Author Topic: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP  (Read 17846 times)

Offline I Am Sith

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What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« on: May 9, 2007, 05:02 PM »
I'm looking at buying an HDTV and have done all the research on LCD vs. Plasma vs. DLP, but was wondering what everyone's experience has been with these.  I'm leaning toward plasma for my Family Room, mostly because of size, and LCD if we upgrade the one in our bedroom, but I'm sure I could be convinced to go with LCD for both.

What does eveyone else have and would you buy the same thing if you had it to do all over again?
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Offline DoctorPadawan

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Re: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« Reply #1 on: May 9, 2007, 06:18 PM »
I have a Sony 42" LCD projection HDTV, and I couldn't be happier with it.  I've had it for just over two years and I bought it specifically because the husband of a former co-worker told me they tended to have the least amount of problems.  He was not a fan of plasma screens and kind of steered me away from them with his horror stories of going through two plasma screens in a year because of screen defects. 

The Home Theater Forum is an excellent resource for hardware reviews from average folks, but you may have already been over there.  As for long-term service, I've gotten just about every piece of electronic equipment I have from Sears and have yet to have a problem (knocking on a big block of wood as I type that). :)  They seem to be a bit more flexible with warranties and price and depending on your location, you can usually compare the different sets on their website and have them hold the actual set for you to pick up at the store.

As for the last part of your question, I'd buy the exact set I have now again in a second. :)

Offline BillCable

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Re: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« Reply #2 on: May 9, 2007, 06:20 PM »
I have an LCD.  I couldn't find a 1080p plasma anywhere I looked, and getting a 1080p HDTV was my primary goal.  My research indicated plasmas don't last as long, are susceptible to burn-in if you use them for video games, and run a lot hotter.  Of course I was only looking for a 40" HDTV... if you're looking for something really big a DLP would probably work better.
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Offline Darth_Anton

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Re: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« Reply #3 on: May 9, 2007, 11:48 PM »
All the tech professionals I talk to, people like telecini artists whose eyes are trained for detail, say stay away from plasma if you care about picture quality.

I plan on going with DLP projection myself.
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Offline Nicklab

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Re: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2007, 12:55 AM »
I've been working in the television industry for over 15 years.  Recently I was at a seminar on signal quality with some of my colleagues.  We got into part of the discussion regarding HDTV and what is the best signal quality you can get at home.  And honestly, what people are getting delivered to their homes as HDTV is not necessarily a 1080i or 1080p image.  At least via home satellite and cable systems.  Both cable systems and Direct TV are digitally compressing those HD signals for the purpose of transmission.  They're not devoting anywhere near the true ammount of bandwidth that those signals require for 1:1 transmission.

Where can you get a true HDTV signal?  A few places.  Most of the next gen gaming platforms have HDMI outputs.  And then there are the HDTV ready DVD players, regardless of which format they're using.  And finally there is over the air transmission from local stations.  Believe it or not you can get a true Hi-Def picture at home just by hooking up an antenna for the over the air stations.  And transmission of those signals is now digital, so you won't have hash in the image if you don't have good reception.  Either the signal is solid or it might go to digital blocking or black if the signal quality is poor.

As for the sets themselves?  Plasmas have been marketed as the top of the line, but that's not necessarily the case.  LCD's are almost as good.  But I've heard the most promising things about the DLP sets.  HOWEVER, you may also want to look at a CRT set.  The image quality is amazing.  CRT's are very tried and true and that's what is being used in the television industry for video quality control.  They're not as compact as the flatscreen televisions, but I think you may like the image quality.  Especially when it comes to viewing the set from different angles in a room.
« Last Edit: May 10, 2007, 12:56 AM by Nicklab »
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Offline Matt_Fury

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Re: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« Reply #5 on: May 10, 2007, 12:56 AM »
I have a 61" HDLI by JVC....basically, it's their version of DLP and I really enjoy it.  The picture is great for regular Direct Tv (we're upgrading to HD Direct Tv when we move at the end of the year), and awesome when I have the X-Box 360 on.

I didn't consider getting a plasma because they really aren't recommended for higher altitude, and if I get the assignment I want, we won't be leaving Colorado anytime soon.
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Offline BillCable

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Re: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« Reply #6 on: May 10, 2007, 02:16 AM »
I have noticed a lot of compression artifacts from my local channels over DirecTV.  That was kind of disappointing.  It's still way better than regular TV about 95% of the time.  The only time it's not is in scenes where the color pallet is really limited (such as night time scenes) when it can be absolutely blocky.

I haven't had the chance to watch a Blu-ray movie yet, but I'm really looking forward to it.  I'm planning on picking up "Curse of the Golden Flower" next week, so that may end up being my first.  That movie has hands-down the most gorgeous interior sets I've seen in a film.  I have the feeling I'm going to be wiping the drool off my chin while watching that film.
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Offline I Am Sith

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Re: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« Reply #7 on: May 10, 2007, 08:22 AM »
Thanks for the advice everyone, I really appreciate it since I'm a novice at this and it's a big investment I don't want to regret later.

Looks like the consensus is stay away from plasma and go LCD or DLP.  I have a feeling that I'm going to have to go with DLP though because we have a 19' long family room that opens into the kitchen.  So the idea was to get a set that we could still see well if we were in the kitchen making meals, etc.  That being said, I was looking at at least a 56" set if not bigger.  So I guess that rules LCD out...

I've been working in the television industry for over 15 years.

Hopefully you won't mind a few PM's when I finally narrow down my choices  ;D
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Offline Madcow

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Re: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« Reply #8 on: May 10, 2007, 08:56 AM »
I was in the same boat as you a few months ago. After some research and going to the store 8 million times, I decided on the Sharp Aquos 46" 1080p LCD and I love it. The picture quality is great with my HD channels through cable and i'm planning on getting a Blu-Ray player by the end of the year...


Offline DarkKnight2k4

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Re: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« Reply #9 on: May 10, 2007, 10:15 AM »
I was in the same boat as you a few months ago. After some research and going to the store 8 million times, I decided on the Sharp Aquos 46" 1080p LCD and I love it. The picture quality is great with my HD channels through cable and i'm planning on getting a Blu-Ray player by the end of the year...



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Offline Nicklab

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Re: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« Reply #10 on: May 10, 2007, 08:28 PM »
If you think that an antenna for local stations is an expense that you think is out of reach, check out Antennas Direct.
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Offline Rob

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Re: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« Reply #11 on: August 6, 2007, 11:08 PM »
Well here we go... I just bought one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-REGZA-42HL167-1080p-HDTV/dp/B000MXYD0I


Offline mousedroid

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Re: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« Reply #12 on: August 8, 2007, 09:45 AM »
Cool!  I just bought one of these on Monday (I got mine at Circuit City though):

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-LNT4065F-1080p-LCD-HDTV/dp/B000OE02G4/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-9728076-2266221?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1186580563&sr=1-1

I haven't hooked it up yet though.  Probably this weekend or next week - I need to get rid of my current entertainment center first.

Offline Rob

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Re: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« Reply #13 on: August 8, 2007, 10:03 AM »
Nice.

I found the Toshiba in a Fry's ad for $160 less - so I went back to Best buy and they gave me $191 back.

So, it ended up being quite a deal.


Offline I Am Sith

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Re: What HDTV to buy - LCD, Plasma, DLP
« Reply #14 on: August 8, 2007, 04:24 PM »
Those both look great guys!  I'm very jealous.  As far as purchasing one for my new place, I lost the arguement with my wife that we needed an HDTV before we needed to get window coverings for the Family Room and Morning Room...  Looks like I'm going to need to wait until Christmas.

And before anyone asks, yes, the money we spent on the window treatments that my wife wanted would have been able to get me an HDTV...
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