Mickey Padge Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 anything under 42" and you're wasting the HD signal so might as well get a loss-leader 32"-37" CRT @ that point most folk can't even tell the difference between 720p and 1080p on a 42" so i'd like the 50+ sizes Anything under 42" and you are wasting the HD signal? Can't see the difference between 720p and 1080p? I could not agree less Plasmas may have better blacks, but certainly not in the under Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Anything under 42" and you are wasting the HD signal? Can't see the difference between 720p and 1080p? I could not agree less I'm with you, MP. I can tell the difference between 720 and 1080 on a 23" Also, you don't buy Plasma, you merely rent it for 5-6 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 Also, you don't buy Plasma, you merely rent it for 5-6 years. That was probably a true statement around the year 2000. Many of today's plasmas are rated with a half-life of 60,000 hours, or about the same rating as most LCD TV's. At 8 hours a day, that's about 20 years until the display has dimmed to half of it's brightness. (Remember that you can tweek it along the way, by increasing the brightness level adjustments). Burn-in is an issue that you need to watch out for (although most sets have some sort of protection built in that shifts stationary images), so don't get a plasma if you want to play video games. But lifespan shouldn't be a consideration in your purchase... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllergyDoc Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 My father-in-law is on his 4th Samsung. In less than 2 months. Best Buy brings out a new one and before the week is out the sound stops working. We've had an LG for about 3 years now. Love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronoluvvv Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 did i say 1080p when referring to the difference in resolution ? i must have meant 1080i which is what is broadcast by some TV stations for a HD signal, others use 720p 1080i may have a higher resolution than 720p but 720p is a smoother image overall furthermore US cable/sat providers are known to cheat us consumers when it comes to HD service, wonder how it is in the UK ? true HD service is classified as a 24 mbps signal but they get away with as little as 7 out there google up 'HD Lite' and you'll know what i'm talking about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted October 29, 2008 Report Share Posted October 29, 2008 did i say 1080p when referring to the difference in resolution ? i must have meant 1080i which is what is broadcast by some TV stations for a HD signal, others use 720p 1080i may have a higher resolution than 720p but 720p is a smoother image overall Hang on ... Let me get this straight. "most folk can't even tell the difference between 720p and 1080p" Let's assume you meant 1080i (a higher frame rate than 1080p). "720p is a smoother image overall" So, it's smoother, but you can't tell the difference? Huh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Everyone cheats...The networks cheat to fit maximum content (ie, multiple programs) into each digital channel. The cable/sat providers compress the signal to the bandwidth available. Aside from Blueray, the best picture comes from good old OTA broadcasts. The HD programming delivered over the air, particularly by the PBS stations, looks phenomenal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Padge Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 HD varies between 16-20MB on BBC HD via UK cable, probably similar with Sky, nothing has ever dipped to single digits with my cable feed.... Also I have never, ever had that volume of TV's faulty through our store here in the UK, aside from maybe the cheap, budget Logik TV's or the like As for plasmas the life span has improved for sure, but the technology is still inferior to LCD, especially now that the contrast issues and response times have been massively improved with modern LCD TV's, add the supurb frame interpolation, and SD/HDTV has never looked so good on LCD.... Every customer that saw the series 6 with Sky HD source was amazed, the same feed went into a top end Sony bravia, but the Sony lacked definition in the dark areas on screen, and the Samsung had a real depth of image to it, everybody noticed it, which is saying a lot On plasmas shifting or rotating the stationary image to avoid screen burn, still results in screen burn. It just leaves a slightly "fuzzy round the edges" screen burn, I have seen it on quite a few sets...... Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Times have changed...My first plasma was a 42" Samsung in 2002. It had terrible gray scale. To the point where color gradients, like sunsets, looked like bands of distinct colors. (Like if you turned the color resolution of your monitor down to 8 bits.) Skin tones looked blocky, like clay. The whole appearance was kind of cartoonish. I suffered with it for about 18 months, until I realized what I was missing...Then I just took it back to the store (you've got to love Costco's return policy ), and picked up the Panny. ...And now you say that Samsung has the best gray scale of all... BTW, Mickey, how many HD stations are currently available on UK cable? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highoeyazmuhudee Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 SAMSUNG LCD 120Hz 1080p 50,000:1 contrast 4ms with the new sets you shouldnt encounter color banding issues like devitt was mentioning unless your source has a poor video processor. i.e PS3 for bluray the samsung has VERY sharp detail and vivid colors, only second to Sonys slightly more detail but its not worth the premium to go SONY. sony sets i also find more color neutral, of course you CAN adjust that. best bang for your buck and something i would never feel buyers remorse about would be a samsung LCD set. forget LG, Toshi, Panny or the discounted off brands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Padge Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Virgin Media only have BBC HD and VOD HD content right now With Sky in the driving seat for HD within the UK, they will not sell Virgin Media (UK cable) any HD channels for a reasonable price. Sky are in court at the moment, over various different things with VM and other companies, over this type of matter....... Sky have no interest in selling VM any of their HD content, as VM are a direct competitor. It is kind of a bad state of affairs that Sky hold such a dominant position in the UK market... I have heard rumours that VM will beef up their HD content somehow, when bandwidth is freed up from the total analogue switch off, over their cable network Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronoluvvv Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 Hang on ... Let me get this straight. "most folk can't even tell the difference between 720p and 1080p" Let's assume you meant 1080i (a higher frame rate than 1080p). "720p is a smoother image overall" So, it's smoother, but you can't tell the difference? Huh. on a sub 40" screen, you probably won't but then in your particular case, Puggy you could sit back & nit-pick dust mites out of a brand-new carpet p.s. my friend picked up a 32" Sharp LCD 1080i/720p for $499 + tax @ the local Costco last night (including 2 yr extended warranty) with dual HDMI, compoonent inputs, also composite, co-ax, etc they had a similar Vizio for the same price and a Westinghouse for under $400 too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Padge Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 I have a 24" 1080p LCD monitor (1920x1200), that I use for watching blu-ray and HD material. I can see the difference between 720p and 1080p with ease, if you can't you may have a rubbish LCD TV, or a 1366x768 pixel LCD TV, in which case you will never get true 1920x1080 on screen, but a scaled down image..... As I said before, it all depends on your viewing distance too, sit too far away and you can't see the difference, one of the main reasons for me asking all customers about their intended TV setup..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornerstone Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 I absolutely agree with the 'HD is worth it' brigade - the HD improvement is obvious to me when there's HD input being put into it. And that's the point, there may be lesser content that needs upscaled often, but you want to get the full effect of 1920x1080 content when its available. At least I do. And if you can't see an extra million pixels then glasses are probably a better upgrade than a bigger screen. I went for the Sony Bravia XBR; the Samsung was a close run thing, but at the end of the day the screen was very reflective, and it was a bit more plasticky (more of a heart than head thing aka it's what the wife wanted). They were the two brands I weighed up against though. As for Chronus's original 800 squid - I do think you get what you pay for too (as has been said above). The processing and upscaling is an important part I think. And I (personally) would never even consider a plasma. The idea of rear projection was somewhere below a plasma for me - I'd have rather bought a CRT. If you have to economize though, then it's really picking where to compromise. I'd rather go for smaller but better, but that's just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickey Padge Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 His budget fits the Samsung series 6 40" LCD perfectly, and as you mention, the only thing that ever puts my customers off, is the TV's appearance, not the picture quality.... It is always the ladies that dislike the red tint the TV has, or the gloss finish to the panel. Most blokes jump at the better image quality, sorry to any female board members, but it is a true observation The reflective surface should not be a problem, if there is a lot of light hitting the screen from elsewhere, you have put the TV in the wrong place anyway! Plus I always watch my movies with the light out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheaton26 Posted October 30, 2008 Report Share Posted October 30, 2008 i recently bought this 46" samsung and couldn't be happier! oh, and you can choose your own wallpapers ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highoeyazmuhudee Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 i recently bought this 46" samsung and couldn't be happier! oh, and you can choose your own wallpapers ... have the SAME set. its freaking amazing and really inexpensive $1300 canadian. maybe only a Sony has more detail in the picture but NOT enough to warrant the almost $1,000 price increase. great color reproduction on that set, and sharp as a knife! as for the 1080p 720 issue, i due notice the difference at 8' from a 46" set. i still dont think bluray is perfect and sony has relied on misleading consumers about bluray, they've marketed it as the second coming. Unfortunately bluray is the only option as Sony won the HD war by bundeling it with PS3s. I've noticed even an ACTUAL upconverted NOT scaled DVD image looks GREAT, and once youre into the movie you dont notice it... in fact dvd looks more film like on an HD set. Now's a good time to jump into an HD set, things have started to plateau in terms of technology leaps. All we need now is a better BluRay player or even better, a superior format that delivers HD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jawo Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 Pioneer Kuro Plasma gets my vote. I am a sucker for pure blacks and I don't think any set on the market can touch it for that. I just bought a 60" Kuro and waiting for the basement to finish so I can set it up. I also have a Samsung 46" LCD for my bedroom. It is also a fantastic set. There are plus and minuses for both LCD and Plasma. I would stay away from DLP. It looks pretty good but is a dead technology. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highoeyazmuhudee Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 i could NEVER watch a DLP set without seeing that damned rainbow effect! DLP also seemed to have poor contrast and focus imo. perhaps it was ahead of its time for awhile, but i guess it became undeveloped and abandoned. I use to agree plasma yieled the best picture, but these new LCD sets have fixed what i disliked about lcd and the screen door effect is still there on plasma but now LCD looks just as good with out the screen door. OLED and SED TV are the future technology for tvs. currently SONY makes an 11" OLED set with a price tag of $2,500. i dont know WHO would buy it tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perry563 Posted October 31, 2008 Report Share Posted October 31, 2008 I have a new Sharp AQUOS 46 inch flat screen LCD 1080p. The blacks are the best I have ever seen in an LCD set. Jet black and the colors and overall picture quality are really amazing. I see no faults. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chronus Posted November 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 Looks like the DLP screen I saw is out anyway... the website looks like a scam... evadisonline.co.uk looks suspiciously EXACTLY like mobice.co.uk I guess the only way to check it out is to go to the stores listed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 i still dont think bluray is perfect and sony has relied on misleading consumers about bluray, they've marketed it as the second coming. Unfortunately bluray is the only option as Sony won the HD war by bundeling it with PS3s. How can the digital medium affect image quality? Blu-Ray just contains ones and zeros. Both HD-DVD and BD use the same h.264 MPEG4 files, so there is no physical difference in the data that comes off the disks. Players differ, but that has nothing to do with the formats. It didn't matter who won, but the format war was hurting everyone. It needed to end fast and I'm glad it did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronoluvvv Posted November 1, 2008 Report Share Posted November 1, 2008 i'm not sure if the price wars have ended on the TV front ... in fact as the holiday season approaches, they have started @ Costco as of this morning ya can either buy a 46" Sharp LCD for $1249 or two for $1999 (shipping included !) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vlydog Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 OK, I know this thread is about a year old now but I am just weeks away, me thinks, from buying my first "flat screen" TV. Just wondering if there any new opinions out there. My biggest dilemma seems to be whether to buy LCD or Plasma. Here are the facts: This will be a set that will be used for watching DVDs only; no cable TV. The room where this set will be displayed has windows; no direct sunlight but plenty bright just the same. Wife wants nothing more than 42 inches and would rather stay between $800 - $1000. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 I was in the same situation about a month ago. After being out of the TV buying game for a couple of years, I was tasked with selecting a 42" for me and my siblings to buy for our dad. I originally had in mind to buy an LCD, but I ended up going with this Panasonic plasma. It's a basic setup, with no PIP, MTX, or other advanced features...But it has very good picture quality, with great blacks, making it a hell of a value for a 1080P set. When we bought it a few weeks ago, Panasonic was running a special for $200 off when purchased with a Blueray player...And the player itself was only around $165. So the entire package (with an HDMI cable) came to about $796, delivered. I haven't seen a "name brand" deal that compares! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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