Need large screen TV advice and opinions. (Need videophile advice)

7/18/07 | Self

[Blood of Tyrants]

Okay, I am going to spend some of my mad money for a large screen HDTV. I want either a LCD or Plasma TV, no projection tv's. I want 1080p resolution. I'll have around $2000 to spend. What I need is advice on what is good, what sucks, what breaks, what keeps on working, plasma tv life expectancy, etc.

Hit me!

[mom4kittys]

What do you recommend? I understand LCD ia better than plasma—right?

[Brandie]

I love Sony TV’s, that is all I ever get. Never had any trouble with them at all.

Whatever you decide to get congratulations it is fun to get a new TV.

[NormsRevenge]

lol.. Yeah ,, something like that

[goldstategop]

Sony Bravia LCD TV. You won't regret it. Its a great HDTV.

[pieceofthepuzzle]

“A coworker just bought a samsung LCD 1080P 46” widescreen from Amazon and got a good deal. The contrast in 15,000 to one. He loves the tv.”

I have the same one. I’m very happy, and it works great as a monitor as well.

[Yossarian]

Avoid DLP if you’re concerned about reliability. As you know, DLP uses a million tiny mirrors to generate the picture. These are all MECHANICAL parts that can, and will break. Stick with LCD. And yes, I am a video engineer.

Care to back up your declaration that DLP micromachined structures are unreliable with facts?

Yes, DLPs uses many tiny mirrors - but they are all attatched quite solidly to the rest of the DLP by the very nature of how they're made.

I'm a chip physical design engineer. I have yet to hear of DLP failures. Silicon is strong but flexible stuff.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Sony has had issues since all the management shake up back in 2000 or so. Their commercial division is still solid but less of that engineering has filtered down to consumer line.

Perhaps someone better informed can verify or deny this, but I've heard that Sony has begun moving manufacturing out of Japan and quality has dropped off as a result. My last 36" Trinitron XBR broke down within two years of purchase, which certainly never happened with any previous Sony TV I bought. Also, Sony's engineering and electronics products seem to be increasingly dominated and crippled by the intellectual-property protection demands of their entertainment division, which cripples products such as the PSP. The rootkit introduced into buyers computers by one of Sony's music CDs convinced me - no more Sony.

I keep seeing good reviews on Samsung for LCD televisions, and I'm considering Pioneer for plasma.

[GOPJ]

...it makes me lean toward DLP. Sure the bulb burns out after 3 yrs but you can replace it

Bulbs are over $300 and are suppose to be replaced by professionals. ( $250 ) In a few years the technology will be much better - DLP's are the future - not the now...

[lepton]

A 42” VIZIO Plasma makes an excellent computer monitor. The flicker and fading issues are bunk. The biggest issues I have with it are the heat output from its unreal power consumption. What is it, like 1200w?

[ProtectOurFreedom]

CNET really likes the Samsung LN-T4665F. It's $700 over your budget. I've checked it out at CC and BB and really like what I see.

I would not buy a great TV without an AV receiver and excellent set of 5.1 speakers to go with it. Great picture without great sound is missing half of the sensory experience.

[BreezyDog]

My 40” Sony XBR1 in the bedroom has a computer attached to my N wireless network with a wireless keyboard and mouse. I just used it to type this post while laying on my back scratching my....

[Arthur McGowan]

we put our feet up, with the soles facing Mecca.

[CMAC51]

I used to feel the same way, until my son appealed to reason. All TVs fade with time; always have, always will. Plasma and LCDs just do it at one fourth the rate. So where's the problem? I stopped thinking about it after that....

Projection TV's may fade over time, but a $200 bulb replacement brings them back to 100% brighness. There is no recovery for plasma.

[CMAC51]

The new plasmas have a life of 60000 hours, i.e that is how long it takes for the screen to lose half its brightness.

They are still down to 80% after 2 to 3 years. I'm in the industry and I review the specs on competitive bids.

[Crimson Elephant]

I would also consider what type of programming you watch. I have heard of people (and noticed it myself in older models) a certain miniscule “lag” effect during sporting events or action scenes with LCD. I’m not sure if that is the case anymore. A lot of the perception of the differences in pictures has much to do with individual senses. I notice a lot of flaws in pictures that my wife, mom etc. don’t even notice if I point it out to them.

I would also add that the darkness of the room you plan to use makes a HUGE difference. When you view the TV in the stores it is hard to judge this because of the lighting, and a lot of stores don’t have their HDTV hooked up to optimum (or may not have HDTV on or have it split 4 billion times). Try as best you can to simulate the room its going to be in, time of day etc.

[CMAC51]

Avoid DLP if you’re concerned about reliability. As you know, DLP uses a million tiny mirrors to generate the picture. These are all MECHANICAL parts that can, and will break. Stick with LCD. And yes, I am a video engineer.

Then you should know enough to check the reliability specs. The DLP chip (with the mirrors) has a non-existent failure rate. Their pixel reliability is higher than LCD.

[Chuck54]

I’ll second the DLP choice. I have a 42 Samsung DLP and it runs almost continuous. I’m retired and like the background noise during the daytime.

Over 3 years old, replaced the bulb once, and not another issue at all. Great TV.

[CMAC51]

I realize many displays are poorly assembled in stores.... Still, I haven't seen any LCD or plasma model that isn't grainy and pixelated, especially anything over 30 inches.

None of the technologies on a name brand 1080p set will be grainy or pixelated. You have to be talking about 720p technology.

[BreezyDog]

You don’t have to switch through the inputs. Just hit menu, go to external inputs and pick the input you want.

[goldstategop]

My set is 1080p. The bad news is HD programming is not available in my area... yet.