Purchasing a New Television

Off Topic
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in the next two weeks I’m looking at purchasing a new television, now I’m totally lost on all these catch phrases such as 1080…lcd…plasma, majority of it means 0 too me…what kind of things should I be looking out for?

I’ll be using it mainly too play xbox and am looking too purchase a 32-42 inch screen…so any advice? I’m not looking at spending 2000 either so keep recommendations in a moderate budget

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search google for LCD vs Plasma that should help

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I just bought a 720p 42" Samsung for $580 Canadian.

It really depends what you’re using it for. If you’re going to be into HD channels and blueray movies go for 1080p, etc… But, otherwise whatever looks good for the price should be right.

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1080p

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I recommend shopping in a store, finding a TV that looks good and fits your needs, then buying online.

-Dan

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http://www.google.com/search?hl=fi&rlz=1G1GGLQ_FIFI287&q=tv+reviews&btnG=Hae&lr=

Only an idiot would buy expensive products without taking a look at reviews first. Waste of time asking advice from forums, that most of the time offer naught but vague, loosely argumented opinions based on personal experiences of shit that’s been usually bought at face value.

Get an expert opinion and crossreference internet reviews so you’ll find the best possible value for your money… usually doesn’t take more than a few minutes.

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just bought one myself.
look for 1080p, 100hz, aspect ratio of 50,000 - 1 or higher.if you see these numbers or better you won’t be disappointed.
check out samsung.

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[quote]alit4 wrote:
just bought one myself.
look for 1080p, 100hz, aspect ratio of 50,000 - 1 or higher.if you see these numbers or better you won’t be disappointed.
check out samsung.[/quote]

Thanks for proving my point.

You are right though… Samsung rarely makes a bad screen these days.

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[quote]alit4 wrote:
just bought one myself.
look for 1080p, 100hz, aspect ratio of 50,000 - 1 or higher.if you see these numbers or better you won’t be disappointed.
check out samsung.[/quote]

Dude, who’s the chick in your avitar?

:wink:

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I just got a samsung DLP. 1080p and all that jazz.

Heres what I know: If you are going for something like a 42, you dont need 1080p. 720p will work just fine, in fact, you cant tell the difference. However, larger screens have a noticable difference between the two resolutions.

If you are going for lcd, look for a feature that minimizes “shudder”

Plasma gives you the best picture, but reliability has been an issue in the past.

And why a 42"? Looking to save cash? Cause if so, check out DLP. You cant hang it on a wall, but it looks the same on a stand. The picture quality is phenomenal, (better than my friends LDC’s) and you can get a much larger screen for less cash. I got a 56" with stand and HDMI cables for $1400, out the door.

Only problem with DLP is if someone is sitting at an off-angle to the tv, they really wont be able to see.

Go to CNET and figure out what you need vs what you want vs what you can afford. Educate yourself, I spent about a month looking around and doing research before I made my decision.

Heres the one I got: http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/detail/detail.do?group=televisions&type=televisions&subtype=dlptv&model_cd=HL56A650C1FXZA

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I’d say stick with well known brands; Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, etc. Look online for deals. I recently purchased a 46 inch 1080p Samsung lcd for $700 with free shipping. My xbox looks amazing on it.

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[quote]buffalokilla wrote:
alit4 wrote:
just bought one myself.
look for 1080p, 100hz, aspect ratio of 50,000 - 1 or higher.if you see these numbers or better you won’t be disappointed.
check out samsung.

Dude, who’s the chick in your avitar?

;)[/quote]

LOL. some long haired good looking dude.

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[quote]R@NE wrote:
alit4 wrote:
just bought one myself.
look for 1080p, 100hz, aspect ratio of 50,000 - 1 or higher.if you see these numbers or better you won’t be disappointed.
check out samsung.

Thanks for proving my point.

You are right though… Samsung rarely makes a bad screen these days.
[/quote]

Technically this would be a review. The poster wants opinions and he is getting them.

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[quote]FormerlyTexasGuy wrote:
R@NE wrote:
alit4 wrote:
just bought one myself.
look for 1080p, 100hz, aspect ratio of 50,000 - 1 or higher.if you see these numbers or better you won’t be disappointed.
check out samsung.

Thanks for proving my point.

[/quote]

this went over my head the first time. yes it is a review, and before i made the purchase obviously i did my own research. just thought i would post that after 6 weeks of ownership i am completely satisfied with the results of my purchase and the research i did.

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1080p, 120hz and you cannot go wrong with Sony… Fast moving action requires a higher hz requirement, so I believe.

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[quote]jtg987 wrote:
in the next two weeks I’m looking at purchasing a new television, now I’m totally lost on all these catch phrases such as 1080…lcd…plasma, majority of it means 0 too me…what kind of things should I be looking out for? [/quote]

720 and 1080 refer to the number of lines used to paint the image. Generally, the more the better. “p” and “i” as in 720p and 1080i refer to “progressive” and “interlaced”. All other things being equal, progressive is better.

Interlaced means that the whole screen is refreshed in two passes, the 1st one doing the even numbered lines, and the second the odd-numbered ones.

Depending on the size of the TV and how far from it you sit, it can be very hard to tell 720 from 1080. “i” can sometimes be annoying because fast moving objects will look “sheared” or streamy.

Then there is the refresh rate. Many LCDs refresh at 60Hz which might leave some noticeable “smears” behind fast moving objects; mostly in games. Newer LCDs refresh at 120Hz and do away with this problem, but they also cost more.

A few points about the various technologies:

LCDs:

  • Blacks are not as deep as other technologies. Very noticeable in store when sitting right next to a plasma or DLP with the same signal; not so apparent at home with nothing beside it to compare it too.
  • Dead pixels and burned out backlights are the most common problems.
  • No chance of “burning in” an image if you forget a videogame on pause.
  • Very expensive for large sizes; sweet spot seems to be around 42".
  • 60Hz refresh can be annoying in action games.
  • Sony only makes LCDs now.

Plasma:

  • Deeper blacks than LCDs.
  • High refresh rates (480Hz typical)
  • You can “burn in” an image if you leave a still picture too long. Newer models have technology to help prevent this (basically, the image moves slowly around by a few pixels).
  • Use a lot of power vs. LCDs. Some have fans; make sure you can’t hear them.
  • Large sizes are less expensive than LCDs.

DLPs:

  • Deepest blacks of all the sets. Black pixels are basically “off” so they can’t get any blacker.
  • Thicker than other techs. Cannot be wall mounted.
  • Check expected lamp life to make sure it is long enough not to be an issue.
  • Seem to be slowly disappearing in favor of LCD and plasma.

There’s no really “bad” choice with what’s available right now. If possible, go to a store (or many stores) who have a lot of HDTVs on display with the same signal. Make sure to get a good selection of light and dark scenes so that you can compare the images.

Your eyes should be your best guide; don’t by a TV you don’t like simply because it reviewed well on some website or in some magazine. Many store will have a console with a game to show off, try the game and move around a lot to see if there’s any annoying “streaming” or “remanence” in the image. Still images look lovely on all HDTVs, fast moving ones tell the whole story.

Last thing: Get HDMI cables, but don’t pay ridiculous prices for them. $20 tops.

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Since he said he would be playing xbox on his tv, he should definitely go for an lcd over plasma. The aforementioned burn-in is a problem with plasmas and occurs much more readily by playing video-games on them(on-screen, stationary objects are prone to burning-in…life bars, ammo counters and such).

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[quote]alit4 wrote:
FormerlyTexasGuy wrote:
R@NE wrote:
alit4 wrote:
just bought one myself.
look for 1080p, 100hz, aspect ratio of 50,000 - 1 or higher.if you see these numbers or better you won’t be disappointed.
check out samsung.

Thanks for proving my point.

this went over my head the first time. yes it is a review, and before i made the purchase obviously i did my own research. just thought i would post that after 6 weeks of ownership i am completely satisfied with the results of my purchase and the research i did.[/quote]

Then why don’t you at least share the specific model of your TV? Stats alone mean jack shit and tell nothing of the overall quality of the product.

Oh and 50k to 1 aspect ratio? Think you are talking about dynamic contrast there… which btw also means nothing.

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/02/14/whats-dynamic-contrast-anyways/

People have different needs for their screens (gaming, computer extension, HD content, etc…) so you need to present a comprehensive review of it’s individual aspects or at least include those that matter to me the most before I personally would be inclined to take your advice into consideration at all, but then again the OP didn’t specify worth a shit anyways.

I need the products I buy to be the best possible value for money I can get. If you are satisfied with what you got that’s cool, but it might not be what I am looking for and I need to know that before I make the purchase.

If you know the questions you need to ask, go Google and you’ll find your answers… if not then I suppose an internet forum works just as well as your standard tv salesman does.

Edit: Basicly this thread’s worth is at “how to buy a tv” not “what tv to buy” and if you don’t know or are unable to find this out yourself without community assistance, you’re a fucking tubefood sucking moron anyway.

I lols @ me.

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actually 1080 P on anything less than a 50inch and you wont see much different. I also noticed that depending on the quality of the signal it shows more flaws than a 1080i or 720P except for blu ray and playstation.

and also the regular channels that aren’t HD on a 1080P look worse because its so much more defenition that it exposes flaws! I actually returned the 1080p samsung I bought and liked the 720 P much better ( it upscales to 1080I)

seriously I love the samsungs and found my TV the best bang for the buck, oh and dont forget playstation 3 THE BLUE RAY IS AMAZING, and worth getting it.

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[quote]MISCONCEPTION wrote:oh and dont forget playstation 3 THE BLUE RAY IS AMAZING, and worth getting it.

[/quote]

Second that, dvds on a large screen HDTV look like VHS compared to bluray. First one I got was Ironman after I say it on DVD on my TV. The difference was amazing.