scarredgod

hopefully someone here can help because im lost on buying a new tv, here are some guidelines...

-im looking to spend $1,000, possibly push it up to $1200 if i really need to

-hopefully looking at 46" or above if possible

-1080p

-we will be sitting about 8-10 feet from the tv

-i dont know if im looking for LCD or plasma but the tv will be used for horror dvds, dark scenes and b/w etc but also very importantly for hockey games (i have heard the quickness of the game is hard on certain tvs?)


any suggestions for me? thanks very much for the help!

hdtv00

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1202649424693

Mr. Salty

This would be a better choice, IMO. Plasma has better blacks, and I think it would handle fast action better, too. And if you're willing to go to $1,300, you can get a 50-inch Panasonic plasma.

You can probably find better prices than Amazon if you look around.

hdtv00

It's not an opinion it's a fact that's a better tv lol. That's a crazy ass good price too. I didn't go there cause I didn't think you could get one for that cheap.

Sdallnct

Dare I ask? Why 1080p? How far will you be sitting?

scarredgod

thanks for the replies and the options.

i will be sitting 8 to 10 feet away. i wanted 1080p because i thought that was the best, is 1080p unneccesary from that distance? i am completely clueless on all of this.

Sdallnct

Well 1080p won't hurt...but in that small of a set, sitting at that distance, it won't help.

For that budget, I'd say it is pretty much a no brainer. If picture quality is your most important factor, get the Panasonic 720p 50" plasma. With careful shopping you should be able to pick it up for close the $900! Which is just a steal of a deal for one of the best pics you can get at any price.

Mr. Salty

If you end up with a 50-inch TV, I'd go with 1080p. Heck, I'd be inclined to go with 1080p even at 46 inches.

hdtv00

I agree go 1080p, why , because you can.

Sdallnct

Well again, I got no problem with 1080p. But look at his budget?

I don't think you can get a Panny Plasma 50" 1080p for $1,200. Can you? I think not.

You can get close with a 46" Panny Plasma 1080p. But I still not sure you can get it for $1,200.

Sooooo....then get a LCD 1080p 47". Which you would stll have to do careful shopping to get under $1,200 on a decent set. But for the sake of argument lets say you can get a 47" 1080p LCD for $1,200.

Or you can get a 720p 50" Panny Plasma. Now...seriously. Really. Which would be a better picture? A very low end 1080p LCD or a Panny 720p plasma? Ummmm...pretty much a no brainer. The Panny will BLOW away the 1080p LCD. And it is bigger!!!!!!

Now lets say you could get the 46" 1080p Panny plasma close to the budget. You really want to give up that much size? Why? It is questionable if you would see the difference in a 50" set, let alone a 46".

And if the answer is "get 1080p because you can" then you better freaking not stop there. You better get a 1080p LCD at 240hz...."because you can". Or should you wait for 480hz "because you can"? I mean if numbers is the only thing that matters....well...

Spiky

Well, the link above is a Panny 46 1080 for $1100. Tiger actually has two generations for about this price right now. And the 50" 80U model is $1300.

Mr. Salty

I found one on my first and only search for $1,300. If he looks a little harder I'm sure he can get close if he wants a 50-inch.

If you had clicked on the link in my first post, you would have seen that you can.

In fact ...

Actually, it's now down to ~$999.

Personally, I wouldn't let going from $1,200 to $1,300 be a deal breaker. I'd save up my money for another couple of weeks and get a 50-inch, 1080p Panasonic plasma. Best of all worlds for only $100 more.

hdtv00

Get 1080p, don't pretend you have HD. You'll thank us later when you're watching Blu Ray. And yeah if you'd nother to read the post already you'd see 46 inch for $1100( ok ok anyone could have missed that link) but still.

No refresh rate is bullshit made up marketing tool. Actual resolution is not. Don't be an asshole and pull out some numbers bullshit. I'm not a marketing department for some fucking tv maker, yeah I take offense that you imply that frankly.

Now if you plan to use it with a pc at all, then 1080p is what you want, because 720p pc use looks like complete shit. End of that topic.

Is there a difference in 1080i or p from 720p, yep. I'm not saying its not small, agree with Sdallnct for some people it doesn't matter. If you want the best or care for blu ray one day. Then clearly 1080p even in this size range you can see it from 8-10 ft. Anything farther though and it's a waste of time. With pc use it's clear as day from that distance. Movies it's much harder to see, but you also don't want sets having to convert to their crap res either. Which also leads me to these so called fucking 720p plasma sets. Go look at their actual resolutions, 720p my ass. Most of them are made up bullshit res to begin with let alone 720p.

Haha I'm ranting at this point, but don't pass me off like I'm some best buy hack salesman, that's bullshit. That panny Spiky linked to is a damn fine set, As is the one I linked to quality wise, but the plasma is better.

Spiky

Shipping.

hdtv00

Haha I must've been in a bad mood last night. Well that or I'm an asshole.

Mr. Salty

Which is $99. But sales tax on a TV like this will run you about $70 if you buy it locally --- more than that if you can't find the TV as cheap as Amazon/Tiger Direct is selling it for --- which offsets most of the shipping cost.

I bought my 50-inch Sony SXRD HDTV from OneCall.com. Even with the $99 shipping it was way cheaper than if I had bought it anywhere in town. And having a set that big shipped was painless. I ordered it on a Monday and it was here Wednesday afternoon.

Sdallnct

Seriously? And you don't want to sound like a "marketing person". Surprised you didn't say "true HD" or "real HD".

I have made my position clear in the past and supported it by links from such places as home theater magazines who's job it is to generate interest in the newest HT equipment.

But lets be clear. If you (I) don't believe if you can tell a difference in between 720p to 1080p on such a small set at so far, then it doesn't make any difference the source. Period. Of course if you do, then I guess it does. It's a matter of your eyes not the equipment.

I never said 1080p was over hype. I don't believe it is. I can't wait till I upgrade to a 1080p project (course that is a 94" screen sitting 10.5 and 12.5 feet).

I do believe I wouldn't pay extra for 1080p on such a small set or that I'd get a smaller set just to get 1080p. If you got the money for 1080p in the size you want go for it.

Sdallnct

Yea...I did miss the link for a $999 46" Panny Plasma 1080p. That is a nice price. But I'd still get the 50" 720p of that. Go with the size.

And if indeed you can swing the money for a 1080p Panny Plasma, I guess that is fine. I just don't see the point in spending the extra money. I'd rather get the 720p, a nice BD player and have money left over to start my BD collection.

hdtv00

If you can't tell the difference between 720p and 1080p from a pc from 30 ft away you're blind. Pc at 720p just plain sucks, and sucks bad.

I do agree with bigger is better screen wise. And I would NEVER , ever settle for some fake made up res 720p, if it was real 1280x720 then maybe. Find one of those though...not so easy.

HAHA do searches on past post all you want to, 1080p is better, fake 720p res sets are shit. Pc use they suck, 1080p has a better picture, set will have higher resell. It will be much better when you get a different one down the road and move it into your bedroom lol.

Get 1080p, Don't listen to Sdallnct. I've never seen a single person regret getting 1080p set. But I've seen dozens regret they got 720p, the correct answer is simple.

Sdallnct

Oh...I missed the part where the OP is using a PC. Oh, no I didn't.

So please post a link where any reputable article show you can see a difference on 1080p v. 720p at 30' watching a BD movie.

I love how you say some number are market, but then tell me to ignore the research. Tell you what, show me one article that suggests 46" set at 10' would benefit from 1080p.

Here, let me start: from a quick google,

"We've done numerous side-by-side tests between two same-size HDTVs, one with 1080p resolution and another with lower resolution, and every time it's been almost impossible to see the difference with regular program material, especially when that material is moving. The difference becomes even more difficult to see at smaller screen sizes or farther seating distances--say, more than 1.5 times the diagonal measurement of the screen. For example, to see the benefits of stationary 1080p content on a 50-inch screen, you'll generally need to sit about 6.5 feet or closer. Few viewers want to sit that close, especially when low-quality content seen at that distance (remember the "garbage" maxim?) looks so bad"

"Although resolution separates HDTV from standard-definition TV, it's not as important to overall picture quality as other factors. According to the Imaging Science Foundation, a group that consults for home-theater manufacturers and trains professional video calibrators, the most important aspect of picture quality is contrast ratio the second most important is color saturation, and the third is color accuracy. Resolution comes in fourth, despite being the most-cited HDTV specification."

"The point is, once you get to high-definition, it's difficult to discern further improvements in the sharpness of the picture. All other things being equal--namely contrast and color--HDTV looks more or less spectacular on just about any high-definition television regardless of its size, native resolution, or the HDTV signal's resolution itself. The leap from normal TV to HDTV is so big that additional leaps in resolution--from high-definition to higher-definition, let's say--are tiny by comparison."

1. What's all the fuss about 1080p? Should I buy a 1080p HDTV now?

There are plenty of 1080p HDTV's on the market and more coming. Manufacturers are moving to 1080p resolution in their displays mostly because the prices of 720p and 768p HDTVs are dropping so quickly, and 1080p sets have better profit margins. It's also not as expensive to make 1080p sets using DLP, LCOS, and LCD technologies as it used to be. (1080p plasma is still getting out of the gate.) If you plan to get a new HD DVD or Blu-ray player, you might want to consider a 1080p set to get all the resolution these disc formats offer-or if you are into really big HD images and want to sit close to the screen. Of course, you'll want to make sure your 1080p DHTV deinterlaces 1080i correctly; not all do. If it doesn't deinterlace correctly, the image will be softer then it should be. If, on the other hand, you are planning on getting a TV smaller then 60 inches and are sitting 10 or more feet away, then a 720p/768p set will be just fine. This is because, at that size/distance, your eye can't resolve all the detail in 1080p anyway.

hdtv00

Hook your pc to the tv stupid ass and you'll shut your mouth. Pc use is painful using 720p , it looks like utter shit.

No he didn't say it, but he also didn't say he wouldn't. Future proof, later down the road , even now whenever. You spend $800 or more you're stupid for nothing buying a correct res set. No matter if it's 1280x720 or 1920x1080.

Ramble on all you want with you can't see shit. How do you know what he will do with set later, He may not know himself. I stand by it, I've seen DOZENS complain later getting 720, and I've never seen a single person complain they got 1080p. I rest my case.

You should not be listened to , it's that simple. If he is tight on money, then sure cut some corners, but I'd cut few inches instead of cutting resolution.

And I never argued that the difference is small when it comes to blu ray. It's very small, even right up next to it. But that's NOT my point. Where did I say OMG when you play blu ray you're screwed. Never did I mention that, I pointed out later you may be wishing he didn't listen to the likes of you. Not being able to see the big picture and all.

Sdallnct

I have no desire to hook my PC up to my TV. If you want to, fine get a 1080p. "Stupid Ass"? Really? What are you 12?

Most people buy a TV to hummm watch TV and bluray and DVD...not to hook to a PC.

But hey if it makes sense to you to go with a smaller tv on the off chance you may, some day, in the future decide you use as a computer monitor so your willing to sacrifice a better viewing experience now for movies, sports and prime time TV, then knock yourself out.

And you talk about the "big picture". Funny....your the one that want's to cut corners to get a less enjoyable display "just in case".

Now if the OP wants to spend the money for 50" 1080p Panny Plasma then I think our conversation is over. It certainly won't hurt. But what I hate is that many people (maybe not the OP) don't want to spend the money so they go grab a Visio, Westinghouse, Polaroid or Olevia 1080p LCD just to get a 1080p because of folks that blindly think that is "best". When a 50" Panny Plasma at 720p would blow these away, image quality wise.

And if you would read my posts I offered suggestions for the OP's budget. But again, if he wants to spend the money I certainly don't have anything against the 1080p Panny Plasma. If it were me, I'd save the $300-$400 but if you or the OP wants to spend it, great. Knock yourself out. But I sure wouldn't drop in size for it. Assuming a reasonable pic quality, nothing effects the overall movie watching experience, sports watching experience, or gaming, as much as size!

Mr. Salty

While I disagree with hdtv00's abrasive posting style, I do agree with "future-proofing." I bought my HDTV with the intent of making it last for several years. Just because I sit a certain distance from it now doesn't mean that's the way my setup will always be.

hdtv00

"then I think our conversation is over."

It was over a LONG time ago.

"Assuming a reasonable pic quality, nothing effects the overall movie watching experience, sports watching experience, or gaming, as much as size!"

Yep which is why he should do the right thing and get a projector...MHAHAHA.

Yeah stupid ass. I don't know and neither do you what the OP will or wont use or do. Which is why I pointed it out, instead of completely dismiss it like you did.

Yeah I'm being a dick on purpose at this point lol. But doesn't mean I'm wrong. Also half the tv's or at least several 1080p "True HD" or whatever else they're labeled can be just as big a BS as 720p. I seriously almost died when I seen a set at wal mart said TRUE HD, and I looked at the res and I swear it was 1600x 1080 or some crazy made up BS. That's insane.

Sdallnct

Fair enough. And a reasonable argument. Of course I don't see displays lasting that long anymore. I mean really. Are people are going to spend $1,500 on a display and keep it 10 years?

And what I mean "lasting that long" is not a function of them physically lasting. But there will be such advances and changes (even in connections and such), that I don't think you can reasonable "future proof" with any display today.

It's just like surround receivers. Every few years they come out with another "must have" feature. I mean how can anyone live without 4 HDMI's and lossless audio processing on their surround receiver? I just think most will want to upgrade, for whatever reason in much, much less then 10 years. Of course I'm being sarcastic as I certainly live very nicely without them. But most want to upgrade. And I think that will happen with displays as well.

But maybe...I can buy that argument more then any other I have heard. I have a Samsung 46" 1080p LCD in my living room (long story that I have discussed before). With the drops in the 50" Planny Plasma's I've thought about seeing if I could hang the LCD somewhere in my bar, and get a Panny Plasma for the living room. But I could have done that if it was "only" 720p. For even if I was sitting closer in the bar, how much critical watching would I do in there? Or if I moved it to the bedroom, it would be for watching Late Night before bed. So again the very minor quality difference (if any), if it was 720p of sitting even closer wouldn't matter.