purchasing advice. what to buy, and why?

[DVD_NDN]

hi

So, At present, I am using a 27" 'sharp' television.
No HD, No plasma, no lcd. all it DOES have going for it is that it is a flat screen. unfortunately, not a 'flat tv'.

I want an upgrade. heres where you, the reader, come in.

I can read stats till my eyes bug out. That does not really tell me very much as I do not have a proper frame of reference (to understand how thats possible, think of me as a person who has clawed up the socio-economic ladder to reach 'lower middle class' - yes, sadly a struggle to reach that.)

I would like to hear from the people here, who's opinions and input I have come to respect, and found invaluable.

1 -What is the difference between plasma and LCD?
(in terms of visual performance)
2 - Are there other options out there?
(in terms of 'high end' televisions)
3 - Longevity, any clues on how long I can expect each to last, presuming average use?

I am looking at something perhaps 42", perhaps a size or two larger.
use would be primarily for DVD viewing, and would have computer patched into it as well. oh yeah, and xbox. I would be approx 7 feet away from the television set.
(anything else I should relate? ask)

Answering those questions, and posting any additional tips, suggestions you find may be helpful would be greatly appreciated. thank you.

[redwudz]

You would get better input at a site like this:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=6

Just my opinion but at this time I would look into LCD flatscreens. Or if you have the room, a DLP projection system.

[edDV]

You didn't mention a budget. This isn't the best time to buy as is always the case. Today you can get in under $800 for a good 30-34" HD CRT, in the $1200-1800 range for a 42" EDTV plasma and ~$1800-3000 for a 42" HDTV plasma. Other options are rear and front projection.

The good large screen LCD HDTV technology is just beginning to ramp up. Today they are more expensive than a low end plasma but in a year LCD will be the price leader in the 42-46" range. I'd wait.


PS: One subject that is rarely covered is power consumption. A 250-350 Watt plasma can consume over a kilowatt real power if you are using air conditioning. That kilowatt-hour will be at your highest marginal rate. Here that would be near 20 cents per hour in the summer and 16 cents per hour in the winter. Using the HDTV 10 hours a day that adds up to $40-60 per month for power. A big screen LCD would cut that greater than half.

Also, projectors need expensive bulb replacement periodically.

[guns1inger]

I would not look at plasma at all (never liked it anyway). LCD is starting to come into it's own. At this stage, the Sony Bravia range are probably the best for image quality. Be careful though - there are tiers within this series. The cheapers ones are - well - cheaper. The mid-top range use the Wega engine and have good contrast and black levels.

Neither plasma nor LCD can yet match CRT for true depth, but a tube that big requires four guys and truck to move it, and eats a lot of real estate.

[Shocker Milwaukee]

Today you can get in under $800 for a good 30-34" HD CRT,

My 2 cents, 34" HD CRT.

[DVD_NDN]

hey, thanks alot guys. this is invaluable input.

To be honest, I was not aware that the traditional CRT is still outperforming the LCD and plasma tech. See what happens when you buy into the hype (or nearly 'buy').

As far as a budget goes, I am seriously considering spending upwards of $2,500 - $3,000 .. hell 35 if I thought I could get away with it (wife),on a TV. I really am a huge multimedia junkie. its like crack for me - and at 6'2", and 275lbs, I am a 'huge' junkie both literally and figuratively.

Joking aside, my thoughts are that, being in canada, and with the dollar being worth less than the american standard, that will affect costs (raising them slightly), and as one of you had said - power consumption is in fact another detail which I had overlooked (See? this is why I respect all of your input so much... details, details). I was aiming for something HD to keep up with the upcoming 'boost' in standards (is that fascism, or advancement... I deigress). And Widescreen is a must... no? many shows are broadcast in WS and in HD... why not purchase a TV that can receive those signals.
And yes, 42" would be my base in terms of size. Really, I need a large television. as much as I can afford without offsetting quality too much (theres some give and take with everything).

I was under the impression, as had been mentioned, that LCD was becoming the pheonix in the battle of tech between LCD and plasma, and given the costs involved, I would have to wait at least a little while regardless of which way I went so that I can gather the funds for 'my' television.

CRT would be an option I suppose, failing the LCD or plasma... I am not ready to call it antiquated as I am sure there have been improvements, as my current 27" 'flat screen' sharp television is immensely superior to my old 'candle' brand.

An interesting note was made though - DLP.
exactly what is DLP. I've seen em as I drool in futureshop. at least I think I have. If they are what I think they are almost as 'deep' as a traditional CRT would be, but... not quite as much. and ... well, still look awesome.

What would the difference be between DLP and - anything else?
and as far as 'room' goes. I'd damned near knock walls down to make room. of course, I cannot do that, and so... would make as much room as possible without going to jail (I rent presently).

I dont think I would go the projection route, only because of lack of space to (I believe anyway) adequately view it. I had not considered it previously, and perhaps it does merit some thought.

again, thanks alot guys. please, if you think of anything else that I should consider, any further thoughts, add them, as I would hate to blow a few grand and sit down with a frosty one and think 'well shyt, I could have done better?'

(thanks alot - again)

[dphirschler]

An interesting note was made though - DLP.
exactly what is DLP. I've seen em as I drool in futureshop. at least I think I have. If they are what I think they are almost as 'deep' as a traditional CRT would be, but... not quite as much. and ... well, still look awesome.

What would the difference be between DLP and - anything else?
and as far as 'room' goes. I'd damned near knock walls down to make room. of course, I cannot do that, and so... would make as much room as possible without going to jail (I rent presently).

I dont think I would go the projection route, only because of lack of space to (I believe anyway) adequately view it. I had not considered it previously, and perhaps it does merit some thought.

I have an LCD projector myself. It's sort of old 700 lumens, 800x600. But it's great. It works by splitting the image into RGB and running it through a semi-transparent tiny LCD screen, then merges the image back together and focuses the beam on the wall.

The DLP projector is similar except I understand that internally, it projects the RGB split beam onto three special chips instead of through LCD screens. The chips are like grids of thousands of tiny mirrors that reflect or not depending on the value of the pixel.

As for which is superior, I don't know. I think DLP is, but I have not done a side-by-side comparison. I won't be in the market for a new projector for a long time either because I still have a spare lamp to use when this one dies.

BTW, 700 lumens looks great, but I would not want to go any lower. I need a pretty dark room to get great contrast. I'd like to have a 1000 lumens or better. Today's projectors have 1300 lumens and up!

But I only use it for special viewing. Movies, football, my shows, that sort of thing. For casual viewing (news, and channel flipping) I use the 27" TV.


Darryl

[redwudz]

If you do watch your TV and videos in the evening, a projector is one option to consider. I have a front room 17 feet wide with a 5 foot by 8 foot screen and surround sound. HDTV projector. I've never regretted the purchase.

I admit, it's not too useful with a lot of background light in the daytime, but I have a 27" TV for that. The newer DLP projectors are even better.

There are also DLP projection TVs.

But I would keep doing the research on the different options before you commit yourself. The LCD sets and the projectors are getting better all the time.

[edDV]

Another thing to consider is the mix of HD and SD programming you will be watching. Even though I have HD Comcast cable and am a science and documentary junkie (Discovery HD, PBS, InHD, etc.), most of what I watch is still analog NTSC or 520x480 MPeg2 cable channels or my own recordings (DV, VHS, VCD, interlaced DVD).

Since my career has been centered on high quality broadcast TV program production, my eyes have been trained to see and react to video defects.

Plasma and LCD technolgy can look very good with HD or progressive DVD sources, but for general SD viewing, I truely can't stand looking at the deinterlacing errors and MPeg decoding errors when enlarged to 42-60 inch screens.

My standard references for SD video quality over the years have been the SONY BVM and Ikegami CRT studio monitors. The current generation of "HD Ready" CRT home monitors truely approach that quality at a third the cost. They perform well with interlace or progressive sources. The disadvantages are limited screen size, bulk and weight. I compensate for this by sitting closer (~5ft for HD and 5-10ft for SD) in my compact "theater" corner.

My next purchase will probably be a 46" LCD but I'll wait until convinced the black level, gamma and deinterlacer issues are solved and the prices become reasonable.

[Bondiablo]

The picture for LCD and plasma will be about the same, you'll really need to go to a store and look for yourself, not only which type but which brand/model, looks best to you. Try to find a store where you can play around with the settings and preferably has the remotes out with the TVs, sometimes I think the stores purposely tweak the settings on the lower priced brands to make them look worse and steer you towards the higher priced models. It may be too soon to get a really big LCD, more than 37", but that's what I'd look at. LCDs last longer, use less power, have a wider viewing angle and you don't have to worry about burn in. I recently got a Westinghouse LTV-32w1 32" LCD, when Best Buy had them on sale for under $1000, and I'm really happy with it, it has just as good a picture as many of the more expensive brands and better than some and a better selection of inputs for my purposes than many others. After Thanksgiving I actually got a 32" Olevia LCD for under $800, which also had a good picture, but ended up returning it because it didn't have a zoom so you'd be stuck watching letterboxed sources with black bars on all 4 sides. A lot of the manufacturer's sites have manuals you can download and there are plenty of places online to find reviews, those would be good to check too. Life expectancy should be listed among the specifications.

[edDV]

The picture for LCD and plasma will be about the same, you'll really need to go to a store and look for yourself, not only which type but which brand/model, looks best to you. Try to find a store where you can play around with the settings and preferably has the remotes out with the TVs, sometimes I think the stores purposely tweak the settings on the lower priced brands to make them look worse and steer you towards the higher priced models. ....

Most of these sets will look good with DVD sources. Ask to see NTSC and cable/sat SD MPeg2 sources. Look at sports channels for motion artifacts, look at movies for good blacks and adequate gamma (dark grey detail). Check CNBC for those scrolling stock quotes and see if they are clear and readable. Watch motion graphics for smooth motion and smooth edges.

You will be spending most of your time watching NTSC and interlaced SD digital.

[SatStorm]

We just tested the latest 43" Pioneer Plasma screens on the office and I have to admit that for the very first time, plasma looks great in my eyes!

Of course, watching on plasma / lcd typical DVB /s transmissions is painfull for the eyes. It's great for DVDs but not typical TV broadcastings...

IMO: Better get a projector for the next 3 years. In 3 years, we gonna have OLED screens also to look for....

[handyguy]

dtv.gov find out whats coming up & when.

[FulciLives]

If you are on a budget but want a big screen HDTV experience then consider the old trustly CRT Rear Projector.

I just bought a Hitachi 51" 16x9 HDTV CRT Rear Projector at Circuit City. This purchase was made mid December 2005 and the price was only $1,350

So far I love it.

The only problem though is viewing angle. You can't be too far off to the left or right or too high up or down as the picture "fades". If you have a lot of people in your household then this is maybe a bad type of TV for you (unless you can put it FAR away as that increases the viewing angle). For me it works as I live alone and at best may have one or two people over at a time ... where all can sit more-or-less directly in front of the TV.

Otherwise, depending on budget, you are either going to be at $2,000 plus for DLP or EDTV PLASMA (even more for HDTV PLASMA) or for about $1,200 you could go for the SONY HDTV 34" 16x9 Flat Screen Tube but then you are back to a HUGE cabinent and a decent but not overly large screen.

As for LCD I thought the SHARP models looked best. There was a 32" HDTV 16x9 Sharp that was around $1,600 that was nice. They also had a 37" model as well but that was well over $2,000

I mentioned DLP above and SONY has a really nice looking 42" model.

I didn't really loook at PLASMA much as only the EDTV models woud have been anywhere remotely in the price range and I know I didn't want EDTV nor could I afford HDTV so I didn't look at PLASMA much.

This is based on my recent experiences shopping for a HDTV.

For a tube go with the SONY 34" 16x9 which is about $1,200 maybe a bit less. There is a slightly more expensive model (same size) but with better resolution.

For DLP the Sony 42" 16x9 looks nice and is "reasonable" at $2,000

For LCD go with the Sharp Aqous models.

For CRT Rear Projector the 51" 16x9 Hitachi at Circuit City (Sears as it as well) is sweet and very cheap considering the quality and size. Price is $1,600 when not on sale.

Hope that helps some.

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

[Bondiablo]

I have a Sharp LLT2015B 20" LCD computer monitor that looks great but I didn't think the Aquos TVs where anything special. I thought the Samsungs looked better for about the same price and my Westinghouse looked better than the Aquos too, for considerably less.

[handyguy]

Anything Projection= bulb = $$= usually not under guarantee.

[SatStorm]

True... But the Epson projectors have cheap bulbs nowdays...

[redwudz]

My projector bulb has 1800 hours on it and still going strong. It's fairly inexpensive at $200US. 1800/2hr movies= 900 movies for about $ .22 per movie bulb cost. Not really that expensive.