TV for basement/kids' room

[tmurnin]

Hi -

I'm finishing off part of my basement and making it into a kids' playroom/tv/movie/game room. My kids are 9 & 10, so they're doing a lot of movie watching and some gaming. I want to get a decent display since I'm sure I'll be doing some watching down there with them, but I also don't want to over-spec or overspend based on a bunch of stats that the main audience (pre-teen/teenagers) will never appreciate. I was looking at the following sets:

Samsung PN60F5300 - decent plasma set for $850. Disadvantage is that there are no smart apps and no 3d on this tv. The smart apps can probably be filled by the Blu-Ray player, so that may not be a big deal. 3D is nice, not essential given where 3d programming appears to be headed.

Sharp LC-60LE65OU - $1099. Never owned an LED tv (other than a small kitchen set) so no experience with these. Seems to be a decent set with smart apps. Also don't know much about Sharp sets.

Panasonic TC-P60ST60 - $1499. Clearly the best pure tv option, but not sure if that room justifies the extra money.

So, am I better off just going with the basic Samsung or should I spend almost double the money for the Panny? Or should I split the difference and go with the Sharp?

Thanks in advance

 

[fuzz092888]

Since it's a basement, I'm guessing you have good light control. In the dark, for a movie night I would take the Panny all day long. Then again Samsung plasmas aren't too bad either and if this is mostly just going to be for the kids I see no reason to double your budget for a top of the line TV. If, however, you plan on using this as much as them, lighting is pretty controlled and you want the best picture possible the Panasonic is your TV. If the room is too bright, however, you'll almost definitely catch some nasty glare off of the Panny and a brighter LED screen might be the ticket.

Your best bet is to buy from a local place with a generous return policy and try them out in room. That's really the only way to know for sure which will be right for you.

 

[tmurnin]

Also saw this Samsung - PN60F5500AF for $1199. Anyone know anything about this tv and how it compares to the ST60? At this price, I'm inclined to give it a try

 

[Grador]

I have an ST60 and I'm extremely satisfied with it. That said, how well air conditioned/ventilated is the basement? My room can get quite warm, cnet pegs the 60" version as consuming 250 watts. LCDs are a bit more temperature friendly.

I will also say, even if you have poor light control the ST60 does an absolutely amazing job of maintaining picture quality, supposedly they put a new fancy anti-reflective coating on this year.

 

[tmurnin]

Basement temps seem fine, typica room temperatures. Also noticed I can get the S60 at 65" for about the same money as the 60" ST60. Should I go bigger or for the better tv?

 

[Grador]

Basement temps seem fine, typica room temperatures. Also noticed I can get the S60 at 65" for about the same money as the 60" ST60. Should I go bigger or for the better tv?

I'd stick with the ST personally. In addition to the general quality increase, it seems the S60 doesn't get the antireflective coating.

 

[tmurnin]

Ok. Last question. I can get the 60" St60 on sale for $1499, or I can get a 64" Samsung F5500 for $1799 or the 64" F5300 for $1499. Should I get the larger screen (Samsung) or the better tv (presumably the Panny)?

 

[Grador]

Well that's really just going to be decided by what's more important to you. Will the extra size or quality bring you greater enjoyment?

 

[tmurnin]

I can't decide! Wondering if I would really notice the quality difference between the Samsung and Panasonic in real-life usage or if it's just message board stat bragging.....

 

[Grador]

I've seen both samsung and panasonic plasmas and for a bit more money bought a panasonic. That said I am extremely picky on video quality, having very sharp eyes with far above average colour discrimination. I will say for certain that it is not stat bragging.

What I cannot say for certain is if it is above the level where YOU personally care. Most of my friends cant understand why I would buy any TV that costs more than the least expensive possible for the size. You obviously want more than that, but how much more? That's something no one can tell you.

 

[fuzz092888]

I can't decide! Wondering if I would really notice the quality difference between the Samsung and Panasonic in real-life usage or if it's just message board stat bragging.....

To my eyes I didn't notice a huge difference between the Panny plasmas and the Samsungs. I could pick out subtle differences which tilted my opinion towards the panasonics, but what put me over the edge is that when I was researching the Samsungs there seemed to be a lot of reviews stating they had a nasty buzzing sound that people started to notice. Kind of like not noticing a clock ticking until you do notice and then not being able to if ore it. I have no idea if the newer models have that problem, although I doubt they still do. Personally, if I was going to get a Samsung I would probably go with an LED, which are super impressive and if I was going to get a plasma I'd stick with Panasonic. Just my personal preference.

 

[tmurnin]

Ended up blowing my budget and going with a 65" VT60. Still breaking it in but very happy thus far.

 

[SearchofSub]

Hi -

I'm finishing off part of my basement and making it into a kids' playroom/tv/movie/game room. My kids are 9 & 10, so they're doing a lot of movie watching and some gaming. I want to get a decent display since I'm sure I'll be doing some watching down there with them, but I also don't want to over-spec or overspend based on a bunch of stats that the main audience (pre-teen/teenagers) will never appreciate. I was looking at the following sets:

Samsung PN60F5300 - decent plasma set for $850. Disadvantage is that there are no smart apps and no 3d on this tv. The smart apps can probably be filled by the Blu-Ray player, so that may not be a big deal. 3D is nice, not essential given where 3d programming appears to be headed.

Sharp LC-60LE65OU - $1099. Never owned an LED tv (other than a small kitchen set) so no experience with these. Seems to be a decent set with smart apps. Also don't know much about Sharp sets.

Panasonic TC-P60ST60 - $1499. Clearly the best pure tv option, but not sure if that room justifies the extra money.

So, am I better off just going with the basic Samsung or should I spend almost double the money for the Panny? Or should I split the difference and go with the Sharp?

Thanks in advance

Since they are kids and assuming your basement has windows and the kids will not be doing much late-night viewing, I'd recommond a LED over Plasma all day long. Dont go for the Samsung's, they are purely marketed very well thats all. Vizio's and Westighouses are alot better in picture quality for the money.

 

[fuzz092888]

Since they are kids and assuming your basement has windows and the kids will not be doing much late-night viewing, I'd recommond a LED over Plasma all day long. Dont go for the Samsung's, they are purely marketed very well thats all. Vizio's and Westighouses are alot better in picture quality for the money.

He already bought a TV? Post 13.

 

[Grador]

Since they are kids and assuming your basement has windows and the kids will not be doing much late-night viewing, I'd recommond a LED over Plasma all day long. Dont go for the Samsung's, they are purely marketed very well thats all. Vizio's and Westighouses are alot better in picture quality for the money.

Some of the worst TV advice I've heard in a while, even before you take into account that a few posts ago the guy said he just bought a 60vt60.

 

[tmurnin]

Thanks to all for the help. Like I said, I went with the VT60. It's a basement, so I don't have a ton of windows there, but I do get some sun. Once I get some shutters on the windows, it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Grador]

The shutters will obviously be nice, but I've actually found my 50ST60 to do extremely well in moderately high light. I'm rather curious how the larger [higher end] TV fairs, do you feel that the light is an issue with it?

 

[tmurnin]

It would be too strong to say that I think it's an "issue," and i think the anti-reflection filter does work very well, but I do pick up some glare. Note that the window I'm talking about is directly to the side of the tv and maybe about 1-2 feet in front of it, so the angle could be making a big difference.

 

[Aapte]

It would be too strong to say that I think it's an "issue," and i think the anti-reflection filter does work very well, but I do pick up some glare. Note that the window I'm talking about is directly to the side of the tv and maybe about 1-2 feet in front of it, so the angle could be making a big difference.

As per this discussion I hope the glare & reflection does not interrupt with the TV viewing experience. But, if your television monitor wears an anti-reflective filter then it is important to consider its cleaning process as the wrong cleaning methods can hit the monitor hard.

 

[tmurnin]

Hmmm. As of now, I've only dusted it. Any specific recommendations for,cleaning?