Teremei

I was thinking of the 37" panny plasma. We will only be sitting 7' away from the TV. The reason for the plasma is I want to experience the true image quality for myself at home. . I have a 360 and I'm sure it would rock on a plasma.

BUT, I also have a complete shelf full of current hollywood movies. I like to watch Lord of the Rings, X-men, and StarWars movies every once in awhile. In this case, a bigger (~60" DLP?) might be better?

What do you guys think? I'm leaning toward plasma ofcourse but could use some input. .

DVD Josh

I personally do not like DLPs for gaming. And I'm sure Brian or Spiky will correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you NOT supposed to game on a DLP?

chipmac

Well the conventional thinking was to avoid gaming on a Plasma due to the chance of burn in. But with proper precautions that's not really a problem anymore.

I'm confused as to this comment though. The reason for the plasma is I want to experience the true image quality for myself at home. What do you mean by experiencing the true image quality? Do you feel that only plasma provides the true image quality of the Xbox 360 or DVDs?

BobDole42

I play xbox 360 on my DLP and it looks fantastic.

PaulNB

I recently viewed several TVs at a Futureshop store. They included DLPs (Toshiba, Samsung), plasmas (Sharp, Panasonic) and several LCDs (Sony, and more). IMO, the Panasonic Plasma had the best, sharpest and most vivid picture, followed closely by the Sony XBR televisions, which feature LCD technology). Based on what I've read, the Sony XBRs aren't affected by burn-in, and may be more reliable in the long term than a plasma.

I want a tv that will do it all... HD, DVDs, gaming, and I will be buying a Sony XBR (50" or 60"). I'm waiting for the fall to see if the new models will accepts 1080p imputsm then I'll take the plunge... unless something better is out by then.

PaulNB

DVD Josh

That's not the point. The question is whether it is considered safe for the display.

BobDole42

Josh, just when I thought we were getting along...

Of course gaming on a DLP is safe. Burn-in on a DLP is impossible.

Some people think that DLPs can be a little blurry on fast motion games. This was a problem with earlier sets that is, in my opinion, a non-issue. I game on an LCD and a DLP and they both look fantastic.

uberjoe

I game on a 50in DLP and the pic is perfect. Absolutely no complaints. And it's perfectly safe for the television.

Spiky

So do I, no issues for DLP. Even older games look pretty good via Svideo.

Here's an interesting comparison for the OP:
Panny HD 37" plasma: 1024x768p resolution.
Sceptre 37" LCD: 1920x1080p resolution. 2.6 times as many pixels.

Granted, Panny is a much better brand name. But the Sceptre has done ok, no huge DOA percentage or anything. Even Secrets gave it a good review.

BobDole42

thanks for backing me up, Spiky and uberjoe

DVD Josh

As for this one...well, I was simply asking whether it was safe as I know much more about Plasma and LCD than DLP (and made it pretty clear that it was a question).

BobDole42

Again, this is a question of tone. I wasn't responding to your post re: DLPs and burn-in. The OP asked about good sets for gaming and mentioned, among other things, DLPs. I chimed in with my opinion that DLPs are great for gaming. If you still had a question re: burn-in, I would think that the more appropriate response would be to quote my reply and say something like "but isn't burn-in an issue?" Instead, you said "that's not the point."

The last thing I want is to get into any sort of antagonistic relationship with any member on this forum (Aruti excepted, of course ) If I'm just hyper-sensitive, I'm sure other posters will let me know and make fun of me accordingly.

Spiky

You're just hyper-sensitive. Go hug a tree, you'll feel better.

Josh,
DLP consists of a light, bunches of mirrors that turn to let the light through, and a wheel with colors in it. Other than smashing it with a hammer, there's little you can do to harm it. The light will get dimmer and eventually break, of course, just like any light.

Teremei

Thanks for all the posts!! I guess the main point (to those who didn't understand) was, generally I think for home theater movies, bigger is better. I mean it's nicer to watch Lord of the Rings on a 60" DLP probably than a 37" plasma. I'm sure I'll love the plasma. I was just wondering what would you do? Would you go with the panny plasma for HD TV, DVD, and gaming or would you go with a large DLP for the same 3?

I'll go to a best buy and check out all the TV's side by side. But I'm pretty settled on a panny 37" or 42" plasma. I currently have a panny 47" RP HDTV.

BobDole42

I knew it! It's too cold here to hug a tree, but I will pet a wild squirrel on the way home - that should make me feel better

BobDole42

I would go for the biggest set you can afford / have room for. Sure, plasma may look a bit nicer than DLP (for that matter, almost any 37" set will look better than a 60" set), but there is a HUGE difference in size. 37 inches is a decent size - 60" is huge. I watch DVDs, HDTV, and play xbox 360 on my 50 inch DLP and love it. Does my 26 inch LCD look better? Yes. Is it nearly as awesome and immersive? Not a chance.

Teremei

What do you guys think about the Sony Grand Wega SXRD 50"? It uses LCD in combination with light projection I think. Both employee's at CC and BB both mentioned this TV when they found out my price range was in the Panny 42" plasma.

What are the pro's and cons of the SXRD? Obviously it has tons more pixels, and is 1080p compatible for all the newer HD stuff coming out. But is also an LCD instead of a plasma, so there has to be some downside too.

BobDole42

The SXRDs are great sets. One thing to consider is the fact that they don't accept 1080p inputs. They only accept 480i, 480p, 720p and 1080i. The tv scales everything to 1080p, but you can't feed the set 1080p natively. Still, very nice tvs.

Teremei

Deffinatly, that's why the 50" SXRD caught my eye. A visual upgrade from my 47", but a size one too!

Teremei

Ok I see. It's not much of a concern anyway. Could you tell me of some good customer review and industry review sites that reviewed Sony's new flagship? I'd like to read about it, and how it compares to a panny 42" plasma for example. .

BobDole42

I meant to ask you earlier - what is it that you don't like about your current tv? I ask because display tech is really in flux right now. A 47 inch HDTV is not bad at all. I ditched mine in favor of a DLP because I re-did my audio system and needed something that could sit on top of a component stand. I went with the cheapest decent option (50 inch 720p DLP) because I wanted something that would keep me happy for a year or two but not break the bank.

If I were buying a tv now for the next 5 years or so, I would take a long look at the SXRD. I'm not sure how big a deal it is that the set doesn't accept 1080p natively. It seems like a big negative for me, but maybe I'm wrong.

BobDole42

I haven't read many reviews of the SXRDs, but I'm sure a lot has been written. I tried to stay away from them because I didn't want to be tempted

Teremei

I want one now because I want to start watching my baseball games in HD, the 47" panny I have does not have an HDMI input, and I'm sure the SXRD just blows it away with it's 1900~x1080, black levels, sharpness, and brightness. I've been considering getting DirectTV HDTV and I just found out many things. And I know that there would be a huge difference between HDTV broadcasts , my DVDs, and playin my 360 on it compared to on my CRTHDTV. That's why I want to upgrade. I saw a 50" SXRD on demo today and it was running it's own feed of canyons, water, flowers, ect. . There is NO WAY my TV could ever produce that sharp of an image.

What media is going to be fed through 1080p anyway? And how far off is that.

Teremei

Nevermind. I've been reading some reviews. And what they basically tell me is, this TV will be a HUGE step up for me, and I'm ready to experience it. And thanks for your opinions. I too think this is a great TV if you plan to keep it for a long time.

I came into this thread thinking "plasma is better than everything". . I just have one more question? IS this LCOS tv VERY comparible to a plasma of the same size? Will I be hard pressed to find much difference in picture quality? I guess I need to bring some DVDs and go do some demos. Thanks for the advice!!

Spiky

I would call it very comparable to plasma, and at 1080p res....better. Is 50" big? Ok.

Bluray discs will be 1080p, HD-DVDs may also be 1080p. Someday the broadcasters may move to it, but too far off to worry about that right now. But not all of the first run of BD/HD-DVD players will actually output 1080p. So, this tech is probably 2 years away minimum for the average person.