plasma high def owners

[shep48]

heres a 42'' for $799. check the specs anygood?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/se...CCODE=WEM1267IC

[akaM2]

its refurbed but that just means everything is fixed now

 

looks like good specs

 

you have a sams club by you? Vizio is sold new there and they have them on display.

 

i would def think about the extended service plan, atleast a year, plasmas are very expensive to fix. BTW Tiger Direct has a retail store with all of its merchandise in Chicago, you could think about going there to see it and also to save on shipping

[shep48]

sams here in town and im a member.. ill take a look

[Mossad]

if you're gonna spend the money I would get something with atleast 2 hdmi connections, and something that can run 1080p.

 

Also if you're gonna be gaming on a tv, plasmas usually are not the way to go.

[Sgt. Slaughterâ„¢-TopBrass]

For the price, I don't believe you will find a better deal. I don't have any experience with Vizio. I would use the heck out of it during the 30 day (or whatever) return period.

 

Pros: Great Contras Ratio, Component, HDMI

 

Cons: Low Resolution (For HD) but still good. Its a bit of a porker (85lbs).

 

Final Thoughts: Good Deal, I would seriously consider buying one if I didn't already have a plasma.

 

P.S. (not tying to start a competition or any thing) Just to compair, I bought this about 6 months ago for $1700 at HHGregg during their "Employee Pricing" event (pfft what a load of crap, basically I didn't have to pay any tax). My TV

 

Don't forget this, its important. Don't leave anything on the screen for extended periods of time. More than like 30 min or so, otherwise you may experience burn in.

 

Enjoy!

Edited December 27, 2006 by Sgt. Slaughterâ„¢-TopBrass

[akaM2]

I have a 50" Toshiba DLP Cinema Series and im in love with it.

 

DLP and LCD > Plasma for anything to do with gaming

 

Don't forget this, its important. Don't leave anything on the screen for extended periods of time. More than like 30 min or so, otherwise you may experience burn in.

 

i would be scared about this, I watch alot of ESPN HD (basically the only thing on throughout the day and late at night.) it has 2 sidebars when non-hd content is on, I have heard that some people had those get burned in.

[Magruter]

Can you get burn in with dlp or lcd?

 

Circuitcity.com has the 50" Hitachi Ultravision LCD rear projection HDTV on sale for $899.99 after using the Geico 10% off coupon with free shipping plus get a $50.00 CC giftcard via mail in rebate.Some of the specs are:

720p (1280 x 720) resolution

• 1 HDMI input

• Built-in HDTV tuner

• 16:9 aspect ratio

 

 

Here is the link for the CC giftcard offer:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/genericCont...2730&WT.mc_ t=U&cm_ven=VANITY%20URL&cm_cat=MARKETING&cm_pla=PR OMOTION-%3EVANITY%20URL&cm_ite=141240%20VANITY%20URL%20GIF TCARDEVENT&cm_keycode=352730

 

I'm sure you can find a 10% off coupon ebay to save another couple bucks

[Sgt. Slaughterâ„¢-TopBrass]

Can you get burn in with dlp or lcd?

 

It is impossible to get burn in on an LCD. The reason is because conventional TV's use phosphorous (CRT, Plasma and CRT Projection). CRT's use electrons to excite the phosphorous. Plasmas use the Neon gas in each cell, and over time the phosphorous dissipates and the tv's become less and less bright. With LCD's there is no such issue. Since LCD's use transistors to basically open and close each sub pixel ( a sub pixel is made up of one red, one blue, and one green color element) and a light bulb to illuminate the picture from behind, the only thing that will fail is the light bulb. You do have to be aware of dead pixels and such, but as manufacturing techniques improve this will become less and less of an issue.

 

I don't know all that much about DLP, I believe it is still CRT based but I could be wrong.

[Sgt. Slaughterâ„¢-TopBrass]

Did you get one shep?

[shep48]

no ive decide to wait a little bit

[Warpig]

I bought a 42" plasma for $999

 

and the burn in issue should not be a problem on the newer tvs, you still shouldnt leave it on there for extended amount of time just to be safe but in the last year plasmas have came a long way.

 

and who ever says plasmas are not good for gaming are crazy.....

 

The reason I didnt buy a LCD tv is because my daughter tends to touch the screen and my dog swings his toys and hits it, and if you hit them hard enough you will get a dead spot on the screen that will always be black, It happened to my lcd laptop screen, and also happened to my dads laptop

[NOFX]

well, I always wanted a big screen TV, but thought Id never get one. This christmas I decided I was going to by myself a laptop. As I walk into sam's club, I see all the TVs and spend my usual 5 minutes looking at all of them wishing I had an extra grand to waste on a TV. I finally make it over to the laptops and I see a decent

 

4lb, very small dual core AMD for $750. As Im standing there thinking, I see two 50" Sony wega that had been returned, their price before christmas was $1050. Now they are $900. So I start to think about those. I go home and do my research on both products. Then it hit me. The ONLY time I use my laptop is when Im watching TV. So I should get the TV instead! I go back to Sam's and ask the guy about the TV and he says he wouldn't buy them(he was only trying to make me buy the more expensive, unopened ones) then I see another TV sitting in the returned items. Its a Panasonic 56" LCD projection and its only $1200!! So I think and think and decide to get the 56" since it was much bigger and all in its orignal packing.

 

When I go to check out, the TV only rings up for $1100 and after my $60 gift certificate cards, I walked out after tax and all with a 56" HDTV for $1093. I bring it home, test out the PC input(vga). And its beautiful!! Its runs 1024x768 excellent and looks like a big computer monitor. I was playing some BF2, CS and World of Warcraft for the past few days. What a good christmas it was for me

[Shropshire Slasher]

Shepster:

 

I'm not a TV guru, but I read up now and again when i'm considering a purchase.

 

Personally, i wouldn't get a plasma anymore. For a number of reasons, I think the advantages of either rear projection or LCD make plasma a soon to be obsolete tech. I've even read spec that plasma's days are numbered in the market (dunno if that means 3 years or 10).

 

my current feeling is, if you have all the money in the world to burn, you should get a new Sony 1080p LCD set (XBR2 or XBR3) in a >40" size. These start at close to 4K.

 

If you want something more affordable, you can look at the various 720p sets. I've got a new 32" XBR2 720p LCD from Sony. Love it. Cost about half of the 1080p sets, and since it is a smaller set, and I view it from much closer than one typically would with those bigger sets, it is excellent. It has amazing black levels, quick refresh, huge contrast and color saturation. Overall, I'd say I'm in love with this set. Huge upgrade from my 30" samsung tube HD set.

 

If you want to go less expensive still, Sony and others make 32" sets (the sony has an "S" designation) with different electronics that are also nice (realizing that it isn't just the panel that makes a nice LCD, but also the electonics that drive it; i've always felt this is where sony has excelled of late).

 

If you want best bang for buck, I still feel that the rear projection models from sony and some of the DLP sets are really amazing pictures. It's the cheapest way to go 1080p, and the brightness/black levels of some of these sets are really amazing. Plus, they tend to exhibit less blocking and other artifacting than the LCDs. If you want to go bigger, this is a cost effective way to do it.

 

Of course, all that really matters is what your eyes see. See them in person and watch. when the sales people aren't looking set all the sets to similar color settings. play around with the picture. If it looks good to you then it probably is. My little bro bought a Sam's club set (Vizio?) a year ago and loves it. Only paid like $800.

 

just my $.02

 

CEM

[meherdmann]

Shepster:

 

 

If you want something more affordable, you can look at the various 720p sets. I've got a new 32" XBR2 720p LCD from Sony. Love it. Cost about half of the 1080p sets, and since it is a smaller set, and I view it from much closer than one typically would with those bigger sets, it is excellent. It has amazing black levels, quick refresh, huge contrast and color saturation. Overall, I'd say I'm in love with this set. Huge upgrade from my 30" samsung tube HD set.

 

CEM

 

HD TV programming is usually broadcast in 1080i, so getting a 720p set wouldn't allow you to watch TV in HD. I wouldn't go below 1080i anymore.

[anonymo]

Shepster:

 

 

If you want something more affordable, you can look at the various 720p sets. I've got a new 32" XBR2 720p LCD from Sony. Love it. Cost about half of the 1080p sets, and since it is a smaller set, and I view it from much closer than one typically would with those bigger sets, it is excellent. It has amazing black levels, quick refresh, huge contrast and color saturation. Overall, I'd say I'm in love with this set. Huge upgrade from my 30" samsung tube HD set.

 

CEM

 

HD TV programming is usually broadcast in 1080i, so getting a 720p set wouldn't allow you to watch TV in HD. I wouldn't go below 1080i anymore.

As far as I know only DirectTV broadcasts in 1080i atm. 1080i is really just a gimmick. Either your TV has 1360x768 or 1920x1080. Just because a TV supports 1080i (it up-converts) doesn't mean it will look any better than the same signal at 720p.

 

It is absolutely imperative that you double check the native resolution on any LCD, DLP or Plasma that you are considering. That being said, most plasmas are still 1024x768, which can't handle a true HD signal (pixels end up being rectangles instead of squares). Only the newest (and most expensive) plasmas can do 1920x1080, and it's my recommendation to just settle for a good LCD that does 1920x1080 as you can get one of really high quality (Sony Bravias are the best imo) for much cheaper than a cheap 1920x1080 plasma.

[duma]

I just bought an LCD Phillips TV. I watched a movie last night that demonstrated how much better it is then the tube. I can't wait for more football to show me my decision was a goood one.

[Shropshire Slasher]

RE: rescaling

 

The new 1080p sets are actually 1080 vertical pixels, and my therefore display 1080i or 1080p signals without rescaling.

 

all other sets will have some different number of lines (some are actually 720, some are the afore mentioned 736, some are other variations of 7XX). These sets all require some rescaling, regardless of the input signal. Hence the importance of the onboard electronics of the set.

 

re: sources

 

There is no generalization about what your source resolution is. As far as I know, there is no TV source (broadcast, cable, sat) that sends in 1080p yet. For original programming, you get either 1080i or 720p from the stations (most tv shows are i believe 1080i, as is CBS sports, while abc/espn sports originate in 720p). Now, that is what the STATION is sending. Now you have the transmission to consider. Local affiliates, directTV, dish, comcast, etc. have to select a format for sending to your screen. They may opt only for 1080i, in which case some programming is upscaled. Or, the transmission could be sent in the programs native format, which would require no scaling at the station.

 

Now, your tuner. If you have a sat/cable box, it must get that signal, and send it to the set. In my case, I have a Samsung HD sat tuner. It requires me to set an output res based on TV set. Mine is 1080i. IF the set receives a 720p input, there is a rescale here. Some newer boxes have a "passthrough" setting, which I believe forces the box to dump the output to the TV at whatever the source station is sending. from my reading, this is the desired choice.

 

FInally, there is the TV scaling mentioned above. So, there are lots of places that rescaling can happen. The quality of the scaling engines at each stage will affect image quality. As a science type guy, I would be willing to be that there is no such thing as "perfect" rescaling. That is, there will be some loss of image quality for any rescale. The question is, how much does it affect final PQ.

 

I would also be willing to bet that we will see an ultimate convergence on 1080p for all sources/playback devices (cameras, stations, sat/cable, boxes, tv's). But I also be that is 10+ years away.

 

CEM

 

As far as I know only DirectTV broadcasts in 1080i atm. 1080i is really just a gimmick. Either your TV has 1360x768 or 1920x1080. Just because a TV supports 1080i (it up-converts) doesn't mean it will look any better than the same signal at 720p.

 

It is absolutely imperative that you double check the native resolution on any LCD, DLP or Plasma that you are considering. That being said, most plasmas are still 1024x768, which can't handle a true HD signal (pixels end up being rectangles instead of squares). Only the newest (and most expensive) plasmas can do 1920x1080, and it's my recommendation to just settle for a good LCD that does 1920x1080 as you can get one of really high quality (Sony Bravias are the best imo) for much cheaper than a cheap 1920x1080 plasma.

 

Not just plasmas. There are many rear projection and a handfull of new LCD's that do 1080p native. But, you will pay dearly for the LCD's, less so for the RP.

 

Only HD-DVD and Blue-ray are 1080p sources ATM, AFAIK.

[meherdmann]

It's not just DirecTV that broadcasts 1080i. My cable provider (Cox Communications) sends in only 1080i, and states in no uncertain terms that 720p television sets will not work with their service on their website. I'm sure that other companies are doing this as well. I guess you have to check with your cable company to ensure compatibility.

Edited January 3, 2007 by meherdmann

[shaftiel]

It's not just DirecTV that broadcasts 1080i. My cable provider (Cox Communications) sends in only 1080i, and states in no uncertain terms that 720p television sets will not work with their service on their website. I'm sure that other companies are doing this as well. I guess you have to check with your cable company to ensure compatibility.

 

 

The stats on nearly every 720p LCD set I have looked at support 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i. You do not need a 1080p set to view 1080i.

 

 

 

Shaftiel

Edited January 3, 2007 by shaftiel

[Mossad]

I have a new Mitsubishi 57in 1080p DLP HDTV.....and the HD look friggin amazing so does the Xbox, but when I'm wathcing regular tv it looks like absolute S$*%. From talking to people they told me that I should switch from HDMI to component cables to make it look better....tryed that still looks like crap. Then I read someones post here about pixels looking like blocks....and thats what I have when viewing normal channels....how do I fix this....ARGHHHHHH

Edited January 3, 2007 by Mossad

[NOFX]

every TV that I have seen today that supports 720, also supports 1080i.

 

for a TV to support 1080p. It must be able to support a resolution of 1920x1080.

 

Ill try to explain this to the best of my knowledge..

 

i == interlaced. Means that every other row of pixels gets updated

p == progressive. Every row of pixels gets updated.

 

Now think about this. If you have a 1280x768 TV. of course it will be able to progessivly scan 720 horizontal lines of resoultion. Because it has 768.

Now 1080i. Every OTHER row is updated. So technically a 768 TV could support a 1536i.

 

In order for our television to update 1080 progressively, we need at least a 1080 resolution. hence 1920x1080.

 

Just like computer monitor pixels. Virtually no cable provider or sattelite sends out a 1080p. Only HDDVD, Blu-Ray and PS3's. Heck 1080i is just now starting to catch on.

 

I would love to have a 1080p because if I ever found something that could dish out that resolution *cough* COMPUTER*cough* I bet it would look amazing. Imagine CS on a 56" at 1920x1080. but like I said, I found a LCD projection that does 720p for under $1100. Im happy for now.

Edited January 3, 2007 by NOFX

[anonymo]

I have a new Mitsubishi 57in 1080p DLP HDTV.....and the HD look friggin amazing so does the Xbox, but when I'm wathcing regular tv it looks like absolute S$*%. From talking to people they told me that I should switch from HDMI to component cables to make it look better....tryed that still looks like crap. Then I read someones post here about pixels looking like blocks....and thats what I have when viewing normal channels....how do I fix this....ARGHHHHHH

Nothing...basically because of the lower resolution of SDTV your viewing distance must be longer than when watching HDTV (yes...basically move away from the TV until you can't make out the blocks...)

 

On another note...if you think you can hold out...I'd wait for SED TVs to come out...

[mrX]

The wife and I got this one: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5018761 from hhgregg for $1175. After her gift cards from work, we paid $175 for it and I'm happy with it. Great for watching football and basketball. Only been able to watch HD with a set of rabbit ears so far, but the picture is amazing. Supposed to get an HD box from the cable company tomorrow.

 

We've had it since last Sunday and I can't say I have a single complaint so far.

[anonymo]

The wife and I got this one: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5018761 from hhgregg for $1175. After her gift cards from work, we paid $175 for it and I'm happy with it. Great for watching football and basketball. Only been able to watch HD with a set of rabbit ears so far, but the picture is amazing. Supposed to get an HD box from the cable company tomorrow.

 

We've had it since last Sunday and I can't say I have a single complaint so far.

Right now...I'd recommend that TV to anyone interested in getting a foot in the HD door (especially if you end up paying $175 for it).

 

Its got good brightness + contrast and 8ms response time so it's good for playing CS (gl with that X )

 

By this time next year for about $1000 expect to be able to get a 32" SED*/LCD/Plasma/OLED* (*depending on development) 1080p TV ...as well expect to see UHD to rear its vomit inducing head

[-=SKArface=-]

Can you get burn in with dlp or lcd?

I don't know all that much about DLP, I believe it is still CRT based but I could be wrong.

 

 

DLP is an odd beast. Rather than exciting phospors or tuning on thousands of little lights, a DLP set uses a reflective surface and a fast spinning color wheel.

 

The reflective surface is the DLP chip. The chip consists of thousands of tiny mirrors (one per pixel) that can be moved to reflect onto the screen or onto a non reflective surface. There is a light that shines on this chip. The light passes through a color wheel (think a wheel with 3 different gels, one for red, one for blue, one for green) as the wheel rotates the little mirrors move so that red is reflected on the areas that should have some red, blue reflects on areas that should have some blue, and green reflects on areas that should have some green. All of this happens very quickly so your eyes blend the colors to form the true color of the image.

 

Unless a mirror can get stuck DLP has 0 chance of burnin, or dead/hot pixels. The downside is that the screen can't be flat.

 

Here is a far more accurate description as to how it works:

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/dlp.htm