What TV to Buy?

[mike1961]

Well - I wasn't sure whether to post this here or in the Gen Discussion but anyway, I'm looking to purchase around a 55" TV and I'm not sure whether to go with plasma, LCD or DLP. It seems like plasma and LCD provide a brighter picture and at the larger above 60" the price rises dramatically for plasma and LCD but 55" is about the limit given the distance we'll be from the TV. Also, seems like I won't have to worry about spending a few hundred every year to replace a tube in the DLP. Any suggestions and what are the good brands to look at (panasonic, LG, Hitachi, Pioneer, etc)? What should I look for? What's the best way to hook it up for best picture quality (VGA, HDMI, etc)? I'm still very new at this.

Thanks,
Mike

[AndyS]

This is one of those personal preference threads, but FWIW I've just bought a Vizio P50HDM 50" Plasma and it's really nice and amazing Value. Very pleased with it so far.

Andy.

[paulbeers]

I have to agree with AndyS that this is a lot of personal preference. I love Plasmas. My parents have a 42" plasma by Magnavox and it is great. Bright, flat and has every hookup known to man (42" was as big as they could go as they only have a quarter inch clearance on both sides of the tv in their entertainment center as it is). This is the one draw back to plasmas and LCD (non-projection): Yes they are only a few inches flat and yes they can be mounted to a wall....but then what? what about all the other components? You shell out a fortune to have this ultimate flat panel and you still have ot have a big bulky shelf to house the components. I myself for bang for my buck like the DLP's and LCD Projections. I recommended a Sony 50+ LCD projection to one of my buddies and he loves it. No matter what though, make sure the tv has HDMI. I think any tv at the price you are looking at will have it. HDMI will insure you have future expandability. VGA connections are nice, but given the choice (my parents plasma has both), I would make sure it has HDMI (since compatible with DVI). One bonus though to plasma and LCD (non projection) that may make it worth your money is the Aww factor. Projections (no matter how big) will never impress as much as a plasma, so if that is worth the price of admission then go for it!

[Polypro]

I have a Sceptre 37" LCD (1920x1080) that I love (100+ page thread on AVS). I will be adding an EyeFi 47" LCD (1920x1080...also on AVS). LCD's have come a long way and the panels in a majority of units are made by the same 2 Chinese Mfg's. They're stupid simple to set up for HTPC usage. Anyway, AVS is where I'd do my research no matter what you buy.

P

[Humanzee]

Originally Posted by Polypro

I have a Sceptre 37" LCD (1920x1080) that I love (100+ page thread on AVS). I will be adding an EyeFi 47" LCD (1920x1080...also on AVS). LCD's have come a long way and the panels in a majority of units are made by the same 2 Chinese Mfg's. They're stupid simple to set up for HTPC usage. Anyway, AVS is where I'd do my research no matter what you buy.

P

I have to agree with Polypro about AVS and LCD's. I have the 37" Westinghouse. It is an HD montior, not a TV as in, it doesn't have an included HD tuner card. Since I knew I was going to hook it up to the HTPC it didn't matter to me if it had anything other than a DVI input. Which it does, and can take a signal at 1080p. You probably won't find an HDTV that will truely accept a 1080p input. They may say 1080p in the advertising propaganda but that is likely refering to the final displayed resolution even though the source comes in smaller and then the TV scales it up to make the screen 1920x1080. The TV manufactures havn't bothered with allowing true 1080p input on most sets because there is currently no broadcast standard for 1080p.
They must not think the HTPC crowd is a big enough concern because you can do 1080p with an apropriate graphics card and a 1080p monitor. + With the de-interlacing methods available in software like PureVideo, you can end up with a great picture even with the lower resolution material.

On the other hand, I've come to find out that 1920x1080 is higher than needed on a 37" screen. It is hard to read the text on the desktop with out being close to the display.

If you want to be safe, you can always buy a HDTV with every concievable input type. I only use DVI with the computer and Component from my PS2. I use the DVD-Rom for DVD's and I didn't need the HDTV tuner in the TV so I didn't have to pay for it. My 37" LCD monitor was less expensive than a 37" LCD HDTV that couldn't even do the same resolution.

They now have a 42"
https://www.westinghousedigital.com/

[stanger89]

http://www.samsung.com/Products/ProA...710AEMXXAA.asp

[dbfresh23]

I like the 3LCD Sony RPTVs to stay on the less expensive side, I wouldn't even touch a DLP RPTV - the picture just doesn't look nearly as good. If you're looking to spend more though, you'll get a nicer picture from a plasma. I know two people that just recently got Sony 42" 3LCD models and are very happy with them. I'll probably be going with the 60" Sony myself.

[mike1961]

I'm curious:

1. What is AVS research (website somewhere or something)?

2. What screen resolution to you like to set your pc to before starting Sage?

3. What recording quality do you all like to record in? I'm thinking it would have to be higher for HD. But, for now, on my computer I actually lowered it from 3.2 to 2.4 gb/hour and I could almost swear it looks better (maybe less time to decode or something).

Thanks,
Mike

[dagar]

1. http://www.avsforum.com/ which will lead to http://www.linuxbench.org/Posting.html (ok, I just wanted a reason to post it)
2. FWIW Typically you want it to be the/a native resolution supported by the set

[dbfresh23]

Originally Posted by mike1961

What recording quality do you all like to record in? I'm thinking it would have to be higher for HD. But, for now, on my computer I actually lowered it from 3.2 to 2.4 gb/hour and I could almost swear it looks better (maybe less time to decode or something).

Well for SD it's pretty much what ever quality makes you happy, I find that DVD Long Play looks really good through my MVP. For HD, it doesn't use the qualities that sage sets, it just saves the transport stream it's being fed, I imagine that when the cablecard solutions are put out there they'll do something similar.

[Polypro]

Originally Posted by mike1961

I'm curious:

3. What recording quality do you all like to record in? I'm thinking it would have to be higher for HD. But, for now, on my computer I actually lowered it from 3.2 to 2.4 gb/hour and I could almost swear it looks better (maybe less time to decode or something).

Thanks,
Mike

HD is written directly to the hard drive as a program stream...bitrates in Sage don't apply. I use DVD Std Play for everything else.

P

[mayamaniac]

mike1961, how much are you willing to spend? Any 55" HDTV won't be cheap, thats for sure. If you go with DLP or LCD projection, then the price are quite a bit less than regular LCDs and Plasmas. Also is 1080i/p resolution important to you or 720i/p good enough? And lastly, what kind of inputs do you require?

I'm looking for an HDTV myself, and those are the same questions I ask myself, and I'm most likely will get at least a 55" LCD or LCD projection, which ever I can afford. I would like to get a Sony but other brands are also okay as long it is good quality. For sure I won't need an HD tuner with it as it will be hooked up to a SageTV computer, so even a HD monitor will do, such as the Dell's.

[Mark SS]

If your in the US, Westinghouse LCDs appear to be highly regarded for an HTPC install. 1080p, monitor only (no tuners) and plenty of connections.

[mike1961]

Is it true with plasma you have to play everything in widescreen or you can get an image burnin effect?

Thanks,
Mike

Originally Posted by paulbeers

I have to agree with AndyS that this is a lot of personal preference. I love Plasmas. My parents have a 42" plasma by Magnavox and it is great. Bright, flat and has every hookup known to man (42" was as big as they could go as they only have a quarter inch clearance on both sides of the tv in their entertainment center as it is). This is the one draw back to plasmas and LCD (non-projection): Yes they are only a few inches flat and yes they can be mounted to a wall....but then what? what about all the other components? You shell out a fortune to have this ultimate flat panel and you still have ot have a big bulky shelf to house the components. I myself for bang for my buck like the DLP's and LCD Projections. I recommended a Sony 50+ LCD projection to one of my buddies and he loves it. No matter what though, make sure the tv has HDMI. I think any tv at the price you are looking at will have it. HDMI will insure you have future expandability. VGA connections are nice, but given the choice (my parents plasma has both), I would make sure it has HDMI (since compatible with DVI). One bonus though to plasma and LCD (non projection) that may make it worth your money is the Aww factor. Projections (no matter how big) will never impress as much as a plasma, so if that is worth the price of admission then go for it!

[paulbeers]

I have heard that. The same is true for CRT's. That is one advantage of LCD and DLP's. One thing though is that even on my CRT's when I try to watch in non widescreen, I hate it. It annoys me to not be using my whole screen. I would rather see everything stretched than have the black bars on the sides. Besides it makes me feel better about myself seeing everyone look about 50 pounds heavier!

[Menehune]

The first-gen plasmas had burn-in problems, but many of the current models (which are 3rd or 4th gen, IIRC) have automatic "pixel shift" built in to reduce burn-in. My first gen plasma at work is rated 10000 hrs life which translates to approx 3.5 years at 8 hours of use every day.

I leave the plasma in "automatic" or "stretch" which fills the 16:9 screen with my 4:3 source material. The screen is mainly used as a TV set prop so the usage is low compared to home TV usage.

Unfortunately all phosphor based technologys fade over time and can be "burned in".

LCDs do have "burn in". The windows task bar on the bottom of the screen has a high intensity white border. After long periods of use desktop use (4-5 hours) if I start a full screen game with a light grey background, there is a black horizontal line across the screen exactly where the task bar border is located. The border follows the bar to the top right or left sides of the screen if I move the task bar position, so the only way I have found to reduce the problem is to set the task bar to "autohide". Yes, the LCD pixels do recover after an hour shutdown, but the degredation is not permanent like in phosphor based displays.

[toricred]

The other problem with plasmas is high elevation. Most have a buzzing noise and decreased lifetime at elevations over 6500 feet. Since I live at almost 7500 feet, they're just not an option.

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by mike1961

Is it true with plasma you have to play everything in widescreen or you can get an image burnin effect?

Thanks,
Mike

You can alwasy set Video Orbit Duration to something other than 0 in Detailed Setup and Sage will move the video around to mitigate the static-image/burn-in effect.

[mike1961]

I guess one thing I'm wondering is if burn in exists even when the back color is black? I was told that it didn't matter. Is it a problem watching shows on a new Plasma in 4x3 rather than widescreen? I'm just trying to assess how long is "ok" before one should play widescreen to avoid burnin and how long one should play in widescreen to prevent the burn in effect.

Thanks,
Mike

[JUC]

Originally Posted by mike1961

I guess one thing I'm wondering is if burn in exists even when the back color is black? I was told that it didn't matter. Is it a problem watching shows on a new Plasma in 4x3 rather than widescreen? I'm just trying to assess how long is "ok" before one should play widescreen to avoid burnin and how long one should play in widescreen to prevent the burn in effect.

Thanks,
Mike

Burn in 'may' occur regardless of the background color. If you left a black background on long enough (really long) it will technically 'burn in' and dull your picture to the point where you need to up the brightness. Same goes if you watch 4:3 content--the left and right sides will appear darker then the rest of the picture over time.

Also--i think manufacturers usually recommend 100 hours or breakin for plasmas--this is with settings that have the brightness and contrast below the 50% mark and all content filling the screen.

As far as the sony lcd rear projections mentioned in the earlier posts--i had a 42" A10 and it had a really nice picture. The prices are great too. I actually returned it for a Plasma because it just didn't have the 'pop' that the Plasma picture has. But the sony's are still nice tv's regardless.
JUC