with Panasonic, even the oldest ones, had a 480hz subfield as the panel flashes its plasma dot 8 times 60hz

The new '09 panels now do it 10 times and hence 600... but really no difference I guess. Pioneer Kuro's do it 14 times, which would be 840hz

Anyways... I'm going to see whether I can return this TV for a good plasma

I was so surprised that 720P can look as good as a 1080P considering its really 1 mp vs 2mp... I guess at 42" it doesn't matter so much

[2Valve0]

WAIT! before you said anything else you could have ended with I bought an LG!
go for sony or samsung

[7thgenvic]

I'm in the same boat right now. I just ended up purchasing a 46" 120Hz Toshiba Regza, and I still prefer the look of my Plasma..Time to go back and do the same. Where did you purchase from?

[r3ccOs]

Bestbuy

The toshiba/lg I think were along the same lines of price and quality..

Kuro & LED rock, but you can get into a great plasma cheap

[rockanrepublic]

i say avoid sharp at least in my experience without a cable box the refresh time is just stupid like 3 second channel or input change time.

[scary_perry]

LG/Phillips makes panels for lots of the other brands you mentioned.

Most of the differences these days are in software - clever programming that goes into the firmware and DSPs.

[roopi]

Definately alot to choose from but stay away from the LG's. Samsung seems to be the best for the price then the Sony's.

[Hash_man]

I hate how most of the new 120hz LCD's look... look like shit if you ask me.

I would much rather buy a plasma or LED, although the plasmas can be had much much cheaper for the most part.

also, dynamic contrast ratios and such are all a gimmic, so just ignore those IMO... most newer TV's are pretty comparable in this field.

Seeing as you bought from BB you shouldnt have any issues returning, so do it up.

[r3ccOs]

I think ultimately to get that depth perception and vibrancy... you need a plasma...

I just haven't seen many LCDs that have impressed me, even the latest XBR

the LEDs on the otherhand are pretty freaking amazing though, considering the slimer profile

[dirtsniffer]

is there even a technology out to support 120 hz? as far as i knew video games were in 60 fps and cable tv was in 24 fps..
IIRC the only reason to spring for a 1080p tv was for a select few video games in 1080 (most are 720) and blurays.. why bother with a 120 hz or a 240 hz? so i can look at the same frame 10 times?

[copynpaste]

I have 5 LCD HDTVs in my house and all are Samsung.

[R-Audi]

One thing to keep in mind......

We are currently going thru the hassle of repairing a Samsung Plasma that is 4 years old... (Picture went to shit on the weekend.. all colors are messed up) and according to the Samsung tech, (Samsung repair hotline) he said only to expect 3-6 years out of them before they need repair. LCD's on the other hand.... last much much longer.
If a salesman would have said anything remotely close to the Plasma TVs only lasting 3-6 years.. there is no way we would have bought one.

[DENZILDON]

I have 2 Samsung lcd's and one samsung tube tv.

[scat19]

Originally posted by r3ccOs
I was set on buying a new 42'

I didn't know they made a 42 foot TV? Where did you get it?

40' = 40 FEET

40" = 40 INCHES.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Can you control the light in the room? Projectors are better than any TV available right now.

If not, Plasma > LCD unless you're going to have light shining directly on the TV (Plasma's use glass).

Some of it is still personal preference, of course.

[Mibz]

Originally posted by dirtsniffer
is there even a technology out to support 120 hz? as far as i knew video games were in 60 fps and cable tv was in 24 fps..
IIRC the only reason to spring for a 1080p tv was for a select few video games in 1080 (most are 720) and blurays.. why bother with a 120 hz or a 240 hz? so i can look at the same frame 10 times?

The TVs interpolate the frames in between. Older TVs, and some shitty newer TVs, will just insert a black frame, but good 120/240Hz TVs average the difference between two frames and draws that.

It -does- make the image "smoother" on paper but it definitely takes some getting used to. For the first few weeks of 120Hz it will look weird to you.

Originally posted by R-Audi
If a salesman would have said anything remotely close to the Plasma TVs only lasting 3-6 years.. there is no way we would have bought one.

Nobody knows how long a panel is supposed to last when they're built or sold any more than a car salesman knows how long a car will go without shitting the bed. It depends on viewing habits and environment among other things. They're telling you that so you don't get upset that it "only" lasted you 4 years.

[sputnik]

Originally posted by Mibz
For the first few weeks of 120Hz it will look weird to you.

Watching action movies at 120/240Hz looks TERRIBLE.

It turns all movies into cheesy community theatre presentations. It makes the movie "too real" which in turn makes you feel like you are on set watching it being filmed instead of actually just watching the movie as it is intended to be seen. Its just really weird to watch.

I would personally just switch back to 60Hz for movies.

For sports 120/240Hz is AWESOME!

[bspot]

Originally posted by copynpaste
I have 5 LCD HDTVs in my house and all are Samsung.

Originally posted by DENZILDON
I have 2 Samsung lcd's and one samsung tube tv.

I have a CD player.

[Mibz]

Originally posted by sputnik
instead of actually just watching the movie as it is intended to be seen.

And there's one of the rubs of 120/240Hz. Millions of dollars are poured into producing a movie at looks good at ~30fps. Making TV look realistic doesn't necessarily mean making it look better.

[ZorroAMG]

Panasonic Plasma FTW.

How do LED TVs really stack up?