Question On TV's

[roamingguy 300292]

Going to be buying a tv...leaning towards plasma but maybe LED or LCD

First question, which is better, plasma, led or lcd

Second question, my cable is regular cable. Do you need high definition cable if you get a plasma/led or lcd tv

Third, what are the best brands and what are the brands to avoid

Thanks in advance

 

RG

[frank97500 18478]

Rg,

 

I would go with LED, UHD (Ultra high definition) if you have the money go for it!!

 

You will need fiber op cable

 

Samsung is the best!!

 

Just saying!!

[Guest N***he**Ont**y]

Ok first of all most flat screens come out of the same factories in Korea. I have a 32 Sam Sung LCD and a 50 inch Plasma Samsung Of the two I have the preference of the Plasma. The new Samsungs are smart tvs that allow you to connect to YouTube and to Net Flicks by connecting them to your router with an ethernet cable. I have had one unit for five years now with no major problems and the other one is two years old. You do not need a digital box if you just want basic cable. You can connect the cable directly to the tv and scan the channels in. If you are in a receiving area for over the air you can get great 1080 p video that is better then what you get from cable as the signal is not compressed like you get over cable or satellite. A digital antennae would be required for this. For hi def channels over cable you will have to sub to them. Remember that what you see in the store is set up for that location and you may want to bring ina tech to set up your new tv. Pm me and I will give you a site link to help you in your purchase. I would urge you not to rush into a purchase but compare the LG brand to Samsung etc as both are excellent brands.Samsung gives a one year warranty but you might want to get an extended one.

[Meg O'Ryan 266444]

Samsung!!!!!!!!!!!!

[frank97500 18478]

To add to my previous RG, You can go without wire... forget the wires, leave in the present!! ;)

 

Built-in Wi-Fi With built-in Wi-Fi , no additional equipment is needed to connect with an existing wireless router in your home network and start accessing Samsung Apps or other Smart TV features.

 

Introducing Wireless TV

Now, for the first time ever, you no longer need to plug all your TVs into a cable outlet to enjoy your television service, thanks to the new wireless receiver. Fiber TV was already the best TV service. Now, it's bringing you wireless TV.

 

Just saying!!

[cinelli 22184]

So called Smart TVs are several hundred dollars more expensive than their dumber siblings.

All the "smart" functions can be had on most basic BluRay players. I have a Sony BluRay player which decodes Netflix, youtube, etc. It is also wi-fi enabled so I don't need to physically connect it to the cable line.

Get a dumb TV and a smart BluRay player and save yourself some money.

I suggest you use an HDMI cable between your disc player and your TV, or your cable box and your TV. Any cheap one will do, the super-duper gold plated ones that the TV saleman wants you to buy do NOT work better. (Read up on HDMI standards for further info).

My Sony BluRay player came with a free HDMI cable.

 

Re your original query, I have an LG LCD television. A lot of people seem to have problems with Samsungs developing dead lines on their screens. We have a couple of Samsung 47 inch monitors at work and one has this problem.

I'd recommend Sharp, Sony and LG in no particular order, and like LCD the best.

 

I will probably toss my LG 1080 out as soon as 4K source material becomes widely available.

[antlerman 17064]

LED......

Plasma is good for movies in the dark...but nit good in bright light

 

LED is by far the best.........

[conquistador 18487]

I would say LED or Plasma.

 

You can get a bigger plasma tv for cheaper than an LED tv.

 

LIke i mentioned before, all depends what you watch, action and sports (lots of movement) they offer less blurring...as LED and LCD aren't quite as quick.

 

Also the blacks are better on plasma but if you have a bright living room, you may gets lots of reflection.

 

Here's a good comparison - http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33199_7-57344058-221/led-lcd-vs-plasma-vs-lcd/

 

As for a cable, if your cable box has an HDMI cable then just use that otherwise use the component cables...don't pay more than say 20 dollars for one (HDMI).

 

If you do buy an LED maybe get one with a built in wifi, future proof..if that's possible.

 

Names such as Samsung and LG are good, but also have a look at Sharp...usually get the best price v function out of these, very good tvs!

[CuriousMatt 660]

First off you really need to decide what size of TV you want. The size is highly dependent by the distance away you will be sitting from it.

 

Crutchfield.com has a great article reading this information:

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-I5fnBfyTrNC/learn/learningcenter/home/TV_placement.html

 

The next question you need to ask is what are you planing on using the TV for most of the time. Is it for gaming, sports and high speed action movies? Then I would tend to lead with a Plasma TV as the refresh rates tend to be higher, and the blacks are blacker. The concern with Plasma's centered around primarily due to the fact that they would quickly get that "burned-in" look and the back light tubes would burn out fairly quickly.

 

If it is for most over kinds of viewing, including watching your extensive porn collection :P I would then say that and LED TV would be better. They are thinner, lighter, require no "back light" bulb(s) and tend to provide the best image quality.

 

LED/LCD I would look at Samsung models

Plasma I would look at Panasonic models.

 

Now on the the questions of 2D vs 3D and 720 vs 1080 vs 4k.

 

If you have an extra few dollars, won't be using primarily for fast action scenes. I would consider getting a 3D TV, as they give you the option for 3D, but also provide typically the best 2D quality images. The one caveat I have is stay away from 3D TVs that require active glasses. They aren't always easy to find and can be as much as 3 times the cost of passive 3D glasses. Also most active 3D glasses are more fragile and require a battery that eventually will stop charging over time.

 

720P vs 1080P vs 4k

Most programming being transmitted over standard cable without a decoder box is often still 480i/p this means a 720P TV would be more than enough. Also if you plan on buy a TV smaller than 32in, the difference is hardly noticeable between 720P and 1080P. DVDs don't even play at 1080P so if that is your only source outside of cable forget it.

 

Cable with a decoder box usually also on sends the signal at a maximum of 720P. The only exception would be the occassional action movie and some of the more important sporting events whereby they may broadcast it in 1080i.

 

OTA: Over the Air digital signals will provide you with a free and easy source of 1080i content.

 

Blueray devices have the abiilty to do at least 1080P, can often even rescale 720P DVD movies to 1080P. They are also the only devices available able to output content at 4K also known as Ultra HD. However there is very slim picking right now for 4K.

 

Smart TVs vs Regular TVs

As a certified techie/propeller head. I really don't put to much focus on whether or not the TV comes with "SMART" technology included. The reason being is that in the past the technology was already old by the time the TV was on the market. Which means it needed upgrading, which doesn't always work flawlessly. I would rather connect up my own seperate box "i.e. GoogleTV" or as I did in my case a mini computer which is not be limited by the functionality that Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, etc... decided to include or not include in their solution. Another option to consider would be getting a BluRay player that had the functionality, because should it break or you decide you want to get additional features it will be much easier and cheaper to replace it that the TV, that I took the time to mount and calibrate.

 

There is the question of TV calibration. I paid to have it done on the two bigger TVs I have on my home and it has made an entire world of the difference. Go to your local audio video store or Best Buy/Future Shop and look at the TVs they have side by side and compare the quality of the image of the non calibrated TV vs the one that is. The image quality difference is noticeable to the naked eye. It also has the added side affect of reducing the power being output to the screen thereby increase the life of your TV.

 

With these larger and higher performance AV equipment, you always have to worry about dirty power (common with both long haul Hydro power or power being generated by nuclear plants). You will want to get yourself a decent power, not that 2$ job that you picked up at the dollar store. They will both add life to your TV and provide you with better image quality.

 

Finally be also wary of dollar store HDMI cables. Although you really don't need that 100$ cable for 720P, pushing 1080i, 3D images or Ultra HD images will usually be less problematic with something better than the base quality cable.

 

PM me if you have any questions.

[Guest tr**el*****n]

I've got a Plasma and LCD in my house. Both are a little older, and only 720p. I find the plasma has a much better picture, but like mentioned, it is better suited for a dark room. The LCD is much less affected by lights/glare.

 

But if I was buying one today, it would be LED. I wouldn't pay extra for Smart TV though. You can get better media players for around $100, which gives you more functionality. Plus you can move around if you have multiple TV's.

[Strokin' 696]

I have an LED and a plasma.

 

The plasma was in a bright room and I found it hard to watch, moved to a darker room and much better.

 

The LED replaced the plasma and it much better in varying light.

 

The LED has a better picture to me but it might be because it about 5 years newer.

 

Lastly the LED is a smart TV, not sure if worth the cost but I love it for Netflix.

[qwertyaccount 15793]

Buy the cheapest set you can that has a screen big enough for you - but not too big for distance between the face of the screen and your lazyboy.

 

In a couple of years you'll be able to buy a better, cheaper set with bigger screen for less than the difference in purchase price between this set and one of the fancy ones.

 

In 2-3 years whatever you buy will be out of warranty and will die just when you and a couple of ladies are sitting down to watch the hot porn that they brought along.

[will1977 480]

My personal preference is plasma. I mostly watch sports, movies and regular TV and they have come a long ways in terms of anti glare screens, especially Panasonic. Unfortunately, Panasonic has exited the plasma tv game.

 

But like most others suggested find out what size you want and I would go to cnet.com....they post great reviews on all kinds of TVs, probably too in depth for most, but it gives you a great idea of what to avoid and what to gravitate towards.

[Malibu-Jack 848]

Just thought that your might want to check this. But Plasma is loosing ground from what I am reading..

[roamingguy 300292]

Thank you to everyone who posted. I ended up with a Samsung 40" LED Smart tv...picture is like night and day compared to my old tv

A bonus, a week from Friday I'll have HI Def Cable and wireless internet (package deal with Cogeco) Total costs $20 more than what I'm paying now for conventional cable and old style phone line internet

Anyhow, thanks to everyone who offered advice

 

RG

[Warped88 5815]

Thank you to everyone who posted. I ended up with a Samsung 40" LED Smart tv...picture is like night and day compared to my old tv.

 

....

 

Over Christmas, I upgraded as well. From a 15(ish) year old 27'' Samsung to a 39" Samsung. So, yeah, I hear ya...night and day! I'm actually watching more TV now. Rarely had it on before this.

[bcguy42 38594]

That being said, a laptop connected via HDMI cable to my Panasonic 54" 1080p Plasma HDTV renders certain umm... adult entertainment into a glory to behold.

 

Oh, and HDMI cables? The only quality difference between a dollar store $5 cable and a $25 one is the connectors on the cheap ones are easier to break if you move them around a lot. If you are going to plug it in and leave it, $5 will do ya.

 

The signal quality will be the same for the $5, $25, and $100 cable. It's a digital signal. It either gets through the cable or not. The signal only has two modes. It is there or it isn't. Chucking money at it will not improve it.

 

If you are old enough, you can remember when cables carried analog signals that were susceptible to attenuation or interference. At that time it made some sense to put some money into cables. That was then. This is now.

[Warped88 5815]

You do need to be careful with the cheaper dollar store variety cables, I've found. They're hit or miss: Either they work, or they don't. Sometimes, they'll work with one piece of equipment, but not another.

 

But, you're right: I wouldn't pay anything over $25.00 for an HDMI cable. And I'd only pay $25 for convenience (not wanting to order online, or go out of my way to another store).

[cinelli 22184]

WalMart has lots of Sony and Philips HDMI cables, those are all anyone needs.

 

The only expensive cables I use are my 12G speaker wires. Pure copper, very pricy, but I'm not sure they were worth the money!