Why does buying a new TV have to be so complicated?

dkg999

I have to buy a new TV because my current 34" Sony CRT is going bad, and the extended warranty actually is paying me back what I paid for it! That should be a good thing right, and buying a new TV should be fun right? This whole LCD vs plasma thing is worse than BluRay vs HD-DVD I was convinced that the Panny 50" plasma was the way to go. Then I started reading about the heat, power consumption, image retention, and burn-in issues. Also the break-in process and time. Then my kids started complaining that they wouldn't be able to play PS2 games on it. But I love the picture and fast motion capabilities of the plasma. Whaaaaa! The Sony 46" XBR4/5 series was my first choice prior to talking myself into the plasma. Less picture quality for more $, but less power consumption, heat, and no break-in and the kids can play PS2 games on it. Also, no worries with my kids leaving an image up on it for most of the day. Also better if I move into a place with a living room with lots of windows and natural light.

All the fun has been sucked out of this decision! I could of bought 10 different 2 channel or HT systems by now with less stress :eek:

BottomFeeder

Man, I am sooooo with you! I've been looking into a new set as well & it's so stinking confusing now! Yeah, TV's have come a long way, but with so many choices, it really feels like something of a crap shoot.

Good luck & let us know what you decide & why, so that we can be the beneficiaries of what you learn!

Thanks

vonnie123

Make sure you research the failures. I had a Samsung LCD crap out one day out of warranty. Samsung covered it, but these LCD TVs are prone to failures due to sensitive electronics. Panasonic LCD has the best brand failure rate per consumer reports web site. I added an APC H10 to control the voltage just in case.

beardog03

I was looking at the same ones just the other day..

I almost decided to get the Pioneer 42"..

The guy I was talking to said if yo ubreakit in correctly you don`t have all the worries that everyone is talking about..

He also said he and his friend that worked there played X-box on it for hours every night

Then I strted looking at the 50"...

LCD or Plasma ?

Sony or Pioneer ?


shheeeeesh !

I give up

vonnie123

what is the correct break in process for the LCD TV?

dkg999

There doesn't seem to be a break-in necessary with the LCD. The Sony or Samsung LCD's are the only ones with what in my opinion are really good pictures. I'm currently leaning back towards the Sony 46" XBR5. I have to buy from Tweeter, as the extended warranty either paid me $1000 and I could buy anywhere, or $1500 in Tweeter store credit.

beardog03

good luck , and let us know what you decide...

danger boy

the only thing I can say is do your homework if you're about to get a new display.. no matter what format, do your homework.. things are changing so fast in TV's right now.. it's hard to keep up.

I only seem to see a real difference between plasmas and LCD's when the price is over like 3K and above.. anything below that and they are all pretty evenly matched it looks like. I saw a 6K Sony or Panasonic, and that blew me away.. stunning looking picture using Blu Ray. Everything else near it looked like dog crap.

hearingimpared

I didn't find it all that complicated. I read a little about LCD vs Plasma and then one night my son calls me (he's a videographer at QVC) and says they are having this incredible sale for four hours only on a 42" Sharp Aquos.

I posted a thread about it here and I can say and am a proud and happy owner of one. The picture on this is breathtaking but in high def it is like you can go up reach in and touch what is being displayed.

Sharp Aquos!!!

trubluluc

Its a win win situation........in the end you get a new TV.

LCD beats plasma in most categories now, even blacks are getting pretty damn good.

-Luc

Demiurge

There isn't anything wrong with a Plasma TV nor an LCD. There's more mud being slung around than actual facts, like is so common with the so-called product wars these days. People pick a side, dig in their heels, and then become completely moronic when they defend one over another.

I happen to like the LCD the best right now. Doesn't mean it is the best, but rather what I happen to prefer. Now, there are things to look for when you start figuring out brands of TVs. Back when I got mine Hitachi was top dog in LCD, but that was almost 2 years ago now and I didn't spring for a giant screen.

I have been completely happy with it and I don't feel the need to go upgrade to something else.

You may consider getting a smaller TV for your kids and keep the big screen for just movies and such. Sure, they may not like it, but it's better than nothing. You can get some decent small screen HD displays these days for pretty cheap.

Willow

I agree w/ demi. We had an LCD for our first FPtv. While it ws a great intro to HDTV it wasn't what I expected. I didn't like the light blacks and motion blur. We bought a Panny plasma and we love it. We use it for TV and movies only. I bought a Samsung 19" LCD for our nephews to play xbox on, for 2 reasons. 1- it's in another room so if the adults want to watch something we can while they play, plus I don't need to worry about IR.

If you decide to buy plasma, shoot me a PM I can tell you about 2 break in DVDs I have.

venomclan

I am in the same boat as I need a flat screen soon that will go in a small room. I do not like the washed out blacks and crappy viewing angle of the LCD's. In a light controlled room and I cannot see going for an LCD.

The only upside to LCD I see is power consumption. The UK is actually trying to ban plasmas because of high power use. I think that burn in and gas loss on the newer plasmas is pretty much controlled. If they can just make them cooler and more efficient. I hear that the new LED DLP's suck altogether.
Venom

Demiurge

^^^

Exactly what I was talking about.

billbillw

Unless you really plan to wall-mount the TV, I'd recommend a Sony SXRD, (A3000 Series). Yes, its RPTV, but it has better image quality than most other sets out there (better than most LCDs and Plasmas). About the only thing better is the Pioneer Kuros and the Panasonic Z750 series plasmas.

See links to reviews in this post

The best thing about the A3000 series is they are being discontinued (announced just as it was starting to win all these accolades) and the prices are being slashed. That also means they are getting hard to find.

Here is my quick comparo of the SXRD rear projections versus Plasma and LCD.

SXRD
Pros: Good in bright room, Power efficient, very good blacks, very good image detail, Motion flow 120Hz for smooth action, no burn in possible, near perfect Color rendition (very close to ISF standards)
Cons: Viewing angles are more limited, deeper than flat panel (14"-16"), has bulb that needs replacing approx every 8000 hours, possible minor geometry issues.

Compared to Plasma:
Pros: Thin/wall moutable, Best blacks, Best viewing angles, perfect geometry, fast response for moving images.
Cons: Usually not good in bright room, power hungry, burn in possible if you are careless. Whites are not white, more expensive than RPTVs.

Compared to LCD:
Pros: Thin/wall mountable, Excellent Detail, perfect geometry, usually power efficient, no burn in possible, Best for bright room because screens are naturally non reflective.
Cons: Blacks not really black, Colors often over exaggerated, fast images can smear, Expensive for larger sizes, viewing angles not as good as Plasma.

AndyGwis

In my TV search a few years ago, I was originally looking for either a 34" widescreen HDTV capable CRT or a smallish DLP. I ended up with a Plasma cuz I found a great deal on a $3500 retail (at the time) Samsung. It's not perfect, but it sure as hell beats what I had before. Plasma's aren't that user unfriendly, but I might shy away if your kids game a lot and would be likely to leave a static image up for hours. Many Plasmas have functions that can minimize the effects of burn in with a couple hours of white washing, etc., but it's kind of a pain and a big worry point.

I think whichever TV you go with will bring you years of joy and will be WAYYY better than what you've previously had. I know mine has been awesome, and it wasn't that highly rated, I don't even have HDTV programming other than OTA via antenna, and it cost 2X more than what I could get it for these days. There's never going to be a perfect TV purchase with things changing so quickly, so do some research, buy the one you like best for a good price, and enjoy.

Petey2133

haha so true man, it took me almost 2 years to save up and pick out the perfect thing. Recently they released alot of 120hz TV's and i will be honest, i dont much care for it. The Samsung LNT4671f TV i looked at pulled the picture way to close to the front of the screen and made it look fake. Unfortunately all these TV's we purchased lately will be out dated very soon, and with TV going nothing but Digital, i would only imagine that the prices will be slashed to an absolute must buy for many making even the expensive Tv's cheaper.... just my 2 cents..

Ohh btw, i purchased the Sony Bravia 46W3000 Tv...

dkg999

Thanks for all the input! I had a lengthy discussion with someone back in IA who works with video editing for Iowa Public TV and has been a long time video enthusiast (and somewhat of an audio enthusiast also!). If it was just me, and the GF, using this TV, plasma would be the choice. With the teenager factor present, the plasma is not as good of a choice. I think of all the times I have woke up in the morning and my teenagers are asleep in the living room with the PS2 game static screen having been running for 8 hrs or so. So the XBR5 LCD is probably the safe choice at the moment.

That's not to say a separate plasma for movies isn't in the future! The prices keep coming down!

polksda

There are some good deals to be had on closeout Sony SXRDs as Sony exits the RPTV market. If you want good blacks and despise motion blur, you don't want an LCD anyway...

fireshoes

You are really going to love that tv. Plus you can use the Pip if they want to game and you want to watch something, and you get to resize the windows too, so you can stick them with the little window. Really nice black levels on that one, and now you can watch your movies in the proper frame rate too. Congrats!

dkg999

Fireshoes - thanks! I would of bought it from you back in Des Moines, but Tweeter really locked up the sale with the extra $500 in store credit if I bought my replacement TV from them.

steveinaz

I agree, it's in pain in the **** picking a TV/technology. I think the latest models though, are much better, especially DLP switching to LED light engines, rather than lamps. I kinda wish I would have waited for that innovation---but my lamp is over a year old and doing fine.

I like them all; I think, to my eyes I like Plasma's picture the best--but at the time, they were very pricey. The newer LCD's have fantastic viewing angles--which is nice.

Any of the 3 look fantastic when properly calibrated. Don't stress about it too much--stay with a good brand, pick the options, connectivity, and resolution(s) your looking for, and ENJOY....

I have last years Samsung 50" DLP (lamp engine) and only 720p native, but I LOVE the picture.

skipf

I've got the 42" Pana plasma. No break-in, just started using it and the picture was exceptional right out of the box. Use it extensively for PS2 & PS3 games (PS3 console) and it displays games with incredible resolution. No problems with burn-in, and the HT guy I got it from (a trustworthy one many friends have used) told me he has never seen a burn-in problem with the new Pana units. No image break-up during fast motion shots. It behaves just like a good CRT unit with a much better picture. It probably is a power hog like all plasmas, but I run arout 3000 watts of power in my amps, so the TV is the small power sucker in the group.

GZ

dkg999,

I hate to add to your confusion/stress about what kind of TV/Technology to buy, but please consider what you don't immediatly see, the jack panel on the rear. Consider what, and how, you will connect what you have now, and could have in the future, to that new TV.

You mentioned PS2, but what about DVD, Cable/Sat box, etc. How many HDMI inputs will you need? Will you hook everything up to a receiver and let that do the video switching so you can run only 1 HDMI cable to your TV? Are you going to need audio out from your TV to a receiver? Digital coax or optical? I know, I said I didn't want to add to your stress, but I just thought you should consider these things now instead of later after you have that new TV home and it doesn't fit your hook up needs. Good luck with your decision, it's not easy. Whatever you decide on buying I hope you enjoy it.

dkg999

GZ - thanks for that thought! The Sony XBR's have more input video jacks and more variety of input jacks than the Panny plasma's. I need an HDMI for my upconverting DVD, and eventually an HDMI for my BD player. My cable box has composite video output, which the Sony has as an input. The PS2 uses S-Video input on the TV, so that is covered. I'm old school on the audio, no stinking HDMI inputs needed on my B&K AVR. I also don't run any video through my AVR.

MGPK

dkg,

It's not really all that complicated buying a TV nowadays, you will always have the de and protractors of every technology that is out there. Some base their opinion on research without actually seeing the product, some base their opinion on subjectivity and some base their opinion on some other persons advice. In the end their will be a few factors that will govern your decision such as:

Price
Reliability of manufacturer
Subjective evalution
WAF
Media viewed on TV

LCD and Plasma technology has been out for decades and they are both very reliable and both can suffer from burn-in, so if you have heard that LCD TV's do not burn-in, you heard wrong. It just takes a little more time to burn a static image on a liquid crystal panel.

As far as peoples opinions as too what looks real and what looks fake, think about this, when people choose speakers the decision is based usually on what the owner likes when they hear the product, the same can be said for video.

All TV technologies need about 500 hours to burn-in, when they come out of the box they are in what's referred in the industry as torch mode. When you get it out of the box, set it in cinema or standard video mode or even better, use a basic video calibration disk.

As to what I think you should get, get what appeals to your eyes the most. You are the one that has to live with it for the next few years. If you're obsessed with failure and burn-in...the LED DLP TV's are the most maintenance free product out there. From viewing over thousands of TV's and setting them up over the years this is my formulated opinion:

LCD flat panel: Sony or Samsung
Plasma: Samsung, Panasonic, or Pioneer
DLP: Samsung LED (87 series)
LCD Rear projection: Sony
SXRD: Forget about it, if it breaks down without extended warranty, the expense of repair will warrant you buying a new TV.

polksda

MGPK wrote: »

SXRD: Forget about it, if it breaks down without extended warranty, the expense of repair will warrant you buying a new TV.

So instead of arbitrarily dismissing SXRD out of hand, why not recommend buying an extended warranty? You can buy them online through reputable companies for far less than what a dealer would charge.

I purchased a 4-year warranty including bulb replacement for $300 for my 70" SXRD.

For $300, I would hardly dismiss the SXRDs, given the picture quality they can provide.

MGPK

polksda wrote: »

So instead of arbitrarily dismissing SXRD out of hand, why not recommend buying an extended warranty? You can buy them online through reputable companies for far less than what a dealer would charge.

I purchased a 4-year warranty including bulb replacement for $300 for my 70" SXRD.

For $300, I would hardly dismiss the SXRDs, given the picture quality they can provide.

Even if you have an extended warranty for an SXRD and it breaks down, the cost of repair will usually exceed the price of a new television. Almost every retailer will replace that SXRD with an equivalent of the existing rear projection technology of the time (most likely DLP). Especially if Sony is discontinuing the technology, the parts are proprietary and will greatly increase due to lack of availability. I'm not saying that SXRD is bad, it is a gamble to purchase technology that a major manufacture is dropping due to parts availability.

polksda

Funny, considering all the research and reading I've done (and still do) regarding the 2nd-generation XBR2 sets over at AVS, you are literally the first person I've found recommending people NOT purchase these. Quite the opposite in fact, people are clamoring to find the remaining sets before they disappear...

fireshoes

polksda wrote: »

Funny, considering all the research and reading I've done (and still do) regarding the 2nd-generation XBR2 sets over at AVS, you are literally the first person I've found recommending people NOT purchase these. Quite the opposite in fact, people are clamoring to find the remaining sets before they disappear...

That's for sure, they really been flying out the doors here since the announcement. No more 50's or 60's left.

venomclan

I have seen some the older KDS2020's at BJ's, I think they are the same as the A3000 series without the 120hz refresh rate. Still a great TV. I think the SXRD's were the best RPTV's on the market, it is a shame Sony is dropping them.
Venom