Few questions regarding LCD tv... that will lead to more questions :)

[ohlookyhere]

Hello Forum, this is my first post on here and I just wanted to say Hi first off

I'm going to be buying a new TV shortly (maybe 2 months) and I've got a few questions.

I'm most likely going LCD not LED because as I've heard most of these "LED" tv's are just LCD with LED's on the borders (just what I've heard, correct me if im wrong) and that the actual FULL LED tv's cost much more.

Question: The viewing distance from tv to eyes will be 5 feet and I'm going to be playing xbox 360 on it, when im watching tv or a movie the viewing distance will be more like 7 to 8 feet. Given that info what's the biggest TV size you think I could get away with without sacrificing how the image will look at 5 feet away. (This will lead to more questions when I get answers... I want to know a lot of stuff before I make my possibly 1200 dollar purchase

[ohlookyhere]

I kinda got antsy waiting for replies so I looked around on what sites suggest and some dude said it's personal preference so I did some neato little math of my own and came to my conclusion on that question, but I'm wondering...
Samsung 40" LCD tv (60hz) $699
Samsung 40" LCD tv (120hz) $899
(I'm in Canada so prices may seem different/strange to americans)

obviously the first one (LCD 60hz) is the "worst" of the two but I'm wondering if it's a big deal to have 120hz refresh rate!

[jagabo]

For 5 to 8 feet viewing distance I'd go for 40 to 46 inch, 1080p.

LED HDTV's are LCDs that use thousands of LEDs as backlights instead of fluorescent lamps. They consume less power and have the ability to turn off lamps in black areas to lower the black level.

[ohlookyhere]

I heard that since the LED's only boarder the TV that when they want to lower black levels on certain spot it kind of mushes and bleeds, that true?... I think for the size tv im getting now (40 or 42 at most cuz of cost reasons) LED is out of the question I guess

[jagabo]

Some interesting reading:
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2349236,00.asp
http://www.displaymate.com/shootout.html

[ohlookyhere]

Ya in that article thing the local dimming thing is what ruined the samsungs appearance in dark scenes, that's what I was referring to.

[ohlookyhere]

Which would YOU buy?
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/lg-electronics-lg-42-1080p-120hz-lcd-hdtv-42ld520-...443d7b9ed8en02

or

http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/product/samsung-samsung-40-1080p-120hz-lcd-hdtv-ln40c610-l...4dbbfa1becen02

[Bjs]

Two different manufacturers methods employed.

1: Edge lighting
2: Back lighting

What would be a reasonable overview of the technology and mostly answers your questions found here

Remember some models have very poor viewing angles in regards to watching regular movies, ect.

[ohlookyhere]

Oh, I'm learning something

[edDV]

If you have 2 months take your time making conclusions. Summer is new model season for HDTV sets. Prices are highest at introduction. Post Christmas is lowest. I don't recommend buying last year's clearance models. The tech is advancing rapidly while prices are falling.

Most of the new Samsungs were previewed at CES (consuner electronics show) last January. Most of the action was with 3D models. Good news is 3D is causing the premium 2D L.E.D. and Florescent backight model prices down into more reasonable levels.

As for your size question, try the viewing distance calculator. Goal here is to replicate a theater experience. Six feet viewing distance works out to 44 to 53 inches diagonal before you worry about being too close.
http://myhometheater.homestead.com/viewingdistancecalculator.html

[ohlookyhere]

Thanks, that calculator is a neat little tool... I tried a few calculators but I just got back from my friends house and he's got a 40 and we set up his couch 5 feet away (because that's how it will be in my room) and it was perfect so 40" if I get a samsung, and 42" if I get an LG... now to decide which to get!

I've seen that samsung's picture seems to be the brightest and most vivid but sometimes that stuff isn't realistic you know? Like my front yard filmed in movie quality on a samsung's picture would be like amazingly bright grass and everything... but realistically it's not like that... my grass isn't super lime green LOL I guess it's all how you calibrate it but I'm told that the LG's are more gear towards making a good replica/copy of what was seen originally on the camera that it was filmed by....

I'm not sure what to believe... apparently LG has the highest customer satisfaction rating among all the TV companies or something

[edDV]

40" at 7-8 ft (your watching movie distance) would be like sitting in the very back row of a theater. You would lose the immersion.

Don't trust store calibrations for judging picture accuracy. Read the reviews. Home lighting is very different vs. store lighting.

[ohlookyhere]

Well as far as the size I wanted to know the biggest size i could get away with (maxing at 42.. cuz of cost) and basically samsung sells 32 and the next size up is like 37 then 40... so it was kind of dumb me asking that... I'd also like to know if I should bother with teh 120hz models because the samsung 40 and LG 42 are 700 i think, then the 120hz versions of those are both 900 so it's worth knowing if I should bother with the higher refresh rate models, but they also have quick response times and better contrast ratios on the 120hz models...

[MOVIEGEEK]

I wouldn't buy a Samsung, they have poor quality control and support. I would get a Panasonic, Sony or LG.
If you do get a LCD then get a 120Hz model, most experts say 240Hz isn't worth the money. If you don't want to worry about viewing angles and backlights then get a plasma.

[ohlookyhere]

I did like my one friends Panasonic the one time I was at his house... went 29 and 0 on Call of duty on his screen ahahah ( a really good score for those of you who don't play games ) and then I went home to my 20 inch not wide screen standard def tv and couldn't play half decent for weeks because it was so hard going back to SD from HD ahahah

[edDV]

There is more variety in HDTV models than you understand yet. I've only looked at Samsung recently.

Keep in mind the image processing quality and other features will improve as you move up the Samsung line from the 4/5 to the 6/7/8/9 level series. That is why Samsung makes eleven 40" LCD models last I looked that range in "list price" from $849 to $1999.

The Level 4 and 5 models are their "value" line found in K-Mart/WalMart, etc. These will have older generic processing technology, flourescent backlights and 60Hz processing. These used to be the 1366x768p (aka "720p") models but this year most are 1920x1080p. Some upper Level 5 models have the old version 120 Hz processing.

Level 6 gets the latest 120 Hz processing tech and is now available with either flourescent or L.E.D. backlight models. Levels 7/8/9 are their premium feature models with extended networking and more playback codecs. These are available in 2D and 3D models.

IMO the best picture for the price model is the L.E.D backlight UN40C6300 ($1399 list). Next would be the flourescent backlight LN40C630 ($899 list). These are also available in 46" or higher screen sizes. Sale prices can be much lower. Model numbers may be changing as new "2011" models are introduced.

Other manufactures have similar levels.

[edDV]

In addition to dynamic contrast and local dimming picture quality issues, LED vs. flourescent backlights have other pro/con.

Flourescents are cheaper, but use more power and are more prone to failure. Replacement costs can run into $100's. I've had many flourescent backlights fail on laptops and LCD computer monitors.

LED backlights use less power, should last longer and provide better contrast (deeper blacks) through local dimming. Current disdvantages include cost and some local dimming artifacts such as the widely discussed star field example.