Thorp and Sailor's Grave Board

Questions about HD TVs - I Need Help!

XHonusWagnerX - 3-4-2008 at 11:15 AM

Im going to be getting a new TV soon and it will be my first venture into HD and none tube TVs. Unfortunantly... I know NOTHING about the stuff!

This is one my dad found and thought was a good deal....

VIZIO HD TV

I talked to a guy at work about it and he said that Vizio makes the best cheap big HD tvs. He said that the potential problem is that if it has a low end 'processor' that NON-HD programing will look weird or possibly really bad on it. He also said to think about if I want LCD or Plasma...

All that being said, I have no clue about any of this stuff. What do you think? Any suggestions for anything in the $1500 price range?

CR83 - 3-4-2008 at 11:35 AM

I dont' have real specific suggestions. I own three Emerson LCD HD. They vary in size up to 27 inches so they aren't huge. For us, they definitely meet our needs but we don't have HD programming via Directv. We also don't use it for gaming of HD DVD/Blu Ray. Just regular old TV watching. I love them. Solid picture and sound. I am very please and the one that is 37 inches is now about $700.

moron - 3-4-2008 at 11:39 AM

Mrs. Moron and I bought a 40" Samsung LCD 1080p tv before the superbowl. All tvs were on sale that weekend so we got a pretty good deal. It's a good tv for either HD or non-HD programming though now I pretty much watch the HD channels exclusively. We got it for $1300 I think. We're happy with it, and that's pretty much all I know about HD tvs.

Well, also my father has one that he bought from Dell and I'd say that the non-HD programming doesnt look nearly as good on his tv as it does on mine. Not sure why.

clevohardcore - 3-4-2008 at 03:07 PM

I think the prices are supposed to really decline very soon. Not sure when you are actually buying but keep that in mind. Has something to do with the overal economy right now.

XnMeX - 3-4-2008 at 07:05 PM

If you plan on playing video games on it at all, get an LCD. Plasma tends to have screen burn in.... You know, when you go to an old pacman arcade machine and see the PAC MAN logo during the whole thing. Yeah, that is screen burn in. Happens with video games and people that watch news chanels or the same chanel alot. Anything with a constant non changing logo may burn in.

One thing with Vizio's I noticed is a low contrast ratio. The higher the contrast ration, the more colors can be displayed.

I just picked up a 42" 720 LG for $1000.00 Thing looks fucking EXCELENT! I knew nothing about hd, plasma, lcd and it took me a while to find what I wanted. Good that you are doing the reasearch as I did.

JawnDiablo - 3-4-2008 at 07:20 PM

i know alot of peeps that recently got a big ol cool assed tv that does cool crap and stuff.
i still have a 32 inch sharp that I paid $300 with free delivery.
it still works fine.
i'd like to hand it over to junior and get something new, but dont have the cash right now.
best buy is just evil...walking down that one aisle jeez.
people are telling me LCDis the way to go.
i don't know jack though.

JawnDiablo - 3-4-2008 at 07:22 PM

i did remember seeing something about some kind of cool tv running the electric bill sky high not toolong ago......

BDx13 - 3-4-2008 at 08:02 PM

there are a ton of variables that go into deciding which is the best tv for you.

as for which technology is better, here's an up to date and accurate comparison:
http://www.cnet.com.au/tvs/0,239035250,240036500,00.htm
(i have to point out that screen burn is no longer a realistic issue with plasma. definitely was with older sets, but not really any longer.)

if your budget is a firm $1,500, you're getting a LCD.

(you could also consider RPTV - rear projection tv - but you should know that they're kinda on their way out. and there's also a 42" pioneer that can be found in that price range that isn't bad.)

some of the best lcd values are Olevia, Vizio and Westinghouse. look up reviews - they're very competitive on quality and aggressive with pricing. you'll get a lot for your money with them.

be careful with the whole 1080p business. yes, technically 1080p offers the best picture. however, to the average (and even above-average) viewer, it is nearly impossible to notice the difference between it and other HD resolutions.

also, ask to see how the tv handles standard definition signals. (remember most of what's broadcast is stil lstandard def, and you don't want it to look like crap when you're watching!) one of the reasons some tvs (lcd and plasma) are so expensive is because of the quality of the scaler used in the set. it can take a standard def signal and gracefully scale it up to the higher resolution on the big screen and it will still look good. some of these $700 walmart specials look like complete ass once the HD signal goes away.

a few other links for research and reviews:
http://reviews.cnet.com/televisions/?tag=cnetfd.dir
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com

XnMeX - 3-4-2008 at 09:07 PM

1080 is POINTLESS right now as far as TV goes. HD tv is in 720. 1080 only comes in handy for next gen gaming systems and Blue Ray movies really. And even then like BD said, there is not much of a difference at all. I only REALLY noticed a difference being less than 3-5 feet away from the tv.... and shen you are buying such a big tv, who the fuck is getting that close?

BDx13 - 3-4-2008 at 09:28 PM

monty's right. proper 1080p sources are basically limited to blu ray and game systems right now. everything that's broadcast is 720p. and the move to 1080p for broadcast signals is a long way off from two primary reasons:
- all the studios and producers and whoever just spent a ton on 720p equipment
- current infrastructure can't handle the amount of bandwidth needed to put that kind of information

MikeCore - 3-4-2008 at 11:51 PM

Don't listen to these guys. Get a 1080p and be future proof. I bought my first HDTV back in Jan. 2003 which was a 42" 1080i Mitsubishi RPTV. I used that TV for gaming/DVD/BluRay/HD-DVD/TV viewing for almost five years. The wife and I upgraded last Black Friday to a 46" 1080p Sharp Aquos LCD and we love it. 480p/720p/1080p DVD/BluRay/HD-DVD/games look freakin' awesome. If you watch a lot of movies and intend to upgrade to BluRay, which you should, you will want to get a set that does 24Hz output with HDMI 1.3a so you will get the best out of your BluRay/gaming experience. I can tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on my LCD and 1080p looks better but not by leaps and bounds but it was worth it to me. We paid $1,300.

BDx13 - 3-5-2008 at 01:04 AM

keep in mind that there are three variables that need to be considered in determining the best viewing scenario... resolution, screen size and viewing distance. the advantage of 1080p resolution cannot be discerned until one is sitting within 7 or 8 feet of a 50 inch television.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2006/12/09/1080p-charted-viewing-d...
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/hitech/1137/maxing-out-reso...


and that doesn't even address picture quality. you can have all the 1080p resolution you want, but if the black levels are shallow and the color accuracy is off and the viewing angle is narrow and the standard def scaling is poor ...what's the point? all you have is a shitty looking image in high resolution!

please understand, i'm not arguing against 1080p as a rule, but to say, "don't listen to these guys, get a 1080p" makes it sound like resolution is the end all, be all deciding factor and it absolutely is not. for someone on a budget, i don't believe it's worth the extra expense. there are far too many other considerations.

all that said, i definitely agree with your recommendation of the Aquos line - they have been among the best performing LCDs for years and certainly warrant a look.

i think the best lcd i've seen is that 52" from Samsung. amazing picture. (too bad about the $5k price tag.)

and the absolute best picture i've ever seen on a flat panel is the latest 8th generation Pioneer Elite Kuro. i mean it literally stopped me in my tracks.

MikeCore - 3-5-2008 at 03:57 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BD you can have all the 1080p resolution you want, but if the black levels are shallow and the color accuracy is off and the viewing angle is narrow and the standard def scaling is poor ...what's the point? all you have is a shitty looking image in high resolution!


My Aquos has perfect black levels, perfect contrast, I sit about ~10ft directly in front of me at eye level and yes some SD content looks like crap but you shouldn't be buying an HDTV to watch SD content on it there are plenty of regular, cheaper flat screens for that. An HDTV is for....HD like BluRay which is the DVD of the future and it's in 1080p, 24Hz so if you are a movie buff 1080p is the way to go. Of course I mostly use an HD media server where I just load SD/HD files encoded in 480p/720p/1080p and OTA HDTV.

XHonusWagnerX - 3-5-2008 at 08:58 AM

My biggest concern is that STANDARD DEF programing will look good on the HIGH DEF TV that I get. I want to be prepared for 'the future' because I dont want to have to replace the TV anytime soon.

MikeCores $1300 set sounds pretty nice....


Im still open to any suggestions!

BDx13 - 3-5-2008 at 09:19 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by MikeCore
Quote:
Originally posted by BD you can have all the 1080p resolution you want, but if the black levels are shallow and the color accuracy is off and the viewing angle is narrow and the standard def scaling is poor ...what's the point? all you have is a shitty looking image in high resolution!


My Aquos has perfect black levels, perfect contrast, I sit about ~10ft directly in front of me at eye level and yes some SD content looks like crap but you shouldn't be buying an HDTV to watch SD content on it there are plenty of regular, cheaper flat screens for that. An HDTV is for....HD like BluRay which is the DVD of the future and it's in 1080p, 24Hz so if you are a movie buff 1080p is the way to go. Of course I mostly use an HD media server where I just load SD/HD files encoded in 480p/720p/1080p and OTA HDTV.



please understand that i am speaking in generalities. in no way am i suggesting that you shouldn't have bought the tv you bought. you clearly love it and that's great.

my goal was simply to explain to honus that there is a lot more that goes into selecting a flatscreen tv than the resolution printed on the side of a box.

josh, you need to do your research and you have to go out and look (and mean really look) for yourself. take some SD DVD movies you're intimately familiar with and see how they look. then observe the differences in the HD reel they show in the store.

MikeCore - 3-5-2008 at 06:27 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BD

josh, you need to do your research and you have to go out and look (and mean really look) for yourself.

defstarsteve - 3-5-2008 at 06:33 PM

I had a 50 inch dlp I just sold used for 800. I bought it a year ago and thing was awesome...
but the house we live in came with a 60 rear projection...
the picutre isn't nearly as nice, but I didn't have room for my dlp...

I have no idea what I would buy now...
since dlp technology is changing anyhow it was a good idea to get rid of it, but damn the picture on the dlps are fucking nice

XnMeX - 3-5-2008 at 06:38 PM

Best thing to also go by is just looking and comparing with the other models in the store... They are all on the same feed so it is easy to compare in a way. Look at the color saturation, how fast motion is showing up (make sure there is no blur / pixilation), and the contrast ratio is pretty important. Each company and each tv seem to handle it slightly differently. You could have a Westinghouse and a Vizio and an LG and a Sony with the SAME EXACT SPECS and all of them will still look a little different. Nothing drastic (usually) but just spot what looks good to you. And if you have any doubts, keep looking.

XnMeX - 3-5-2008 at 06:41 PM

BTW, this is what I got... http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/Search.do?c=1&searchType=user...