So My 60" HDTV......

[Boid Fink]

My visio LCD is great and kicked the others......when put side by side!

I hear good things about Vizio.  MJS gave me a nice link a while back, I am deliberating buying a 60 for wall mounting.  But Vizio, when comp'd with other sets, seems to be just as good, IMO.  I don;t have digital eyes, so I can't really tell like a lot of "tv geeks" can.

[rayfsc07]

Is 1080P the way to go now?

Is 1080P the way to go now?

TV broadcasts are never likely to be 1080p, but for DVDs and gaming will benefit from 1080p.   Nearly all the new TVsa re 1080p now anyway.

[rayfsc07]

Is there really a big difference between 1080P and 1080I anyway?  What about 720P and 1080I?  Which is better?

[Bayfisher]

Go 1080p LCD.  Most DLP advertise 1080p but they are not. I did not like the viewing angle on the DLP's either.  The Samsung 40 LCD 1080p is sweet. 1080p is the only way you can view a 1080 signal pixel for pixel without rendering.  A 720 TV(sometimes 768) can only broadcast 720 horizontal lines.  A 1080i signal from direct tv for example would have to be rendered in order to view.   You will be creating an image instead of viewing as is. That is where the quality of the set comes in to play.  Also, the new upconvert DVD players put out 1080i. They play your old DVD's in near HD.  Mine looks unreal. I put in Jaws and could not believe what it looked like. Looks like it was just filmed.  It was a treat to go back and watch some your old movies how they were meant to be seen.  Apocalypse Now looked unbelievable.
 
The future of movies is true HD with 1920 by 1080(Blu-ray, HD DVD).  Also video games if you are into that.  Most television stations will be broadcasting in 1080i so why not see it how they want you to.
 
Try to make sure it has plenty of HDMI connects for this is the future. Do not buy the expensive HDMI cables at the electronics stores. The ones at Wally World for $30 are perfectly fine. You will not see a difference with a $150 dollar cable. I just went through the HD whirlwind and hope some of this helps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1080p

[Boid Fink]

Thank you Bayfisher.

Some useable knowledge!

[BUCFAN4LIFE]

What do you recommend MJS?

I think I recall you in the past knowing quite a bit about TV's.

What's the best bang for the buck?

Bang for buck would be DLP, hands down.  Funny thing is a good DLP has the best picture quality and life expectancy as well.


If I was buying right now my choice would be a Sony KDS-60A2020 60" LCD Projection TV.  You can get one delivered for around $2,200.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Grand-Wega-KDS-60A2020-1080p/dp/B000NKCGVI

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=137/popup10[]=160:1022/vendors[]=SNY/sortby=priceA


I can also see the attraction of LCD and Plasma but space isn't a consideration for me.

But 300 bucks for the damn bulb every 4-6K hours is a huge turnoff --thats really only 4-6yrs depedning on amount of time viewed (but the new bulb does fully restore to brand new settings). But the Sony DLPS are very nice. But that was the turnoff for me. I had a freaking projection that died in 5 years with some circuitry crap- anyway 500bucks to fix and who knows when the bulb will go for another 300 so I recently went in to the TV market. There was no way I was going projection again. But the Sony DLP's are a very good picture and to keep up with the flat screens I heard they were going to start packaging a replacement bulb. Did that happen?


I went Samsungs 42" Plasma with 1080i. It is a toss up with Plasma to LCD for me -- Plasma has the better viewing angles and the LCD to me was just too bright. I really like the true blacks plasma offered. But the one thing that sold was longevity. Plasma has greatly enhanced their longevity and any of the better named models have screen protrect on them and all kinds of gaming modes to protect the screens. That was their main downfall years ago. Mine has this cool little feature that literally every 2-3 min shifts the picture vertically and horizontally 2 pixels. Can't even tell thats it is happening. For folks who want to see the protection you can do a screen erase and it whites out and sets each pixel-- called screen erase or something. Not to mention TIA has now had those plasma monitors up 24/7 for 10 years now in Airside B and they still have a good picture-- So i figure I can at least get 15 out of mine.

The other thing is Plasma does run at a higher heat so alot of them you have to be careful not to block the back panels ie: in a tight entertainment center cubby with no ventilation. LCD runs at a cooler temp and does not present that problem. For me the mount is far enough way from the wall that it did not matter but that was one thing they warned me of. When talking with alot of the electronic guys they all said LCD and Plasma are easily the same in longevity now but the DLP's while the bulbs go and you may have mirror issues if the set gets banged around or something-- that once you replace that bulb it is brand new again.

The picture was by far the best for me on Samsungs plamsa compared to the ones around it. Read the reviews but sooner or later your head will spin-- it is all about taste and your preference so you have to go look and do the side by side-- I went to Circuit City to actually purchase the Hitachi 42" LCD- but once I got there I preferred the Samsung. Also once you buy-- find the website with the most tech heads on it and find the optimal settings for what you prefer and play with it-- they are so much better than the manufacturers settings and these techies have also found what builds longevity and such without killing quality. Look for Circuit City price breaks and then go to Ebay and buy a 10% coupon for like 99cents. I waited for there 100 bucks off TV's 40" and up or some crap and then got the coupon as well and bought it cheaper at the store then buying online plus I threw in an upconverting DVD player and got 10% off that too. Basically that was free after the coupon I paid 99cents for.

As Bayfisher said the upconverting DVD is awesome and relatively inexpensive. I just can't see wasting the money on an HD player when they are so overpriced-- plus I am not sure my eyes can tell that much of a difference. And I sure can't sitting in my home not being able to compare the two. Make sure there are at least 2-3 HDMI slots and as BayFisher also said go to Target or Walmart and get the cables there- they are 29 bucks I think compared to 100-125 at the electronics stores.


Hope this helps and just remember if you aren't sure and you go back and forth in the store--take what ever one you like most-- you can't compare to anything once it is in your living rooom and you are watching it. Also the wall mounts on Ebay are much cheaper than anywhere I found-- and yes they are a pain in the azz to install  [banghead]

There was no way I was going projection again. But the Sony DLP's are a very good picture and to keep up with the flat screens I heard they were going to start packaging a replacement bulb. Did that happen?

Yes Sony do package spair bulbs or offer free replacements, can't remember which one.   

The thing I find hilarious is HD was developed because people were moving towards big screen (50-60 inch and bigger) TVs, and the old format struggled with the viewing distances.

Now most people seem to be back down to 40-42 inch wide screen TVs, which are actually comparable to a 36 inch 4:3 TV in area.  With a good digital signal you would not see the difference between 480p and 1080p at normal viewing distances with a 42 inch TV.

[Bayfisher]

Sony packages spare bulbs or offers replacements for a reason.   Because they wear out. I heard of someone having to replace 5 bulbs under warranty in a year. Plus DLP had a lot of trouble with the color wheels.  Not one person or article that I came in contact with had many positives to say about DLP except screen size and price.  I was looking for quality.  As far as not noticing a difference on the 40 inch screen. That is crazy. Go look at the blu-ray hooked up to one and there is no way you could believe that.  To me that is saying there is no difference with HD and SD.  How could you not see the difference going from 450,000 to 1 and 2 million pixels?

[rayfsc07]

If bulbs go out how much do they cost to replace?  WHat would a TV look like if the bulbs went bad?

That may be what my problem is.

Maybe I should just have a guy come out and look at my TV.

If bulbs go out how much do they cost to replace?  WHat would a TV look like if the bulbs went bad?

That may be what my problem is.

Maybe I should just have a guy come out and look at my TV.

The cost would depend on the TV, $250-$350 is the average.  I have had a projection 6 years and there has been no deprecaition in the picture quality.  I know this because we have an identical TV (sent in error from Amazon) in the games room that is never used.

I had a few good bookmarks about resolution and TV comparisions but I deleted them recently.   

[Bayfisher]

The bulbs are normally a few hundred dollars. Your television would seem dim with uneven lighting I think. What exactly happened to your set Ray? Does it turn on?

Sony packages spare bulbs or offers replacements for a reason. Because they wear out. I heard of someone having to replace 5 bulbs under warranty in a year.

See my post above. 

Plus DLP had a lot of trouble with the color wheels.

You answered that one for me, thanks.

Not one person or article that I came in contact with had many positives to say about DLP except screen size and price.

I totally disagree with you, I have read plenty of reviews and bench tests and they often don’t even come to a conclusion.  Just search all TVs on CNET by editors ratings, and you will see all three types of TV in the top 10-20

http://reviews.cnet.com/4566-6475_7-0.html?tag=dffl1_6&sort=edRating7+desc

As far as not noticing a difference on the 40 inch screen. That is crazy.

"To be able to detect differences between resolutions, the screen must be large enough and you must sit close enough.  However, if you are an average consumer with a plasma on the far wall of your family room, you are not likely to be sitting close enough to notice any advantage.

Also, the Imaging Science Foundation (ISF) states the the most important aspects of picture quality are (in order): 1) contrast ratio, 2) color saturation, 3) color accuracy, 4) resolution."

http://www.carltonbale.com/2006/11/1080p-does-matter/

[rayfsc07]

Yeah, it turns on.

It's hard to describe what it looks like, but I guess the best way I can describe it is the screen looks like a "banner", and the colors are all weird.  If I watch golf I see 3 balls, 3 different colors.  That help?

I might be able to try and get a picture of what the screen looks like, not sure how it would turn out.....

[Bayfisher]

LCD>DLP. 1080p>anything else.  I have seen the difference.   A projected image (with light loss) can never be as good as a direct display.  The DLP chips are designed for 720/768 and most create 1080p as opposed to displaying it. It is rendered.  I have to respectfully disagree.  Why would you want to watch your DLP bulb gradually lose it's intensity and then replace? If DLP is better, why are they thousands cheaper per size?

http://www.dlptvreview.com/dlptv/dlptelevision.html