The big "How do I choose an HDTV?" thread.

Strange, what size TV are you talking to begin with? The only other ding you might potentially find with Plasma is that 42" is I think the smallest possible size out there, so if you're looking for a smaller set because you sit a lot closer than average or something, there won't be one.

On the other hand, that 42" 1080p Plasma set is probably only going to run about $800. Maybe less.

42" 1080p Plasma - Yup. That sounds good. I will be sitting 8 to 10 feet away from it.

I don't even know at 42" that you really have to worry about 1080p if you're really looking for cheap. At that size and distance, 720p is probably not discernibly better.

Strangeblades wrote:

Huh. So plasma's are better picture and better contrast and maintains 1080p rez. And the prices seem comparable to LCD counterparts. Why would a person choose an LCD then?

As others have mentioned, glare. Where my TV sits, plasma would be unwatchable during daylight hours.

Agree with MannishBoy. For that size set, viewed at that distance, you can save yourself a lot of money by going with a 720p plasma that will look great. If you step up to 46" though, you'll want 1080p.

I got a 42" Panasonic plasma from Costco for $499, and it's been fantastic. I also have a 42" LG that has a really nice picture, but I had to replace the power supply after 3 years. No problems since, though. I do occasionally notice some very brief afterimages on the LG set, but never on the Panasonic.

So "LED" tvs are a scam? I was looking at one, but the prices are a bit much.

So "LED" tvs are a scam? I was looking at one, but the prices are a bit much.

Obirano wrote:

So "LED" tvs are a scam? I was looking at one, but the prices are a bit much.

No, not a scam. They use a bit less power than regular backlit LCDs. They can be thinner.

They can allow for better contrast ratio vs CCFL lit, but mainly in cases where they allow for local dimming. Most of the LED sets, however, are not using local dimming but instead use the cheaper and thinner edge lit sets.

MannishBoy wrote:
Obirano wrote:

So "LED" tvs are a scam? I was looking at one, but the prices are a bit much.

No, not a scam. They use a bit less power than regular backlit LCDs. They can be thinner.

They can allow for better contrast ratio vs CCFL lit, but mainly in cases where they allow for local dimming. Most of the LED sets, however, are not using local dimming but instead use the cheaper and thinner edge lit sets.

All truth, and the vast majority of the edge lit sets tend to have a lot of uneven blacks and some bright spots near the edges. Overall brightness uniformity ends up being a big weakness.

Thin_J wrote:

All truth, and the vast majority of the edge lit sets tend to have a lot of uneven blacks and some bright spots near the edges. Overall brightness uniformity ends up being a big weakness.

True. They are smaller and have a good picture but the lighting of LED, which should be their strength, kind of sucks because of edge-lighting: it's a cheap alternative to backlight but it allows them to stamp LED on the box. People tend to believe that LED tvs are necessarily superior to regular LCDs but it's not really the case. Only backlit LEDs are best but they cost a whole lot more and surprisingly few models actually have it.

I'll go with the family and say that for the bang for the buck, Plasmas are almost always the best option but only if reflections are not an issue in your room.

MannishBoy wrote:
Obirano wrote:

So "LED" tvs are a scam? I was looking at one, but the prices are a bit much.

No, not a scam. They use a bit less power than regular backlit LCDs. They can be thinner.

They can allow for better contrast ratio vs CCFL lit, but mainly in cases where they allow for local dimming. Most of the LED sets, however, are not using local dimming but instead use the cheaper and thinner edge lit sets.

I think it is a bit of a marketing scam--without mentioning LCD, it can fool less aware customers into thinking the pixels are LED- rather than LCD-based but back-lit by a different kind of technology. A true LED screen would provide far superior image quality to an LCD or plasma, and in fact LG is expected to soon launch the first OLED TV, though it will be very expensive.

The thing is, most HDTVs today already produce the color gamut and then some of the Blu-ray spec, so there's little reason to spend thousands more on a true LED or OLED TV unless you're dying to have the best black levels. Until Sony or whomever comes up with a new standard that expands the color gamut, there's almost no point in getting one of these beyond bragging rights.

You can be sure than when a decent OLED tv comes out at sub-2K$ for a decent size, I'll be lining up to buy one.

Just look at Samsung's phones and the PS Vita and it's a no brainer. Best picture quality I've ever seen

Chairman_Mao wrote:

The thing is, most HDTVs today already produce the color gamut and then some of the Blu-ray spec, so there's little reason to spend thousands more on a true LED or OLED TV unless you're dying to have the best black levels. Until Sony or whomever comes up with a new standard that expands the color gamut, there's almost no point in getting one of these beyond bragging rights.

If OLED ever gets to a point where it's cheap and reliable enough to produce to truly be price competitive with the other display types you can expect the other techs to just straight up disappear. OLED is so much better from a contrast ratio standpoint it's almost silly.

interstate78 wrote:

You can be sure than when a decent OLED tv comes out at sub-2K$ for a decent size, I'll be lining up to buy one.

Just look at Samsung's phones and the PS Vita and it's a no brainer. Best picture quality I've ever seen

Yup, although the prices will have to get a little lower now than they might have before I had a plasma.

Thin_J wrote:
Chairman_Mao wrote:

The thing is, most HDTVs today already produce the color gamut and then some of the Blu-ray spec, so there's little reason to spend thousands more on a true LED or OLED TV unless you're dying to have the best black levels. Until Sony or whomever comes up with a new standard that expands the color gamut, there's almost no point in getting one of these beyond bragging rights.

If OLED ever gets to a point where it's cheap and reliable enough to produce to truly be price competitive with the other display types you can expect the other techs to just straight up disappear. OLED is so much better from a contrast ratio standpoint it's almost silly.

interstate78 wrote:

You can be sure than when a decent OLED tv comes out at sub-2K$ for a decent size, I'll be lining up to buy one.

Just look at Samsung's phones and the PS Vita and it's a no brainer. Best picture quality I've ever seen

Yup, although the prices will have to get a little lower now than they might have before I had a plasma.

I don't doubt that will happen eventually, as it has with current TV technology. But OLED will also go through some of the same criticism plasma has faced: burn-in, image retention, as well as the question of the different color phosphors aging at different rates, possibly delaying its mass appeal (regardless of how real these problems are). Furthermore, Panasonic has gotten its black levels down to Kuros levels on the VT series, a feat that will likely be passed down to cheaper models in 1-2 generations, keeping them competitive with OLED for awhile yet. The best thing about OLED I think will be that it achieves great contrast and excellent black levels in a panel as thin as an LED edge-lit LCD, something that will never happen for plasmas.

Chairman_Mao wrote:

The best thing about OLED I think will be that it achieves great contrast and excellent black levels in a panel as thin as an LED edge-lit LCD, something that will never happen for plasmas.

I don't think you've looked at new Plasma sets very much. The new ones are incredibly thin.

Just look at Samsung's phones and the PS Vita and it's a no brainer. Best picture quality I've ever seen

Some of their OLED screens are using a pentile arrangement, which you wouldn't want in a TV. It looks bloody fantastic on a phone, super sharp, but the color reproduction is a little off. You really only notice when it's next to a more accurate screen, but highly saturated colors just don't quite look right.

No biggie on a phone, it's an excellent tradeoff there, but I think good color is a critical component of a TV, myself. If you do see a cheapie OLED TV, make sure the screen isn't pentile.

720p is so 2010. lol

So random question and I apologize for being a filthy skimmer, but this is a long thread and searching didn't yield what I wanted. I upgraded today from a Samsung 720P 32" LCD HDTV purchased in 2007 to a Samsung 46" LCD HDTV that runs at 1080P. Everything is okay except that I'm seeing screen tearing in Battlefield Bad Company 2 on the 360. It seems odd to me that a TV that much newer and that much better (the actual TV part looks gorgeous, much better color than the old TV) would experience screen tearing. Is that a resolution thing? Or the 360 not being able to drive that size of monitor?

Does the TV have a game mode or something that might turn off some of the video processing features on the TV? Might not help but it's worth a shot.

Also how is the 360 hooked up to the TV? HDMI, VGA, through a receiver or not, etc, oh and is the 360 set to 1080p or 720? Whichever it's set to I'd consider trying the other and seeing what happens.

Any thoughts?
http://m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/det...

Sorry, on phone so it's difficult to get the link working.

Also saw the 240hz version on the floor as an open product. Wife liked it, but didn't know if 240 makes that big of a difference.

The one on the floor was the D8000 model. Seemed very nice.

obirano wrote:

Any thoughts?
http://m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/det...

Sorry, on phone so it's difficult to get the link working.

Also saw the 240hz version on the floor as an open product. Wife liked it, but didn't know if 240 makes that big of a difference.

The one on the floor was the D8000 model. Seemed very nice.

No refresh rates are all marketing...

That's I thought I had read. The design of it was quite nice though, I'll give it that. That super thin bezel.

That's I thought I had read. The design of it was quite nice though, I'll give it that. That super thin bezel.

If you have reasonable light control, a plasma TV won't look as good in the store (because of the harsh fluorescent lighting), but it'll look much better in your home. At that price range, you can get an utterly kickass plasma.

True enough. Realistically I'm looking to upgrade from my 50 inch Phillips 720p plasma. I'd like to get active (I think) 3d if possible. Probably 55 or 60 inch. Plus a slimmer form factor would be nice as my Phillips weighs a good 130 pounds or so.

Ok. So looking at plasmas. Looking at the Panasonic TC-P65ST30. Anyone have experience with these? Doesn't appear to come with glasses.

Thin_J wrote:
Chairman_Mao wrote:

The best thing about OLED I think will be that it achieves great contrast and excellent black levels in a panel as thin as an LED edge-lit LCD, something that will never happen for plasmas.

I don't think you've looked at new Plasma sets very much. The new ones are incredibly thin.

They are thin, and edge-lit LCDs are not as thin as I thought I had read (seems some concepts were launched, but few if any ever made it to production), but LG's OLED is being hyped as 6.9mm thick. The thinnest plasma is the discontinued Z1, which was still about an inch.

50" plus is plasma territory. You save a bundle.

heavyfeul wrote:

50" plus is plasma territory. You save a bundle.

Agreed. For example...

obirano wrote:

Any thoughts?
http://m.bestbuy.com/m/e/product/det...

That's $1700 for a 55 inch LCD. The 59 inch Samsung D7000 series Plasma (same exact series as my 51 inch that is excellent) is around $1700 on Amazon. 4 more inches, better picture quality, same price.

Or you can save $200 and go same size with Panasonic with the P55ST50 for around $1500. From what I can tell in reviews, the ST series isn't quite equivalent to the Samsung D7000 sets, blacks aren't as nice, etc, but it's still going to be better than that LCD.

Personally, I can't say enough just how great a deal I think the D7000 plasma sets from Samsung are. I've been fairly blown away by the 51 inch I bought.

obirano wrote:

True enough. Realistically I'm looking to upgrade from my 50 inch Phillips 720p plasma. I'd like to get active (I think) 3d if possible. Probably 55 or 60 inch. Plus a slimmer form factor would be nice as my Phillips weighs a good 130 pounds or so.

You mentioned weight is a factor--how important is that? I'd definitely go with plasma if possible, but LED-lit LCDs are much, much lighter, probably about half of a similarly sized plasma.