[Monkeyfriedmonkey]

Ok, I’m getting an HDTV. What should I get:

1. Plasma TV
2. LCD TV
3. DLP TV

I'm leaning heavily towards the 3rd option, it’s the cheapest, and I’ve heard good things about DLP: http://www.dlp.com/

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Image quality you can go wrong with the LCDs they are pretty good samsung is the market leader and it tells with there sets. Plasma is the poor cousin, DLP has advantages and disadvantages if you go on a tech promotion sight they arent going to tell you any disadvantages.

Remember with HDTV you need HDTV source so you need an HD subscrition to your television service or one of the HD capable players when HD content comes out. At the moment there isnt alot early tv services and computers mainly are the only thing you can get. Also what you want is 1080i(if you are US, if anywhere else you want p) not the more common 720p as 720 is still high def but its not the incredibly high resolution of the 1080, although if you are gonna do any gaming through it as alot of people do to play 1080 you need some serious pc power to get the best out of it.

[warriorscot]

Image quality you can go wrong with the LCDs they are pretty good samsung is the market leader and it tells with there sets. Plasma is the poor cousin, DLP has advantages and disadvantages if you go on a tech promotion sight they arent going to tell you any disadvantages.

Remember with HDTV you need HDTV source so you need an HD subscrition to your television service or one of the HD capable players when HD content comes out. At the moment there isnt alot early tv services and computers mainly are the only thing you can get. Also what you want is 1080i(if you are US, if anywhere else you want p) not the more common 720p as 720 is still high def but its not the incredibly high resolution of the 1080, although if you are gonna do any gaming through it as alot of people do to play 1080 you need some serious pc power to get the best out of it.

[Technical_1]

Hey guys,

At night I love to fight Malware, but everybody needs a day job, mine is as a TV repairman.

Warriorscot is right about the 720p. It is considered ED (Enhanced Definition) which is sort of like an older version of HD. Stick with something that can do all or, at least, most all modes of HD. My money is on the new thing from JVC. It's called HD-ILA. It is sort of a hybrid LCD and DLP. It's also refered to as LCoS or Liquid Crystal on Silicon. It looks amazing. However, as of this posting, I don't think there is one out there with the ATSC tuner built in. That is the only drawback as far as I can tell. Also, remeber, these units (DLP, LCD projection and HD-ILA) all use a high intensity, extremely white lamp that runs very hot. I have been replacing them across the board and they are not cheap. About the cheapest one for anything is $200 my cost. And they will eventually go out. Expected life from most is about 2000 hours of tv time. He's also right about the HD signal. You wouldn't believe it if I told you how many times I go to someone's house and all they did was hook cable straight up to the thing. Not only is it a waste of money, but it looks like crap even compared to a regular NTSC TV. If your going to buy one, you have to get some kind of HD signal. Even if it's just to use the ATSC tuner that is built in to get the over the air signal with rabbit ears.

Here's a good read on it:

http://www.projector...al.com/lcos.htm

Hope this helps.

Edited by Technical_1, 13 May 2006 - 09:01 AM.

[Monkeyfriedmonkey]

Thank you, this is incredibly helpful. The main reason I'm considering DLP (aside from price) is that my current set has things burned into it from gaming. I am not responsible about this, and I don't want to ruin my brand new exciting set the first time I pass out in front of the TV with my game paused. As far as I'm aware DLP is the only option that prevents burn-in. Does LCoS have burn-in problems?

[admin]

LCD's don't have a burn-in problem, and it's not really an issue with modern plasmas. I was very tempted with this one: http://www.target.co...ASIN=B000A6KQVW An extra 10% using coupon code: TCKDSHME (exp 5/17/06). Comes to $1,529 +tax, free shipping. Nice price for a 42" 1366 x 768 WXGA LCD. Only negatives are no cable card, and it has a glass cover which adds weight and glare.

I'm just not convinced that 42" is large enough for HDTV. I'd really like a 50" plasma, but that's another $1,000, and they're heavy and use a lot of power. Next generation 1020P LCDs are coming out in the next couple of months, and there are some new plants opening. Hopefully, the prices will continue to drop fast.

[Monkeyfriedmonkey]

Me want big. That's the other reason to go with DLP for me, more bang for the buck. I went and looked at a bunch of sets yesterday. I was surprised at how little difference there really is in image quality between the formats, it seems to have more to do with brand. But I still prefer DLP for the no-burn in/fading/dead pixel/price reason. Here's my first choice so far: http://www.dlp.com/h...tail.asp?id=856

[warriorscot]

You dont get burn in or fading on a LCD, at least you shouldnt be able to in any normal environment, burn in you get on CRT not LCD, you can get dead pixels but its not common and most have good policies where you can return after only a couple of dead pixels or many with just one. Dunno about other there but you can get 32" LCDs for £750 here and thats great almost couldnt beleive it you have to look around for them but they are there.

32" is the best sixe right now, you get bigger but it costs alot more and to me its the perfect size for 90% i dont always get the biggest is best approach the size that suits the room and doesnt hurt your eyes is best. I wouldnt go plasma they have there own problems and they suck with games which is the reason i like LCD.

[Monkeyfriedmonkey]

I thought that DLP was better with games than LCD? I guess that info came from the DLP site, but it says that DLP sets have the "fastest response time" (what does that mean?) which makes them great for gaming. That aside, I went back to the store, still haven't laid down the money, but I think I have a subjective preference for the look of DLP the Plasmas and LCD's look sort of "digital" to me, lacking contrast, without the same depth of tone.

[admin]

If you haven't heard about it, you should check out avsforums.

DLP's are okay if you have the floor space. They can be big, and take up a lot of real estate. They also have limited viewing angles and many have a "silkscreen" effect where you see a shimmering effect when looking at the screen. They use high-intensity bulbs that generally have a life of ~1,000-2,000 hours, and are expensive to replace ($200-400). Some people are sensitive to a "rainbow effect" when viewing LCDs from the color wheel used. They offer the bestbang for the buck if your looking for large screen 50"+ at very high resolution. Really the only choice for a large 1080p screen.

LCDs have great resolutions (many are 1080p), and are very bright. They are lacking in contrast and black levels. They may also advertise wide viewing angles, but suffer from color shifts or reduced brightness off-center. LCD are expensive in larger sizes. Dead and stuck pixels are a concern. Mostly under 37".

Plasmas have great color and contrast, but they also have some trouble with dark scenes. They don't offer the very high resolutions that some LCDs do, and on the larger sizes some have trouble with brightness. Plasmas used to have burn-in issues, but it's not much of an issue any more. They do consume a lot of power 300-400 watts. They pickup where LCD's drop off 42"-60"+.

No perfect solution. LCDs are improving fast, and I'm sure will soon be the dominant format.

[Technical_1]

Personally, I would stay away from Plasma. As mentioned above, they are pretty heavy. This is because of all the glass. While at a school about a year ago, we were told that Plasma was on it's way out due to the EPA cracking down on the manufacturers about the recycling of that glass. LCD, DILA and DLP are all better alternatives.

And not that it will make any difference to most, but plasma sets are sensitive to altitude. A set bought at or around sea level will not work at high altitudes and vice versa. The plasma isn't under the right pressure if switched from one to the other. There are actually differences in the model #'s usually that will denote where set was designed for. Something to keep in mind if buying online or from ebay.

[Monkeyfriedmonkey]

They offer the bestbang for the buck if your looking for large screen 50"+ at very high resolution. Really the only choice for a large 1080p screen.

I'm glad you say they are the only choice because that's what I went with. I did go to AVSforums after you linked me to it, thanks for that, was super helpful. In the end what was most important to me was the biggest screen for my money (I went with the Samsung HL-R6178W
I linked to above), and the picture, and even in the high end AV store I ended up buying from (the only store I went to that had their TV's correctly set up and on the right brightness control, I might ad, very misleading those chain stores!) it looked better than anything else to me. Anyway, I'm happy! And now I have this giant gorgeous TV! Crazy! Thanks for the help.