What LCD / Plasma TV to get?

Post by **Noel** » Tue May 27, 2008 8:35 pm

Hi all,

I'm thinking of getting a LCD or Plasma TV. (I've still got one of the BIG old TV's)
At the moment shops are having good sale 'actions', but I've really got no clue what to get.
What I do know is that it needs to be a Sony Bravia (I really love the look of it), and that the size needs to be around +100cm
The Bravia range got so many different models, that I really do not know what model to get.

Anyone here who can help me make a decision?
--
<h6>Anyone interested in time travel meet me here last Thursday!!</h6>

Post by **Droezel** » Tue May 27, 2008 9:45 pm

If I were you I'd buy Sharp! I've got this one: http://nl.sharp.be/php/p.php?par=18_522_no_1772 .

I find the design very ok and:
* it's full HD
* it has an RS232 port for control, lookup the manual for commands, it works really wel! (All sharp models have this)
* it has a small footprint (biggest screen that could fit in a max height of 60 cm to fit in my closet)

Post by **drmacchi** » Tue May 27, 2008 9:49 pm

Hi wifi, it depends what you need. my example: i need a 50" because of 4mt distance from tv, then hdmi 1.3 to have Bluray and of course 1080p resolution and 24p flowrate. another important thing (for me) is vga input mappable directly 1:1 (no scaler to resize images) -> BEST quality with mediacenter even using vga-card without hdmi video out. then good contrast and pure black then PRICE... how much? for me maximum could be 1.800 euros, so my goal is 50" , plasma (because of pure black), LG pg6000 (on july it'll arrive pg7000, with color quality really near to pioneer's plasma THE TOP as shown by all TV world specialist) hope help you... P.S if you want to use xbox360-ps3 be carefully with static images, but all new products have many "washing screen features" against stamping. Bye lorenzo

Post by **Noel** » Tue May 27, 2008 11:00 pm

Thank you both for the input.

The budget is around 1500 euro.
I'm not a games, so Xbox and so on capability is not really needed (never say never)
a VGA option does sound nice, but again.. Do I need it?

The reason that I like the Bravia is that the border around the screen is so small. Like you are saying Droezel (footprint).
One of the other 'TV's that I was looking at was also a LG's.
They look really nice too, but are (I think) a bit more pricey than the Sony's..

Hmmmmm the more I ask about LCD/Plasma, the harder it gets for me to make a decision.

--
<h6>Anyone interested in time travel meet me here last Thursday!!</h6>

Post by **Digit** » Tue May 27, 2008 11:39 pm

Someone has just got a tax refund[:D]

Post by **Niknik** » Wed May 28, 2008 11:07 am

As for the black levels, latest LCD models from Sharp have really amazing blacks.
(Didn't check if they used dynamic LED backlight though...)

I still have a 50" sony 3xLCD Rear projection unit (just 720p) but considering I'll only replace it with at least a 75" or above screen size... I guess I'll have to wait for a while until those dimensions get affordable.

Post by **Snelvuur** » Wed May 28, 2008 6:20 pm

only 1 tv on my list at the moment, if i would get one.. http://www.aurea.philips.com/

// Erik (binkey.nl)

Post by **de.lesse** » Thu May 29, 2008 9:53 am

Go for panasonic-plasma! also small frame around screen. 42" is good enough. If distance is 3 meters or more don't buy a full-hd. Do you sit closer go for full-hd.
Also whenyou play games and displays static images ga also for full-hd.
The hype that you always need a full-hd for movies is a waste of money. You can't see the difference (in a controlled environment/system) with hd-ready and full-hd!!!

check the latest models. -> http://gathering.tweakers.net/forum/lis ... es/1289489 (dutch)
older series (2007) http://gathering.tweakers.net/forum/lis ... s/1280948/

Why plasma? It gives me a better picture. There are to many discussions about this subject. Just go to 'many' stores and check the difference. If you know someone with a screen, try to see it.

Remember to "disable" all the stuff that a flat screen offers, like mpeg deblocking, noise reduction, .... DISABLE IT ALL!! You'll see the difference in a better way!! (When you want to calibrate you have to disable all the stuff also.)

Post by **MindBender** » Thu May 29, 2008 12:52 pm

I wouldn't go for plasma. Picture quality may be good, but energy consumption and screen burn are pretty big downsides.

I have worked at Philips Digital TV systems for a couple of years, developing TV software and I have never been impressed by picture quality of any TV, but if I were in the market for at new TV today, I would go for any set base upon the PNX5100 (Google it) chip because it makes a huge difference. Loewe was the first set maker incorporating this chip in their sets, which should say enough. I have always liked Loewe sets, but their a bit pricey. It's said that Samsung also uses them, but I cannot confirm this. Philips own 42PFL9603D is supposed to be based on this platform too. It's full HD, has Ethernet (no control though) and supports DLNA. Ambilight is awesome, but only if you have a white wall.

In the end all that really counts is what _you_ like. Different set makers offer different qualities and different trade offs. Go out and view a couple of set. Take your favorite DVD with you, or a test DVD if you're really picky, and decide what you like best. Good luck!

Post by **de.lesse** » Fri May 30, 2008 1:01 pm

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by MindBender</i>
<br />I wouldn't go for plasma. Picture quality may be good, but energy consumption and screen burn are pretty big downsides.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">energy consumption with plasma is quite good. Also when picture is dark=low consumption. White picture=max consumption.

and euh about the screen burn... That's old News. Only the first couple hunderd hours are important. The rest of the time is enjoying the good picture quality.. [:D]

Post by **Noel** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 7:28 pm

I see in the Media Markt ad that they are selling the "LG 42 PC 51 Plasma" for 599 euro.
I've not seen this plasma TV in real, so I have no clue how it in reality looks (I hate to go to Media Markt)

Anyone here who knows more about this plasma screen?
Basically I want to use this 'unit' in the living room, but might move it to the bedroom, and get a 'real' screen for in the living room.

--
<h6>Anyone interested in time travel meet me here last Thursday!!</h6>

Post by **drmacchi** » Mon Jun 09, 2008 7:41 pm

price is good! these are features(source mediaworld =mediamarkt in italy): TV al Plasma 42" HD Ready con tecnologia True Color 100HZ. RISOLUZIONE 1024X768 (42) , Contrasto 15000:1, luminosit 1500 CD / MQ, clear filter frontale, elaborazione video a 125 bit, 10 Miliardi di colori, 2 HDMI, Ingresso PC. so it's a good chance,only 1024 res. obviously it's the first step to plasma family! but i'd buy one at that price....

Post by **Noel** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 7:37 pm

Okay. I got one of the many ""LG 42 PC 51 Plasma" TV's from Media Markt.
Man.. It was CRAZY! People were fighting to get one! (NO JOKE!)

I've got it setup in the house, and wow it does look great (and BIG)
Now I'm worried about the screen burn. Do I need a special DVD to stop the screen burn, or can I connect my PC to it, and run the screen saver on it?

--
<h6>Anyone interested in time travel meet me here last Thursday!!</h6>

Post by **drmacchi** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 1:22 am

here you can get an useful anti-burn in guide. http://www.plasmasaver.com/burnin.html then i found a free software in a IT-newspaper but i can not find the dvd anymore. try yahoo/google.bye
p.s; 42pc51, does accept 1:1 vga signal? i mean your vga exit is 1024res and it takes 1024 without any tv-scaler. If so you could force higher resolution with pc.