Getting a new TV...What do i look for?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Seems like in the last month or so LG has the best bang for the buck. My experience with panasonic is that they partially die after a few years (mostly the power electronics) but you are right, that Sony is way overpriced thinking that they deserve the premium.

I'd still stay away from the Taiwanese brand for now, their quality control seems fine, but engineering is still sort of bean counter driven at times.
 
I have two Plasmas one in a living one in a media room. THe master bedroom has the LCD. For true color and real motion the Plasmas can't be beat.
 
I'm an amateur calibrator, and have calibrated a sony lcd, samsung lcd and samsung plasma. LCD's are much brighter in general, so if your room has a lot of outside light coming in then a LCD would be a better choice.

There are 2 typed of LED LCD's, edge lit and back lit. The back lit LCD's are generally considered to have the better black levels, which in the past is where plasma's have really outperformed LCD's although the gap has narrowed considerably this past year.

From a calibration standpoint, the LG xxLH90 series is a very good backlit LED LCD, and seems to be a little lower priced than the Samsung equivalent (8500 series is also LED backlit). The Samsung xxb750 that I calibrated looked great, although technically it couldn't be dialed in nearly as well as the LG (I read a lot of calibration results).

The Samsung xxb860 plasma had very good calibration results, but can't put out the lumens that an LCD can.

If you're interested in getting the unit calibrated, then stay away from Panasonic as the amount of adjustments provided is limited. Current Samsung models have the most, with LG right behind them.

One additional benefit to the LG is that it has a matte finish on the screen, so it will show less reflection, but it does have a wider bezel than some of it's competitors. LED LCD use even less power than conventional (fluorescent backlit) LCD's.

Hope this helps.
 
In my opinion, the only downside to plasma TVs is that the glossy screens are highly reflective. Unless you are in a dark room, there will almost certainly be some reflections on the screen. You may not notice them if they are mild, but they still reduce the clarity and resolution you paid for.

Tom NJ
 
I think the down side is the weight. It's been the biggest reason why I've never purchased a plasma. It's nice than I can move my LCD around on my own, especially when moving or purchasing a new entertainment stand. I'd feel more comfortable mounting an LCD on the wall as well.
 
I recently got Samsung LN46B530 LCD, Great bang for the buck and while it misses some of the high end features, like ethernet connection, only 1 component connection, 3 HDMI connections, doesn't play media throgh USB connection. But the picture is really great, slight color wash out seen at angle, but not too bad. I toned down the backlight and contrast.

Be aware of those cheap plasmas that are 720p, that stores are trying to get rid of, they may seem like a good bargin, but I'd rather have a full 1080p LCD.


Also, I would not fall for LCD LED technology just yet, it's the same as a regular LCD, just the backlight method is different, the premium is too much for limited benefits.
 
Get a Panasonic for Plasma and Samsung for any other kind. I would get a plasma if I was looking for a TV now. Panasonic bought the technology that Pioneer used to make the highest scoring HD TV ever made that was over $7000. The model from them was called a Kuro. You can still find them online and are still very expensive. The best blacks of any flat screen HD ever made. Beautiful picture! I mean it was amazing. One thing when you are looking do not judge the tv by how it looks on the showroom floor. The manufacturers set up their tvs from the factory to be very bright! So bright that it hurt my eyes on mine when I got it set up. There are websites that you can go to that will give you some settings to make on your TV to get a much better picture.
 
Originally Posted By: DKT
The Samsung xxb750 that I calibrated looked great, although technically it couldn't be dialed in nearly as well as the LG (I read a lot of calibration results).
Hope this helps.


I can backup what you're saying. Our Samsung LN46B750U 1FXZA, 46" 240hz TV, was given to us as a replacement for a failed LNT4665F under warranty. The 4665F screen (glossy) was errantly replaced with a screen from a Samsung LTA460 (less quality, matte finish). So we went round & round with the warranty co & Best Buy to have them install the proper screen. Finally a call to Samsung straightened things out...but the replacement screen was now no longer available....sothe 240hz model was the "prize" so to speak of all the phone calls made and a Samsun rep at the Best Buy store. Going from 60hz to 240hz for free (save for the 4 additional warranty) was a blessing, to say the least.

While the picture & motion on this new unit are better than most, adjusting the black level isn't as easy. Then again, we were used to "shades of gray" on the cheaper A460 panel with matte finish rather than true black on the new unit.

Calibrating this wasn't as easy as I thought. Lots of trial and error.

But man oh man, Lindsey Vonn looks great on the new Samsung!
20.gif
As does Jamie Colby, Margaret Hoover, etc...
grin2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: mcrn
Get a Panasonic for Plasma and Samsung for any other kind. I would get a plasma if I was looking for a TV now. Panasonic bought the technology that Pioneer used to make the highest scoring HD TV ever made that was over $7000. The model from them was called a Kuro. You can still find them online and are still very expensive. The best blacks of any flat screen HD ever made. Beautiful picture! I mean it was amazing. One thing when you are looking do not judge the tv by how it looks on the showroom floor. The manufacturers set up their tvs from the factory to be very bright! So bright that it hurt my eyes on mine when I got it set up. There are websites that you can go to that will give you some settings to make on your TV to get a much better picture.


Panny needs to figure out why thier black levels are doubling after 500 hours of panel use. It's the big talk on AVS lately, they are going from nice dark black to semi dark black as a part of normal operation after a number of hours use. Not good at all.

A Kuro, they aren't.
 
Last edited:
If panasonic made a LCD larger than 37" I'd jump for it. My next choice would then be an entry level model of Sony. The reason I say entry level model is because those are very competitively priced and what you get in moving up into higher end models might be what you don't need or don't care or won't even realize the difference.
So don't get too hung up on numbers - 240hz, 3million contrast ratio etc..are just marketing gimics. Let your eyes decide whether you need all that fancy stuff or not for the type of content you watch. Most likely you will not.
Most people won't be even able to tell the difference between 720 and 1080 at anything less than 50"!!
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Tom NJ
In my opinion, the only downside to plasma TVs is that the glossy screens are highly reflective. Unless you are in a dark room, there will almost certainly be some reflections on the screen. You may not notice them if they are mild, but they still reduce the clarity and resolution you paid for.


I don't think that's a plasma issue. Most current LCDs have reflective screens and I'm pretty sure I've seen plasmas with non-reflective screens.

A non-reflective screen is a requirement for any TV or monitor I purchase. I really don't need to use my screen to monitor the condition of the windows and lights in the room while I'm watching TV. I'd even take it one step further and avoid glossy plastic borders.
 
I seem to be in a minority here - I actually prefer the glossy screens. I have found them to have more vibrant picture rendition than the matte screens.
 
Originally Posted By: LS2JSTS
Panny needs to figure out why thier black levels are doubling after 500 hours of panel use. It's the big talk on AVS lately, they are going from nice dark black to semi dark black as a part of normal operation after a number of hours use. Not good at all.

Interesting. We have an older 50" Panny plasma (bought in '06 or '07), and lately I have been noticing very poor black levels... they're pretty much gray. I was wondering what's up with that since I could have sworn that when it was new, the black levels were much deeper.

On another note, we recently bought a 55" Samsung LED-LCD 120Hz. These have very nice picture quality once you dial down the picture settings, and assuming you don't get a defective one. A lot of them exhibit very uneven backlighting (flashlighting/clouding as most call it) that's really annoying, especially when you watch it at night with little ambient light. You basically don't have a consistent black screen. We sent back the first two. The third one is finally OK, although still exhibits minor clouding.

This is what a defective one looks like when the screen should be all dark:

UN55B7100_black.jpg
 
i went to best buy to check out their selection i really like the
pn50b550

And some tv's have wifi????????

it was on clearance for 979...what do you guys think? is this a discontinued model?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: calvinnnnnnnnn
i went to best buy to check out their selection i really like the
pn50b550

Some of the samsung plasmas have been having 'buzzing' issues. Other than that, they generally get very good reviews for picture quality. They're more uniform than their LED LCDs.

Quote:

And some tv's have wifi????????

Sure. Many TVs are now Internet-ready, so that you can do things like browse news sites, watch YouTube video, buy movies on demand from Amazon, etc. You can also watch movies and listen to music stored on your local network drives or other PCs in the house, although for smooth movie watching experience, wireless may not give enough bandwidth. Mine's connected via wired Ethernet cable, alas, not everyone has a network connection close to their TV, so wireless is more convenient.
 
Originally Posted By: calvinnnnnnnnn
buzzing issue as in audio, flimsy case housing?

No. The panel itself buzzing due to some electronic/electric component making a constant relatively high-pitched noise.

No biggie though. If yours happens to exhibit this and it's audible to the point where it bothers you, just exchange it. BB gives you a 30-day exchange period.
 
Originally Posted By: LS2JSTS
Originally Posted By: mcrn
Get a Panasonic for Plasma and Samsung for any other kind. I would get a plasma if I was looking for a TV now. Panasonic bought the technology that Pioneer used to make the highest scoring HD TV ever made that was over $7000. The model from them was called a Kuro. You can still find them online and are still very expensive. The best blacks of any flat screen HD ever made. Beautiful picture! I mean it was amazing. One thing when you are looking do not judge the tv by how it looks on the showroom floor. The manufacturers set up their tvs from the factory to be very bright! So bright that it hurt my eyes on mine when I got it set up. There are websites that you can go to that will give you some settings to make on your TV to get a much better picture.


Panny needs to figure out why thier black levels are doubling after 500 hours of panel use. It's the big talk on AVS lately, they are going from nice dark black to semi dark black as a part of normal operation after a number of hours use. Not good at all.

A Kuro, they aren't.




Is this with all of their levels? They do have different grades and not all use Pioneers technology.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

billt460
New Big Screen TV Operation ?
Replies
14
Views
820
andrew_j
1
Sony TV warranty claim success!
2
Replies
31
Views
3K
MVAR
S
Shopping For Large TV
2 3 4
Replies
71
Views
7K
Jim K
D
Insurance rant, what would you do? (long)
Replies
9
Views
1K
maduroman
M
Rental Review - 2025 Sienna
Replies
13
Views
858
MCompact
Back
Top Bottom