Looking for a new Display - advice please

[Briant73]

I'm in the market for a new display but my head is swimming with all the possibilities. Any suggestions and help would be appreciated.

Currently I'm watching a 32" crt tv Standard Defintion. I have a panasonic cp-72 dvd player (SD), Dish Network 625(SD), and just got a Xb0x 360 (sd/hd). I have a denon 3803 for my AV receiver with 5.1 speakers. After I get the HD I will seriously consider the dish HD package and receiver. Then a ways down hd def dvd/blu-ray but not for awhile.

My habits are watching most anything but am a sports fan, and like my video games just as much as TV shows/movies.

I'm debating about LCD or Plasma for my viewing. I read about motion blur(lcd), image retention(plasma). I don't like the idea of either and thanks to my viewing habits both come into play. Do any of the current crop of displays reduce these issues or eliminate them to where they won't affect my viewing. I would not mind blur once in a blue moon for a second or two, and IR that rarely happens and goes away under a minute won't bother me too much.

So what do you guys recommend? My thoughts are
Buy a cheap set, save some cash so in a couple years I can upgrade to sets that are going to make these issues moot.
But is there a current higher end set that does the job and does it well and will be a mainstay for many years. I don't want to pay a lot and then have to reinvest in a few years due to issues.
Hold off for a few months because the new sets from some compny will be the answer.

 

[avaserfi]

This is a pretty simple debate between LCD and Plasma. If you have control over the light level in the room get a plasma as they have far better pictures than LCDs, although LCDs are getting better. What I mean by light level is covering windows, you can use it with the lights off/dimmed etc...

The issue of burn in on Plasmas is basically a moot one as is motion blur on LCDs. These were problems with earlier generations of these displays that have been overcome. Plasmas have added pixel shift to combat the problem which is very effective while LCDs have upped their refresh rates to combat their own problem.

If you get the latest generation of either set you will be good for sure, but even if you get the last generation of either you will be okay with both problems. 120Hz refresh rate is not needed to make motion blur unnoticeable (except in a side by side comparison). Last gen plasma models have pixel shift too.

So don't worry, choose your set based on your lighting, both will do a good job for you if you get a quality set.

For brand recommendations:

Plasmas: Pioneer (far more pricey) or Panasonic

LCDs: Sharp, Toshiba, Sony (many people seem to like these, I don't)

 

[ParadigmDawg]

Andrew is correct here. I have a plasma, LCD and DLP and they are all fine TVS. The picture on the plasma is the best but it likes the room to be pretty dark. The DLP could care less if it's dark or you shine a spot light on it and the LCD is a happy medium.

There are no issues with motion blur or retention of images/burn-in.

 

[The Dukester]

Good advice above One thing to consider, also, is screen size. LCD's are competitive with 50" plasmas in their 46" size. Anything bigger, plasma will kill LCD in price. If you are in the 40-42" size, they will run about the same price.

Even an inexpensive set will run a grand, so determine if you want to spend that much to throw away or relegate to a bedroom, etc. before you decide to go inexpensive and wait a couple of years. Sets are always coming down and picture quality going up, so decide for yourself.

My preference is plasma all the way. I don't think you will have any problems with burn in with just a little bit of care. As stated above, Pioneer is the way to go if you can afford it. I just don't think you will get a better picture The new 1080p sets are coming out and are supposed to have incredible pictures on them. You should be set for quite awhile with one of these displays, but watch out for sticker shock. You can read more on them here. http://www.audioholics.com/news/industry-news/pioneer-debuts-project-kuro.html/?searchterm=pioneer

Happy hunting!

 

[WmAx]

Yes, the Pioneer plasmas are excellent. But so are the Panasonic units. The Pioneers have a slight edge in some respects, but nothing substantial. Both companies have very burn in resistant screen designs and very good customer/warranty service. However, the Panasonic units are considerably cheaper, if this is a factor. I would not consider plasma screens from any other manufacturers at this time.

-Chris

 

[Briant73]

Ok so far it seems plasma is being recommended over any other.

My questions are:
1) The room I'm in does have a window and even with the curtains drawn closed it still gets daylight since the window is a big picture window on the west side of the house this happens afternoon until evening. Well that cause problems? I know it can affect my CRT which I do have turned the brightness and contrast down for movie watching.
2) I see some flat panel tvs with shelves designed for a center channel speaker on top, others don't. Is there an accessory for this for the ones lacking it?

I am looking at 40-52" inch sizes in the 3k and under range. I figure if I spend more than $1500 dollars I want to future proof myself with 1080p and such.

So far for Plasma I like the sounds of Panasonic either the pz700u or this model TH-50PZ77U, has anyone checked that out seems to be the same tv minus a port and a different coating.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

When I said the plasma likes it "pretty dark" that may have been a poor statement. I just mean that it is better in the daytime to pull the blinds. I checked my Panny plasma when I got home yesterday with all the blinds open and sun shinning into my bedroom and the picture wasnt bad at all. I think you will be fine.

I would never put a center channel on any flat panel.


1080P is a good idea although with a 50"or smaller you dont really need it unless you are sitting 5 feet from it.

Ok so far it seems plasma is being recommended over any other.


My questions are:
1) The room I'm in does have a window and even with the curtains drawn closed it still gets daylight since the window is a big picture window on the west side of the house this happens afternoon until evening. Well that cause problems? I know it can affect my CRT which I do have turned the brightness and contrast down for movie watching.
2) I see some flat panel tvs with shelves designed for a center channel speaker on top, others don't. Is there an accessory for this for the ones lacking it?

I am looking at 40-52" inch sizes in the 3k and under range. I figure if I spend more than $1500 dollars I want to future proof myself with 1080p and such.

So far for Plasma I like the sounds of Panasonic either the pz700u or this model TH-50PZ77U, has anyone checked that out seems to be the same tv minus a port and a different coating.

 

[Briant73]

I would never put a center channel on any flat panel.

Ok what recomendations would you have on center channel? I am planning on getting an underneath stand/cabinet for this purchase.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

I am not the one to ask as it took me 6 months to find a crendenza that would work for me and my giant center channel.

Ok what recomendations would you have on center channel? I am planning on getting an underneath stand/cabinet for this purchase.

 

[DTS]

So does anyone ever look at Hitachi?! I love my 55" 55HDT79. No hint of burn in, ever. Does well in undark rooms, although for serious viewing I shut things up. Just wondering why not many look them over. Is it availability?

 

[jonnythan]

From what I've heard, the Hitachi plasmas are very good, but also very expensive. For similar prices you can get a Pioneer which, apparently, beats it quite handily.

This is all second-hand info, so take it with a grain of salt.

I agree with all of the above. Plasmas still have a noticeably better picture (with better colors and more "pop") than LCD, but they're also glossy.. so if you have a bright window that will be reflected in the TV during the day, you may want to look at an LCD.

1080P doesn't matter that much at a 50" size when you're more than 5-7 feet away.

 

[Briant73]

I went to the local BB and CC last few days. BB couldn't get a salesman to help me for 30 minutes and they had two different prices for the 5080hd pioneer set. When at the register for some misc. purchases I told the cashier about my issue getting a salesman, she just shrugged. This is the second time at BB I have had this happen so I sent an email about it but obiv. they don't care since no reponse. Checked out the TVs and to be honest it's hard from just going into the store and looking around.

So far I think I'll wait a bit since new models are coming out right now and in the next month or two, unless a great deal happens.

 

[stratman]

I went to the local BB and CC last few days. BB couldn't get a salesman to help me for 30 minutes and they had two different prices for the 5080hd pioneer set. When at the register for some misc. purchases I told the cashier about my issue getting a salesman, she just shrugged. This is the second time at BB I have had this happen so I sent an email about it but obiv. they don't care since no reponse. Checked out the TVs and to be honest it's hard from just going into the store and looking around.

So far I think I'll wait a bit since new models are coming out right now and in the next month or two, unless a great deal happens.

I saw The Panasonic 50" 1080p unit for about 2400.00 in my locall BB, I love Pannys, reliable, great black rendition, a lot of bang for the buck.

 

[ducker]

I went to the local BB and CC last few days. BB couldn't get a salesman to help me for 30 minutes and they had two different prices for the 5080hd pioneer set. When at the register for some misc. purchases I told the cashier about my issue getting a salesman, she just shrugged. This is the second time at BB I have had this happen so I sent an email about it but obiv. they don't care since no reponse. Checked out the TVs and to be honest it's hard from just going into the store and looking around.

So far I think I'll wait a bit since new models are coming out right now and in the next month or two, unless a great deal happens.

if you really wanted to raise a stink, you just needed to find the right people... a cashier doesn't care about the service/sales departments... department heads and the (assist) store manager would.

 

[Briant73]

I probably would of tried harder but to be honest the display they have for TVs was horrible, unorganized, and poorly designed so other than 1 pioneer 5080 nothing looked that good. In fact the demo loop had macroblocking going on on all tvs. You think they'd make sure the wouldn't do that but maybe they are too concerned with selling Monster Cables and Power products to care.

On the other hand the CC store is much better in my locale, no clutter and the TVs are all together in size groupings (other than dlp sets which for the most part are in narrow aisles which do nothing but make people see how hard they can be when watching close up). Two different salesmen offered to help me, and the second one was with customers but stopped to make sure I was waited on, when I told him I spoke to another one, he offered to get him right away if I couldn't find him. I have to say in the right lighting conditions glossy/glass screen plasma and the new sammy leds, are awesome looking. The models with antiglare coatings lost something but they showed less reflections for sure.

 

[Briant73]

I made a decision on a new TV thanks in part to a really sweet price on it. The TV I picked was a Sharp lc46d64u unit. I did a lot of research and was probably going to buy a new Panasonic Plasma unit once reviews started coming in but there were some things I worried about -

Heat - I didn't want a TV that got hot. When viewing TVs at the stores I noticed most plasmas did get pretty warm if not hot. I'm not saying all plasmas are scorchers or all LCDs are cool but I did notice a trend here. Some people this shouldn't matter but for me it did. I know most studies show the typical LCD doesn't save much energy wise but that was nice too.

IR/Burn in - I am a gamer and have played certain video games for 5 or more hours in a row (Dang Bioshock was just that addiciting). I was less worried about burn in than IR but didn't want to deal with IR for hours waiting for it go away.

Lighting - The room I'm in has a big picture window facing west so everday for a few hours it's lined up with the sun. My current CRT would wash out badly somedays.

The main caveat on LCD technology that concerns me is motion blurring. I just got my TV so hard to say if this will be a big deal or even a deal breaker. I'll keep you posted.

I learned a lot in when researching this and want to thanks everyone for all the help. During this process I learned to figure out what your viewing habits are, make a pros/cons list of each technology, ask questions, check out the TVs in the store but remember stores aren't always the best place to judge them, and then find a TV that fits your needs best at your budget level.