HDTV Gurus: Learn me!

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Evil Jeff

New member
So, the time has come for me to finally take the plunge and get an HDTV. And honestly, I don't really know what to look for. It'll mostly be for DVD's and gaming, with the occational Blu-ray movie. I've been looking at either 42" or 47"-ish, and I'm kind of hung up on the 720p vs. 1080p. Most of what I've seen says you won't see the difference on anything under about 50" unless you're watching BRD's way too close to the set. So, what say STM? Here's the 2 set's I've been looking at the most:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8254774&type=product&id=1169512771844

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7756623

 
There's 720i (not common at this point), 720p, 1080i, 1080p.

the number is directly related to the number of lines the tv displays in. (So basically it's a better resolution)

i = interlaced (the screen refreshes in a "1, 2" pattern

p = progressive (the screen refreshes all at once.)

You won't see a huge difference, and either will be a step up from what you're rocking right now (non-hd)

But you will see a pretty big difference.... particularly the edges of lettering and sharp color contrasts...

Panasonic typically makes a much better product than magnavox, nowadays, however.

 
just make sure its a 1080 i atleast or a 1080p.

dont need a tuner just a moniter since your cable box with be the tuner.

The resolution is the most important thing dont be cheap. I paid 1800 for my 42in plasma monitor two years ago (it goes new for 1300 now).

my roomates friend owns a store in Ct and he gets tv's cheap but they are only TOP OF THE LINE ones. We had a 52in lcd sharp aquos (the good one) that we sold for $1700 (it was a $3500 tv.)

so check craigslist he post themon there and there are others that are great deals (still have warrenty).

 
See, I know what what all the technology means, I just don't know what it means to to me, you know? I'm quite the tech geek, it's my job, I just don't really have any hands on with this stuff. I know what 1080p means, and that it's technologically superior, but is it nessecarily worth the money when talking about sub-50" sets? Everything I've read says no, it's not, but I don't have the personal experience to say that myself. Guess I really just need to start hitting the stores and touching things.

 
mine is 1080 i, my roomates is 1080p... both 42in . his panasonic mine poloroid. His is 1000000000 times nicer (I have highend cables (like 200 per) he has low end ones (like 50 per))

get atleast 1080i, 720 sucks(why spend that kinda money for old stuff). 1080p is great but iam not gonna runout to get it since my 1080i is pretty damn nice

 
I'd go 1080p if I was shopping right now. The price differences I have seen don't seem that large and I am sure that the reason you don't see much of a difference right now is the media being viewed on the two isn't taking advantage of the performance possibilities of the 1080p set and that will probably change as technology does its thing. Its kinda like watching the local newscast in HD still looks like crap since they are using old technology to record it and then simply upconvert to broadcast.

I prefer LCDs personally just because you absolutely don't have to worry about burn in, but Panasonic plasmas are top of the line and don't seem to have that issue either. Otherwise make sure you see the tv in action there is a large gap between some models and you don't want to end up with a set that looks like you are watching it through fog or like the picture is made out of leggos.

I love my samsung lcd and would recommend their lcd sets to anyone and the hp (monitor made by lg) set I have has been nothing but a headache, great picture when it is working right though....

Only other suggestion is get one of those DVDs for adjusting everything properly it'll help prolong the tvs life and make the picture better.

 
plasmas colors start to fade after about 4hrs and need to be turned off then on again all of them do this... ever go to a bar and see the tv's look realy light? that's why.

lcd's drop pixxels. get a warrenty!!!!!!turst me, my friend got one and it droped a few pixxels and wasent covered

 
mine is 1080 i, my roomates is 1080p... both 42in . his panasonic mine poloroid. His is 1000000000 times nicer (I have highend cables (like 200 per) he has low end ones (like 50 per))

get atleast 1080i, 720 sucks(why spend that kinda money for old stuff). 1080p is great but iam not gonna runout to get it since my 1080i is pretty damn nice
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But again, that's not a difference between 1080 and 720, that's a difference between progressive scan and interlaced. The picture between 1080p and 720p will have a different resolution, but should have a very similar picture on comparable models. And that's where I keep going back to, am I going to notice that loss of real estate on a 42"?

Not to mention, Panasonic is world renowned as one of the premier electronics manufacturers, and pretty much the best at plasma.

 
Jeff,

don't bother with the 720. My parents just replaced their Sony 720p with a JVC (I think) 1080p and the difference is amazing.

 
Buying a blu-ray player and using a non-1080P TV makes no sense. 1080P will make your eyes orgasm. It's worth it. It's that good. Really the important thing is to look at everything and see what you like the best. Keep in mind you'll want at least one HDMI input too. http://www.monoprice.com sells good HDMI cables (dont pay $100 for one it's a digital signal...either the 1's and 0's get there or they dont).

There's negatives to all the technologies. You can get an SXRD rear projection like mine for like $1300 now, and you'll still probably get the best movie and video game performance out of it compared to the other technologies. My friend with a plasma is pissed whenever he comes over to watch tv at my place
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LCD's will be the way to go in the future, but you cant scrimp on them, if you get cheap you'll regret it since it's the newest generations are finally getting things right. One thing i cant stand about plasma and the older lcds is the screen door effect...once you get the lcd pixel concentration high enough you dont notice it as much...you'll see what i mean when you look at one. Good luck, I can honestly say my TV was one of the best, most rewarding things i've ever bought in my life.

 
if you're not the type to upgrade every few months/years i would suggest future-proofing it for as long as possible.

get more than 1 hdmi v3 input if possible, your cable box will probably take one, then you'll want another for bluray and whatever else (xbox?)

1080, 720 is going to be outdated soon enough, then they'll probably be 1600p.

refresh rate. 60hz is standard, but 120hz is the new thing. also look for a refresh rate of less than 8ms. 6ms is good. 8 or slower and you get ghosting.

contrast. 800:1 is poor, and all your blacks will look grey. 5000:1 is nice
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plasmas colors start to fade after about 4hrs and need to be turned off then on again all of them do this... ever go to a bar and see the tv's look realy light? that's why.
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It's strange I don't know how to describe it, but it certainly isn't fade the bright colors become super bright in certain locations. It comes and goes and turning the set off doesn't really seem to help...

 
I have the Sharp Aquos 42" LCD 1080p. It is the balls. I did some research and it was one of the top 42" tv's according to Consumer Reports. It is also the official tv of the MLB. Not to mention I got it on Dell.com and got no interest for 1 year. >
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1080, 720 is going to be outdated soon enough, then they'll probably be 1600p.
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The next step is a quad of 1080p's or 2160p. I think the industry will be settled where it is for a little while at least, since input sources will have a really hard time keeping up. Cable and Satillite cant do above 1080i or 720p sources yet. It's insane the amount of bandwidth you need for 1080p already. I'd be surprised if we see anything in our living rooms that's Super high def 2160p or Ultra high definition (4320p) for another decade.

Raw video for 7680x4320 UHDTV requires 24Gb/s transfer rate!!
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:D Yowsa. Whats more amazing is that the audio requirements for UHDTV is 22.2 channels! 9 speakers above you, 10 at ear level, 3 below you, and 2 subwoofers. Yeah...i want in to that theater when it opens up! O0

 
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