Help Buying a TV

what generalization? i read in many different articles that plasma sets use more electricity and put out more heat LCD sets. the excess heat is a by product of the extra electricty being used. you can feel the difference if you go to a store and stand around the different sets and wave your hand in the air around them.

some one else was talking about burn in and used the term dead pixel to describe the area damage by the image retention. i just wanted to point out that they are two different things.

 

You're probably referring to my post #30; in which case, I made no such link between image retention and dead pixels, and I have no clue how you would get that impression from the post, which talked about greater odds of encountering burn-in on plasma versus lower odds of encountering image retention on LCDs. I then made reference to a higher likelihood of encountering dead pixels on an LCD than image retention on an LCD, not that dead pixels are somehow related to image retention.

The purpose was to compare and contrast positives and negatives of the two technologies, not to diagnose and explain symptoms of defects.

Yeesh.

 

simply put..... there is a reason plasmas are so popular.

1.image burn which was a consideration in the first and second generations of Plasmas has been completely eliminated to date and is of little to no concern anymore

2. the masses of people are buying them which has lowered the prices big time Good for your wallet

3. the picture is brighter

4. the viewing angles are better

5. the possibilities of compatible equipment is endless due to popularity

sometimes the smart move is the obvious move...good luck

 

Gotta ask,what green feature are you referring to? I own a Aquos and a Vizio and I must say my Sharp Aquos is better quality and picture,hands down.

 

Yeah man I'm in the market for a new tv (probably going to spend around a grand or so) and looking around at best buy i noticed that the plasmas were a bit cheaper but I figured it was because of the whole burn image it's not going to last you very long kinda thing.

Should I go plasma? I want this tv to last me for a while (who wouldn't?) but I'm not exactly a tv expert. I've read through this thread but if you had about a 1000 dollar spending limit, what TV would all of you guys recommend?

 

With $1000 I'd get this one: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Mitsubishi-WD-60C9-60-Inch-1080p-Theater/dp/B002HHLGD4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1265568781&sr=8-6"]Amazon.com: Mitsubishi WD-60C9 60-Inch 1080p Flat panel DLP Home Theater: Electronics[/ame]

Then after breaking it in for a few months I'd get it calibrated.

 

personally, i'd go to best buy and judge with your own eyes. ask a salesperson if you can borrow a remote. stand back as far as your couch and find the tv you like. at that point, write the model number down and order it on amazon for a lot cheaper and without tax.

everybody has different tastes. personally i think plasmas and dlps are too dim. one of my best friends owns a plasma and thinks it's more important to have "blacker blacks."

another thing that isn't mentioned here are home theater projectors. they're incredibility cheap and give a large picture (like $400 or $500). i had an infocus that displayed 1080i over 84" for four years (the bulb died and i eventually got the tvs i have now). if you have a room with very low lighting, projectors might be an option too.

 

This is unreliable. TVs have what's called "store mode," where the colors are oversaturated and the brightness is cranked way up to help the sets stand out on the shelves. The in-store eye test is utterly worthless for anything but judging the size of TV you want to get.

 

that's why you ask to borrow the remote, so you can adjust the settings.

 

It's still in store mode, which is an actual option you can select on the TV when you first turn it on.

Calibration will only do so much. The values are still artificially pushed upward by the television hardware. You will not get the same image in your house as you will in the store... unless you activate store mode at home, which I don't recommend unless you wish to melt your eyeballs.

 

that's weird. none of my tvs have a "store mode" in their menus. there are some presets that are easy to navigate with a remote. i'm on my fourth hdtv and always went to the store before i bought it.

seriously though, what's the alternative? not actually seeing the tv before you buy it?

 

I bought my current main TV sight unseen. I read enough reviews on it that I felt I knew what to expect. Knowing I was going to get it calibrated and the fact that I had a previous similar TV from the same manufacturer made it an easy decision.

 

Again, it's a one-time option when you first turn on the TV. Samsungs all have it, as do many other brands. Once you select which mode you want, you're locked in. You won't find it in your settings menus, though if you can gain maintenance access (only repair techs know how to access that mode on specific TVs, you'll have to search the interwebs to find out how to access it on your set) you can switch back and forth... usually.

 

i have two samsungs. maybe i missed it. so you suggest not going to the store and looking at the tv before you buy it?

 

I would only go to look at sets in order to determine total size including bezel, and to get a sense of where the input jacks are.

I would rely on reviews and testimonials from sites like AVSForum (and not Cnet...) to actually discern the quality of the set in question.

 

AVS forums are a gold mine when considering buying anything home theater related. I search there before buying pretty much any TV/DVD/Home Theater Receiver.