Ready to buy flat screen today. Need advice

[blowingcash]

I went to 3 tv stores in town and wound up being torn between the Samsung Plasma and LCD. I want to get your feedback before I order one today.

We thought the Samsung looked crisper.

This is the model we chose: 46" Flat-Panel LCD HDTV Model: LN-S4692D

We watch a lot of reality tv. Not any sports, and play xbox 360 once in a while.

I want to be able to plug my laptop in and have the picture look crisp. I read somewhere that some tv's resolutions dont match up well with your computer. Will this one?

Is this a good tv for us? Is there any reason to not get the LCD?

Thanks for the input.

 

[ejreiss]

just bought the pioneer elite 1130 hd. Supposed to be the best plasma out there. I am 110% satisfied with it and the picture is better than I ever thought it could be. Tv has built in scaler. Check it out before you buy anything it is a little pricier but it is well worth it.

 

[mytzen]

According to Samsung this TV will work fine with a computer attached to it.
http://samsung.com/Products/TV/LCDTV/LNS4692DXXAA.asp?page=Features
T
he resolution on this TV is 1366 x 768 pixels and it has a RGB PC input so I would say that it should work just fine with your laptop

 

[westcott]

If you really want a quality picture, use a dedicated DVD player instead of your laptop. DVD software just does not cut the mustard.

I tend to lean towards plasmas for flat panel displays for better off axis viewing.

 

[ned]

If you really want a quality picture, use a dedicated DVD player instead of your laptop. DVD software just does not cut the mustard.

I tend to lean towards plasmas for flat panel displays for better off axis viewing.

HTPC outperfoms most set top DVD players and upconverters with the right software.

 

[westcott]

HTPC outperfoms most set top DVD players and upconverters with the right software.

All the test results I have seen contradict this statement.

There is no way software can compete with two dedicated video processors.

DVD Software performance comparison

Results are at the bottom of this link for software. As you can see, there is no comparison to almost any dedicated player.

 

[ned]

All the test results I have seen contradict this statement.

There is no way software can compete with two dedicated video processors.

DVD Software performance comparison

Results are at the bottom of this link for software. As you can see, there is no comparison to almost any dedicated player.

We are talking about HTPC not the bundled software that comes with your DVD player and burners. Theatertek, FFdshow etc. which provide much better tweaking and upconverting than most set top boxes available. Try going to the HTPC forum and AVSforum. The only exception to this are DVD players with the realta or genumm processing chip.

 

[westcott]

We are talking about HTPC not the bundled software that comes with your DVD player and burners. Theatertek, FFdshow etc. which provide much better tweaking and upconverting than most set top boxes available..

Theatertek and FFdshow is software to run DVD players\burners on an HTPC so I am at a loss as to what you are talking about.

HTPC's may be convenient but their video performance is in no way to be compared to most dedicated DVD players.

 

[ruadmaa]

I Lean Toward the LCD

I went to 3 tv stores in town and wound up being torn between the Samsung Plasma and LCD. I want to get your feedback before I order one today.

We thought the Samsung looked crisper.

This is the model we chose: 46" Flat-Panel LCD HDTV Model: LN-S4692D

We watch a lot of reality tv. Not any sports, and play xbox 360 once in a while.

I want to be able to plug my laptop in and have the picture look crisp. I read somewhere that some tv's resolutions dont match up well with your computer. Will this one?

Is this a good tv for us? Is there any reason to not get the LCD?

Thanks for the input.

I lean toward the LCD and I'll tell you why. The plasmas I've seen have a glass in front that is highly reflective. If you have any windows or lamps lit in your room this can be highly annoying. The larger the screen, the worse the reflected light. The LCD screens have a flat look and don't reflect glare. Don't underestimate how devestating glare can be.

When HDTV first came out I bought a 65 inch set that had a highly reflective glare screen on it. It was so bad that we couldn't even use a small 60 watt lamp in the room because it reflected so much on the screen. Daytime watching was out because we have a picture window in the room and even with the drapes closed the reflection was too bright to watch the tv. We had to return the tv and got a Hitachi 65 inch set that had a lot of anti-glare material on the glarescreen and was far more acceptable to watch, even with a light on in the room.

 

[ned]

Theatertek and FFdshow is software to run DVD players\burners on an HTPC so I am at a loss as to what you are talking about.

HTPC's may be convenient but their video performance is in no way to be compared to most dedicated DVD players.

HTPC is certainly not convenient as it requires a lot of tweaking that's why people will put up a lower PQ with set top DVD plater for the conveniences. The software allows tweaking, scaling and much more. Just like I said you can head up to AVSforum and find out for yourself.