i have a samsung 40'' lcd 720 and was looking to upgrade to full 1080p, i've read so many conflicting reviews, what high fi sound and vision even recommended some 720's over 1080's.
i was thinking about the panasonic th42'' but haven't actually seen one yet.
should have said that 42 is probably as big as i can go unless i tore my living room apart.
plus only had the samsung just over a year and already there's a slight light banding effect going from left to right across the screen. engineer coming tomorrow, hoping they can't fix it and they'll need to give me a new one
I have a 60 inch Samsung DLP (rear projection) 1080p HL-T6189S w/HDMI 1.3 and PIP. This was the best TV I could get for the size, money, and technology available at the time (uses LEDs instead of bulb you have to replace). I love the TV and have had no major problems. I have an Onkyo 605, PS3, and Wii hooked up to it and they couldn't look or sound any better, until they make an affordable 60 inch LCD with HDMI 1.3. Until then, I'm sticking with Samsung.
Now that you have listed what size you are looking for, please tell us your budget so we can recommend what we believe to be the best television for your budget.
If price isn't a big issue, I would highly recommend Sony Bravia XBR3+ series.
The one thing I can say is that when you get around to buying one, don't just look at them in a line at the store. They are always over-saturated with blown-out highlights. They also usually use a source split among 100 TVs so that it is FULL of compression error, signal degradation, and other artifacts.
When you go, the things you have to do is look for a TV that is calibrated, in its own room. If you can't find one or the model you are interested in is not available, than you can try a few methods to find a good screen with a bad source.
Look for the screen door effect. Stand close enough to the TV that you can see what looks like a screen door grid. You can actually see the individual pixels at this distance. Now step back slowly until the grid vanishes. When it is gone, how far away are you? If you are 4 feet or less, it is a good resolution. It you are more than 5 or 6 feet away, look at another TV. Although LCDs tend to have a screen door affect, they tend to also have the sharpest image and the good screen door distances.
Look at the viewing angle. Stand perfectly in front of the TV. Take a step to the side until the image changes in brightness or color. Once the brightness or the color changes, see how much it changes an how far the angle is. If you are at an extreme angle (close to 80° - or about 160° viewing angle), than you have a good system. This is important in large rooms if you want a lot of people watching the TV. Some rear projection TVs have a problem where the viewing angle is limited not only from side to side, but also up to down. If you sit in front of a TV, then stand up, the screen might change in brightness or color, or even turn into a negative of the image. This is typical of a DLP rear projection TV.
Look at the brightness of the screen. The contrast ratio is important. How bright it gets and how dark it gets. Make sure the darkest darks are black. Often, LCDs do not have very dark darks, and front projectors have no darks at all because they are based on the light level of the room you are in. LCDs have made great advances in the contrast ratio, but plasma tends to have better darks. See if you like the darks and thing they give enough contrast. Also see how bright the highlights get. If they are dull and not very bright, you should keep looking. Often a tv on display can get a burned out bulb or other issue that will affect its brightness. If one looks off to you, look another of the same model, but also find out how long the bulb life is and if it can be replaced or not. Usually this is not a problem, but some DLP monitors have short bulb life spans and provide a port to replace the bulb.
Check for burn in. If you can see burn in on a screen that often displays the same thing (letterbox, logo, HUD, etc), then the screen might be prone to burn in. Both plasma and LCD are capable of this, but LCD tends to be more susceptible. With recent advances, burn in is not as big a deal as it once was, but you will still find TVs with screen savers and burn in "fixing" devices (usually involving exposing the tv to brights and darks to "fix" the burn in).
Then look at the colors. If there is a color cast, see if it can be removed. The colors might be bright and glaring, but it is important to see that the colors are balanced and that the whites and blacks and neutral grays are neutral and have no color. This can be fixed with a good calibration, but it is best to start good then to start poor.
FINALLY, look at the specs. The TVs should have 1080p, HDMI ports, DVI is good too if available, high contrast ratio, the ability to be professionally calibrated (the Bravia is one of the best for calibration i've seen), high viewing angle, fast response time (12 ms or less), capable of 120 Hz is good, capable of 1080p24 is good, etc.
There are lots of specs, but you should look at the TV itself before you buy it, look at the size, design, wall mount options, foot print size, weight, etc.
If you are thinking of moving, LCDs are good cause they are lighter weight and more resistant that plasma which often costs extra to ship and often break. Many companies will not move a plasma screen.
Also make sure the size is correct for the space. A professional can tell you how far away the screen should be and how big you should get for your room.
Also, get your TV calibrated. I suggest you do it professionally cause nothing else can match it, but if you can't afford that, than at least use a self calibration DVD/BD.
i know i place where i bought my onkyo/b&w stereo that will set up what i want in it's own room to view, top service, they would even calibrate it for me.
the sony x series do look lovely, just spoke to the lad in the sony centre glasgow, £2699 for the 46'', not the cheapest but does sound amazing. i'd need a second mortgage for that.
The one thing I can say is that when you get around to buying one, don't just look at them in a line at the store. They are always over-saturated with blown-out highlights. They also usually use a source split among 100 TVs so that it is FULL of compression error, signal degradation, and other artifacts.
When you go, the things you have to do is look for a TV that is calibrated, in its own room. If you can't find one or the model you are interested in is not available, than you can try a few methods to find a good screen with a bad source.
Look for the screen door effect. Stand close enough to the TV that you can see what looks like a screen door grid. You can actually see the individual pixels at this distance. Now step back slowly until the grid vanishes. When it is gone, how far away are you? If you are 4 feet or less, it is a good resolution. It you are more than 5 or 6 feet away, look at another TV. Although LCDs tend to have a screen door affect, they tend to also have the sharpest image and the good screen door distances.
Look at the viewing angle. Stand perfectly in front of the TV. Take a step to the side until the image changes in brightness or color. Once the brightness or the color changes, see how much it changes an how far the angle is. If you are at an extreme angle (close to 80° - or about 160° viewing angle), than you have a good system. This is important in large rooms if you want a lot of people watching the TV. Some rear projection TVs have a problem where the viewing angle is limited not only from side to side, but also up to down. If you sit in front of a TV, then stand up, the screen might change in brightness or color, or even turn into a negative of the image. This is typical of a DLP rear projection TV.
Look at the brightness of the screen. The contrast ratio is important. How bright it gets and how dark it gets. Make sure the darkest darks are black. Often, LCDs do not have very dark darks, and front projectors have no darks at all because they are based on the light level of the room you are in. LCDs have made great advances in the contrast ratio, but plasma tends to have better darks. See if you like the darks and thing they give enough contrast. Also see how bright the highlights get. If they are dull and not very bright, you should keep looking. Often a tv on display can get a burned out bulb or other issue that will affect its brightness. If one looks off to you, look another of the same model, but also find out how long the bulb life is and if it can be replaced or not. Usually this is not a problem, but some DLP monitors have short bulb life spans and provide a port to replace the bulb.
Check for burn in. If you can see burn in on a screen that often displays the same thing (letterbox, logo, HUD, etc), then the screen might be prone to burn in. Both plasma and LCD are capable of this, but LCD tends to be more susceptible. With recent advances, burn in is not as big a deal as it once was, but you will still find TVs with screen savers and burn in "fixing" devices (usually involving exposing the tv to brights and darks to "fix" the burn in).
Then look at the colors. If there is a color cast, see if it can be removed. The colors might be bright and glaring, but it is important to see that the colors are balanced and that the whites and blacks and neutral grays are neutral and have no color. This can be fixed with a good calibration, but it is best to start good then to start poor.
FINALLY, look at the specs. The TVs should have 1080p, HDMI ports, DVI is good too if available, high contrast ratio, the ability to be professionally calibrated (the Bravia is one of the best for calibration i've seen), high viewing angle, fast response time (12 ms or less), capable of 120 Hz is good, capable of 1080p24 is good, etc.
There are lots of specs, but you should look at the TV itself before you buy it, look at the size, design, wall mount options, foot print size, weight, etc.
If you are thinking of moving, LCDs are good cause they are lighter weight and more resistant that plasma which often costs extra to ship and often break. Many companies will not move a plasma screen.
Also make sure the size is correct for the space. A professional can tell you how far away the screen should be and how big you should get for your room.
Hope this helps.
I have heard from everyone else that Plasma are more suspectible to burn in that LCD's. Every day I hear a conflicting view about this stuff.
Plasma televisions have improved much but my major problem with plasma is ghosting and heat production. I used to own a Sony plasma 42" television and it heated up the entire room. It was nice and toasty for the winters but made the summers dreadfully unbearable.
When going from a full picture to sudden black you could also see ghosts from the last images on the screen. Do not get me wrong, it was a great television but those things were just too annoying for me to justify the high price I had to pay for the television.
Ever since I went with LCD the black levels were much better, no more ghost images, and the heat levels are much further down. Now if only I could get my PC's to generate less heat.
i have a samsung 40'' lcd 720 and was looking to upgrade to full 1080p, i've read so many conflicting reviews, what high fi sound and vision even recommended some 720's over 1080's.
i was thinking about the panasonic th42'' but haven't actually seen one yet.
any thoughts?
Keep your Samsung and just set it to 1080i. You ma be pleasently suprised.
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