I am done with the bulbs crapping in their pants on my projection tv and I am getting an LCD. I looked at Samsung, Sharp, and Sony between 40 and 52. Samsung seemed to have the brightest clearest picture, but the salesman (no commission) said he didn’t like the glossy screen and how it reflects. Sony looks good but is a bit more expensive. Sharp looks good, is a bit cheaper, and in this store, comes with a free blu-ray player ($300).
What do you think?
What do you have?
Thanks.
First, you have to make the decision between LCD and Plasma (you read the reasons for/against both on numerous sites).
After that - the Sony XBR Bravia series are pretty awesome with blacks approaching that of a good plasma (so yes, worth the money).
I never understood Samsungs rational for putting the gloss screen on an LCD TV since one of the (few) reasons to buy an LCD over a plasma is because you will be viewing it in a bright room! Now, if the room is dark like a basement home theatre, fine, but then the plasma would be the better TV to get!
Nevermind. I edumacated myself. Thanks.
Any of the 120Hz LCDs will be a good choice.
You need to do some serious reading if you are asking that question before spending this kind of coin!
But, since my office network is down and I can’t finish pts dictation and I just got a great hilly ride in … I’ll be brief.
An LCD TV is just like your laptop computer monitor - very bright and crisp. It is “easy” to make high resolutions (hence 1080p sets are cheaper and came WAY before plasmas) based on their design. They also use MUCH less power than plasmas. A bright image is “natural” to the set since it is always “on”. But, darker images are hard to reproduce since they must turn “off” pixels. A very dark image uses a lot of power for LCD set (the reverse is true for plasmas - more on that later).
In general, an LCD TV will slightly cheaper than its corresponding plasma tv (by size, resolution, features, etc.) and is best if used in a bright room (like a living room with lots of windows, etc. The screen you seen in an airport for ex are all LCDs.
Plasma TVs are black by “default” and use the most power displaying bright images. Their benefit is that the deep blacks they can produce make other colors “stand out” with super contrasts. BTW, forget the overstated 10,000:1 contrast ratios and such advertised by companies - they mean NOTHING as their is not standard at all. Since they use rare gas to produce an image, “sharpness” is more difficult and only recently 1080p sets were available (and VERY expensive compated with LCD sets). Also, if you watch a lot of sports or fast action things, many LCD sets exhibit a “blur” as the pixels can’t light on/off fast enough (hence the new 120 Hz sets). Plasma does not have this problem. Plasma TVs do generate some heat and use a LOT of power though. Oh, the other issue with plasmas was “burn in” and longevity. Most last for about 20 years plus (enough for me) and burn in is about non existant now (but you probably should be careful if you are going to game on them and leave it on) Most reviews between the 2 sets (plasma vs. LCD) gives the nod to plasma today. Read up!
I have 1 front tube Sony, a small Samsung LCD, a Hitachi LCD, a Sony rear projection and a Panasonic Plasma. I’m a little bit of a video/audiophile, but don’t go for cost no object things (or I’d have a Pioneer Kuro set). The new Panasonic Plasma 1080p sets are the best sets I’ve ever seen, save the NEW Pioneer sets - and they are VERY close. But for the money, it is a NO brainer.
It gets almost impossible to shop in a store for a TV - but do your best AFTER reading a bit. Make a few decisions first (like what kind, budget, etc.) then hopefull the sets are adjusted moderately right and go with what you eye sees as best as we are all just a little bit different.
Oh, 1080i sets are FAR cheaper and fine if you aren’t getting one over 50 inches or plan on viewing lots of Blu-ray discs (if you are looking at saving money that is).
Hope this helps - but get reading!
I have plasma for my main TV, but I will add a second HD TV in my home office soon and it will be a Vizio LCD. For the price, it just can’t be beat.
… For the price, it just can’t be beat.
You get what you pay for on a Vizio. The specs on them are not very good at all which means the picture quality is not that great.
my buddy has one, i thought it was good enough for an office TV. I have plasma as my main viewing television
What do you think of this review?
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6449_7-6792632-1.html
- 120Hz on its own doesn’t appear to significantly reduce motion blur. This may seem like a bold statement right out of the starting gate, but I can tell you only what I saw. We watched a non-120HZ LCD TV, JVC’s LT-47X788, next to those three 120Hz TVs, as well as three plasmas: Pioneer’s PDP-5080HD and PRO-FHD1, along with Samsung’s FP-T5084. Watching the same HD source material on every TV (it included recorded footage of a Saints-Colts football game and a U.S. Open quarterfinal tennis match), neither I–nor my compatriots–saw anything that made us feel 120Hz was making a real difference. Yes, when you run a fast-moving score ticker on the bottom of the screen, the letters and numbers appear slightly sharper (no blurring around the edges), but it’s just not a big deal. The fact is, we haven’t had a motion-blur problem with any of the newer 60Hz LCD TVs we’ve reviewed in recent times. Don’t get me wrong–we did see a lot of what you might call blurring in faster-motion scenes, but it was always inherent in the source, so it looked basically the same on all of the TVs, including the plasmas.
I have a SHARP Aquos 15K:1, 4ms 1080p and it is great. My parents have a Panasonic 720p plasma and this thing blows it out of the water. I am in florida and the lcd is nice because you don’t get any reflections on the tv. The only thing I don’t like is the black casing is really reflective so though you don’t see any reflections on the screen you see them around the viewing area.
I got the JVC 46’ LCD tv this past summer and have been very pleased with it. Great hi-def picture and sound. Salesperson, who sells both Sony, LG and JVC recommended JVC. JVC is the only one’s making their tv’s in house. Sony contracts out and LG is the old Admiral or some other previous tv company. Also Consumer Report liked JVC last year in LCD and liked Panasonic for plasma.
“Vizio LCD. For the price, it just can’t be beat.”
For the 52" Magnavox just did.
$1,899.99 After $300 Off
Magnavox
52" 1080p LCD HDTV Resolution: 1920x1080p
Brightness: 500 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio: 2000:1
$1,899.99 Item # 249033
They listed a 42 inch LCD ,as the most purchased size for an average home . Any Sony set looks great even the non flat screens . My dark horse brand is "Philips " great picture - value . I get annoyed with the sloooow volume - /+ as I don’t Mute everything , more movies use the 3X volume increase when changing scenes .
The display format changes between shows & commercials can be irritating. Its a cable providers " auto " format setting . DVR or disc stays set at one format.
My 10 yr old 27" JVC used 100 watts - My LCD set uses 250 watts - I guess the plasma sets can be used for a heater in a small room .
I have a 40" Sony Bravia at home - love it! I haven’t seen a lot of LCD TVs in people’s homes, but from what I have seen, the Sony is a good set. A little pricey, but I’m kinda biased to some Sony stuff.
First,
When you compare TV sets in a store (I assume Best Buyt type of store), do not rely on the TV settings to make any valuable comparison. The settings are way way too bright and you should actually play with the settings to check out the blacks, the greens and the redering of the color of the skin (for the last test bring a good porn movie :))
Then on the LCD side, you have the Samsung Fan club (with the 71 series and the recently released 81 series), the Sony fan club (with the XBR, and particularly the XBR4 series), and then the rest of the crown who does not care so much fan club.
As a side node, on the Plasma side, it is a lot easier: You have the Kuro fan club, the Kuro Elite fan club and the I cannot afford a Kuro fan club (especially with the latest 8th generation).
Back to your LCD topics. Folks will say the Samsung is too bright and others will report clouding issue with the Sony XBR.
TO give you a sample one. I still have an old tube TV set and I considered the XBR4 46 before Xmas. Then I dropped it because Boxing Day (Canadian Black Friday) was coming up. Then Best Buy made a fantastic deal on the Kuro 50 with $1700 off… But I had a hard time caughing up $3500… so instead I went skiing 
So I am waiting for the XBR4 46 price to drop a bit and buy it because it is a beautiful TV or buy a LCD for about $1500/$2000 for the living room and build a home teather with a projector in the basement…
If you want to spend a lot of hours trying to figure it out: go check out avs forum…
Otherwise try to stick to a budget, ask yourself if you would be able to notice the difference between a $1500 or $2500 TV set as long as they offer the same features/options (HDMI, etc…)
Fred.
I got a Sony Bravia 46 LCD recently they have a promo running: you get a free sony home theatre with it ($600 value) even without the promo it is still a good TV. A little bit pricier than other LCDs though.